Buying feeders online

emmrycham

Member
I am looking to buy feeders online as I have noticed that buying from a pet store, the crickets do not last long, even with providing them food and fresh veggies. They are cheap enough where I can buy them every few days anyway but if there was a better option of buying them online, i'll take it. Can anyone give me advice as to where to look or who to buy from? I have found a few places in Cali but wanted to see if there was anything closer. I am in WPB, FL if that helps. I would also like to provide my girl with a variety so a website that offers that would be great too.

or if there were any exotic/reptile pet stores in the area since i've seen a lot of people from south FL on here as well.

TIA!
 
Rainbowmealworms.com is a good online feeder store.

They have sampler packs and are very reasonably priced.

Shipping is quite fast as well.
Even comes with a sticker on the box that says live animals.

They also over count,so,there's always a few more feeders than you purchase.

Awesome, thank you so much!!
 
I am looking to buy feeders online as I have noticed that buying from a pet store, the crickets do not last long, even with providing them food and fresh veggies. They are cheap enough where I can buy them every few days anyway but if there was a better option of buying them online, i'll take it. Can anyone give me advice as to where to look or who to buy from? I have found a few places in Cali but wanted to see if there was anything closer. I am in WPB, FL if that helps. I would also like to provide my girl with a variety so a website that offers that would be great too.

or if there were any exotic/reptile pet stores in the area since i've seen a lot of people from south FL on here as well.

TIA!
May I ask what you are gutloading the crickets with and what you are keeping them in? Maybe take a few pics. They should not all be dying off in a few days like that. I have bought 250 at a time and they have lived over a 3 week period. Yes, you will get a few die offs but if properly cared for that should be all.

I buy from rainbow mealworms. I happen to really like the selection they have and I can customize the amount and size of feeders to my cham.
 
May I ask what you are gutloading the crickets with and what you are keeping them in? Maybe take a few pics. They should not all be dying off in a few days like that. I have bought 250 at a time and they have lived over a 3 week period. Yes, you will get a few die offs but if properly cared for that should be all.

I buy from rainbow mealworms. I happen to really like the selection they have and I can customize the amount and size of feeders to my cham.

I have been using kale, sweet potatoes and sometimes carrots. And no, not all of them die. I only get 15-25 (but pet store usually puts more than that) every couple of days and see about 5-8 dead ones by the end of it. I hand feed her about 6-8 or until she turns away from me and then let like 3 or 4 loose. This last batch I had, a lot of them died as she was shedding and did not want to eat. I unfortunately don't have any pictures but i have been using a small critter keeper for them. But wow... 3 weeks is a long time LOL but i guess it makes sense as you buy in bulk.

I bought the sample pack from rainbow that Capsicum suggested and if my girl likes that, i will buy in bulk from now on. I will also be getting a bigger tub to hopefully help with caring for them a little better.
 
I have been using kale, sweet potatoes and sometimes carrots. And no, not all of them die. I only get 15-25 (but pet store usually puts more than that) every couple of days and see about 5-8 dead ones by the end of it. I hand feed her about 6-8 or until she turns away from me and then let like 3 or 4 loose. This last batch I had, a lot of them died as she was shedding and did not want to eat. I unfortunately don't have any pictures but i have been using a small critter keeper for them. But wow... 3 weeks is a long time LOL but i guess it makes sense as you buy in bulk.

I bought the sample pack from rainbow that Capsicum suggested and if my girl likes that, i will buy in bulk from now on. I will also be getting a bigger tub to hopefully help with caring for them a little better.
Ok great. If hornworms come in their variety pack keep in mind they grow very quickly. ;)
So pet stores tend to be less sanitary when it comes to actually cleaning them. I recommend two tubs to cycle back and forth to. This way you always have a clean one to put into. Air ventilation in your tubs is important as well or they get pretty nasty. change out your gutload each day and this will improve the cleanliness of the container.
You will want to improve your gutload. You need to be using a mixture from this graphic. And each week you want to cycle between different fruits and vegis. This give her diverse nutrients from her gutloaded feeders.
Gutloading 101.jpeg
Basic Feeder pic.jpeg
 
Ok great. If hornworms come in their variety pack keep in mind they grow very quickly. ;)
So pet stores tend to be less sanitary when it comes to actually cleaning them. I recommend two tubs to cycle back and forth to. This way you always have a clean one to put into. Air ventilation in your tubs is important as well or they get pretty nasty. change out your gutload each day and this will improve the cleanliness of the container.
You will want to improve your gutload. You need to be using a mixture from this graphic. And each week you want to cycle between different fruits and vegis. This give her diverse nutrients from her gutloaded feeders.
View attachment 228710View attachment 228711

wow thank you so much for the advice, Beman! You are so awesome!! Hornworms do come in the sample pack so if she likes them, i should buy them at a minimum?

Also read that i should take out the amount of feeders she will eat the next day, and put them in a different container to gutload them, whilst also gutloading the rest. Should i do that or is it okay to keep them all in one container with their food and then just pull out what is needed each day? And do you keep each feeder type in a different tub or do you have them all in the same one?
 
wow thank you so much for the advice, Beman! You are so awesome!! Hornworms do come in the sample pack so if she likes them, i should buy them at a minimum?

Also read that i should take out the amount of feeders she will eat the next day, and put them in a different container to gutload them, whilst also gutloading the rest. Should i do that or is it okay to keep them all in one container with their food and then just pull out what is needed each day? And do you keep each feeder type in a different tub or do you have them all in the same one?
Your welcome! Yeah they grow very quickly. You can keep them in a cooler area like your garage and this will help slow it down as opposed to keeping them in your house where it is much warmer. They are great for hydration. I feed 1 at each of my feedings which is fine to do as long as your feeding other items. Rainbows smallest batch is 12 which may work out for you if you are on every day feedings. My guy has transitioned to every other day so I always end up with monster sized leftovers lol. They come with their food so you don't feed anything extra. You do need to empty the poop each day. I keep food up and the lid down so the poop does not sit on their food. You don't want to try to feed them off all at once or your cham is going to have extreme diarrhea lol. I put in a pic so you know what to expect this guy actually doubled in size from this pic.
Another thing that is important and you may already know this is the size of feeders. The rule of thumb is to feed insects no wider than the width of your chameleon's head in order to prevent choking. length is fine. It is the width you are looking at. :)
So I actually just answered this same question about gutloading separately in another thread so take a look at this thread https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...housing-and-maintenance-vs-gutloading.168697/

IMG_2794.jpg
 
Your welcome! Yeah they grow very quickly. You can keep them in a cooler area like your garage and this will help slow it down as opposed to keeping them in your house where it is much warmer. They are great for hydration. I feed 1 at each of my feedings which is fine to do as long as your feeding other items. Rainbows smallest batch is 12 which may work out for you if you are on every day feedings. My guy has transitioned to every other day so I always end up with monster sized leftovers lol. They come with their food so you don't feed anything extra. You do need to empty the poop each day. I keep food up and the lid down so the poop does not sit on their food. You don't want to try to feed them off all at once or your cham is going to have extreme diarrhea lol. I put in a pic so you know what to expect this guy actually doubled in size from this pic.
Another thing that is important and you may already know this is the size of feeders. The rule of thumb is to feed insects no wider than the width of your chameleon's head in order to prevent choking. length is fine. It is the width you are looking at. :)
So I actually just answered this same question about gutloading separately in another thread so take a look at this thread https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...housing-and-maintenance-vs-gutloading.168697/

View attachment 228716

just wow LOL. i can't believe their size! how big are they when they first come in? since i'm in florida, its the opposite for me - the garage is warmer and our house is anywhere from 70-73 degrees. if they are small enough when they arrive, can i keep them in a fridge? i currently have waxworms in there at 32 degrees, would the hornworms survive in that?

and great, so i can feed her 1 once a day? she is still eating once a day. shes definitely getting bigger from when i originally got her but i think shes 4-6 months..

thank you again for all of your advice Beman. you have been a big help!!
 
just wow LOL. i can't believe their size! how big are they when they first come in? since i'm in florida, its the opposite for me - the garage is warmer and our house is anywhere from 70-73 degrees. if they are small enough when they arrive, can i keep them in a fridge? i currently have waxworms in there at 32 degrees, would the hornworms survive in that?

and great, so i can feed her 1 once a day? she is still eating once a day. shes definitely getting bigger from when i originally got her but i think shes 4-6 months..

thank you again for all of your advice Beman. you have been a big help!!
Hmmmm I am actually not sure about hornworms in the fridge... Let me tag in someone that knows a tons about keeping feeders. @Rst_Cham do you know?

And you are very welcome. If you would like a husbandry check to double check everything then you can post a new thread and fill out the form at this link. Include pics of your enclosure lights down as well. If you have a female have you also looked into a laying bin for her? They do lay infertile eggs like chickens do lol.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
 
Yes, i will
Hmmmm I am actually not sure about hornworms in the fridge... Let me tag in someone that knows a tons about keeping feeders. @Rst_Cham do you know?

And you are very welcome. If you would like a husbandry check to double check everything then you can post a new thread and fill out the form at this link. Include pics of your enclosure lights down as well. If you have a female have you also looked into a laying bin for her? They do lay infertile eggs like chickens do lol.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

Yes, i will definitely do that when i get home from work! I already know i need to get a light bar for her but any other suggestions would be super helpful!

And yes, i know about the laying bin but have not yet done anything for her. I'll have to do some research on that, unless you know anything about it but probably not as Beman is a male lol... unless he lays too? JK! ;)
 
Hmmmm I am actually not sure about hornworms in the fridge... Let me tag in someone that knows a tons about keeping feeders. @Rst_Cham do you know?

And you are very welcome. If you would like a husbandry check to double check everything then you can post a new thread and fill out the form at this link. Include pics of your enclosure lights down as well. If you have a female have you also looked into a laying bin for her? They do lay infertile eggs like chickens do lol.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

You can keep them in the door of your fridge for short periods of time, definitely no longer than 10-12 hours in fridge and then at least 12 hours out, this will help slow down their growth a bit. Another way would be to put them in an open cooler with a reusable ice pack on one side, with pod of hornworms at other, not touching the ice pack. This keeps the ambient air temp cooler and slows growth. They do like 10-12 hours or so of light per day so you shouldn't close the cooler lid. To be honest, I don't bother buying pods anymore since they do grow so fast. I buy singles from my local reptile shop instead.

I second rainbowmealworms, great vendor. I've also bought from Josh's frogs.
 
I've gotten crickets from ovipost a couple of times. My only complaint was not fully taping the boxes of 1/8 allowing them to escape on their overnight trip 2.5 hrs from the farm. If they taped lile Armstrong does for the 1/8 and 1/4 I definitely would've stuck with them. I was happy with their adults and supers though. I'm about to move my babies to 3/8 so I will be giving them a try again though.
 
You can keep them in the door of your fridge for short periods of time, definitely no longer than 10-12 hours in fridge and then at least 12 hours out, this will help slow down their growth a bit. Another way would be to put them in an open cooler with a reusable ice pack on one side, with pod of hornworms at other, not touching the ice pack. This keeps the ambient air temp cooler and slows growth. They do like 10-12 hours or so of light per day so you shouldn't close the cooler lid. To be honest, I don't bother buying pods anymore since they do grow so fast. I buy singles from my local reptile shop instead.

I second rainbowmealworms, great vendor. I've also bought from Josh's frogs.

Josh's Frogs isn't bad either.
The wife wasn't too thrilled about them agreeing to send me a box of 500 crickets,though.
 
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