Are fruit flies a good feeder?

[BirdieF18]

I was wandering if i should buy a fruit fly culture to add more variety to my chameleons diet. Are fruit flies a good feeder?

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

For newborns yes.. they're very small.

 

[Swayne8998]

For babies... You could breed giant houseflies, they are good for enrichment and are filling.

 

[BirdieF18]

I have a four month old male panther i have seen him eat i house fly with ease. This was accidental while i was trimming some leaves off of one of his plants it flew in and he got it straight away. He loves things that fly. So is he young enough for fruit flies? Thanks

 

[Chameleonic]

Feed them good fruit, maybe some calcium-rich butternut squash, Chams almost all love them. Flies are not the healthiest foods, but it's good to add variety

 

[BirdieF18]

Thanks a lot i will order some.

 

[Chameleonic]

4 months is probably just too big for fruit flies. You could try a tub, and see if he'll go for them though.

 

[djfishygillz]

I have a four month old male panther i have seen him eat i house fly with ease. This was accidental while i was trimming some leaves off of one of his plants it flew in and he got it straight away. He loves things that fly. So is he young enough for fruit flies? Thanks

My big tamatave boy snatched a huge bug when I wasn't looking! I still have no idea what it was but he chewed it for days and enjoyed every second. Luckily he is healthy .

 

[ASublimeDay]

Be careful of the "flightless" fruit flies. They eventually develop into adults and can fly quite well. They can also get through even the smallest mesh. I keep them in a deli cup with pantyhose lining the top. Otherwise, it'd be a frenzy when I go to feed my mantises.

 

[JimO]

I am new to chams but have many dart frogs. There are two commonly available fruit fly species - melanogaster and hydei. The hydei are quite a bit larger and I have found in culturing them that I get more flies out of my hydei cultures than the melanos. They also hold supplement powders quite well.

I am curious, does anyone feed isopods to their chameleons? I culture several species for my frogs and some are nearly 1 cm as adults. It seems they would make a good feeder.

Thanks a lot i will order some.

 

[pssh]

A 4 month old probably would benefit more from house or blue bottle flies. Fruit flies are at most 1/8" long. Flightless fruit flies are flightless unless you keep them too warm or a wild fly gets into the culture.

There are some isopods that get up to an inch! Those would be better for a larger chameleon. P. laevis is one.