Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

I got Frasier (my veiled) some silkworms from Mulberry Farms and for some reason, when I put one on his screen door, he can't seem to nab them, though he is obviously interested in them since he repeatedly tries to get them. But whenever he zaps his tongue at them, it's like he misses and the worm just bounces off the screen.

Then, I try putting a few in his feeding dish, but either he can't get them there either or he just ignores them. I thought maybe it was because they were too small, but the problem is still there now that they are big and fat (between 1 and 1 1/2". So now, I'm stuck with 500 fifth instar silkworms that Frasier can't seem to eat, plus my other insectivorous lizards won't touch them.

Has anyone else had similar problems with chameleons eating silkworms? What do you recommend? I'm at my wit's end!!

Thanks!!

Julie, Justin and Frasier

I tried feeding them to my 2 panthers, and neither of them wanted anything to do with silkworms. It was just a big waste of money. They do like superworms though.

I just discovered that if I place them on the stems of his pothos, that he can easily get them and is happily scarfing them down. Even when he does miss and they end up falling, they just fall on the lower leaves, rather than just falling on the ground where he ignores them.

Yeay!!!!!!!

*Doing happy dance*

Julie, Justin and Frasier: "Gimme silkworms!"

I've found that the biggest 'problem' with feeding silkworms to an adult/sub-adult that has never had them before is getting them to recognize it as a food source and eating one in the first place. Once they get over that first one, they absolutely LOVE them!
I've fed silkworms to my veileds, jacksons, and panthers. I've also tried feeding them to my savannah monitors, pacman frogs, bearded dragons (mine go ga-ga over silkies!), and leopard geckos. I've also fed them to my fish and cockatiels. They all love silkworms.
Hope your panthers get over it and try silkworms. Much better than crickets, in my opinion.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

I just started feeding my panthers silkworms about a month ago. They never had silkworms before that. I’ve noticed that they always aim for the head of the silkworm. Perhaps they hesitate until they’re sure which end is the head. Also, the silworms have three sets of false eye spots along their body. This also could cause the chameleons to hesitate at first.

Greg White

They sell it at the health food store and it will make the worms look green. The chams are more likely to try them out if they look green. Don't overdust or they won't stick to the tongue as easy.

Don't give up. Your chams will love them. What I found is that the one thing my guys love even more than the silkworms is the Silkworm MOTHS!

Since my guys are still relatively small, they can't eat the huge silkworms, so I let the big ones make the transformation and become moths and they love them!

Here's how you can successfully help your silkworms to become moths: when they begin to turn slightly yellow instead of white, they are ready to cocoon. Take them out of their feeding enclosure and place them either in an egg carton (preferably) or like a shoebox corner. Whereever you put them, take away their food source. They will spend then next day or so building their cocooon. In about 10 days to two weeks they will emerge as flightless (and mouthless) moths with big, juicy bodies. You then take that moth, stick him on a branch or leaf within eyesight of your cham and they will flap their wings a bit. This attracts the cham's attention, and ZAP! They'll eat 'em like steak!

Give it a shot. It works (I do feed my silkworms real mulberry leaves so that may make a difference when it come to cocoon-making).

-MP
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4 Month Old Ambanja Male I - LESTER
4 Month Old Ambanja Male II - SHOGO