Hornworms wonder food?

[Toxoderidae]

Hornworms seem to be the best food for feeding. I even got my P. tigrin to eat, who hasn't eaten in almost 3 months! Anyone else have experience with these?

 

[EulersK]

I took an entomology course in college that had me raise a hornworm for a project. Some individuals get massive, so in terms of volume, they're a great feeder. I'd personally never want a colony of them due to the inconvenience of it, though.

 

[Abyss]

Never seen em (or noticed em at least) before.

What they look like and where to get em? I will give anything a try. My P. metallica has quite the appetite. Nothing tried so far except superworms but would love to vary her diet and try them

 

[Toxoderidae]

I got them at a reptile expo today, literally all my tarantulas ate them except a very weak P. rufilata whom I don't expect to make it.

 

[Venom1080]

man, everyones going to expos today! jealous! hornworms are definitely good feeders just cause of their size. like jumbo superworms but with no hard shell. i get lots every summer from my garden. all my ts love em.

 

[Toxoderidae]

man, everyones going to expos today! jealous! hornworms are definitely good feeders just cause of their size. like jumbo superworms but with no hard shell. i get lots every summer from my garden. all my ts love em.

They're also super active, my geckos love them, my spiders, even my crabs! If I could start a colony I would.

 

[Venom1080]

They're also super active, my geckos love them, my spiders, even my crabs! If I could start a colony I would.

yeah, they are definitely better than superworms.

 

[Toxoderidae]

Found a problem with them. The horn gets stuck on the vonwirthi's web, and she will not leave the tunnel to eat. I have to go in and manually remove it. My G. pulchripes is more aggressive than this vonwirthi.

 

[Abyss]

I got them at a reptile expo today, literally all my tarantulas ate them except a very weak P. rufilata whom I don't expect to make it.

What expo???
Close by? Your atlanta area correct?

 

[Toxoderidae]

What expo???
Close by? Your atlanta area correct?

Chattanooga expo, was about 2 hours away.

 

[Abyss]

Chattanooga expo, was about 2 hours away.

Damn i didnt even know about it
Oh well lol thats one i can likely frequent also from now on

 

[Toxoderidae]

I wouldn't, it's all geckos and ball pythons. There were two booths with spiders, and as I said, one was all WC with guys who had no idea about them, and the other just gave me a bad vibe.

 

[Abyss]

I wouldn't, it's all geckos and ball pythons. There were two booths with spiders, and as I said, one was all WC with guys who had no idea about them, and the other just gave me a bad vibe.

Good to know, perhaps i will take some hides up at least one of these times lol who knows

 

[truecreature]

I like them for my bearded dragon because they have a high water content, but they're much too expensive and difficult to breed to become a regular thing for me. They also grow ridiculously fast which makes it harder to store them for a longer period of time, even with colder temps.

I've got a few of them now I'm keeping as pets because they outgrew an appropriate size for the beardie and I'm pretty fond of them. They're so cute and smooth feeling

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

Hornworms seem to be the best food for feeding. I even got my P. tigrin to eat, who hasn't eaten in almost 3 months! Anyone else have experience with these?

I've heard is good food source never have tried to feed my tarantula though. I'm sticking with night crawlers.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

<Yawn>
It is early and I'm still half-asleep so I going by memory here, you should keep in mind that I'm just tossing this out on the fly and it should be looked into before taking my word for it immediately

They are a good feeder, but there is one thing to be cautious about. The hornworm is the larvae of one of the sphinx moths, (I can't recall the Latin names, but it isn't really that important at the moment) that produce the tomato hornworm and/or the tobacco worm. Now, reared in captivity and fed an alternative diet, they are safe. But if they have been feeding on tomato plants or tobacco, their bodies imbue the toxins contained in the plants, with the nicotine in tobacco being particularly hazardous, I'd believe
I THINK they can be captured and after not having access to the toxic plants for a while are eventually safe as well.
Again, this is just a heads up to suggest researching them a bit. To confirm what I'm saying before becoming alarmed.

<Yawn>

 

[Toxoderidae]

<Yawn>
It is early and I'm still half-asleep so I going by memory here, you should keep in mind that I'm just tossing this out on the fly and it should be looked into before taking my word for it immediately

They are a good feeder, but there is one thing to be cautious about. The hornworm is the larvae of one of the sphinx moths, (I can't recall the Latin names, but it isn't really that important at the moment) that produce the tomato hornworm and/or the tobacco worm. Now, reared in captivity and fed an alternative diet, they are safe. But if they have been feeding on tomato plants or tobacco, their bodies imbue the toxins contained in the plants, with the nicotine in tobacco being particularly hazardous, I'd believe
I THINK they can be captured and after not having access to the toxic plants for a while are eventually safe as well.
Again, this is just a heads up to suggest researching them a bit. To confirm what I'm saying before becoming alarmed.

<Yawn>

You are very correct. My hornworms are captive bred and are fed that gross mallow that comes with your average painted lady caterpillars from bugville or whatever. I also cut off the horn when feeding to my geckos, to ensure it doesn't stab them in their stomach.

 

[Oroborus]

Not as high in protein as some other feeders but they make up for in feeding response - my tarantulas love hornworms! I find they are particularly useful for feeding arboreals as they are slow moving and will cling to plants, bark etc. I have also found that due to their massive fluid content that they are great for hydrating tarantulas that you suspect are going into pre-molt, my Theraposa stirmi immediately comes to mind. As TimB noted, captive bred only. Short answer, love them!