Mulberry leaves required in Adelaide ASAP for silkworm food!

[marcmarc]

Hi Guys,

I just had a some silkworms shipped in after thinking my Mum's mulberry tree had leaves, and me discovering it has none atm (just starting to bud). Something I should have checked I guess.
Does anyone local have any leaves or know of any alternatives I can use as food, I've heard about silkworm chow but I don't know where to get it. I have about two days worth of leaves then I am in trouble.

Thanks M.

 

[Sinners121]

pretty sure you can use eucalypt leaves

 

[Jen]

pretty sure you can use eucalypt leaves

Huh? No, you can't.

Sorry marcmarc, my tree is covered with new leaves but i'm in Perth, have you tried the local botanical garden? Even try Bunnings, they may have small trees you can keep in a pot. Also try walking around the block and check neighbours yards. The place you got the eggs/worms from should sell chow, if not there are a couple of places I will pm you the websites.

 

[marcmarc]

Thanks everyone so far, if you could pm me the websites Jen that would be awesome.

After a bit of investigating I've found a few mentions of Violet leaves, and lettuce if i'm really desperate. I really should have been better prepared. If I had some dry leaves stored away I could make some chow.

 

[Justdragons]

pet stock at st marys had them last night and maybe norlunga, dunno bout prospect.. ill check my folks trees tonight if they have them ill pm you.. she has 2 trees and for some reason they are about 2 months out of sync... dunno how that is possible cause i thought trees went on seasons but they seem to. lol
at the pet stocks they are in the fridge section... it definetly spins me out how fast those buggers can smash a packet of leaves though..

 

[marcmarc]

pet stock at st marys had them last night and maybe norlunga, dunno bout prospect.. ill check my folks trees tonight if they have them ill pm you.. she has 2 trees and for some reason they are about 2 months out of sync... dunno how that is possible cause i thought trees went on seasons but they seem to. lol
at the pet stocks they are in the fridge section... it definetly spins me out how fast those buggers can smash a packet of leaves though..

They certainly are eating machines, thanks for your help as well!

I don't really want to feed anything other than mulberry leaves as they are apparently the optimal choice to make. If you can help me out with this i'll be your best friend for ever!!
I'll try some of the petstock's you suggested, i'm sort of north sub's but i'll drive if I have to.
I'm off to work now but thanks again guys!!

 

[Justdragons]

there is one at prospect on main north i think near that subway that looks like a circus tent.

 

[user 16324]

my old school has a tree you could raid haha.

 

[Amazing Amazon]

We are currently bringing them in from QLD as their trees are a bit more advanced than ours. We do have them available from our store.
Mulberry Leaves for Silk Worms for sale - Aquarium and reptile online shop in Melbourne. Specialise in Baby Turtles, Lizards, Frogs and Pythons also for sale!

We have just started getting silkworms in and should be able to offer some of the great bulk buy deals over the next couple of weeks. Keep an eye on our site if interested.
Paul

 

[marcmarc]

Will do, thanks.

my old school has a tree you could raid haha.

Where is the school? I don't want to do any trespassy sort of stuff though.

 

[Hissyfit.chels]

Silk worm chow can be bought online (mostly from us sites), However, they will not eat it once they have gotten a taste for mulberry leaves.

Where abouts do you live? I have a source down in the hackham area.

 

[marcmarc]

I am near Paralowie (30ish mins from Hackam) Hissyfit and if I could get some leaves that would be very awesome. I'm down to my last leaf (tom morning will run out) and I can meet anywhere tomorrow if some are available. If something can be done please hook me a pm

A supply for a fortnight will see me through till Mum's tree is a leaved up.

Thanks everyone for all the info and help.

 

[Lollypop]

If they're fully grown, & u don't want to breed them, u can freeze them to have as feeders - no mulberry leaves involved whatsoever, easy!!

 

[marcmarc]

If they're fully grown, & u don't want to breed them, u can freeze them to have as feeders - no mulberry leaves involved whatsoever, easy!!

I want them to get a bit of size first, some i'll feed live when at size, the rest I might breed if i get the leaves in time (if not they're all din dins). I bought a bag today (small amount in the bag) but I got a pretty good heads-up on a spot, although it is a bit of a drive, so should be ok.

 

[Dannyboi]

A mate of mine kept silkworms for years and swore you could feed them beetroot leaves. After a quick google search I have found this is true but it will not sustain them for long (but it will change the colour of the silk they spin)

 

[Bluetongue1]

You can also feed them rose petals and rose leaves. They will eat the outer green leaves of lettuce that they throw away at the supermarket but are not keen on it.

Blue

 

[Bugster]

Hi, I have silkworms and when they started hatching our tree had barely any leaves. They can survive on lettuce or rose petals for a short time while you wait for the tree to start shooting. I have heaps of leave but I live in NSW. Does anyone want some silkworms for reptile food?

 

[marcmarc]

Interesting on the rose stuff, i'll give that a try.

 

[Jen]

Are you sure your mum's tree is alive? Mine has fruit - ripe fruit - already. (Yes, I know I am further west, but the trees I have back in NSW have leaves already too)

 

[marcmarc]

It is alive, lots of buds all over it. It has the dark variety of fruit, the leaves are a bit thicker/rougher and don't wilt so easily like the weeping or white variety. When it has leaves anyways......Big tree as well.
I went to that big harware/garden place that we all know and they had weeping mulberry with some leaf action on it, just not fully leaved yet.
I might get one for the front because it looks pretty, nothing to do with silkworm food whatsoever, purely ornamental.............not a convincing liar am I?

A mate of mine kept silkworms for years and swore you could feed them beetroot leaves. After a quick google search I have found this is true but it will not sustain them for long (but it will change the colour of the silk they spin)

I will try that as an experiment at some stage, it would be interesting to see the colour diffo's.

There is enough leaves in the reserve for tomorrow and that is all, although I will investigate a spot suggested to me for more. If anyone has any leaves or even knows of a bush/tree please let me know. I'll be your best friend and sing songs about you to my cat