Silkworms

[leifthorrsman]

So I have two bearded dragons approaching 1 year of age. I am considering getting Silkworms for them, but right now both Mulberry Farms and Linda's Gone Buggie seems to be in limited supply of them. Is there a time they go out of season?

Since this will be my first experience feeding Beardies silkworms, what are things I should know? For example, how many should I feed per feeding, things like that.

 

[RoscoTheBeardie]

I'd like to know too! Sorry, I can't answer for you, haha... I'm a newbie beardie owner! But, I was under the impression that you could feed them to younger beardies too as long as the worms are not too big. Mine had his first silkworm today, I only fed him one and it went ok. Mine is way under a year.... I hope that was ok. But, he seemed to really like it. I did not however, silkworms are pretty gross! :?

 

[MOTHRA49]

I am raising silkworms. I love the colored ones, zebras (sex linked) easy to tell which are males.
I did notice that Coastal and Mulberry farms don't have much going on right now.
I started selling mine on ebay and shipping them by Priority mail.
I LOVE raising my silkies but they do EAT constantly.
It can make you crazy keeping up with their feeding.
You will feel like the month will never end.
Then they cocoon and no more feeding.
The fun begins when the moths emerge.
They usually come out by 8 am. If you wait a little longer, they will pair themselves.
I gently pick them up (as they will be stuck together) and place them on a cut out circle, just a little bigger than the 7 oz cup I place over them (with a hole in the lid for air).
It makes it easier to keep the eggs laid in one place.
I cut the circles from unused grocery paper bags.
In the mulberry chow, there are added ingredients to make it jell together and vitamins added.
The chow is cheaper if you buy a large quantity. I recommend Mulberry Farms as You can get a good deal for 10 lbs and request them in 1/2 lb packages.
Just giving you some info on the Silks.

 

[Burra]

Linda's gone buggie has them now, I got some last week. They are very nutritious, but I find them to be a pain to keep because they are very susceptible to bacteria, and they need low humidity. A little condensation in their container and they all die. But that doesn't stop me from ordering them, I just order a small amount with large amounts of other bugs and feed the silks first.

 

[MOTHRA49]

You can leave the container open and you won't have a problem with condensation.
When they are about 2 weeks old, I put them in bins with a plastic hardware cloth under them to keep them out of the dirt.
Good luck with your worms!
Barbara

 

[ShannyBeard]

Some feeder companies slowed down on the silks during the summer because of the heat wave and live arrivals guarantee is generally only honored when temps are below 85*F.