Silkworm care

[Horselo284]

Hey,

My beardie loves silkworms. I have been ordering smalls from mulberry farms. They come in a petri dish with food. Ive noticed that they really get covered in there stringy web and all there poop sticks to it. Its really very yucky. lol

I was wondering what the best way to keep them semi clean is. Also, is it ok if my beardie eats some of that poop that get stuck to them. I find it very hard to get it all off. :-/

The last time I ordered them a lot of them died- does anyone have advice on how to keep them alive?

Thanks!

-Laura

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Laura that is silk that they are producing so you can just untangle it and throw it away. And just dust the poop off before feeding them. Good luck and any more questions just ask!

 

[Horselo284]

Hey,

Thanks for the quick reply! Your like my go-to guy for worm info! lol :-D

I guess it would make sense that that stuff is silk...being that they are silkworms! Woops...lol

Let's hope I can keep these one's alive... :-/ lol

I actually do have one more question, if you don't mind. I bought a few butterworms for Lizzy to try and so far she LOVES them! It says they should be stored in the refrigerator, but is is ok to store them at room temp? Storing them in the fridge probably wont work...as my family would probably freak if I tried...lol

Thanks for all you advice!!!!

-Laura

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Laura Just one thing also to remember when doing anything in the silk worm container just make sure you ether wash your hands really well or wear rubber gloves because the germs or bacteria kills the worms and infects the food. A lot of people do not know this and always wounder why they die so quickly. A silk worm should grow up to 3 inches or better. As for the butters I just leave them in a cool closet. They should keep for 3-4 weeks. If you start to see the dry up then you can add a bit of moisture to the shaving inside them! Good luck.

 

[Horselo284]

Thanks for the info!!!!

Lizzy is really enjoying her gourmet meals! Butterworms, silkworms, phoenix worms and mini superworms....mmmmm yummy.

:lol:

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Very welcome now wheres our pictures at? :wink:

 

[Horselo284]

lol

Ok- I'll post some tomorrow!

Right now im trying to deal with Lizzy's current drama-
She decided to leap away from me and before I could catch her had fallen behind my desk... I was having heart attack, but I finally caught her!

When I caught her I noticed that she had hair sticking out of her mouth (I am guessing dog hair that had hidden behind my desk so I wouldnt see it...who knew dog hair was so smart! lol)

So...I gently removed all visable hair but I have no idea how much she ingested. I gave her some vegetable oil and posted about it under ER with the hopes that someone will be able to tell me what else I need to do. :-/

Hopefully she didn't really eat any!!!! lol

On another note...apparently there is a cricket loose in my room...and apparently it has matured and developed wings and is now chirping its annoying brain out....ugh...

Anyways! Will def post pics asap!

<3

 

[wildlife]

Here's an idea that has helped me out as well as the "Chawkie" (young silkworm) Bombyx mori.

First, find a mesh shirt or fabric that has holes a tad larger than the diameter of the chawkie.

Cut it to fit your container. PREVENTION IS THE BEST TOOL WHEN FIGHTING MOLD/BACTERIA!(right on twobeardieguy) Make sure you wash the fabric in a very lite bleach/water solution and flush with clean water everytime. Allow it to dry completely before introducing it into your colony.

If you are raising in the "Late age" (adult Silkworms), just use a larger fabric w/ larger diameter holes. You don't want them getting stuck!

The process is so simple. Lay the fabric over the worms gently and grate the food directly onto them like you would normally. Instinct will kick in and they will crawl through the holes to get to the fresh mulberry. Repeat this as often as you choose. It's a good idea to have a couple pieces cut.

I have them on my incubator at night to maintain a temp between 80-85 degrees F. They are 18 days old in this pic. (2nd insatar)

I prefer this method b/c your contact w/ the worms is minimal(you may have to pick a few left behind when removing the fabric). Also you have a small barrier between your worms and the old food/droppings.

You can use this method on a paper towel as you can see, or a bin with an elevated platform to let the droppings/old food to fall to the bottom (upper left). It also isn't a bad idea to create 2-3 colonies (when raising larger quantities) to prevent your whole colony from being wiped out by bacteria/mold. Also, the humidity should be 80-85% egg - 3rd instar (subadult) and 70% 4th-5th instar (adult).
I am not sure about the lighting but I use a compact 5.0 about 10" above. I'm still researching this...any ideas???