Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got some Butterworms as an add on to an order. Do you guys gutload these with anything? I didn't do much reading on Butterworms since they are not the first thing you'd feed, but since I have them what do I gutload with/how do I care for them until they are fed out? Thanks again-Maggie

maggie - these feed only on a plant in Chile so, like the silkies, you cannot gutload - you can't even feed them! here's a link with a little info

lele
Link

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Thanks Lele! Hey, do you buy these things? And if so, how many do you get at a time? How many do you feed Luna and how often? Do you store yours in the frig with the COVER OFF? Yuck! Thanks, Maggie

Nope. Haven't bothered with them as I have enough of an insectivory going on here! I am sending my three anoles to FL to set them free (you will soon see a change to my live-in critter list) so I am actually looking forward to cutting BACK on my minibeast stash! It'll just be Luna and my 2 geckos.

In the spring and summer I rear a variety of Saturniidae (giant silk moths) for education and hobby and by mid-summer I really have my hands full collecting food for upwards of 40 very hungry caterpillars! At least while I am out and about I can selectively gather a few free range insects for Luna and the gecko girls.

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Hi Lele: why are you setting the Anoles free-if you don't mind me asking, just curious? You know, I was looking into moths cause I read that they are actually some of Chams natural foods. I looked around to see if anyone was selling them. Couldn't find any. I thought about putting one of those moth catchers up during the summer time but I feared what they might have as wild moths. What do you think, is that a pretty safe method to collect insects? Thanks Lele-Maggie

>>> why are you setting the Anoles free- if you don't mind me asking, just curious?

*** they were a rescue last summer and are just not thriving. I was in FL visiting family in Dec. and when I saw the anoles running around at first I missed my three back home – then my very next thought was “they do not belong at home – they belong here.” I had them as a kid and have always had a soft spot for them (thus the rescue) but ever since I got home I have been thinking about it. If they were doing well it might be different, but they are not. My brown is and one of my green’s but I will ship them all (see my new dilemma post above)

>>>You know, I was looking into moths cause I read that they are actually some of Chams natural foods…

*** the moths that I rear are for educational presentations and my own hobby – none of them are fed to my herps. I do not feed hornworms to them either b/c they were the species that got me rearing leps in the first place. I hand-fed a crippled adult sphinx moth for 4 days and still have her (no, not alive) sitting on a bed of dried lavender flowers.

As a rule I do not feed moths to herps. I will say that on a rare occasion I’ll collect a small moth at a light in summer and feed them, but since I know them well (i.d.) I am careful to collect pest moths such as gypsy moths, tent ‘pillars, etc.

As for collecting them – what type of collecting method are you referring to? There are different types. You strike me as someone who delights in learning (like me) so you might actually take interest in learning about pest moths in your area and just catching them at lights – easy to do. Here is a link to the Asian Gypsy Moth, “cousin” of the one we have in the northeast, which you have in CA. This way you are feeding your chams and helping local ecosystms!

There are many moths that don't feed as adults and the likelihood of them having parasites are slim. Usually any virus or parasite will attack in the larval or pupal stage. There are always the silkworm adults and the wax moth adults you can feed to them. Just be sure to never allow the wax moth adult lose outdoors as they are a serious pest to honeybee hives (both are introduced species. OK, 'nuff said
lele
Asian Gypsy Moth

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

If I remember right, the last time I tried them they seemed to really like sweet potatos. Just put a big one on the cage with them. Unfortunately, my chams never touched them
Ed

Hi: I tried the butterworm yesterday and at first my cham didn't move. I then put some active superworms inside the cage and the activity got the chams attention. He ate them and then marched straight over to the butterworms and ate those as well. It seems the Butterworms themselves were not enough to get him off his butt!

Maggie

Let us know if he continues to eat or whether (as is common for most kinds of similar prey I've tried) they refuse to take them after a few days. Of course, all chams are different so yours might come to love them. I've had various chams refuse or get tired of butterworms, slikworms, meal worms, superworms, earthworms, goliath worms, tobacco horn worms, et al. They an be fussy little buggers!
Ed