Posted by:
PHLdyPayne
at Tue Jan 10 18:24:23 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by PHLdyPayne ]
I say Nay. The canned silkworms (really the pupae form of the catapiller) are freezed dried, thus removing one of the big benefits of silkworms, high water content which is great to keep your dragon hydrated. Also, I am sure some form of preservetive is used, which is bound to be not good for your dragon in the long run.
Live silkworms are more filling, are not hard to keep (they don't need temps of 80-90F, in fact, that temp range is too hot for silks). Silks seem to do well in regular house temperatures between 70-80F or even a bit cooler. If cooler, they will take longer to grow. Silkworm chow, though a little expensive, does last a long time and is easy to make and feed. High humidity is hard on silkworms, making it easy for mold to grow from their droppings and killing off the colony of silkworms.
Picking up a 100 silkworms at once, feeding off about half of them and letting the others coccoon then turn into moths and breeding, then laying eggs, gives a large supply of eggs that can be hatched out in small batches. As the eggs, once they turn purple after laying (a couple days after laying the eggs will turn purple, or dark colored) they can be refrigerated for up to a year before being taken out to hatch. A half pound of silkworm chow can feed several hundred silkworms from the egg to about an inch long.
A variety of insects are the best thing to go, to ensure your dragon doesn't get bored of the same thing, just as a variety of greens/vegetables is important. It also makes it easier to ensure a well balanced diet.
Though I know the nutritional content of silkworms themselves, not sure how much this changes when they are in the pupae (coccoon) stage. It takes alot of energy to metamorphize into a moth so the pupae stage may lost some of the nutritional value. Also, the outer 'skin' is harder, more chitin like at this point.
Adding some of the canned silkworms to the diet as a treat or for variety isn't a bad thing, deffinitely not something to use as a stable. Besides, the cost of one can of silkworms is about the same as half a pound of silkworm chow and the chow will go much further than the can, in feeding hundreds of silkworms to one inch or so in size.
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PHLdyPayne
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RE: ExoTerra Silkworms.. As good as live silks? YAY or NAY? - PHLdyPayne, Tue Jan 10 18:24:23 2006