wax worms.

[dlemmings]

has anyone used wax worms or adult moths as feeders?

I have Ph. paradoxa & Sp. lineolla.

I am wandering if they will eat the worms...I tried once holding with tweezers but neither the ghosts or african took interest (my african will eat dang near anything?!) or the adult moths.

cultures for the wax worms seem very trouble free and wax worms readily available from a near by reptile store, the worms take 2-3 months to pupate so as feeders this is a long time and 1-2 weeks for pupae to emerge as moths.

by buying a couple dozen every 2-3 weeks and adding to the culture I would guess they would hatch at that same rate if using moths (and still have a few worms worms on hand as feeders.

thoughts?

P.S. i have seen posts offering BB pupa...do these suppliers tend to have stock year round? (for winter months when catching flys outdoors is no longer an option)

 

[Psychobunny]

I cant get mine interested in any kind of worm (larva of beetles).

They just are not active enough to get their interest I guess!!

I quit trying!! now I feed only cricks and flies.

 

[hibiscusmile]

I use them, wiggle with the long forceps and once they notice them, their gonners!

 

[gripen]

i give em to mine every once and a while. the trick i have found is that you have to get them exited about them because than they will strike.

 

[twolfe]

I couldn't get any of my mantis to eat waxworms. I do occasionally use mealworms as emergency food. Like hibiscusmile, I put them on the forceps, and the mantis grabs it. My Budwing and Blue Flash eat them intact. For some species, I have to remove the head of the mealworm first. My ghost and oxys eat them this way. On occasion I have been able to get some of my Idolos and Mendicas to eat them. But they often back away from the forceps.

 

[RevWillie]

I tried waxworms back in my chameleon days but after many escapes and such, gave up on them. The moths might work but they have to be moving to attract attention. The worms themselves would have to be handfed as I don't think they would attract an mantis.

I recently for some Phoenix Worms to try - they looked so hyperactive I thought they might work. Unfortunately, once you grab them with tweezers at the butt end, the mostly stop moving. If I drop them on an open solid surface, they move enough to get attacked; if they can dig in or crawl under, they're gone. I have an adult female Creo that has figured out the tweezer thing and she'll grab Phoenix worms from the tweezers and munch them down (they are 'medium' worms but still a big meal for a Creo).

I'm pretty sure the BB maggot/pupae suppliers can supply year-round.

 

[sporeworld]

Hahah! I don't remember my Creos turning down ANYTHING that moved ... well, that wasn't another Creo!

The tweezer trick is great. I can get most nymphs to eat from them, if hungry. I find wiggling them around outside the enclosure before-hand helps build interest.

 

[dlemmings]

Thanks!

I bought a few small crickets...my sp. Lineola hunted and ate most of one, but my fresh female ghost was not interested and in fact has not taken a fly since she molted into an adult monday.

my male ghost likes smaller offerings so i did not even try the cricket. I will try wax worms using the tweezer trick. I am trying to feed his scrawny @$$ onto adulthood :clown: