Amount of food to order for a veiled?

[wodesorel]

Could REALLY use some help with this! Math and computing things and planning in general has been hard since a double concussion this summer, and on top of that I'm still not sure how much my new veiled should be eating...

I've got a rescued adult female veiled with mild MBD who is currently at around 90 grams in weight. So, the goal is to up her calcium and then also her calories? (I don't even know what kind of weight I should be aiming for.) The only thing I can get locally is mealies, supers and crickets.

Ideally, if I wanted to get a fair amount in one order that won't go to waste, how much should I be getting? I can keep worms in the basement at around 60ish degrees. Definitely want to do calciworms. Maybe waxworms since she's underweight? Not sure if hornworms would be worth it this time of year? How much of her diet should still be crickets and/or supers?

I have no experience with ANY of these feeders and my worry is that they're going to get too big/die/pupate and there'll be too much going to waste, or that I'll short the order so bad without knowing any better I'll run out in a couple of weeks and it wouldn't be worth the shipping cost. Unfortunately cost is a factor so it needs to be planned out rather than experimented with.

Any advice is welcome! I've been trying to figure it out for a week and just keep giving myself headaches...

 

[ChamDE86]

I would completely do away with mealworms if you are already feeding superworms, but both should be fed as treats. Crickets are great and easy to gut-load. Wax worms is basically fat and should only be fed as a treat or to fatten up an already thin chameleon. Variety is key here and I usually feed both soft and hard-bodied feeders. Those listed below are they low maintenance feeders.

Superworms - I purchased 500 almost a year ago and still have some left. I purchase the baby superworms and fed them a couple of times a week to prevent them from growing too fast.

Butterworms - Buy 50 and leave them in a cold area (basement) where the temp is 50-60 degrees. They will survive for several months without food. You can also leave them at the bottom of the fridge where it is least coldest.

Phoenix/calci/repti worms - These will last for a few weeks if kept at a cool temp 50-60 degrees. These are really small, so your cham may not show interest, but are very high in calcium.

Dubia roaches - Buy a few male and female adult roaches and let them breed. I purchased about 100 mixed size roaches about a year ago, and now have several thousand in my colony. Lifespan of a dubia roach is approx a year, but it doesn't matter since they will reproduce like crazy. They are also very easy to gutload and are hardy survivors.

 

[wodesorel]

Can't do roaches - I had 11 species up until this summer but developed such a severe allergy I ended up in the ER with a major asthma attack. Had to get rid of them all and clean everything in that room to make it safe again.

I don't give her mealies at all, but have them here for my other critters.

I saw butterworms can sometimes cause allergic reactions in chams?

 

[ChamDE86]

Ah, that's terrible! I would love to do roaches and get rid of crickets for the most part, but my guy isn't much of a fan. There have been some reports of chams experiencing an allergic reaction to butterworms, but that's rare. If it makes you feel better, I would say 98% of the members on here has had no issues with them at all.

 

[wodesorel]

Okay, so I'm looking at 500 black soldier fly larvae to start - that should be around two months worth when added to crickets and supers? She cup feeds extremely well.