Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I am going to order some goliath hornworms for my lizards. I know how to care for the larvae, but I cant find any info on keeping the moths. Do they feed as moths? I thought I could make an enclosure for the moths out of mesh. How do I get them to breed, and what do I do with the eggs? I would also appreciate any other information on hornworms. One more thing, I know hornworms only eat tobacco, tomato, pepper, etc. But Do they only eat the leaves or can they also eat the fruit? If they can eat the fruit, I wanted to put the fruits of tomatoes and possibly bell peppers in with the hornworms for them to eat. Thank you very much for any help, jrbl

OK first of all DO NOT EVER feed hornworms tomato leaves or tobacco leaves -- these plants have toxins that the hornworm uses as a defense against predators. THAT MEANS they will kill your reptile if they eat hornworms that are raised on tomato or tobacco.

I searched and found caresheets for goliath worms once but i cant find it now. sorry.

From Mulberry Farms:

GOLIATH HORNWORM CARE SHEET

When your Hornworms arrive (leave the lid on) and if the worms are under an inch long then orient the cup so it is laying on it's side. Once they grow larger and become established you should orient the cup so the food is at the top and the lid is facing down on a table. (Be sure and prop up edge of lid about 1/4 inch for air flow.) The worms will grip the mesh and feed upward towards the food. If they don't - then go back to rasing the worms with the cup on it's side.

The worms can remain in the cup until they run out of food (or outgrow it). As the worms grow larger, you will need to discard their frass (waste) by gently opening the lid and allowing the frass to drop into the trash.

Try to keep the temperature between 70 and 85 degrees during their entire life if you want them to grow quickly. (Temperatures above 90 degrees can be fatal.) Once they reach about an inch long, they grow astonishingly fast. They can grow from 1 inch to between 3 and 4 inches in 4 to 7 days (if kept warm).

There should be enough food in the cup to raise at least 10 worms to full size. If however you run short on food, they may become cannibalistic. Larger worms can eat bell pepper or you can purchase additional Hornworm food from Mulberry Farms at (760) 731-6088) or at www.MulberryFarms.com. CAUTION: DO NOT FEED TOMATO OR TOBACCO LEAVES TO HORNWORMS BECAUSE THEY ARE TOXIC TO REPTILES!!!

Also, like superworms, Hornworms are able to bite. (Some pet owners choose to remove their jaws with fingernail clippers before feeding the huge worms to their animals.)

MOLD: If your cups develop mold in them, simply take a spoon and remove it. The main cause of mold forming in the cups is from too much humidity and from the worms frass coming into contact (and sticking) to the food.

In less than 2 weeks from the time they hatched (when they are between 3 and 4 inches long) they will stop eating (and let go of the mesh in the cup) and drop to the bottom of the cup. If you look carefully you will notice their color will fade and they will have developed a brownish purple color down the length of their back where their pulsating heartbeat is visible. At this point they stop eating and become restless and begin looking for a place to bury themselves (to pupate). They now are ready to change into a pupa and eventually a moth. At this stage they will either pupate or die - so you better hurry and feed them to your hungry Herps!

If you want them to pupate, place them in a cup containing damp peat-moss or dirt and they will dig down about 4 inches deep and then they will usually pupate within about 2 weeks. The moths can emerge between 2 weeks and several months later.

CAUTION: Do not releasee the worms, pupa or moths into the wild because hornworms are considered pests and can damage crops.
-----
Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)
2.1 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzard and 1 het Blizzard)
0.1 Savannah Monitor
13 rats
12 Gerbils
2 Dogs
3 cats
1 Albino Corey (fish)

don't feed these tomato or tobacco leaves these contain toxins that will be passed on to your reptiles. larvae feed on solanaceous plants.Also you can buy educational kits for rearing them through their entire lifcycle from scientific catalogs here is a list of plants they are known to feed on in the wild:

Capsicum (Sweet and Chili Pepper)
Cestrum (Ornamental Plants)
Cymphomandra (Tomarillo)
Datura (Jimson weed, loco weed)
Lycium (Ornamental Plants, Sources of Chinese Herbal Medicines)
Lycopersicum (Tomato)
Nicotiana (Tobacco)
Petunia (Petunia)
Physalis (Tomatillo & Ground Cherry)
Solandra (Ornamental Vines)
Solanum (Potato, Eggplant, Christmas Cherry, Nightshade

But adults will take nectar from any plant.I suspect that the plastc flowers used for feeding humming birds will work fine for this purpose.check your local feed store. also adults will only lay there eggs on solanaceous plants in the wild. hope this helps Gordon