Information Needed On Baby Caterpillar ASAP. Thanks!!

[Gwynne]

Could anyone tell me the longest they have had a baby caterpillar not eat and still be healthy? Mine seems to be in the molting phase, if that is what is happening, for a very long time. He has not eaten in three days. At one point when it looked like he was done molting, I got him off the mesh at the top of the cage and put him on a leaf. The only thing he did was crawl off the leaf, so I put him back on the top of the cage. I have decided not to touch him any more because he seems to know what he is doing more than I do! I have blown on him gently and he does react, so I believe he is alive. His body seems a little twisted too. This is my first time dealing with a little caterpillar. I orinally found him on the underside of a leaf and it had not been chewed on, so he is very young. Please let me know if this is normal or not. Thanks!

[dzyg]

Well I had just replied to your PM didn't realize you already tried putting it on a milkweed leaf. 3 days is a long time but there really isn't anything you can do that you haven't already done, at least not that I know of. Let us know what happens. Oh, I have had some crooked looking ones this year too when they have been molting.

Donna

[Gwynne]

Yes, I already tried the leaves, when he crawled off, I thought maybe he wasnt done molting and wasnt strong enough to crawl to the mess so I lifted him to the top and he held on. Now he is still there. Has anyone else experienced a caterpillar that molts and doesnt seem to want to come down to eat?

[Farfalla]

I have been there, Gwynne.Donna is right.. all you can do is watch and wait.
When we first startied rearing Monarchs at school we would hover over them and try to get them to eat. All the literature makes it seem that they should never stop eating. But they do take time out to rest and moult. As long as you are providing fresh leaves and they are healthy caterpillars.. they will know what to do.Three days of no eating however, does seem like a long time. I have had batches that have just stopped eating and then died. There are lots of bacterial,viral and protozoan diseases that can kill monarch caterpillars. Sad but true.

I am playing a waiting game with mine too....My Ac went on the fritz while we were out and the milkweed that the newly hatched cats were on went funky.I cut the pieces off and placed them on fresh leaves ASAP...So we will see.


And Perhaps someone knows about this symptom...
One of my older cats ,just prior to pupating, expelled a drop of brownish/red fuild.That can't be good, huh?

I guess all we can do is our best! It's all part of raising Monarchs.
~Hope

[Gwynne]

Thank you for your response. I dont believe the little guy is alive anymore. I saw that one of his antennia was crushed to his face and I was able to get if away from his face, carefully, with tweezers. It almost seemed something was covering his mouth, though. Wasnt sure if that was how it was supposed to be. He was definately alive at that point, though he felt moist. He would curl or uncurl and I knew he was still hanging in there.

I went on a caterpillar search this afternoon and when I came back, he looked even worse. He is limp and isnt moving any more. I dont want to dispose of him quite yet in case he isnt dead, but on the other hand, if he has bacteria, I dont want to keep him around!

I also dont know if I should use this cage again. Being mesh, I can wash it, but cant soak it as the water will run right through and I dont see how I can sanitize it.

I hope you were able to save your caterpillars. They must be used to the heat, but I guess being in the air conditioning then sudden heat could be a shock to their systems. Please keep us updated.