silkworm eggs started hatching, too late to chill rest ?

[kingofnobbys]

Found these on eBay. Seems like they'll work. [ximg]85454 3501734669[/ximg]

They'll be perfect (but you'll need a stack of them)

The bottles I have look identical , mine are about 1" diameter and 3" tall.

I write on the outside with permanent marker when the eggs were bottled/chilled. (rubs off with a bit of damp paper towel and a little elbow grease.)

Another bottle of eggs hatched overnight .... leaves 4 bottles of eggs to hatch. The blanched leaves are still soft and not at all dried out yet and starting so show some pitting where the baby silkworms have been munching. (In a 1.5 L tub now sealed airtight with clingfilm (GladWrap)).

 

[kingofnobbys]

The first couple of blanched leaves are only now starting to feel dry , no sign of mould on them though.
That's 5 days after being thawed and patted dry.

Some of the worms are starting look like ittybitty silkworms now.

Temperature in the room between 20oC overnight (even with aircon running in r/cycle and high fan speed) and 23-24oC during the day. Not using a heatpad to incubate the eggs / worms at all, unnecessary IMO.
Very cold/overcast/windy today , max today in the living has been 21-22oC, maxed about a chilly 15oC outside today, and dropped to 5oC outside overnight (brrrr!!!).

 

[mommacude]

Well you were right. These bottles are way too small. Guess I'll order bigger ones! I have babies though from the eggs I got a month ago. I'd thought they had gotten too dry but they were just resting. So far about 8-10 of them. I'm moving them into a small plastic container covered with Saran Wrap. I started last night with chow but either the room wasn't warm enough or the chow wasn't made right (it's pretty thick and stiff) so I moved them to a warmer spot and put young leaves in, and they're munching away. The chow I'd put in is all dry now but the leaves have stayed moist. I'm wondering how long I can go in between changing the leaves. I have the plastic container inside a cardboard box on top of my viv during the day since it's warmer and once lights go out I'm sitting it on top of our heated hedgehog cage. I'm crossing my fingers I can get them past the hard part. Meanwhile I have about 100 1/2 inch worms eating leaves in another box.

 

[mommacude]

P.S. I'll have to try blanching some once it gets closer to fall. I was so glad to find white mulberry at my friends house because the leaves aren't as thick so I think they'll be easier to eat.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Well you were right. These bottles are way too small. Guess I'll order bigger ones! I have babies though from the eggs I got a month ago. I'd thought they had gotten too dry but they were just resting. So far about 8-10 of them. I'm moving them into a small plastic container covered with Saran Wrap. I started last night with chow but either the room wasn't warm enough or the chow wasn't made right (it's pretty thick and stiff) so I moved them to a warmer spot and put young leaves in, and they're munching away. The chow I'd put in is all dry now but the leaves have stayed moist. I'm wondering how long I can go in between changing the leaves. I have the plastic container inside a cardboard box on top of my viv during the day since it's warmer and once lights go out I'm sitting it on top of our heated hedgehog cage. I'm crossing my fingers I can get them past the hard part. Meanwhile I have about 100 1/2 inch worms eating leaves in another box.

My practice with baby silkworms is to leave the tender leaves in to be skeletonised by them , keeping an eye out for any sign of white or yellow fungus, if you see this remove the affected leaf immediately .... this stuff is lethal to young silkworms. A leaf might last a week under good dry conditions.

With larger worms (mealworm size and up) , I replace the leaves as needed , with large silkworms this is done 2 x per day.
I leave some of the skeletonised leaves if not going mouldy in to add air spaces between layers of fresh leaves. Help with air circulation and keeping the worms happy and healthy.

My recipy for chow cooking :
32g chow + 88g boiling water, mix to form a wet paste. (Prorataed from PeacefulSilkworm Chow recipy)
Nuke on high in microwave (lid on the mixing tub) 90 seconds
While still scalding hot and soft transfer 2 - 3 portions onto gladwrap and then using the gladwrap roll into sausage/cigar sized forms and seal by wrapping / folding the plastic around the cooked chow . Best to make up chow in smaller lots than in bulk IMO.
Refrigerate before use.

Will still feel soft and a little damp when set.
I simply unwrap and cut a bit off the end as needed and roll out thin and flat . Also shaving off slivers or slices of desire thickness works but higher chance of contaminating the chow.

Dry hard chow can be rejuvenated with a light mist of water.(Just enough to make it soft NOT soggy).

 

[kingofnobbys]

Trying an experiment this afternoon , I've removed the first blanched leaf that has now gone quite dry and hard, but still no sign of mould and still plenty of green on it.

I've misted it with water on a damp piece of scot-towel, and rolled up the paper towel with leaf to let the water soak into the pores of the leaf.
I'll then after 5-10mins remove the leaf from the paper towel, pat it dry, let air dry so it's dry to the touch and then I'll place it at one end of my baby worm tub, and see if this rejuvenation makes the otherwise destined to be mulched leaf edible to the worms.

(Much the same process as I've used to rejuvenate dry fragments of chow.)

 

[mommacude]

Trying an experiment this afternoon , I've removed the first blanched leaf that has now gone quite dry and hard, but still no sign of mould and still plenty of green on it.

I've misted it with water on a damp piece of scot-towel, and rolled up the paper towel with leaf to let the water soak into the pores of the leaf.
I'll then after 5-10mins remove the leaf from the paper towel, pat it dry, let air dry so it's dry to the touch and then I'll place it at one end of my baby worm tub, and see if this rejuvenation makes the otherwise destined to be mulched leaf edible to the worms.

(Much the same process as I've used to rejuvenate dry fragments of chow.)

That's interesting. I've had a few dry up before they eat them. I'll try that! Glad to hear I can leave the leaves in with babies longer. I have it sealed with Saran Wrap and so I'll see if it stays fresh a few days.

 

[mommacude]

My practice with baby silkworms is to leave the tender leaves in to be skeletonised by them , keeping an eye out for any sign of white or yellow fungus, if you see this remove the affected leaf immediately .... this stuff is lethal to young silkworms. A leaf might last a week under good dry conditions.

With larger worms (mealworm size and up) , I replace the leaves as needed , with large silkworms this is done 2 x per day.
I leave some of the skeletonised leaves if not going mouldy in to add air spaces between layers of fresh leaves. Help with air circulation and keeping the worms happy and healthy.

My recipy for chow cooking :
32g chow + 88g boiling water, mix to form a wet paste. (Prorataed from PeacefulSilkworm Chow recipy)
Nuke on high in microwave (lid on the mixing tub) 90 seconds
While still scalding hot and soft transfer 2 - 3 portions onto gladwrap and then using the gladwrap roll into sausage/cigar sized forms and seal by wrapping / folding the plastic around the cooked chow . Best to make up chow in smaller lots than in bulk IMO.
Refrigerate before use.

Will still feel soft and a little damp when set.
I simply unwrap and cut a bit off the end as needed and roll out thin and flat . Also shaving off slivers or slices of desire thickness works but higher chance of contaminating the chow.

Dry hard chow can be rejuvenated with a light mist of water.(Just enough to make it soft NOT soggy).

I didn't know I could rejuvenate the dried chow. That's great news. I like the idea of rolling it flat too. It's more like a leaf that way.

I've also tried putting it in a disposable pastry bag and squeezing out little bits at a time

 

[kingofnobbys]

My practice with baby silkworms is to leave the tender leaves in to be skeletonised by them , keeping an eye out for any sign of white or yellow fungus, if you see this remove the affected leaf immediately .... this stuff is lethal to young silkworms. A leaf might last a week under good dry conditions.

With larger worms (mealworm size and up) , I replace the leaves as needed , with large silkworms this is done 2 x per day.
I leave some of the skeletonised leaves if not going mouldy in to add air spaces between layers of fresh leaves. Help with air circulation and keeping the worms happy and healthy.

My recipy for chow cooking :
32g chow + 88g boiling water, mix to form a wet paste. (Prorataed from PeacefulSilkworm Chow recipy)
Nuke on high in microwave (lid on the mixing tub) 90 seconds
While still scalding hot and soft transfer 2 - 3 portions onto gladwrap and then using the gladwrap roll into sausage/cigar sized forms and seal by wrapping / folding the plastic around the cooked chow . Best to make up chow in smaller lots than in bulk IMO.
Refrigerate before use.

Will still feel soft and a little damp when set.
I simply unwrap and cut a bit off the end as needed and roll out thin and flat . Also shaving off slivers or slices of desire thickness works but higher chance of contaminating the chow.

Dry hard chow can be rejuvenated with a light mist of water.(Just enough to make it soft NOT soggy).

I didn't know I could rejuvenate the dried chow. That's great news. I like the idea of rolling it flat too. It's more like a leaf that way.

I've also tried putting it in a disposable pastry bag and squeezing out little bits at a time

Yeh that was my thought when I decided to try squashing/rolling the chow paste....only problem is it will dry faster as it has more surface area , but the worms seem to disappear it faster and it's easier to manage and more worms can get at the ration of chow than if it's given as chunk.

I find it softens up OK so long as it wasn't overcooked in the first place and you have to be VERY CAREFUL and use the barest minimum of water as a fine mist and/or by resting the dry chow on a damp (NOT SOGGY) piece of paper towel, let it sit between two layer of damp paper towel for a while to allow the water to soak in , also it's got be done as cleanly as possible. Very important to pat it dry (on the surface afterwards I think if you are to avoid mould formation. Want it soft not wet.

Seems rejuvenating blanched leaves that have dried out works OK.... same deal as above .... still no sign of any white or yellow mould , and the rejuvenated leaf has lots of little silkworms on it now who crawled onto it overnight , and is still feeling quite "fresh". SUCCESS !

 

[mommacude]

I'm pretty sure I over cooked my first batch. I'm making a new batch tomorrow. I'd use only leaves but since I have some chow and my 2nd batch of worms came with chow it's worth a shot. Unfortunately now I have two batches of small ones now. They were smaller than I hoped but the second were from another supplier and are zebras.

My first batch is losing a small number of worms every day and that concerns me. I'm replacing everything once they crawl up to the new batch of leaves I added tonight.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I'm pretty sure I over cooked my first batch. I'm making a new batch tomorrow. I'd use only leaves but since I have some chow and my 2nd batch of worms came with chow it's worth a shot. Unfortunately now I have two batches of small ones now. They were smaller than I hoped but the second were from another supplier and are zebras.

My first batch is losing a small number of worms every day and that concerns me. I'm replacing everything once they crawl up to the new batch of leaves I added tonight.

The little worms wont stay little for long, give then plenty of food and they'll grow FAST and you'll be giving them to the beardies in 2 - 3 weeks.

Losses === > Perhaps they are overcrowded, if too many silkworms are housed together, as they moult and another happens to crawl over them, this can disrupt the moult and can cause the partly moulted worm to actually suffocate, they breath through pores in their skin (these become blocked).

 

[mommacude]

I wonder if I'm causing trouble with them when I move them. Sometimes I'll notice one wander away and I'm afraid it'll go hungry so I move it back. I don't think they're too crowded.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I wonder if I'm causing trouble with them when I move them. Sometimes I'll notice one wander away and I'm afraid it'll go hungry so I move it back. I don't think they're too crowded.

I do that too. Probably not necessary.

UPDATE : fresh blanched leaf in today, left old leaves in, no sign of mould but bit dry, even the refreshed leaf.

 

[kingofnobbys]

so far so good, removed that 1st leaf , now partly eaten and very crispy today, still no sign of any white or yellow mould - a good sign , and worms are still alive ....

 

[mommacude]

My leaves go crispy in a matter of hours. I put two layers today. I'm hoping it'll keep fresh longer.

Also, I had some eggs that came to me loose in a baggy. They were sort of squished in the packaging. I keep them anyway. Some have hatched and I moved them, some others look greyish but I think I see a touch of fuzzy stuff on them. Wonder if throwing them onto a paper towel loose was bad.