hi guys,

Is house flies a good staple food for veiled chameleons (instead of cricket)?

PS: the flies are not wild caught.

thanks guys

I love flies and would always choose them over crickets. The great thing about flies are they eat just about anything you give them making gutloading a cinch. The bad side is they just don't live very long. I've been able to keep them for 2 weeks max, so for them to be your primary feeder breeding is a must. Check the following site for breeding info.
http://www.adcham.com/html/insects/i...y-rearing.html

Good luck!
Edward

hey. thanks
do i need to dust the fly too? if i have to, how on earth i do that without turning
my room into the 4th plague in egypt

PS: hey man you live really close to me. (that if you're still in azusa)

Yeah you still have to dust unless your gutload contains a sufficient amount of calcium and other essential nutrients. Controlling flies as feeders is almost impossible even with some of the best setups. The adcham website has an effective setup using a bucket some pvc piping and nylon stocking (check out the pic on the site). This is the same setup I have. I usually use a plastic cup w/ a lid to trap the flies. The cup also contains my supplements and all I have to do is open the lid in the cage to release them.

~yes I still do live in Azusa where you from?

Edward

I'm personally against using flies as a staple. I recently bought some fly pupae and love them They just seem to small for a staple; you would need lots and lots to make him/her full. I stick to crickets as a staple but always have some flies in their ready to hatch. I add new pupae every 3 days or so so he has enough time to eat them all. As of now, he seems to like both equally as much. I would however consider changing staples to roaches; they are big enough and easy to care for.

uhhh... roaches is unfortunately out of the question...
I am paranoid and unable to touch them without screaming like a little girl.
especially when they gather in a big number...

this fear never overwhelmed me when it deals with other insects though...
I touch crickets, scorpion, spider, and any other insects that does not resemble roaches without any problem at all
O yea crickets kinda looked like roaches but luckily it resembles grasshopper more.. so i can psych myself..

so i guess i'll be adding more of flies to balance the cricket daily dose that i use 2 give for my baby.
Thanks for the tips and warning.

i live near west covina