Butterworms

[mr cyclone]

Tried and testes
I bought some butterworms 45 in total .
I tried these with
Triturus Cristatus
Tylototriton Taliangensis
Tylototriton Verrucoses
Neurergus Crocatus
Neurergus Derjugini
Triturus Marmoratous
Tylototriton C.F Kweichowensis

Tylototriton Verrucoses and Neurergus Derjugini and Crocatus Eat them.All others refused them point blank.
All of the newts Did except lesserwaxmoth larvae almost immediately,i have 2 Taliang skinny juves that are only eating these at the moment.I hope to get them on earthworms soon.
My Derjugini and Crocatus refuse earthworms ,but love fruitflies,(they make them poop alot)
End of experiment
I shall be culturing as many lesserwaxmoth larvae as possible they are excellent feeders.I would love to here of anyone else's experiences

 

[erik3333]

Thanks for the info. It's funny, my crocatus love earthworms. How big are these worms, they seem quite large?

 

[mr cyclone]

Hi The worms I tried to feed the newts were dendrobena,and lobworms,The Butterworms are around the same size as temperate caterpillars or 3 or 4 x lesserwaxmoth larvae,they have a perfumed butter smell to them.May be why some newts won't eat them

 

[mr cyclone]

Best to add that Crocatus,Derjugini,Taliang,Marmoratous are juvenile,
The verrucoses adult
Cristatus,Sub Adult and juvenile

 

[Coastal Groovin]

Butter worms are the size of three good size wax worms combined into one. They are a great food source rich in vitamins and minerals BUT they are very expensive compared to wax worms. I can get the same amount of wax worms by weight for less than half the price of butter worms. I just can't see any reasons to part with my hard earned money like for another form of moth larvae. If you could raise them I would say yeah go for it but they are hit with radiation to sterilize them and make that impossible. When Chile starts exporting them at a lower cost I might start to go with them. They do seem to live longer than wax worms so that is a plus on their side.

 

[Azhael]

Waxmoths, both lesser and greater, really are great feeders, at least when you consider the response they get. Don´t abuse them, though...as a staple they are not adequate.

 

[Coastal Groovin]

Wax worms are great for putting weight on new arrivals and when certain animals stop eating other regular feeder items. They can really stimulate a strong feeding response.

 

[mr cyclone]

Yes I realise the waxworms arent to be a staple but at the moment they are too fatten up a skinny juve that wont eat ,And as the said newt is a Taliangensis I 'm reluctant to let him die without exhausting my efforts to feed him,he loves the lesserwaxmoth larvae,hopeing he turns out to be a nice wee fatty like the rest.I feed my Newts,Whiteworms,lesserwaxmoth,dendro,lob,fruitflies,bloodworms,daphnia,brineshrimp.
So I'm not worried about Malnourishing them All of my newts I raise I try to make as healthy as possible and all of them are Captive Bred.Wild Caught are hard to come by ,and then they normally die anyway

 

[Azhael]

That is a good diet, indeed. I only pointed out the unsuitability of waxworms as a staple because you said you wanted to breed as many as possible xD
Good luck with the T.taliangensis, let´s hope it gains some weight and starts accepting other foods.

 

[mr cyclone]

Yes my fingers are crossed for the wee fella.I have 6 taliang juves at the moment from 2 CB bloodlines from germany,so i'm hopeing to breed them in 2 to 3 years,that is my long term plans.We can all dream and hope!

 

[Coastal Groovin]

I will moisten the wax worm and coat it lightly with powered krill fish flakes to add more protein and nutrients to them