Hawaii owners

I have looked at shipping in silk worms and other insects besides crickets to feed to my chameleon, but I have been told over and over that I can't have them sent here.

What do other chameleon owners here feed theirs? I get meal worms and let them turn into the beetles and will feed those once in a while, or when I catch a cockroach outside I'll feed that, but other than this, her main staple of food is gut-loaded crickets.

Suggestions?
Terri

Please! I'm hoping someone will be able to give me some help on this issue, please please speak up!

why can't the silkworms be sent to you? Have you contacted any of the silkworm breeders?. There are two in California. Mulberry Farms and Coastal Silkworms. If you cannot have the worms shipped, what about the eggs of the silkworms. You can hatch those yourself if the actual worms cannot be shipped but I need to know the reason why and who is telling you this. What about Locusts?. Can you get those in Hawaii? What do the wild chameleons on the island eat? Can you get superworms, waxworms, phoenix worms? Hornworms eat tomato plants. what about those? I do not know what you can and cannot get in Hawaii but this is what we use over here.

The breeders/farms that I contacted said that they were not able to ship to Hawaii. Quarantine is what I was told. When I clicked on shipping on the websites, it always came up with "No shipping to HI".

From what I can gather, the wild ones eat the cockroaches and other bugs. They live up on the mountains so I don't know exactly. Never saw a wild one. Also, if I were to use some of the worms, how do you get a chameleon to learn to eat them....Celia just looks at them like "what do I do with that"?

I see that they cant ship live insects into Hawaii without a permit but what about silkworm eggs and then breed them yourself? All the disclaimers I have seen are for 'live' insects. I am not sure if that would work or if its detrimental to your environment.

silkworms

you should be able to get them i live on big island and my petstore stacey's pets has them

Really? You live on the Big Island and you have them! Do you know if your store breeds them? I thought about doing that myself, but I'm just not able to. If you could, let me know who your pet store is and I'll call and see if they have any recommendations for me. I am running into a big pile of nothing around here.

Thanks so much!

Petland Kahala sells silkworms and the leaves. They call it Chameleon Bento plate. Not a regular item. Get on their wait list.

panthercham said:

I see that they cant ship live insects into Hawaii without a permit but what about silkworm eggs and then breed them yourself? All the disclaimers I have seen are for 'live' insects. I am not sure if that would work or if its detrimental to your environment.

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You would still need a permit even if you are shipping just eggs, they are still insects in a sense. They probably dont want any more introduced species on the islands which is why there are very strict laws preventing exports of animals. The only thing you can really do is try to get stuff locally, or try to smuggle it dont do that please haha

the worms can be fed in a a cup or your best bet is to stick them on a branch and let the chameleon see them move around. There is no way to get them to eat them, it is just instinct to them that it is food. They are either going to be interested in trying them or not. But if they don't eat it at first, just keep trying to offer it them everyday. There is not one food I have offered to my cham that he has never eaten. On the other hand, they do tend to get tired of foods and will sometimes turn them down because they are sick of eating the same thing all the time. Mine used to love crickets and basically refused to eat them.

lrry93 said:

Petland Kahala sells silkworms and the leaves. They call it Chameleon Bento plate. Not a regular item. Get on their wait list.

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Thanks, I thought I had tried there, but would never have asked for a Chameleon Bento! I will call this morning. Thanks.

I'll also try to get her interested in the worms, hopefully that will help her out in diversifying her diet and improving basic health.

Any more suggestions? Thanks a ton!

No offense but you live on a tropical island. You have an unlimited supply of bugs you can collect and feed your chams. Just grab a butterfly net and head out of town into some tropical areas. You could collect enough in an hr or so to feed off for a week. Between that and crix and supers you'd have plenty of options for the cham.

I live in hot humid texas. And I can collect enough grasshoppers to feed my chams for a cpl of days in just an hr. Mine love anything green. Esp katydids and big green hoppers. They love em'. Its almost comical watching them perk up when they see one.

I'm on the Big Island and if anyone finds a place that sells silkworm eggs please let me know! Stacey's sells silkworms and crickets, but at way too high of a price to be used as a regular feeder. Also the Aquarium Store (which sells Jackson's for $20 each) sells crickets and meal worms. I'd thought about buying some silkworms and raising them to adulthood and collecting the eggs, but just haven't had the time yet. Currently I'm raising thousands of Black Soldier Flies and feed my 3 chameleons exclusively on those. The chameleons are outside in a cage so plenty of other insects are available to them.

carol5208...

since your cham doesnt like to eat crickets anymore, what do you feed it?
my jackson hasnt eaten in a few days, and ive been feeding him crickets. he use to eat about 5-7 a day and now refuses to eat them. im getting scared. i gave him the meal worms and now he wont eat those guys either! please help me!!!!! CAROL5208 PLEASE HELP!!!!

Malarkey: Why don't you first describe your setup / attach pictures & give us a little background on your chameleon and how you've been caring for it. That's the only way we can make an educated guess on what is affecting it.

try filling this out:

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

I have had my Jackson for a year here on maui. I collect roaches and pillbugs. I have found 4 or 5 spots where I can collect enough for about 3-5 Weeks in under 25 minutes. I keep them in a jug with sticks a little dirt and and a few toilet paper rolls. I also add cricket feed and carrots to the jug. It just takes a little searching. No need to breed them. Hawaii is has so much bugs and no contaminates if you go to the right spots. I still dust because I use uv lights 70% of the time . Hope this helps. Aloha

Texas Panther Man said:

No offense but you live on a tropical island. You have an unlimited supply of bugs you can collect and feed your chams. Just grab a butterfly net and head out of town into some tropical areas. You could collect enough in an hr or so to feed off for a week. Between that and crix and supers you'd have plenty of options for the cham.

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That's kind of what I was thinking..... Living on a tropical island, the possibilities for insect variety are endless!

ConcertPhotog said:

Stacey's sells silkworms and crickets, but at way too high of a price to be used as a regular feeder.

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You could always purchase some at a bit of a high price, and just start breeding them yourself to save on money. All you would have to do, is order the silkworm chow online which isn't too expensive. As for the crickets - any veggies will do.

You shouldn't feed isopods/pill bugs to chameleons if they are wild and aren't a captive bred colony. Isopods, no matter whether you collect them has contaminants or not collect heavy metals inside them from the soil and are toxic in large quantities.