Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am going the silkworm route because of the obvious health benefits, and also because everyone says they are easier than crix. Ok, maybe they don't move, make noise, escape, etc., and that makes them better; but what about the silk leaders and masses they spin as they are growing? The poo gets caught in it.

I've asked this question on two other forums and only got one person that responded; he uses tweezers to pick the worms out indivually - that seems like a lot of hassle when you're feeding multiple herps, though.

1. Is the silk safe for herps (frogs, beardie, leos) to eat? Obviously not the huge masses, but is it necessary to separate each worm???
2. Is the poo caught in the webs and left deposited in bowls safe? Surely not...
3. Is there anyway around the silk spinning through the silkies' growth?

Thanks in advance,
Denise
-----
Denise (Mom) and/or Jared (son)
Take care!

1.0 Ball Python - Jake
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Merlin
1.0 Pixie Frog - Pixel
2.0 Chinese Fire belly Newts - Fred n' Ed, and Ed n' Fred
1.0 Black Cat - Shorty
1.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa - coming soon (completing brumation with present owner before joining our home)
0.0.4 Tanks waiting on us to decide what is going in them! LOL

First of all, they do emit silk throughout their lives but what they emit before spinning is minimal and you can pick them up with your hands just fine...no tweezers needed.

Now, about dirty silk, I've never had that problem. You can tell when they are going to spin because they release their bladder and change in color. They'll start to "shrink" and turn amber. When they start to do this, you can pull them out of the feeder bin and put them in an egg carton. They will spin in there and everything will be clean.

If you have any more questions or if I didn't answer something, just ask and I will try again.

'Bella

Yes, your pets can eat the silk. Silk is a protein strand and in small quantities, is harmless. There's no need to worry.

You answered about this stage in their lives on another forum, and it's not what I'm talking about. The silkies I have mass together no matter where the food is.. there is a LOT of silk spun even as juvies; you can pick them up in a layer because there is so much! This is where I'm talking about the poo getting caught.

Is there a way to minimize that? Because if this is the way it is, it's not worth it. As much as they mass, and as much as they poo from the enormous amount of growth they do daily, almost the whole bottom of the bin is covered in poo and I've only had them 3 days. I can't imagine you not knowing what I'm talking about, this can't be that unusual. They're no different in the wild.
-----
Denise (Mom) and/or Jared (son)
Take care!

1.0 Ball Python - Jake
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Merlin
1.0 Pixie Frog - Pixel
2.0 Chinese Fire belly Newts - Fred n' Ed, and Ed n' Fred
1.0 Black Cat - Shorty
1.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa - coming soon (completing brumation with present owner before joining our home)
0.0.4 Tanks waiting on us to decide what is going in them! LOL

I keep my silkworms on coffee trays (the kind you get for drinks/coffee to hold 4 cups). Then, once a day, I just pick up the coffe holder, turn it upside down over the feeder bin and let all the pool fall out. Then I pick out the groupings of silk that have accumminated each day, as well as shed skin. I then pick out any worms that fell out of the tray when I dumped the poo and put them back into it, dump the poo out of the feeder bin and put the coffee tray back in. I do this every day and find it works well in keeping the silkworms from spinny a thick bed of silk.

This works best when you have about 100 silkworms, if you have more, just use two coffee holders side by side in a big enough rubbermaid or sterlite container. Egg crates can be used instead of the coffee trays if you have more of those around. The other great thing about these trays as it gives you all kinds of nocks and crannies to put food, so all the worms have a chance to eat.

There are no Bombyx Mori left in the wild. They're completely dependent on us for survival. Whatever documentation of how they functioned in the wild has been lost by now. All we have to gather from now is the voices of experience. I love silkmoths and I have lots of experience with them...please don't get frustrated. I'll keep trying to help until we get this right, ok? LOL!

I've never had the problem you're describing...but now that you've explained I think I know why. Maybe you can try my method and see if it works better for you.

The caterpillars produce a small amount of silk for two reasons. First, it's a natural protection (like a dog on a leash) that keeps them from falling off their food. If they spin a little and fall off a leaf, they wont fall very far and most likely, will fall onto another leaf. Very little silk is used this way. The other reason is that it is crucial for shedding. They create what is refered to as a "silk pad" that anchors them down, allowing them to ease out of their skin. Without this, or if they are dislodged from their silk pad, they usually end up getting stuck in their skin and dying.

To rear silkmoths, I use plastic shoebox and sweaterboxes. At feeding time, I transfer each cat by hand, moving all of them into a new box with new leaves. This way, I can throw out the stems and waste they leave behind. I do this once a day, adding leaves on occassion if they need more than a once a day feeding. When the box gets changed thoroughly once a day, no waste or silk accumulates.

There is no possible way I could do that; how on earth do you have the time? Right now I only have 200, I can't imagine even TRYING to do that with more, and more is what I will have. On a brighter note, I have gotten some good suggestions from others for raising them en masse, so we'll see how it goes.

By the way, I grew up with mulberry trees in extreme south Texas, and yes, there were silkworms around - now I'm going to have to go to my parents and see if there was a farm nearby that I didn't know about.

Thanks for the input,
Denise
-----
Denise (Mom) and/or Jared (son)
Take care!

1.0 Ball Python - Jake
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Merlin
1.0 Pixie Frog - Pixel
2.0 Chinese Fire belly Newts - Fred n' Ed, and Ed n' Fred
1.0 Black Cat - Shorty
1.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa - coming soon (completing brumation with present owner before joining our home)
0.0.4 Tanks waiting on us to decide what is going in them! LOL

Yes, each and every one by hand. LOL!! It takes me a while, about a half an hour.

There are silkmoths in the wild, yes...but Bombyx Mori hasn't been in the wild for about 1500 years. They can't survive on their own. Their ability to fly has been bred out, among other things. Now, I'm curious though. Would you find out what you have there?