In the wild, your bearded dragon and gecko would be getting a wide variety of insects, worms, spiders, etc., to munch on. So, when you keep them as a pet, it’s necessary to provide them with the same diet variety. Hornworms are easily available to feed your pet and serve as a great reward for them, too.
A well-balanced diet is imperative for a happy and healthy pet. You can use a variety of feeder insects in its diet. One such healthy option is hornworms. They are soft, juicy, full of nutrition, and, most importantly, easy to care for and feed. So, let’s know more about these lovely creatures.
Hornworms are also known as sphinx moths or hawk moths and make for a unique reward for your pet. These are large, horned caterpillars that can grow to several inches long – but you should not let them.
Unless your pet reptile is that big, you should follow the tips to maintain the food for your pet reptile.
What Are Hornworms?
You must have seen this green-coloured caterpillar, also known as a hornworm, in your home garden. There are two hornworm varieties:
Tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) and tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). Both of these are larvae caterpillars of the hawk moths, also called sphinx moths.
Tobacco Hornworms
Tobacco hornworms are green in colour with white diagonal markings along their sides. They have a distinctive red spiked tail or horn on the back end, which gives them their name. They mainly feed on tobacco and tomato plants and are considered a pest by gardeners and farmers.
Tomato Hornworms
Tomato hornworms are slightly different from tobacco hornworms. They have pale yellow V-shaped markings on their back. They also have a tail at the rear end, but their colour is black.
Essentially, both tobacco and tomato hornworms can feed on the same plants. This is why they can offer the same nutrition to your reptile. So, you can buy any of them as they are almost the same.
These are some of the largest caterpillars that are available in Minnesota and can measure up to four inches. One way to identify hornworms is through the V-shaped marks on each side of its body. They also have black projections that are also referred to as horns. These are present at the end of their abdominal segment.
Tomato hornworms can survive winters in their warm homes – the form is called a pupa. It is after this that they emerge as adult moths in spring. These caterpillars drop off plants and burrow into the soil to transform into pupa.
If you want to get these hornworms to feed your pet reptile, you can get them from harvesters. You can get them from pet stores that have them in small or large sizes. They grow best at 80° to 82° F so maintaining them at home will be easier.
If you think your pet reptile’s size is not a lot – you can slow their growth by keeping them around 55 ° F – cooler temperatures restrict their growth.
Why Should You Choose Hornworm?
Here are a few reasons why you should consider a hornworm for your pet reptile:
1. Easy To Digest
Hornworms have a soft exoskeleton, which makes them easier to swallow and digest. It’s an ideal feed for your baby geckos who have difficulty eating worms with a harder exoskeleton.
They have little to no chitin, so there are significantly fewer chances of constipation in your reptile.
2. High Moisture Content
No one can beat hornworms in this water content. They have an exceptionally high moisture content of about 85 per cent, and this makes them a great source of extra water and hydration for your pet.
3. Slow-Moving
Most reptiles love to catch the insects by themselves and then eat them. These slow-moving worms are easy to catch and make for an excellent feeder for your reptile.
Unlike feeders like crickets which can hurt your pet, they are incredibly safe.
4. Low-fat Content
You will be surprised to know that these meaty worms are not at all fatty. They have a fat content of just 3 per cent.
This makes them incredibly healthy for your reptiles.
5. High Calcium
The hornworms are very high in calcium compared to many feeder insects. They can provide about 46.4mg of calcium, which is enough for your reptile.
6. Good Protein Content
The protein content is not the highest in hornworms, but it is still good at 9 per cent. Anyways, you can dust the hornworm with protein if you feel the content is low for your reptile or combine it with other high-protein insects.
7. Different Sizes
Hornworms grow very quickly and can reach up to 1000 times their original weight within two weeks. So, you can feed them to your younger as well as adult reptiles.
How to Feed Your Pet Reptile the Hornworm?
Your bearded dragons can eat hornworms once a day but be careful about not giving it too much of it. A young, bearded dragon can eat around 20 – 50 insects per day. So, you can include about ten hornworms each day along with other feeder insects.
Your adult pet would not need as much food as the younger one. It should consist of 70% greens and 30% insects. So, you can feed about 6 to 15 worms per week.
Similarly, you can give about 2-4 hornworms per feeding to your baby geckos. This can go up to 6 to 8 hornworms for the juvenile geckos and 4 to 6 hornworms for each feeding adult.
A full-grown hornworm can reach up to 5 inches in size. So, when you feed your baby or juvenile reptiles, be careful about the size of the feeding worms. Fully grown pupae can choke your reptile.
To ensure you are feeding the right size, you can compare the worm size with the distance between your reptile’s eyes. Your worm size should be less than that.
Hornworms can be a great option to feed your pet. Sure, they alone can’t give a lot of protein, but they can become a part of their well-balanced diet. Hornworms are addictive, so you need to give them as treats to your reptile; otherwise, they will only eat hornworms.
Wrapping It Up!
That was all about the nutritional profile of hornworms and how they can act as the perfect source of nutrition for your pet reptile. The caterpillars are easy to maintain and feed at home.
Due to their low maintenance and require just sunlight and tomatoes (yes, they’re extremely fond of this fruit/vegetable.) Just keep them in a suitable container as per your need (your pet’s size) and feed them to your pet using tongs or your hands.
Hornworms are a good source of protein, calcium and fat. Apart from that they serve as a great source of hydration as they are high in moisture.
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Galeria Malarstwa
This article is a testament to your expertise and commitment to quality content. Well done!