I would like to share some thoughts about the husbandry of chams, and in the process, share some conclusions based on my experiences and the help of other cham keepers.
Please read this post understanding that not all my perceptions are right, and I believe we all are in a continuous learning journey on how to successfully take care of chams. I think most points have value, even if that value is to challenge your thinking.
1) Feeders-Buy what you need. 1,000 crickets at 2.7 cents each does no good if your chameleons only eat 20 a day. Sooo much $ lost!
2) Feeders-Keep Superworms in oats, not bran-they smell better. Use a strainer to sift out the frass (poop) and the worms and oats can go back in the bin.
3) Feeders-Hornworms ensure your cham is being hydrated, so even if the cham does not drink in front of you, no worries. Hornworms are 85% H2O.
4) Feeders-Blue Bottle Flies are the BEST food for developing hunting skills and exercise. Don't feed them, they leave a brown spit on everything. Gutload the other feeders-the BB is for fun!
5) Feeders-Silkworms are the highest protein feeder, great for all sizes of chams, and you MUST hatch some moths for dinner...
6) Feeders-Mealworms are a no for me. Since superworms are softer, I never have used mealworms. Crickets are crunchy enough for roughage IMO.
7) Feeders-Stick Insects are probably one of the most common prey items in Africa and Madagascar; it makes sense to have this as a staple. You can have your own colony, Indian Sticks are the easiest.
8) Feeders-Butterworms are less fat than waxworms, last a lot longer in the fridge, get bigger than wax worms, and smell like oranges. Once Butterworms became available, I quit using wax worms.
9) Feeders-Wild caught insects are probably better than many farmed insects, and probably offer nutritional value beyond our efforts with farmed insects.
10) Enclosures-Create dense habitats where the cham can hide. The ability to hide is more important than me wanting to see him. Who is the habitat for??
11) Enclosures-Think horizontal highways, not vertical. Horizontal branches should be the majority of the branches. Have a top and mid level, and don't do a low level where the cham may easily hunt for food items on the floor who are eating cham poop and drinking nasty plant water. Exception for female chams; a branch down to the floor for egg laying.
12) Enclosures-Create a feeding container like the Sunny Delight bottle. This will reduce the number of feeders that fall to the floor, and enough escape to still have hunting occur.
13) Enclosures-Best automatic watering system is a Mist King (or other) pump, with 1/4 inch soaker hose from Lowes, zip-tied off to the upper branches. Nothing on the top of the screen, no nozzles spraying water on the floor. 22 inches of soaker hose RAINS 5 gallons of water over 6 days(If misting works for you in eye washing, keep it).With ANY watering system, you need 12 inches of a barrier along all sides of the bottom of the cage to stop splatter onto your floor (I use plexiglass so I can still see into the cage).
14) Enclosures-Lighting is critical, have the experts help you. At the writing of this, Todd at Light Your Reptiles is the best. You need a temperature gun to measure the temps in your cage, especially the basking spot. Chams with low temperatures for basking will not survive. Check the basking temperature weekly, and daily look to see if the basking bulb is burned out.
15) Myths..."Chams cannot be kept successfully in anything but a screen cage." Why do we Americans assume we are always right??
16) Myths..."Only feed wild caught insects you are sure are from a pesticide free zone." That would mean NO wild insects could be fed to chams. If the friggin insect is flying, leaping, crawling, etc, it is lunch. Paranoid parrots IMHO....
17) Myths..."The superworm needs its' head cut off before feeding it to your cham, or the superworm can eat a hole in the chams stomach/intestine." This is ridiculous, a cham does not suck the food down, they crunch it up.
18) Myths..."You should clip off the back legs of crickets because they will stab into the chams mouth/tongue." Really? who cuts off insect legs in Madagascar? That being said, I wouldn't give my cham a StickleBack stick bug, but cricket legs? Me thinks we cham keepers are a bit anal.
19) Myths...If it is on the Internet, it MUST be true...
20) Myths...Humanizing a lizard is unhelpful. "He likes me!" "He is angry because I ____." "He climbed right up my arm, he is beginning to trust me."
21) Myths..."I fed my cham ____ and he got sick from it" "I used Perlite and all my panther eggs didn't hatch. Perlite doesn't hold moisture." Sometimes we act like we are doctors with degrees, making assumptions and diagnoses that are unfounded, and by posting them here, take the chance of influencing new keepers who don't know how to separate the mushrooms from the bull.... It's kind of like watching Doctor House on TV and thinking 'Hey, i can figure stuff out like House can!' Don't believe something based on an experience, it rarely holds true when you compare to true studies, and in our case, to the collective experiences of the truly experienced cham keepers who not only have lots of green by their name, but have proven success in many species, in many vet visits, are able to breed and raise generations to F3 and beyond, and have many years of this hobby. BTW, I really only qualify in the years spent category.
Finally, get a mentor who you trust to ask your questions, to point you in the right direction. This hobby is not like many other reptile hobbies, it requires more than most people entering realize.
CHEERS!
Nick Barta
Please read this post understanding that not all my perceptions are right, and I believe we all are in a continuous learning journey on how to successfully take care of chams. I think most points have value, even if that value is to challenge your thinking.
1) Feeders-Buy what you need. 1,000 crickets at 2.7 cents each does no good if your chameleons only eat 20 a day. Sooo much $ lost!
2) Feeders-Keep Superworms in oats, not bran-they smell better. Use a strainer to sift out the frass (poop) and the worms and oats can go back in the bin.
3) Feeders-Hornworms ensure your cham is being hydrated, so even if the cham does not drink in front of you, no worries. Hornworms are 85% H2O.
4) Feeders-Blue Bottle Flies are the BEST food for developing hunting skills and exercise. Don't feed them, they leave a brown spit on everything. Gutload the other feeders-the BB is for fun!
5) Feeders-Silkworms are the highest protein feeder, great for all sizes of chams, and you MUST hatch some moths for dinner...
6) Feeders-Mealworms are a no for me. Since superworms are softer, I never have used mealworms. Crickets are crunchy enough for roughage IMO.
7) Feeders-Stick Insects are probably one of the most common prey items in Africa and Madagascar; it makes sense to have this as a staple. You can have your own colony, Indian Sticks are the easiest.
8) Feeders-Butterworms are less fat than waxworms, last a lot longer in the fridge, get bigger than wax worms, and smell like oranges. Once Butterworms became available, I quit using wax worms.
9) Feeders-Wild caught insects are probably better than many farmed insects, and probably offer nutritional value beyond our efforts with farmed insects.
10) Enclosures-Create dense habitats where the cham can hide. The ability to hide is more important than me wanting to see him. Who is the habitat for??
11) Enclosures-Think horizontal highways, not vertical. Horizontal branches should be the majority of the branches. Have a top and mid level, and don't do a low level where the cham may easily hunt for food items on the floor who are eating cham poop and drinking nasty plant water. Exception for female chams; a branch down to the floor for egg laying.
12) Enclosures-Create a feeding container like the Sunny Delight bottle. This will reduce the number of feeders that fall to the floor, and enough escape to still have hunting occur.
13) Enclosures-Best automatic watering system is a Mist King (or other) pump, with 1/4 inch soaker hose from Lowes, zip-tied off to the upper branches. Nothing on the top of the screen, no nozzles spraying water on the floor. 22 inches of soaker hose RAINS 5 gallons of water over 6 days(If misting works for you in eye washing, keep it).With ANY watering system, you need 12 inches of a barrier along all sides of the bottom of the cage to stop splatter onto your floor (I use plexiglass so I can still see into the cage).
14) Enclosures-Lighting is critical, have the experts help you. At the writing of this, Todd at Light Your Reptiles is the best. You need a temperature gun to measure the temps in your cage, especially the basking spot. Chams with low temperatures for basking will not survive. Check the basking temperature weekly, and daily look to see if the basking bulb is burned out.
15) Myths..."Chams cannot be kept successfully in anything but a screen cage." Why do we Americans assume we are always right??
16) Myths..."Only feed wild caught insects you are sure are from a pesticide free zone." That would mean NO wild insects could be fed to chams. If the friggin insect is flying, leaping, crawling, etc, it is lunch. Paranoid parrots IMHO....
17) Myths..."The superworm needs its' head cut off before feeding it to your cham, or the superworm can eat a hole in the chams stomach/intestine." This is ridiculous, a cham does not suck the food down, they crunch it up.
18) Myths..."You should clip off the back legs of crickets because they will stab into the chams mouth/tongue." Really? who cuts off insect legs in Madagascar? That being said, I wouldn't give my cham a StickleBack stick bug, but cricket legs? Me thinks we cham keepers are a bit anal.
19) Myths...If it is on the Internet, it MUST be true...
20) Myths...Humanizing a lizard is unhelpful. "He likes me!" "He is angry because I ____." "He climbed right up my arm, he is beginning to trust me."
21) Myths..."I fed my cham ____ and he got sick from it" "I used Perlite and all my panther eggs didn't hatch. Perlite doesn't hold moisture." Sometimes we act like we are doctors with degrees, making assumptions and diagnoses that are unfounded, and by posting them here, take the chance of influencing new keepers who don't know how to separate the mushrooms from the bull.... It's kind of like watching Doctor House on TV and thinking 'Hey, i can figure stuff out like House can!' Don't believe something based on an experience, it rarely holds true when you compare to true studies, and in our case, to the collective experiences of the truly experienced cham keepers who not only have lots of green by their name, but have proven success in many species, in many vet visits, are able to breed and raise generations to F3 and beyond, and have many years of this hobby. BTW, I really only qualify in the years spent category.
Finally, get a mentor who you trust to ask your questions, to point you in the right direction. This hobby is not like many other reptile hobbies, it requires more than most people entering realize.
CHEERS!
Nick Barta
