Tomato Hornworms

[Bluez3023]

So I wake up one day to a strange sound coming from the tank and see that apparently one of the hornworms I threw in my pacman cage got away and matured.

The moth was huge and I didn't want to deal with it, the next day I wake up and see two of them....and they are mating or something...(no idea how I missed to worms moving around/a giant cocoon)

Do I have to worry about eggs? Should I just try and catch the moths and keep them? Could hornworm eggs even survive?

[Dog Shrink]

Hornworms usually bury themselves when they cocoon once they reach about 4 inches so it could be easy to miss. I'm surprised your pacman isn't trying to eat the moths. The eggs if any should be easy to spot and remove or culture into hornworms if you want to start your own colony. Keep the adult moths and let them have at it. Those are pricy lil boogers.

[Bluez3023]

I doubt my pacman could catch these things, thanks for the info. I guess I'll just wait and see

[Socrates]

I doubt my pacman could catch these things, thanks for the info. I guess I'll just wait and see

There are two solutions I suggest to allow your pacman to chow on these delicious moths. First you could stun them (just put the moth in a bag and flick it with your finger - usually knows them silly) or spray them heavily with water on their wings so they fall in front of your pacman. Bon apetit!

[Kurt]

So what do you feed them, providing there is viable eggs? You can't feed them tomato plants as they would then be toxic for the frogs to eat. I haven't a clue what the feed hornworm cultures.

[mdtalley22]

I bought hornworms once for my bearded dragon and I believe I got them from Mulberry Farms, and if so they have hornworm chow that they sell, but I think I remember looking up how to raise them and some website list possible trees, leaves, etc you can feed them on.
Here is a list of a recipe for solid food but I don't know how viable it is for moths, just says for the worms:
http://www.entm.purdue.edu/Entomolog...nduca.diet.htm
or even check out this website:
http://insected.arizona.edu/manduca/manual.html

[Socrates]

So what do you feed them, providing there is viable eggs? You can't feed them tomato plants as they would then be toxic for the frogs to eat. I haven't a clue what the feed hornworm cultures.

I'm 90% positive that the "hornworm chow" is a mixture of plants that are similar to tomatoes. I know that tomatoes are in the family of plants that consist of tobacco...or it could be some chemistry experiment, wouldn't surprise me there.

[Dog Shrink]

I thought it was just eating the tomato leaves that was toxic not eating the actual tomato itself tho. Or do BOTH leaf and fruit have bad ffects on toads that eat hornworms loaded with tomato?

[Bluez3023]

Well, woke up this morning to a tank covered in eggs. So I'm guessing I should buy a kit or something, it looks like their diet doesn't have a simple ingredient list. Does anyone know if you can feed them other things besides the artificial diet?

picture of eggs attached