Silk worms

[smilieone]

Has any one raised silk worms as a staple for their Beardie?
I am trying to think of something less creappy then the crickets and dubias. I currently feed Crickets but id like to switch to something else.

Tahnk you,

 

[ashesc212]

I've tried. It is extremely difficult as they are sensitive to everything. Needless to say, I've failed but a few others on this board were successful.

Roaches seem pretty easy so far...

 

[nesta's mommy]

i agree with the last poster. there are people who have done it/do it but they are extremely sensitive to everything. mine died once and we're assuming it was because i had too much perfume on. just like crix... very sensitive

 

[smilieone]

is the nutrional value similar to crickets and roaches?
I think I am going to give it a try......

 

[ashesc212]

It's definitely better then crickets. I'm not sure about the roaches.

 

[dawnki]

All you really need to raise silks are a warm environment---78 degrees+ , some silkworm chow and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. I use an incubator to keep my hatchlings warm---got it for about 30 bucks online. The alcohol is to sterilize anything that come in contact with the worms.

If you've got the patience and time, raising silks is not too terribly difficult.

 

[jbodkin]

Can you share some more details and picture for you silike setup

I am starting one also to go along with my Dubias

 

[dawnki]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawnki/?saved=1

hopefully you will be able to view some shots here.....

just get a large rubbermaid tub---some folks put a mesh on the bottom to let the frass fall through to the bottom----using branches of mulberry made it easier because the frass fell to the floor and the silks climbed higher as I added more branches.

Keep yourself and whatever you use that will come into contact with the worms especially clean. DO NOT handle worms unless you are feeding them off. They bruise easily and get infections---results-->kills them all.

Zebras are proving to be a VERY hardy strain.

Are you starting with eggs?

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions!
good luck!

 

[Digby_Rigby]

Certain strains of silkworms are easier to raise than others. It seems problems have been mostly from stock of Chinese origin. The black strain and the zebra strain are more durable than the Chinese origin strains. They also dont need alcohol sterilization. The zebra strain also is sexually dimorphic so if you are wanting to breed they are a good candidate. After about a week the females get stripes the males stay white. That means you can pick out the fastest growing and most robust specimens of each sex for breeding as moths. All the different strains are the same species Bombyx morii

Digby Rigby [email protected]