Silk worm production

[PhunkeyPhish]

Hi everyone,

I am very interested in starting a silk worm breeder colony. I have been having trouble finding good sites that actually describe good set ups and process for actually breeding them, rather than just raising them up. I know they are sensitive guys, don't like light, only eat mullberry leaves and have an approximate 40 day worm to moth cycle, but not finding specifics for successful breeding, I am guessing its not just throwing them in altogether like roaches. Can someone please help? Thanks!

-pp

[DanDrobates]

Silkworms are are the holy grail of feeders. They are one of the best feeders yet they are almost never available. I know mulberry farms offers them periodically but I’ve heard secondhand that there have been legal changes in their status hence the infrequency of availability. Check the chameleon forums for some breeding tips. This link may be helpful as a tutorial. I’ve also read that they pupate best at a perfect 77 degrees https://www.clubfauna.com/articles/invertebrates/breeding-silkworms./

[Larry Wardog]

I am actually going to be using them as an additional main feeder but only for a limited time during the spring season.

If you are using them for amphibians the medium sized animals you can use them but there are a good bit of quality feeders. Black Solider Flies and the two domestic crickets in the states as well as Dubia Roaches are all really good for medium sized amphibians.

I will be using the silkworms for American Toads, White's Tree Frogs, Gray Tree Frogs and Southeastern Five Lined Skinks. All medium size animals. But if you are looking for larger feeders hornworms are becoming more popular.

To find a place that sells them east coast try Carolina Biological. They carry them but are pricey. That's where I'll be getting mine from.


I'll be making a care sheet for some frogs and toads on good diets with feeder insects so that may interest you.

I'll be talking about how to feed select native species frogs and toads and then for captive frogs and lizards.

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[PhunkeyPhish]

Thanks for that link Dan. That was very helpful! I did not know about needing to move them from the pods to the bins so that is really helpful. I think I am going to invest in a small incubator for hatching the eggs. My one remaining issue though is what the best way to keep the worms and moths warm. My thought was to keep the small plastic bins in a larger plastic bin with a heat pad under it and a thermometer on the pad to control the temperature. Thoughts on this? Thank you again for the link - very helpful!

AAron, my problem with the Dubias are that the full grown adults are probably too large for my toads to eat. There is also the opposing force being my wife and the fact that I do have somewhat of an ick factor with roaches, although don't mind small Dubias. The silkworms seem to be one of the most nutritious feeders even compared to crickets and dubias and breeding them is quite intriguing that I want to master it!

[Larry Wardog]

Thanks for that link Dan. That was very helpful! I did not know about needing to move them from the pods to the bins so that is really helpful. I think I am going to invest in a small incubator for hatching the eggs. My one remaining issue though is what the best way to keep the worms and moths warm. My thought was to keep the small plastic bins in a larger plastic bin with a heat pad under it and a thermometer on the pad to control the temperature. Thoughts on this? Thank you again for the link - very helpful!

AAron, my problem with the Dubias are that the full grown adults are probably too large for my toads to eat. There is also the opposing force being my wife and the fact that I do have somewhat of an ick factor with roaches, although don't mind small Dubias. The silkworms seem to be one of the most nutritious feeders even compared to crickets and dubias and breeding them is quite intriguing that I want to master it!

This might be true the silkworm might be the best or one of the best feeders, but if that's the only thing as a feeder then it will cause problems just like crickets. One of the most important things I ever learned from herpetologist was that you need more than four feeder insects at least to be considered in your frogs or toads diet. I do not use roaches because I think they are a little too big and I am opposed to them even though I know they are good. Perhaps I will try it with my exotic animals but not my native animals. However just because the silkworms are a good feeder do not just woke up on the worms. They can also become very big moths there are a handful of other feeders you could use as well together heathen with the silkworms that would probably save you time and make your toads a much better diet.

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[PhunkeyPhish]

Thanks AAron. I do plan to continue to feed a variety on feeders to the toads, just would like to make Silkworms a main part of that diet which is why I want to breed them, especially given their inconsistent supply and cost. I also believe that by breeding the feeders it allows for better feeders in controlling for potential parasites, as well as diet of the feeders through their entire life.

[Larry Wardog]

Thanks AAron. I do plan to continue to feed a variety on feeders to the toads, just would like to make Silkworms a main part of that diet which is why I want to breed them, especially given their inconsistent supply and cost. I also believe that by breeding the feeders it allows for better feeders in controlling for potential parasites, as well as diet of the feeders through their entire life.

You are right it can help out a lot and save you some money. Another easy to breed critter you can add to the diet of a toad is isopods. You can breed them and they were discussed as a staple by Herpetologist Frank Indiviglio and also could be fed in bulk. They are very easy and don't smell or look scary. They are little crustaceans and some roll into a ball.

I'll be culturing them. I have a few native species setups and animals and I feel the Isopod is a necessity to have on tap. They clean up the enclosure but also provide food for the amphibians and are interesting to observe in the enclosure.

As for the silkworms if you can successfully breed them and the project goes well you should make a post and talk about your experience because nobody really uses silkworms for the toads. That might help out a lot of people and then whenever I get the silkworm and feed it to my toads I can share my experiences too and we can see if they were similar.

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[Larry Wardog]

This is the Herpetologist that I have studied from and I actually have contact with currently. He wrote this on them a a staple diet but just like we talked about on the other posts that they should be an additional component to the diet.

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatre.../#.XGeW1WlOk0M

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