Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share something with you guys, in case it's something that isn't already known.

I recently bought a 25-pack of butterworms and as most everyone knows, these worms cannot be cultured or gutloaded because they will only eat their native plant (the tebo tree) in Chile.

Anyway, I ended up reading somewhere on this forum (after doing a search, I think) someone posting something about these worms also attacking trees other than the tebo tree, such as apple trees. So, I decided to try and feed a little piece of apple to one of the worms.

So far, he's chowin' away quite contentedly! I'm curious as to how long he will survive, though, but I think this is an interesting find. At the very least, this will allow for some sort of gutloading and personally, I'd much rather feed a worm with a belly full of apple than nothing at all to my lizards.

Just my two cents. I hope it's helpful to someone.

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Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com

Hi Julie,

do you plan to try and breed them if they make it to adult stage? Would be an interesting endeavor. I, for one, would love to hear how you make out wiht this!

lele

>>Hi everyone,
>>
>>Just wanted to share something with you guys, in case it's something that isn't already known.
>>
>>I recently bought a 25-pack of butterworms and as most everyone knows, these worms cannot be cultured or gutloaded because they will only eat their native plant (the tebo tree) in Chile.
>>
>>Anyway, I ended up reading somewhere on this forum (after doing a search, I think) someone posting something about these worms also attacking trees other than the tebo tree, such as apple trees. So, I decided to try and feed a little piece of apple to one of the worms.
>>
>>So far, he's chowin' away quite contentedly! I'm curious as to how long he will survive, though, but I think this is an interesting find. At the very least, this will allow for some sort of gutloading and personally, I'd much rather feed a worm with a belly full of apple than nothing at all to my lizards.
>>
>>Just my two cents. I hope it's helpful to someone.
>>
>>-----
>>Julie Williams
>>www.baskingwonders.com
>>
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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,

Never thought about it, because I've read that they are irradiated to kill any parasites they might have, so that basically sterilizes them. I think I'll try other foods and see if they eat that. Maybe they'll eat any fruit, maybe they'll eat anything but just don't survive long... I don't know. I just always read that you couldn't feed them and was pleasantly surprised to see this one eat.

Will make some more experiments and keep you all posted! LOL

On another note, Frasier loves the butters and so do our crocodile skinks -- and until now, they've refused everything except for mealworms. Pretty psyched that I finally found something they will eat, besides mealworms! LOL

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Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com

hmmmm....if they are irradiated do we want ot feed them to our chams? I didn't know about this.

As for the other food...some insects that are host specific (eat only one species or within one family of plants) will sometimes eat others but cannot get enough nourishment to complete their cycle so it would be fun to experiment. If you were successful in breeding, you could get past the irradiated generation. I don't know enough about them to know how easy breeding would be anyway - they may require specific high temps and/or humidity and just not worth it. Fun to play, anyway

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

irradiation should not make them harmful to eat. Good thing, too, because a lot of the food you buy at the supermarket has been irradiated.
Ed

I heard that it can take up to 5 years for the moth to emerge from the cocoon. They are also wood boring and could cause quite a bit of damage if they escaped here. I think about these things because I am a picture framer. (lol) I have also seen what damage powder post beetles can do to wood products.
You can also gutload them with carrots but I do not know if it is nourishment or moisture they are trying to get. It does get the carrots in the chams so I guess it doesn't matter.

interesting about the 5-year diapause! If they escaped here they likely would not be able to complete their cycle but it is always a concern - that's how the gypsy moth became the horrendous pest it is today. Imported from Asia for experiment and the egss blew off a windowsill in Massachusetts in the late 1800's. Anyone who lives in the northeast can attest to the destruction they cause.

>>I heard that it can take up to 5 years for the moth to emerge from the cocoon. They are also wood boring and could cause quite a bit of damage if they escaped here. I think about these things because I am a picture framer. (lol) I have also seen what damage powder post beetles can do to wood products.
>> You can also gutload them with carrots but I do not know if it is nourishment or moisture they are trying to get. It does get the carrots in the chams so I guess it doesn't matter.
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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

Actually, I had posted recently that I found that thy chowed down on sweet potatos. Unfortunately, most people I know who've tried them have found that the chams started refusing them very quickly. Of course, my chams quickly start refusing wax worms & silkworms. Let us know if your guys like them for more than a few days.
Ed

aren't they only supposed to be given as a treat like waxworms b/c of their high fat content?

>>Actually, I had posted recently that I found that thy chowed down on sweet potatos. Unfortunately, most people I know who've tried them have found that the chams started refusing them very quickly. Of course, my chams quickly start refusing wax worms & silkworms. Let us know if your guys like them for more than a few days.
>>Ed
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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

Actually, they're very low in fat and have a high calcium content:
http://www.butterworms.com

This site also has some neat info:http://www.canadianfeeders.com/butterworms.shtml

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Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com

maybe it was just what they are called that I thought they were high in fat! LOL! I know they are high in calcium. Can they be a major part of the cham diet then?

Visited http://www.butterworms.com and they have one major boo-boo! It is not the tebo tree it is the trevo bush. You would think that someone who sells these would have their facts straight
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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

Yeah, a lot of the info out there seems to interchange tebo and trevo, bush and tree. That canadian feeder site also said they feed on tebo. Maybe it's all the same plant, maybe it's two similar plants and the worm attacks both... who knows... LOL

They also refer to these worms as sweet worms. A lot of the info out there swears up and down that these are great feeders and can be offered as a staple. I personally think that there is no one perfect feeder out there and that you should offer as much variety as possible.

I'm just excited that my croc skinks are finally eating something other than mealworms... LOL Fussy little lizards... They've turned their noses up at EVERYTHING... crix, baby roaches, silkies, small hornworms... Sheesh.
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Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com

Do a search for a Tebo tree (shrub, whatever) - it does not exist! Someone probably heard it wrong and wrote it that way! LOL!

Fussy is right - it's not like they give you any warning: "Sorry, Mom, those silkies that I have been loving for weeks that you just bought a whole bunch of - well, I don't want them anymore and probably won't until you don't have any left"

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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