Gut Loading/Supplements/Worms

[Pancam]

I am a 1st time owner of a male Nosy Be panther chameleon (approx. 2-3 months of age):

The breeder recommended gut loading my feeders with Repashy Bug Burger and to dust them with Repashy Calcium Plus prior to each feeding. For those of you with experience...do you feel this is a good method?

Also, I'm a little lost when it comes to maintaining worms and such. The crickets aren't an issue, but how should I be gut loading worms?!?

So far, I have only used mealworms. I took a few out of the fridge and placed them in a container with a small block of Bug Burger and some of the oats from the container they came in. I left that out for 24 hours and then offered the worms (dusted) to my chameleon. I put the ones he didn't eat back in the fridge with the others.

I just bought some wax worms today, but I think they may end up being a bit too large for him right now. I read that wax worms don't eat at that stage in their life cycle...so, does that mean I don't need to do anything besides dust them prior to feeding?

I am also looking to purchase silkworms, butterworms and hornworms down the road. I know silkworms eat mulberry leaves/chow, but don't know much about the other two yet.

As far as I know, silkworms are pretty much the only alternative to crickets, and the others should only to be offered as treats. I'm feeding him crickets, but really don't like dealing with them too much and plan to switch to silkworms with less crickets if he likes them (unless someone lets me know why I shouldn't???).

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[JennaMarie]

I'm new too, but I know mealworms can be harsh on their bellies when they're young. It's hard for them to digest the thick exoskeleton. Not too sure about the other stuff though, as I'm looking into the same things myself.

 

[Pancam]

Thanks! I know they're not the best, but he's not eating very well and seems to like them. He's never received more than 2/day along with about 4 or 5 crickets. He rarely eats the crickets and I feel like he should be eating more overall. He did eat a wax worm yesterday, but they're still a little to big for him.

I do have silkworms and butterworms coming...hope the variety helps. All I can tell you is that silkworms are supposed to be comparable to crickets...butterworms over twice as high in calcium than other feeders, wax and hornworms tare supposed to be good to store.

If you find anything out, let me know if you can!

 

[Raphael1047]

I think that crickets are a stable diet. the rest are best as treats, especially wax worms because they have low nutritional value but are high in fat. Switching to silkworm as a stable diet instead of crickets is (in my opinion) is not a good idea. One reason is that silkworms have a higher fat value then crickets. If you are looking for an alliterative to crickets that is a better food for chameleons there is one that comes to mind, Dubia roaches. I currently have a breeding colony of dubias. So any way I recommend that you stick with crickets or get some roaches.If you have any more questions or I have made a mistake, please feel free to pm me. Also here is a picture of some dubia roaches.

 

[sandrachameleon]

hi
waxworms can and do eat, but they're not a very good choice of feeders.
silkworms (which can eat more than just mulberry) are a good choice but cannot totally replace crickets and other feeders

here is a link to a good list of commonly used feeders, including information/a suggestion about how much of your chameleons total diet they can form:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

You want to offer a varied diet. I personally feel No one feeder should make up more than 20% of your chameleons diet. If you use a lot of soft-bodied silkworms, you must also include some feeders that are chintonous, like crickets roachs mealworms superworms. A varied diet of well gutloaded prey will reduce your need for supplements.

Here is gutloading info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...just-crickets-roaches-gutload-everything.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/443-superworm-substrate-gutload-one.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/575-january-2012-dry-gutload-recipe.html
Bug Burger is a product that many people are trying. It does contain one questional ingredient (carrageenan) that some feel is potentially unhealthy. I think bug burger is fine for occassional use, but I'd never rely on it completely. I personally think its better to make my own gutload, and use things like Repashy Bug Burger as a good back up. Other popular gutload mixes include DinoFuel and Cricket Crack

supplement info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
Repashy calcium plus is a good choice of supplement, but it doesnt need to be used on every feeder - some prey doesnt need dusting at all, with any brand of supplement.

 

[Madgreek19]

I agree with Raphael, stick with crickets or dubias and give him a treat every once in awhile. Also the breeder told you to gutload/dust correctly. Just dust fruits and veggies with bugburger. I mix bugburger and dinofuel to dust my fruits and veggies, feeders go nuts.

 

[Pancam]

Thank You!

Thanks to everyone for the great information! Very helpful!