So I've been doing my best to make them comfortable. Giving water hourly, hand feeding kale & generally just keeping a close eye. I just want them to be comfortable & I don't know what else to do...

I know I should just put them into the freezer, as a humane way to end the suffering. But since I feel partly responsible & to be honest, the thought of that just breaks my heart.

To say I'm distraught is a huge understatement... because I feel somewhat responsible for the mess they are now in. I thought they would die hours after, but no. Somehow still alive & struggling to survive 😥

So I tried my best to intervene & pull the rest off with tweezers, but ended up causing more damage to their frail, little body. He/she has lost one back leg completely, wings are completely mangled & the rest of their little feets is still incased in the last of the (now hardened) molt.

Yup. This is accurate. lol.

<3

^^more pics^^ <3

Literally such gentle, pure souls. Very curious (will stand up & look directly at you), plus they don't bite at all. <3

...I didn't even know thats where silk came from, to be honest, so its made me even more determined to raise them to have a happy, full life.

Also read that they are the source of actual silk production, while google-researching. Apparently they boil them alive to extract the silk, now that I know, I'm never going to buy any real silk fabric ever again, only synthetic...

Ordered some Silkworm Mulberry-leaf chow from Etsy, & have set up a larger space for them, with boxes to climb on/hide in. Later going to order one of those butterfly-net enclosures for when they turn into moths.

It's all about keeping within the balance of nature. Instead they are left to slowly starve on the shelves, if not immediately bought as food.

Not that I'm opposed to the idea of livefood in general (I have pets that need to eat live insects too), but the very least the shops could do is recognize them as actual living animals & provide a basic level of care...

...And without much knowledge I fed them on regular veggies, like I do my other rescues, but all ended up dying because they require a special diet of ONLY fresh Mulberry leaves (which is near impossible to find locally & the petshop doesn't supply that kind of food for them, or anything close).

It's actually my 2nd attempt at a rescue of these. 1st time was a couple of years ago (they don't get them in stock often)...

🥰