So, this was the first time I've gotten a silkworm pod. All was going well until a few days ago after I had slacked on cleaning the waste for 2 days. Mold started to develop but I got the worms(that weren't eaten yet) out and put their food and some egg carton in a critter keeper. I'll try offering shredded carrot to the remaining worms since the food might be dry but will the carrot shorten their lifespan? And, since they seem to be suddenly dying at a consistent pace, would it be wrong to give Most of them but preserve one? Since it seems their bodies expire rather quick, I keep seeing conflicting info in regards to other animals being frozen as to whether or not it's ethical to kill an animal via freezing. Can anyone present a definite answer or an alternate method to humanely killing one of the remaining silkworms for my preservation collection(the other insects in my collection were found dead, 2 out of 3 were found outside and the other died when being housed with other darkling beetles).
NOTE : I have had them for about two weeks, the time the food is said to last, hence why another reason they might not be doing so well anymore.
I have a hard time keeping silks alive for long too. I don't think they'll eat anything except mulberry leaves or the chow. I usually get some extra chow and then roll it up and freeze it in plastic wrap. Then I can take some out and shred it over them with a grater. With this batch I'd feed them off while they are alive as they are likely to go downhill quickly.
I have a hard time keeping silks alive for long too. I don't think they'll eat anything except mulberry leaves or the chow. I usually get some extra chow and then roll it up and freeze it in plastic wrap. Then I can take some out and shred it over them with a grater. With this batch I'd feed them off while they are alive as they are likely to go downhill quickly.
Are you keeping your silkworms warm at all? If they get too cold or it is too humid, they wont
live very long. What type of container do you keep them in?
Mold is lethal to silkworms , and indicates poor worm husbandry ( MUST remove old chow and any leave fragments that may be going off , high humidity and in appropriate temperatures ). Must remove the poos every day.
I've been quite successful with farming several generations of silkworms on chow, fresh mulberry leaves, and even thawed blanched leaves that were frozen.
I regularly keep fresh mulberry leaves for several weeks in an unsealed zip lock bag in the fridge crisper bin.
In an emergency - no mulberry leaves or chow available, lettuce leaves can be used as food.