Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bred a bunch of waxworms a while ago... they have since morphed and bred and are long dead. I still ahve no babies. The light I was using as a heat source burnt out, and I just left it hoping that room temp would be enough for them to hatch. How do those of you who breed wax worms do it? Next time I think I'll try getting a few bulbs so if one burns out i'm not stuck!
Thanks
~Lindsay

Hi Lindsay,

how old are the eggs? they should hatch in about 4 days if they are alive and fertile. Moths will lay even if not mated (like cham's ) so this may be the case. To tell if they are fertile look with a handlens to see if they are round. Infertile eggs will collapse in after a few days.

Did you just pick out a pair or did you put several in together. Are you sure you had males and females together to mate? If the eggs are still just a few days old give them some bottom heat (don't fry them!) by puttin them on your fridge or near a heat source.

I have my pupa going but have not paired the adults yet, but from rearing LOTS of leps there is little variance and certain biological facts hold true.

here are some other rearing sites:
home.earthlink.net/~kenuy/waxmoths.htm
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef011.htm
http://www.coloherp.org/cb-news/archive/misc/waxworms.php

good luck!
lele

>>I bred a bunch of waxworms a while ago... they have since morphed and bred and are long dead. I still ahve no babies. The light I was using as a heat source burnt out, and I just left it hoping that room temp would be enough for them to hatch. How do those of you who breed wax worms do it? Next time I think I'll try getting a few bulbs so if one burns out i'm not stuck!
>>Thanks
>>~Lindsay
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & no name
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & no name

i think they are long dead then, lol. they've been in there for about 2 or 3 weeks i think. There are some up at the top by the screen that were layed on the tape.. and they look like little cricket eggs sort of. and they are a beige/brown colour. I think there werea bout 30 worms, maybe more, to start with. i'm not sure what the male/female ratio was though.
ARe there any hints you can share with me to help them breed better?
I'll try the heat next time for sure. i ahd them in a pickle jar with the a hole in the lid. then i had a little light fixture in the top (like a large xmas light, i got it with my aquarium and dont use it) and it would heat it up nicely. then i dropped the jar and burned out the light lol. I shall try again...