Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have never tried real life silkworms, but I recently came across the exoterra brand in a pet store and figured I would give it a shot.. my female juvi LOVES them! she knows exactly what the can looks like and as soon as she sees me go for it, she runs to the feeding side of the cage and looks up at me. My question is are these things just as good or close to the live ones? Alot of places that I have been reading up on say that silks are the best type of "insect" to feed to all dragons.. What do you guys think about this? I would rather not have to deal with raising and hatching and all that stuff of live ones, especially if these are just as good. What do you guys think? Thanks!

Why not get Both??? I mean buy 5 or so cans of silkies and add some roaches or crickets with it. Roaches are easy to raise and silkies in a can are convienent. This way he gets variety. I don't think you'd like to eat canned chicken every night for dinner.

oh no I dont mean as a staple insect.. Just from what I have read, silks are the best insect to feed and hell if she is going to eat the convient canned ones thats a score for me She gets crix, supers and an occasional mealie also so she gets plenty of vareity. I just have heard that silks are better to feed then anything else as far as insects go. This is the only dragon that I have ever owned that loves to eat greens, pellets, and all bugs live or dead!

I remember someone on here saying that the Exoterra silkworms are really the cocoons, not the worms. I want to look into roaches, as soon as my big guy comes out of brumation. But my littler guy LOVES the exoterra silkworms as much (or more) than crickets. I figure it gives him a little variety.

Maleea

Well i say YAY. I mean buy all the cans you can and STOCK UP. Silkies ARE great insect feed but the live ones are hard to mantain because of a 80-90 degree temp and mulberry chow and leaves in my opinion. Why not, if it makes your pet happy and it makes you happy do what you want too. hell I might by a few cans myself tomorrow.

I say Nay. The canned silkworms (really the pupae form of the catapiller) are freezed dried, thus removing one of the big benefits of silkworms, high water content which is great to keep your dragon hydrated. Also, I am sure some form of preservetive is used, which is bound to be not good for your dragon in the long run.

Live silkworms are more filling, are not hard to keep (they don't need temps of 80-90F, in fact, that temp range is too hot for silks). Silks seem to do well in regular house temperatures between 70-80F or even a bit cooler. If cooler, they will take longer to grow. Silkworm chow, though a little expensive, does last a long time and is easy to make and feed. High humidity is hard on silkworms, making it easy for mold to grow from their droppings and killing off the colony of silkworms.

Picking up a 100 silkworms at once, feeding off about half of them and letting the others coccoon then turn into moths and breeding, then laying eggs, gives a large supply of eggs that can be hatched out in small batches. As the eggs, once they turn purple after laying (a couple days after laying the eggs will turn purple, or dark colored) they can be refrigerated for up to a year before being taken out to hatch. A half pound of silkworm chow can feed several hundred silkworms from the egg to about an inch long.

A variety of insects are the best thing to go, to ensure your dragon doesn't get bored of the same thing, just as a variety of greens/vegetables is important. It also makes it easier to ensure a well balanced diet.

Though I know the nutritional content of silkworms themselves, not sure how much this changes when they are in the pupae (coccoon) stage. It takes alot of energy to metamorphize into a moth so the pupae stage may lost some of the nutritional value. Also, the outer 'skin' is harder, more chitin like at this point.

Adding some of the canned silkworms to the diet as a treat or for variety isn't a bad thing, deffinitely not something to use as a stable. Besides, the cost of one can of silkworms is about the same as half a pound of silkworm chow and the chow will go much further than the can, in feeding hundreds of silkworms to one inch or so in size.
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PHLdyPayne