Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi ya'll,
I received a pair of beautiful unrelated young Nosey Be panthers Wednesday and they're doing great..Just got around to posting now. They've both eaten and are well hydrated so it's all gravy. After feeding them crickets for the past few days I've been thinking of raising silkworms. Does anyone here breed silkworms and feed them as primary feeders? All the material I've seen seems to point at silkworms as being a more nutrious, cost effective insect. Other than the fact that they only eat mulberry leaves and the like. Just wanted to get some input idea.

--Cory C.
1.1 Nosey Be Panthers (Li'l Jon and Baby Girl)

ive been told silks are a good staple food source

on a side note: i placed a silkworm on a ficus branch yesterday, and before my cham picked it off, i noticed it was munching on a leaf

not to contradict you but silkies will not feed on any plant outside of its host family (Mulberry). If it was in fact munching it would not have for long and would never complete its lifecycle on it. These guys have been reared for centuries and if there was another host source it would be BIG news - and we sure wish there was!

lele
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica the j sisters were sent to freedom last month
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

yeh i wasnt really drawing any conclusions from this, it was just surprising to me, as i had heard they would only eat mulberry leaves

but i guess they dont know the difference until they take a bite

Yup, they can definitely be primary feeders. If you have access to pesticide free Mulberry year round that much better, if not you will need to get the chow - no way around it.

From my personal experience Luna went nuts for them but tired of them as she does everything. I have heard this form other keepers as well but then there are those who are lucky enough to have chams that are happy with just the silkies and see the occasional cricket as a treat! If only......LOL!

lele
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica the j sisters were sent to freedom last month
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Cory,

I have been using silkworms as my staple feeder for my chams. I switched to silkworms out of necessity. In the cold months, I had a lot of trouble getting a batch of crickets without mass fatalities. So, I tried silkworms and have had great success with them. I couldn't be happier to have rid myself of crickets..

Crickets, crickets, they smell so bad;
When they chirp at night, I get so mad.
Crickets, crickets, what a mess;
I never want to see another cricket, I must confess.

Crickets, crickets, they're everywhere;
I was careful and everything, this just isn't fair.
Crickets, crickets, please go away;
Leave my house.. find somewhere else to play.

I'd be more than happy to give you any information that you need to get started with breeding the silkies.. Just ask.
-----
Joe
- www.silkwormfarm.com-

NP
-----
Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

Yea I'd like that info on breeding silkworms. You can email it to me BigChappy05@hotmail.com if you want. Or just post it here. I like the poem by the way..Kinda sums up what happened to all my crickets.
--Cory