Silkworms and butterworms are great sources of food for your dragons. They are a little higher in fat than crickets but for growing babies, this isn't too much of a problem. A full grown silkworm (about 3-4" long) is pretty much the same as 4-6 adult crickets in bulk so you can feed silkies at that ratio (adjust for smaller crickets if you are not feeding adults do to your dragon's size).



Butterworms are smaller in body than silkworms so 2-3 of them is about the same bulk as a large silkworm. It is good to feed a variety of insects to your dragon, just as it is good to feed a variety of greens. So, having some crickets time to time mixed with silks and butterworms or roaches, is good as well. Superworms can be offered as treats as well to increase the variety.



Silkworms are also easy to breed and raise. So if you have a bunch coccoon before they are all fed off, keep the coccoons in a separate bin, maybe about 5-10 cocoons per bin or all together. Once they hatch in about 10-20 days let the moths pair off with eachother. Once you have a pair, y ou can move them to small kritter keepers or small paper bags till they separate. The female will lay her eggs and die and the male can be partnered with any unmated females you may have. The eggs should be left out at room temperature till they turn a dark purplish color, then they can be refrigerated in the fridge in a small tupperware container for about 2 months (they can be kept in the fridge longer ,up to a year). Take out some eggs (approxiately 50-100, depending how many you think you will need) At room temperature they should hatch in about 10 days. Once you see little black 'lines' these are newly hatched silkworms. Feed grated silkworm chow or mulberry leaves (if you have a good supply of leaves that is, otherwise, use the chow). IN a couple weeks you will have big silkworms again to feed your dragons. It is also good to overlap hatching eggs, so you always have some growing to replace them as they are used up. Remember to let some go into adulthood so you can start all over again.



The main things to keep in mind when keeping and raising silkworms, is keeping them as germ free as possible. A simple bacteria can wipe out your entire collection of silkworms pretty quickly if not regularly kept clean. ALso best to wash your hands before handling silkworms (ie moving them from a soiled bin to a clean one), don't smoke around them and keep the humidity down in the house.



I find it easiest to raise them on egg cartons or similar disposable things. They can be put on a screen stretched between a simple metal or wooden frame, letthing their poop fall through the screen (this works with small worms but once they get big, their poop is too big). Clean once or twice a week, removing all the poop, silk and cast off skins to keep them as sterile as possible.
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PHLdyPayne

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