Live Monarch Castle And Of Course More Questions

[Gwynne]

I got my live monarch castle last night! Thank you, GBMonarch for the recommdation. It is simply huge! I have to clear off a section of counter to use it. Now that I have it, I am sort of afraid to use it though. It can easily fit 20 caterpillars. But I did lose 2 caterpillars last night. What on earth do you do if you are raising 20 caterpillars together and one becomes sick?? If other guys have made their chrysalises, how on earth would you sterile it? How does one sterile something made of netting? I am afraid I could possible have a nuclear polyhedrosis problem but time will tell. I have the containers that my two sick caterpillars occupied soaking in hot water at the moment, but I am afraid that even if I put the healthy group in where no one had gotten sick, what would I do if someone does get sick? How many caterpillars do people raise together?

[Farfalla]

Hi Gwynne!
My chameleon cage is kind of like the castle .But I only use it when the cats are in their last instar and start walking away from their food.. I let them go inside the screen enclosure. ( I sterilize it outside.. I spray it down with a 10 percent bleach solution,hose it off and dry it in the sun.)

Basically for me at home it's
1. eggs and newborns in the deli type containers
2Older cats in the hermit crab cages
3.Those ready to pupate and chrysalises in the screen enclosure.

At school I let them pupate on the lids of the hermit crab cages then I hang them up in a really big screened enclosure we have there.

Everyone has their own method that works best for them (I wish there was one perfect method!!)
I can tell you this, though.. I bought a lot of stuff when I first started.. and I am STILL buying stuff.

[GBMonarch]

I use a similiar method as Farfalla, using different containers for different stages. When the cats are big and I move them to the tent. I have the hanging chrysalises in with the larger cats and have had no problems. The cats just keep eating until they're ready to make the climb. They find a good spot and make they're chrysalis. When a batch has all flown away, I take the whole tent and wash it in the tub, using a shower spray and the 10% bleach solution and rinse it well. I then take it outside for another rinse with the hose.

I did purchase a spray disinfectant from the same site and use it when I clean containers. You can spray in in the cage too. Link below.
http://www.livemonarch.com/order-live-monarch.htm

Good luck!

[Gwynne]

I just put 9 caterpillars in the castle tonight. Let's hope they are all healthy! I guess I should have waited until they were bigger, but things were getting out of hand and I was running out of containers to put everyone in.

I have 8 chrysalises in my aquarium, 3 chrysalises in my hermit crab cage, 2 in the J position, 1 large caterpillar in the lady but zoo, the 8 caterpillars that were exposed to the two that died yesterday in two large deli containers, and six caterpillars of assorted sizes in a small container. Then I tried putting a couple babies in a container with a lid, but I was afraid they werent getting any air, so I put them in a ziplock bag with some leaves.

I guess I shouldnt have put young ones in the monarch castle, huh? I just didnt have any place to raise them though. I cleaned my whole kitchen today and devoted it to the caterpillars!

I guess I should have bought the small castle for the smaller ones and the large castle for the larger ones!