
Originally Posted by
JeffreH
The hornworms will ultimately die on anything you feed them unless it is their chow or of their prey plants (pepper, tomato, or tobacco). Unfortunately, all of the plants that they consume in nature are toxic for herps.
Hornworms will eat mulberry chow that is meant for silkworms, but they won'y be able to pupate properly on it. You can try feeding oak leaves or mulberry leaves if you can find some that you are certain have no been sprayed and they will likely eat them to survive. You can also try certain leafy greens, and I've have flaky success with butternut squash and other harder veggies like grated carrots... these foods will keep the worms alive with something in their gut but they will not "thrive" on it very well so try to feed them off as quickly as possible on this diet.