Treats schedule and care.

[NialR35]

Hey guys,

How often do you guys feed treats and how do you keep / care for:

Hornworms
Waxworms

Do they need to be fed /gutloaded / refrigerated? Thanks

[SCF]

Both will come in their little containers and live their lives in it until you feed them off. Hornworms will become huge though in a week, so you just put the pod you get them in the refrigerator for 2 days in, 1 day out to reduce growth. Hornworms typically come with their own food (which is very specific) and will (should) have enough to eat for 1-3 weeks.

Waxworms as well can be refrigerated the whole time you have them, until you feed them all off. At cool temps they can go quite a long time without food.

I feed treats such as these on occasion, but I don't set a specific schedule on when I feed them.

[DeltaElite121]

After the little fiasco with my bearded dragons, I do not feed ANY treats because it can shift their eating habits and make them refuse other food. Frogs aren't entirely the same by any means, but that's why I only stick to core staple diets. It's not worth the risk to me.

[NialR35]

So hornworms or waxworms wont die for being in the fridge right ?

[GrifTheGreat]

So hornworms or waxworms wont die for being in the fridge right ?

As long as you don't place them in the freezer no.

[SCF]

Well I would not consistently keep hornworms in the fridge. 2 days in 1 day out, to reduce growth. Waxworms can stay in the fridge.

[NialR35]

Well I just noticed these cream colored worms in my hornworm food. What are those things?? They are very small but I see them moving....

[SCF]

You would have to get a very close up shot of them for anyone here to identify them.

[GrifTheGreat]

Well I just noticed these cream colored worms in my hornworm food. What are those things?? They are very small but I see them moving....

Most likely Fruit Fly Maggots.

[SCF]

Either way, I would try to destroy all of the larvae you can see.

[NialR35]

Really? Could they be dangerous to the hornworms? They are hard to reach because they are between the plastic base and the block of food it comes with....why would it have these things though ? I have about 25 tiny horn worms and It will be a while before I feed all of them. Are these yellow worms supposed to be there?

Horn worms seem to be stinky too...kinda like that cricket smell. Do these hornworms or waxworms have a high mortality rate like crickets do? Because if that is the case, I'd rather start feeding them small before they die. I bought them really small so that there is enough time to feed them all at the appropriate size for my frogs but if they die out of the blue like crickets let me know please. Here are some shots of the weird cream colored worms.

[GrifTheGreat]

I've found that the habitat cup works best if actually stood on it's bottom rather than the lid. Less humidity in the cup this way and the food will be less likely to mold. The smell is the Hornworm food. Those are fruit fly maggots. They will eat the food not the Hornworms.

The problem is that the cup is a perfect habitat for culturing fruit flies too which you don't want.

[NialR35]

Oh I see. I will flip it then. So what should I do about these fly larva? Do you guys normally see these too with your hornworms ? Its hard to get them out without messing with the food..

[GrifTheGreat]

Oh I see. I will flip it then. So what should I do about these fly larva? Do you guys normally see these too with your hornworms ? Its hard to get them out without messing with the food..

Well they will eat a small amount of the food and then pupate. After that they will emerge as flies which will mate and prouce more maggots unless once they emerge you let them out of the cup. Otherwise you may have to press something through the food and smash them.

I always have a large mortality rate with my feeders. Once they are offered they're eaten and die. Lol!!

I actually have not had this problem before with Hornworms.

[NialR35]

Lol. Those dang fruit flies. Maybe the breeder of these horn worms is mixing his stuff around. Grrrrrr.....as long as they don't affect the hornworms or my frogs I'm okay. By the way, can the horn worms eat the fruit fly larva and be okay? Double protein!!!

[SCF]

Lol. Those dang fruit flies. Maybe the breeder of these horn worms is mixing his stuff around. Grrrrrr.....as long as they don't affect the hornworms or my frogs I'm okay. By the way, can the horn worms eat the fruit fly larva and be okay? Double protein!!!

Hopefully they are not phorid flies. They closely resemble fruit flies. I would not be satisfied with this order of hornworms at all. I would ask for a replacement or a refund. You should not have to deal with a contamination issue. Where did those come from?

[NialR35]

I bought them from a LPS. They had about 10 of these cups but didn't notice the worms until now because they are the same color of the food. I did notice some fruitfly cultures next to these cups so I'm sure they come from the same breeder since the cups looked identical.

What's are those phorid flies ?

By the way, do these hornworms or waxworms cause impaction?

[SCF]

They are nasty little bugs that kill everything. I would assume though, if they were directly next to fruit flies, they are indeed fruit flies. I think the worst thing you will experience from them is that they get out and go everywhere.

[NialR35]

Yea they were next to the fruit flies on the same stand so I think they both come from the same guy that supplies for the LPS.

Its the first time I buy these from the only LPS I know so I hope they turn out to be okay....can't find any other place nearby. Anything to look out for as far as them not being fruit flies?

[SCF]

Phorid flies will only affect insect cultures. They have more of a hump than fruit flies. I wouldn't worry at all though, regardless of what they are.