I did have to spend some time getting things the way I wanted to breed them. Once that has been setup I think they are very easy to breed. I've probably got 2500 eggs in my fridge and I've had silkies for a little over a month and a half.
I don't have time right now to put together a care sheet for them but I will do that in the next couple of days and post it here. Here's the basics.
The worms & coccoons:
Temps anywhere from 67-88. I've had them at the low end but not the high end. Mine generally stay 67-75 and do fine.
I keep them in a plastic rubbermaid tub with fairly low sides under a clamp lamp that is on during the day.
I feed them silkworm chow once a day (no water is necessary). Tiny worms get it grated right on top while bigger worms get chunks placed here and there.
You will be able to tell when they are ready to spin coccoons. I use toilet paper rolls cut into thirds dipped in parafin wax.
Takes about 3 days to spin then about a week and a half to hatch. Before hatching I get a hint of a strong odor every once in a while but only right next to my coccoons. I think it's either the liquid they use to dissolve the coccoons or a few that are decaying and have failed to hatch. Haven't narrowed it down yet.
Keep hatched moths at same temp and I separate males and females and place them in small, wax paper lined, rubermaid containers with lids and holes. When I have one of each they both go into a container, do their thing, and lay eggs (200-500) in about a day. Then they get fed to the dragons. I only feed the moths to the big dragon because I haven't found any info on the level of undigestible material in the moths yet.
The eggs:
Once eggs are layed I wait for them to turn from yellow to black and do one of two things. I either place them in the fridge for up to 5 years or put them in the incubator at 88 degress and about 75-80% humidity. When incubating eggs you don't have to have an incubator but it's a good idea. Details later.
The eggs will incubate for about 3 weeks and then hatch. Now I haven't hatched any eggs as of yet but everything seems to be exactly as it should and I should have some newborns in about a week.
If you want to get a head start on the care here's some websites to check out. As always there's a lot of conflicting info and I have found one or two indicate there's a lot more you need to do than is really necessary.
http://www.chateau-michel.org/silkworm_class.htm
http://www.pclaunch.com/~kayton/Silkworms/raising.htm
http://www.sericulum.com/index.html
These are what I have bookmarked but there's a couple more I have found I can't remember. Do a net search on silkworms and you'll find them. I think the best is the first listed.
***I accidentally dropped a big one next to my small dragon and she ate it without any problems. I was surprised and don't normally feed them that big to her. It took her some time to get it down but everything was fine. I think it's easier on the small BD's to feed the smaller worms but that shows me there's not much chance of impaction. Again, I don't suggest big worms for little dragons. Kinda like eating a whole cheeseburger in one bite. It won't hurt you but it will be a pain in the #@$ to eat!
OK, I've typed too much now. Like I said I'll put something together this weekend but check out the sites I listed.
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Rob
hosphorous ratio AFAIK) they have a positive ratio. Because of this, I'd reccomend them for beardies recovering from MBD.
