Elizabeth Freer
Active member
Hornworm Care Guidelines -- May 2024 (update)
Hornworms are very particular eaters. They like to eat each other when out of food. At purchase time order extra food, especially if you've bought ~20 (or more) mini-hornworms. Hornworms also consume mulberry leaves.
***** Repashy sells Superhorn Hornworm Gutload Diet/Gel Premix in 3 ounce containers.
Hornworms are a special treat for even smallish geckos. Hornworms can easily be sized according to your gecko's needs! Be sure geckos eat hornworms 1-by-1. Geckos could gag on a mouthful of hornworms or even 2 hornworms if they join "horns" to party & THEN are eaten simultaneously!
When you've got hornworm care down pat, it's easy to keep ALL hornworms alive & maturing "on schedule" for many of your hornworm-loving geckos. All you need is a picnic cooler, 2 enclosed ice packs, a thermometer, & 1/4 egg flat or a couple pencils. IF you want to splurge, buy a wine cooler. See below.
"Metamorphosis of Manduca sexta"
Photo credit goes to Joel Ebarb
(click to enlarge)
Buy very small hornworms. Hornworms mushroom in size overnight. Keep them at room temperature (70*F; 21.1*C) until they grow some. Then transfer them to either a Playmate picnic cooler or a wine cooler set about 55*F (12.8*C). A basement may be cool enough.
PetCo sells Timberline hornworms in a 4-pack for ~ $10. For hornworms & silkworms also contact Reed Hauth: https://nwreptilefeeders.com/
In January 2015 a hornworm breeder told me that 50*F/10.0*C is too cold, that 50*F makes the hornworm food too tough for the youngest hornworms.
Hornworm size fed: ~1.5-2 inches (~4-5 cm) to my 70ish gram/9 inch female leopard gecko.
Please google Great Lakes Hornworm.
Are these the things I see on my tomato plant?
Yes, but you cannot feed the hornworms on your tomato plants to your animals. Hornworms that eat tomato plants have toxins in their bodies that will kill your animals!
Feedback on Hornworms
For additional hornworm details click: 05DecCaruthers Thanks to Hilde
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Keeping Hornworms
"Best to purchase a wine cooler.
"Brand is Wine Enthusiast and costs $65 in Nov 2012. It's really quiet. Measures 20 inches front to back. 16" from side to side, and 14" from floor to top. You can see the temp on the front and can lower or raise the temp from the front. Mine is a 12 bottle, but it's a little cube.
"Set to 55*F to keep your hornworms alive till feeding. Being kept at 55*F really slows their growth!!!
"I take the racks out and lay the horn cups on their sides. Nice investment...and you should find some good deals at this time of year.
"This way hornworms can be kept at the proper temperature for your leopard gecko or other interested geckos. Got a batch of eggs and let them hatch then put them in. It works great for us folks who only have 1 lizard...(or maybe 2 someday) that want to keep food longer so it can be used up.
"Yes, the upfront cost is a bit, but the longterm ease and comfort is fabulous! If you are going to take care of lizards correctly and you need to keep hornworms around as a food source, then you need to the invest in a wine chiller. It is so comforting to know they are always at the correct temp and not growing really really fast!" [Thanks to Zena Reitano-Nesting, leo Prince Ali's mom.]
Tips on Keeping Hornworms & Silkworms
Hornworms' Diet: Hornworms are very particular eaters. They like to eat each other when out of food. At purchase time order extra food, especially if you've bought ~20 (or more) mini-hornworms. Hornworms also consume mulberry leaves.
***** Repashy sells Superhorn Hornworm Gutload Diet/Gel Premix in 3 ounce containers.
Hornworms are a special treat for even smallish geckos. Hornworms can easily be sized according to your gecko's needs! Be sure geckos eat hornworms 1-by-1. Geckos could gag on a mouthful of hornworms or even 2 hornworms if they join "horns" to party & THEN are eaten simultaneously!
When you've got hornworm care down pat, it's easy to keep ALL hornworms alive & maturing "on schedule" for many of your hornworm-loving geckos. All you need is a picnic cooler, 2 enclosed ice packs, a thermometer, & 1/4 egg flat or a couple pencils. IF you want to splurge, buy a wine cooler. See below.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Metamorphosis of Manduca sexta"
Photo credit goes to Joel Ebarb
(click to enlarge)
Buy very small hornworms. Hornworms mushroom in size overnight. Keep them at room temperature (70*F; 21.1*C) until they grow some. Then transfer them to either a Playmate picnic cooler or a wine cooler set about 55*F (12.8*C). A basement may be cool enough.
PetCo sells Timberline hornworms in a 4-pack for ~ $10. For hornworms & silkworms also contact Reed Hauth: https://nwreptilefeeders.com/
In January 2015 a hornworm breeder told me that 50*F/10.0*C is too cold, that 50*F makes the hornworm food too tough for the youngest hornworms.
Hornworm size fed: ~1.5-2 inches (~4-5 cm) to my 70ish gram/9 inch female leopard gecko.
Tobacco hornworms (Manduca sexta) are teal or green soft-bodied worms. They grow rapidly when kept at normal room temperatures. They are high in calcium. These worms look like mini turquoise candy canes. French hornworms = vers de goliath.Approximate nutritional content of HORNWORMS (source = Mulberry Farms):
- Protein = 9%
- Fat = 3%
- Calcium = 46.4mg/100mg
- Calcium-to-phosphorus ratio = 1:3. That ratio is quite low compared to other worms! [Phosphorus impairs calcium absorption. Serve plain or lightly dust hornworms with pure precipitated calcium carbonate (withOUT vitamin D3) to rebalance the calcium and phosphorus even further.]
- Moisture = 85%
Hornworm Sources:Hornworm Tips:
Keep hornworms just like this:
Photo credit goes to GU's lbanta (RIP November 2022)(click to enlarge)
When kept by the following method, it's easy to keep hornworms alive (& of edible size for many geckos) for 4+ weeks. Make sure the company includes enough food. Keep extra food in the cooler with the hornworms, NOT in the refrigerator. IF you keep hornworm food in the refrigerator, the food will get too hard for hornworms to eat.
- Hornworms grow rapidly when kept at normal room temperatures!
- When hornworms nearly reach a good size for feeding, transfer them (in container) to a picnic cooler or wine cooler to lessen rapid growth.
- Keep hornworms in a "medium" Playmate Igloo cooler. That cooler has dimensions: 12.25 x 7.5 x 14 inches tall for the base and height.
- Add 1 solid ice pack replaced 2x daily . . . . . . every 12 hours.
- Keep the temperature inside the cooler ~55*F (12.8*C).
- Turn the hornworm container upside down so that their food is on the top and the lid is the new "base".
- Elevate the hornworm container off the ground with egg flats or a couple pencils to give your hornworms AIR.
- Don't let the hornworm container touch the ice pack.
- Empty hornworm poop once a day.
- Serve the hornworms plain at first. Then try lightly dusting them with pure precipitated calcium carbonate (withOUT vitamin D3) to further balance their calcium-to-phosphorus ratio.
- Should a hornworm get mangled, clean up its green juice right away. The green "juice" is difficult to remove when dry.
- Coastal Silkworms:
Live Silkworms For Sale (bombyx mori) Easy Silkworm Care
Shop silkworms, fast live shipping. Easy silkworm care instructions eggs to cocoons. Buy Silkworm Pods®, silkworm eggs, or silkworm chow. Feed your reptiles the best feeder insects around!
www.coastalsilkworms.com
- California store's Coastal Silkworms: = www.westcoastsilkworms.com If you live on USA's WEST COAST, order from their California facility for faster shipping.
- Great Lakes Hornworm: 1-248-840-7658 Email: sales@greatlakeshornworm.co
- Grubco :: Grubco :: Hornworms
- Josh's Frogs: 1-800-691-8178, 9-6 Eastern time E-mail: info@joshsfrogs.com
- LindasGoneBuggie: Click: YOUR BUGGIE HEADQUARTERS
- Mulberry Farms: Click: http://www.mulberryfarms.com/
- Rainbow Mealworms:
- Timberline:
Please google Great Lakes Hornworm.
Are these the things I see on my tomato plant?
Yes, but you cannot feed the hornworms on your tomato plants to your animals. Hornworms that eat tomato plants have toxins in their bodies that will kill your animals!
Feedback on Hornworms
- from my female leopard gecko Cha:
- from my mature crestie George: :scratchhead: ===> no interest in hornworms (accustomed to crickets)
For additional hornworm details click: 05DecCaruthers Thanks to Hilde
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keeping Hornworms
"Best to purchase a wine cooler.
"Set to 55*F to keep your hornworms alive till feeding. Being kept at 55*F really slows their growth!!!
"I take the racks out and lay the horn cups on their sides. Nice investment...and you should find some good deals at this time of year.
"This way hornworms can be kept at the proper temperature for your leopard gecko or other interested geckos. Got a batch of eggs and let them hatch then put them in. It works great for us folks who only have 1 lizard...(or maybe 2 someday) that want to keep food longer so it can be used up.
"Yes, the upfront cost is a bit, but the longterm ease and comfort is fabulous! If you are going to take care of lizards correctly and you need to keep hornworms around as a food source, then you need to the invest in a wine chiller. It is so comforting to know they are always at the correct temp and not growing really really fast!" [Thanks to Zena Reitano-Nesting, leo Prince Ali's mom.]
. . . . . . Ziggy . . . . . .
JessJohnson87's leo
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