Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey,i was wondering how do wax worms turn into moths??also,how do i get them to transform into moths??all mine die before even showing signs of tranformation..should i not keep them in the fridge??i'm really tring to give my guy more variety then i already give him..do wax moths fly??hope to hear back soon,soo i can get started on tring to get some wax moths around here..haha
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther
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I think many waxmoths sold as feeders are sterile and can't actually mature into moths. They won't turn if they are too cool either.

I actually prefer many of my wax worms to turn into the greater wax moth. My pygmy chameleons and carpets go bonkers for them. Here is the trick ….

First, get healthy worms – this is IMPORTANT. Grubco.com is solid and typically wax worms at reptile shows take a beating from transport and are not healthy – many are already dead too.

Every other day remove the dead wax worms and any wax worm that is grey and/or blackish color. Even though they are alive they will be dead sooner then later since that’s a sure indication of their demise. This also keeps the container clean and relatively free of bacteria. Obviously dead worms mixed with live ones isn’t going to help anything.

Keep them at room temps, don’t feed them anything and don’t mist them. Eventually they will pupate and turn into moths – they flutter more then they can actually fly which really gets the chams attention. Some worms will fail at pupating and the pupae will look jet black – so take those out as well and throw them out.

The moths should be a treat and not a staple as well.

-roo

I gutload my wax worms with bee pollen. I keep them warm and they breed well and turn into moths well. I have used this method for many years. The offspring worms are extra healthy and are amazing climbers!

BTW, wax worms are high in fat and should be used as a treat only (as mentioned by previous poster)

I take the pupae out of the container that the larva are in and put them in a darker container. With this I have found that fewer die verses a container that has more light.

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Meg