mommacude":1ntrc729 said:Silly question: what are sample jars? Are they the little glass jars that are brown and used for essential oils?
mommacude":2kq0xcme said:One of my big concerns is our air conditioner. It's cool in my house abd dry. I need to find a way to keep them warm without drying them out. I have a big batch of eggs that is now grey I need to put in the fridge and three or four others laying eggs. I got some eggs online that aren't hatching I think they dried up. I only have like two worms left from the 50 or so babies she sent. They didn't eat the chow so I put in a baby leaf and three are eating it. I put Sarah wrap on the dish and a slightly damp paper towel squished up in one corner for humidity.
I just ordered more older worms to feed my lizard and hope to get them tomorrow along with some hornworms.
mommacude":3hbqznmx said:Thank you! I'll try that! I don't have to worry if they're then in dark then?
kingofnobbys":216c5udj said:mommacude":216c5udj said:Thank you! I'll try that! I don't have to worry if they're then in dark then?
Didn't seem to bother my silkworms , only really had then in the light when they were very tiny and in an airtight tub (sealed with Gladwrap to keep them in and predatory bugs out).
Pretty big ventilation wholes In the cardboard box's lid and side made by poking a steak knife through and rotating it lets a bit of light in.
I was feeding silkworms 3 times a day (fresh leaves) BTW so they were spending a bit of time on the coffee table in the light, but seemed to me most the worms were inbetween and under partly eaten leaves chomping away non-stop and oblivious to the time of day.
Providing the cold dry airflow from the aircon is not blowing directly on them and the leaves /chow and you stay ontop of the food supply and keep on removing their poos and any sick or dead worms and don't give humidity a chance to increase enough to make the poo and uneaten fragments of food and the sides of the tub damb (from condensation) I think you'll be fine.
Some people I know keep their silkworms in a cardboard shoe box in the benchcabinet under their kitchen sink or even in a dresser drawer in their bedroom.
I think high humidity will kill them off quicksmart - as soon as stuff starts looking white and fuzzy.
This might help you : http://www.peacefulsilkworms.com.au/guide
mommacude":1gqw8zc6 said:kingofnobbys":1gqw8zc6 said:mommacude":1gqw8zc6 said:Thank you! I'll try that! I don't have to worry if they're then in dark then?
Didn't seem to bother my silkworms , only really had then in the light when they were very tiny and in an airtight tub (sealed with Gladwrap to keep them in and predatory bugs out).
Pretty big ventilation wholes In the cardboard box's lid and side made by poking a steak knife through and rotating it lets a bit of light in.
I was feeding silkworms 3 times a day (fresh leaves) BTW so they were spending a bit of time on the coffee table in the light, but seemed to me most the worms were inbetween and under partly eaten leaves chomping away non-stop and oblivious to the time of day.
Providing the cold dry airflow from the aircon is not blowing directly on them and the leaves /chow and you stay ontop of the food supply and keep on removing their poos and any sick or dead worms and don't give humidity a chance to increase enough to make the poo and uneaten fragments of food and the sides of the tub damb (from condensation) I think you'll be fine.
Some people I know keep their silkworms in a cardboard shoe box in the benchcabinet under their kitchen sink or even in a dresser drawer in their bedroom.
I think high humidity will kill them off quicksmart - as soon as stuff starts looking white and fuzzy.
This might help you : http://www.peacefulsilkworms.com.au/guide
Thanks so much!! My house is 21degrees my husband thinks he's a polar bear. I have put the small plastic container inside a cardboard box. I put that box on top of my hedgehog enclosure which is kept warm with a ceramic heater. So that's out of direct heat but a bit warmer. I just got a bunch of worms today; a bit smaller than I thought they'd be but I'm sure they'll grow fast! They're probably 2nd or 3rd instar. I haven't looked closely enough yet; probably 1/4 inch.
You gave me an idea though; I have a cardboard box I just got with hornworms in it that has holes cut out of the sides; maybe that will work well for what I need. I'll get this right! I don't want my lizard getting fat from only eating hornworms.
Thanks for the link! I"m still hoping some of these eggs will hatch; I'll give them another week or two and see. I popped some new ones in the fridge yesterday. They'd all turned grey except about 5 or 6 of them. I think I need to give them a few weeks and try again! My husband thinks I've lost my mind spending almost as much time caring for silkworms as I am caring for the lizard!
That sounds like a good idea.. I should be able to get some at work. Right now I have like 4 different boxes that are small. They're probably 6x6x6 they are what I've received when getting hornworms.kingofnobbys":n7tgnar9 said:I found the printer A4 paper rheme boxes , put ventilation holes, in worked perfectly for my 2016 silkworm raising campaign. Just the right size to accommodate the a couple of 4.5L tubs or 4.5L tub and 2 x 1.5L tubs (to hatch the cocoons in).
<<< I also found it confusing (when to chill, how to do so), PeacefulSilkworms is on Facebook, she's very informative and helpful, if in doubt, she's worth asking on her facebook page. That's what I did, BTW I don't use facebook much and hardly ever post on my page , only joined when my son was working in North Queensland to stay in touch with him).mommacude":1jxi1wvq said:That sounds like a good idea.. I should be able to get some at work. Right now I have like 4 different boxes that are small. They're probably 6x6x6 they are what I've received when getting hornworms.kingofnobbys":1jxi1wvq said:I found the printer A4 paper rheme boxes , put ventilation holes, in worked perfectly for my 2016 silkworm raising campaign. Just the right size to accommodate the a couple of 4.5L tubs or 4.5L tub and 2 x 1.5L tubs (to hatch the cocoons in).
I just sold off most of my roach colony. The plastic bin I used to keep them in has a heat tape on one end and cut out/screen on top.
I was thinking that I might sterilize it and then I can put them on the opposite end because it stays 80 degrees in there. Put a damp paper towel in there to keep humidity up or water crystals. Only thing is I am tired of having that giant bin in my closet. For now keeping them sitting on top of my hedgehog cage (which is two big steralite containers connected by PVC which has metal screening on tip and a ceramic heater on each with thermostat) I guess I'm lucky that most of the critters I have here like it around 80 degrees! I'm going to play with it.
<<<< I don't think adding moisture to the worm colony's microclimate is wise , the mulberry leaves will transpire and increase the humidity levels probably too much if you don't remove poos and uneaten food fragments regularly enough, I think adding damp paper towel is about as much as I'd do (for the really small worms). Anything that promotes fungal growth is going kill worms.
I had planned to put the eggs in the fridge for a month and take them out, but then heard that I should let some sit out for a few weeks and see if they'd hatch without going through the cooling period. I get mixed messages on that but LadySilkworm said it can depend on how the parents were raised and what season. . . that will effect if they hatch right away or will need the cooling period. I just got a bunch of little worms from her this week that are munching away. The eggs I got were from a batch of worms I got on eBay and I really have no idea how he raised his; he had told me to chill them. So I'm going to experiment with both. I'm still waiting on the eggs she'd sent to hatch. I think they were dried up by me when I got them, so she is sending me more (which is nice considering I'm the one that screwed up in the first place)
kingofnobbys":5qrx4jtl said:<<<< I don't think adding moisture to the worm colony's microclimate is wise , the mulberry leaves will transpire and increase the humidity levels probably too much if you don't remove poos and uneaten food fragments regularly enough, I think adding damp paper towel is about as much as I'd do (for the really small worms). Anything that promotes fungal growth is going kill worms.
My last lot of eggs were taken out of the fridge when our lovely 5 yr old grandson had a temper tantrum and turned off the fridge / freezer in the spare bedroom , we discovered this the next day when my wife found some chicken she had in the fridge to thaw was quite warm in the fridge area, this was 2 weeks ago , no worms hatched yet .... not giving up on them yet though as I crushed a few eggs and they yoke inside them so I think they are still dormant and might be so for a month or more even though they are no longer refrigerated/chilled.
mommacude":387qxlxo said:kingofnobbys":387qxlxo said:<<<< I don't think adding moisture to the worm colony's microclimate is wise , the mulberry leaves will transpire and increase the humidity levels probably too much if you don't remove poos and uneaten food fragments regularly enough, I think adding damp paper towel is about as much as I'd do (for the really small worms). Anything that promotes fungal growth is going kill worms.
My last lot of eggs were taken out of the fridge when our lovely 5 yr old grandson had a temper tantrum and turned off the fridge / freezer in the spare bedroom , we discovered this the next day when my wife found some chicken she had in the fridge to thaw was quite warm in the fridge area, this was 2 weeks ago , no worms hatched yet .... not giving up on them yet though as I crushed a few eggs and they yoke inside them so I think they are still dormant and might be so for a month or more even though they are no longer refrigerated/chilled.
That was my thinking; the worms, when bigger, seem to do fine just in my son's bedroom in a box. I'm just trying to recreate an incubator of sorts. Just add a little moisture without promoting fungus. Currently I've been putting in a small bit of rolled up paper towel. I check a few times a day and if I see any condensation I open the lid and let it dry out.
I hope your eggs hatch! I'm still holding out hope for the ones that I got first, but if not maybe my new ones. They're still grey, not bluish yet. Then I have to keep the little dears alive through that first instar! I only have one left from the 30 or so that I got as freebies with the eggs. . . which were happily wiggling around when I got them and I promptly killed within 24 hours due to improper care. . I have one little guy left that has gone from black to white, so maybe he'll make it. At this point I am not giving up because I have invested so much time!
kingofnobbys":aw828xgd said:.... the hardest part is getting them through their first couple of weeks as ittybitty worms... tiny baby roaches, baby spiders, and tiny house ants will all eagerly raid the colony if it's not properly sealed and airtight. I use clingwrap film (GladWrap) to seal my baby worm rearing tubs in that key period, very important to open the tub at least 2 - 3 times per day to let fresh air in and let any builtup humidity escape.
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