Silkworm eggs

[Lorilyn]

Just received my first order of silkworm eggs. Gonna try to hatch my own to hopefully save some $$$ I purchased the silkworm egg kit from Coastal silkworms. It comes with their housing, 2 bags off food, grater, and a Petri dish with 250 eggs. The directions are on the Petri dish but I still have a few questions.
1. Do you need to open the Petri dish for them to hatch? (can they even breath?)
2. Best advice on keeping them warm?

Anyone who has any advice/success with silkworm eggs who can help a slow learner (cause this bug business is all new to me) would be greatly appreciated!

 

[kingofnobbys]

Just received my first order of silkworm eggs. Gonna try to hatch my own to hopefully save some $$$ I purchased the silkworm egg kit from Coastal silkworms. It comes with their housing, 2 bags off food, grater, and a Petri dish with 250 eggs. The directions are on the Petri dish but I still have a few questions.
1. Do you need to open the Petri dish for them to hatch? (can they even breath?) <<<< no , only remove any sticky tape holding the top dish on the bottom dish to allow access to deposit some chow shavings in WHEN THE BABY WORMS start hatching - might be up to 4 weeks before you see baby worms.
I keep my prepaid chow wrapped in clingwrap in the door the fridge.
I find taking a thin sliver of chow off the prepared chow , you wont need more than a few shavings as long as a BIQ biro and maybe a couple of mm thick .
Don't let the chow start to go moldy ---- this will kill the worms.

Once the worms get to about 5mm long , use a soft art brush or even a toothpick to gently lift the worms out and deposit in a sealable 600mm plastic tub (like what Chinese meals are delivered), I place an offcut of paper towel in the tub and deposit some slivers of chow on the paper , and gently deposit the worms on the paper near the chow slivers.
My tubs are old cricket tubs (like what crickets are sold in at pet shops) so the lids have holes in them , I seal the tub by placing some clingwrap under the lid
- keeps the baby roaches and any tiny spiders and ants out,
- keeps the worms in,
- help stop the chow from drying. …. if you can get fresh mulberry leaves , the tender ones are best for baby silkworms and a leave will keep the worms happy for up to a week (they will skeletize it , again if you see any mold forming , replace the chow or leaf immediately.

Don't leave the worm fras in the tub …. it will go moldy , and increase humidity , and kill the worms.
2. Best advice on keeping them warm?
I simply sit my silkworms' tubs (a few sizes) on my coffee table, my home never gets colder than 24 degC year round , so I don't both provide any special heating to my insects.

Something like this
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=224976&p=1746469&hilit=safe+way+to+use+heatpads#p1746469
placed under the keeper / rearing tub ,I'd set the thermostat to keep them at 24 degC - 26 degC.

Anyone who has any advice/success with silkworm eggs who can help a slow learner (cause this bug business is all new to me) would be greatly appreciated!

My thread here will help you : - viewtopic.php?f=76&t=222193

You can blanch and freeze fresh mulberry leaves for use out of season : viewtopic.php?f=76&t=221814

And can even blanch then freeze surplus silkworms for use when you can't find eggs, worms or when you run out of worms - viewtopic.php?f=76&t=225919

 

[Lorilyn]

Thank you so much. Some of the eggs look almost white. I hope I didn’t kill them. I just finished reading all your posts. Hopefully I can have some yummy survivors. Was gonna keep the dish on top of Biggs cage but she did not like that idea at all. My house is usually kept around 70 with my sewing room aka the bug room now (hahaha Biggs comes first now) is usually kept warmer so I will keep them there. I will hold off on making the chow just in case.
In some of what I read it sounds like the Beardie can eat the moth. Is that true?

 

[kingofnobbys]

Thank you so much. Some of the eggs look almost white. I hope I didn’t kill them. I just finished reading all your posts. Hopefully I can have some yummy survivors. Was gonna keep the dish on top of Biggs cage but she did not like that idea at all. My house is usually kept around 70 with my sewing room aka the bug room now (hahaha Biggs comes first now) is usually kept warmer so I will keep them there. I will hold off on making the chow just in case.
In some of what I read it sounds like the Beardie can eat the moth. Is that true?

So long as the chow is made under clean conditionS and immediately wrapped in clingwrap and all air excluded (while still hot), and refrigerated (I keep my sausages of chow (32g chow per sausage) in a small tub (another used cricket tub)) in the door shelf of the fridge next to the chicken eggs), the made up chow will keep OK for up to 6 months (I discovered this when I ran out of fresh and frozen mulberry leaves a few months ago).

 

[Lorilyn]

My silk worm eggs hatched. I’m so excited. I put a few small slivers of chow in the Petri dish. They are so tiny. I hope they grow nice and big. But I think I might feel bad feeding them to Biggs.

 

[kingofnobbys]

My silk worm eggs hatched. I’m so excited. I put a few small slivers of chow in the Petri dish. They are so tiny. I hope they grow nice and big. But I think I might feel bad feeding them to Biggs.

Remember to keep them in the petri dish for now …. then in a couple of weeks you can place the petri-dish in a 600ml or 1L food tub on a clean piece of paper towel , the petridish goes in the tub with the lid off , the worms will mostly climb out to get to the fresh food of their own accord , you might need to use a fine artbrush or a toothpick to move the ones who don't -- very gently.

Peppa polished off 4 large silkworms this afternoon + 6 medium gut loaded crickets, George and Mildred polished off 2 large silkworms each ….
With Peppa the last two never even touched the edges …. they went in her mouth and a couple of head flicks and they were gone.

 

[Lorilyn]

My silk worm eggs hatched. I’m so excited. I put a few small slivers of chow in the Petri dish. They are so tiny. I hope they grow nice and big. But I think I might feel bad feeding them to Biggs.

Remember to keep them in the petri dish for now …. then in a couple of weeks you can place the petri-dish in a 600ml or 1L food tub on a clean piece of paper towel , the petridish goes in the tub with the lid off , the worms will mostly climb out to get to the fresh food of their own accord , you might need to use a fine artbrush or a toothpick to move the ones who don't -- very gently.

Peppa polished off 4 large silkworms this afternoon + 6 medium gut loaded crickets, George and Mildred polished off 2 large silkworms each ….
With Peppa the last two never even touched the edges …. they went in her mouth and a couple of head flicks and they were gone.

I am following your advise to the letter! The few times I was able to get the silkworms she polished off about 6 medium and about 10 medium dubia and was looking for more worms. She keeps sleeping on and off and refusing to move right now for days at a time....But 3 days ago when she decided moving and being wide awake was good she destroyed 30 medium dubia before she decided she was full. I just hate how she decides to be super lazy and sleepy for days at a time. Makes me nervous. Hopefully in a few weeks I can have some nice big juicy silkworms for her (If I don't name them :lol: ) As always your advice and knowledge are appreciated more than you know...special thank you from Miss Biggs for helping me become a good slave

 

[kingofnobbys]

My Peppa is always a lazy girl, unless the mood takes her and she decides she's in the mode to go exploring on the floor , mostly she's happy to chill on the lounge next to me or to snuggle on my wife or me (and only moves (off) when she's too hot.

This afternoon I deposited her on the coffee table and she made for the 4L silkworm tub which lives next to the 4L superworm tub on the coffee table and really wanted her daily silkworms. I don't often put her on the coffee table , but did for a few minutes today.

 

[Lorilyn]

LOL nice to know my Biggs isn’t the only lazy one. I think she has decided moving is done only out of necessities and only when I’m not around. She was never a great explorer but I think she could use some exercise and she thinks she could use more snuggles and naps.

Here are how the worms are doing so far. Not as many made it as I was hoping but not too bad for a first time. I am hoping some will be big enough for breakfast and dinner in a few weeks. My son keeps telling me that now is the time to order more eggs to hatch.

 

[kingofnobbys]

LOL nice to know my Biggs isn’t the only lazy one. I think she has decided moving is done only out of necessities and only when I’m not around. She was never a great explorer but I think she could use some exercise and she thinks she could use more snuggles and naps. .

If I had a male beardie (adult size) I'm sure Peppa would become more active …. she was very active for her first 2 years , she 3 now and is mega lazy and smoogy and pampered and knows she rules the roost.
Lazy goes with the territory for pampered pet mature adult bearded dragons.

I use a bit of plastic leafguard (the stuff that goes in roof gutters to stop leaves from filling them to keep the fresh leaves ( or chow when I have no leaves ) from sitting on the paper under it. The worms can actually crawl through the mesh , but that's OK as they eat the bits of leaf that fall through.

Make sure you remove the worm poo every day - if it starts going moldy your worms will get sick and will likely all die.

I'd definitely order another batch of eggs to hatch, I'd have routine going where eggs are ordered regularly until you have your own eggs (being chilled in the fridge - then you'll be selfsufficient).

 

[Lorilyn]

Ok I will change the paper towel first thing when I get home. I was changing every three days. Maybe now that they are bigger I will def be changing more often.
I don't think mine would tolerate another beardie in the same house as her. She is getting very spoiled and only wants me to handle her. If anyone else holds her she turns completely black (beard, body, tail...everything) and then hides (when she is put back in her cage) for days till I can convince her that its safe to come out. She is ok with the people who lives in the house holding and touching her for short periods as long as I am near and take her but not outsiders. However she is ok with outsiders looking at her but no touching! LOL

 

[kingofnobbys]

Ok I will change the paper towel first thing when I get home. I was changing every three days. Maybe now that they are bigger I will def be changing more often.
I don't think mine would tolerate another beardie in the same house as her. She is getting very spoiled and only wants me to handle her. If anyone else holds her she turns completely black (beard, body, tail...everything) and then hides (when she is put back in her cage) for days till I can convince her that its safe to come out. She is ok with the people who lives in the house holding and touching her for short periods as long as I am near and take her but not outsiders. However she is ok with outsiders looking at her but no touching! LOL

the worm poo is great on the garden as fertilizer ...

 

[Lorilyn]

No more gardens here till winter is over ( in about 4 months) I misss warm sunshine already and so does Biggs.