2 Qs (Worms and Crickets)

[sharikov]

I've heard that when feeding worms you have to kill them first otherwise they will eat their way out of the animal. is that true?

And, how many crickets should I be feeding my baby panther per day. I have been doing one - two depending on their size. Is that good? Thanks

 

[chameleonare]

the worm thing is a myth but i dont have and answer for your second queton sorry i am sure somebody will post something

 

[Jordan]

Can you get a measurement of your panther from vent to snout? The only chameleon I could think of that would eat anything dead would be a veiled. You really do not have to kill food items for chameleons. Some insects you may want to remove certain parts but I think it will be awhile before you get there.

 

[sharikov]

vent(meaning the base of the tail?) to snout, probably about an inch, or an 1.25. he is sleeping right now, so i don't wanna bother him

 

[Jordan]

I would go with more then that. I can not say for sure because he is smaller then what my experience goes. Some one may have a better answer but I will throw this one at you. Offer quite a few at one time. What ever he devours quickly go with that number. At a guess I would say he will stop in the five to ten catagory. The crickets that are offered should be no longer then the width of his mouth. That would probably be 2 week old crickets at that size.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Usually a very young chameleon will eat as many as 15 insects a day. He's too small for worms yet. The size of the cricket should be as long as the chameleons head is wide.

 

[Zerah Morris]

He is NOT too small for worms. Pinhead silkworms are great for little guys, as soon as they start shooting. I use what I have termed silkworm lollypops. Just put a ball of chow about the size of a small marble on the end of a tooth pick, lay it in a mass of newly hatched silkworms (or whatever size you want to feed), when it is amply covered poke it in the branch of one of your plants. The little guys love this, and it is a great way to ensure they are getting enough calcium and good hydration.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Good to know...didn't know they were available like that. Can you order them or do you need to breed them.

 

[Zerah Morris]

To my knowledge no one ships freshly hatched silkworms. I do not breed silks, too much trouble, I just hatch. I try and buy 5000-10000 eggs at a time and keep them in the fridge. I hatch out 50-100 at a time every two weeks or so, this way I have a small constant supply of various sizes. I use the small clear bait boxes with small compartments in them for my hatch, I try about 10-15 eggs per compartment. At about 1" I move them to bigger bait boxes with bigger compartments for the rest of their unnatural life. This has worked much better for me then mass hatches.

 

[SamD]

hey, you seem to know what you are talking about. my mom has a thing against crickets but she says she can will be ok. my question is, is it possible to have meal worms or anything other than crickets as a chameleons main food? if it has to be crickets, thats totally ok.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

SamD,
You found and resurrected a four year old thread!
Some good info from our old friend Zerah Morris.
To answer your question, crickets should be part of the diet and you will find they are easier to obtain and gut load than some of the other acceptable feeders.
Mealworms are not a good option, but superworms are GREAT!
Silkworms are also fantastic, full of moisture and higher in calcium.

-Brad

 

[summoner12]

Don't use meal worms... they are basically junk. You can feed silk worms and horn worms of the correct size for your younger cham. Mulberry Farms is a sponsor of the site, you can check them out.

as for feeding crickets, feed smalls for a young cham. Feed as many as he will eat. Don't forget to dust your crickets. check out this LINK

 

[Chameleonguy5756]

A lot of worms are higher in fat and can cause obesity if fed too much. I have always used gut loaded crickets as a staple in my chameleons' diet. I supplement with worms every couple of feedings. As far as the worms eating their way out...not likely. I have always heard it was a myth. The myth usually mentions superworms because they are known to bite. If you have ever seen a juvenile or adult chameleon eat, they chew their food pretty good. lol

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I have a male veiled who has only eaten superworms since he was about 10 months old.
I have withheld them for weeks trying to get him to eat something different ... he just won't eat.
I gave up long ago and just try to make sure I gut load the supers as well as possible and dust with calcium (no D3) at every feeding.
He has not been given D3 for two years.
He is 3 and 1/2 years old now and healthy as a horse ... on superworms and NOTHING else.
I am not advocating this diet and none of my other chameleons are on it ... most have never seen a superworm, but superworms are not as bad as some would lead you to believe and they are easy to gut load.

-Brad