Can Chameleons eat meal worms when they turn to beetles?

CometTheOdd

Member
I was cleaning Cosmic’s Enclosures out and I found a meal worm turned to a beetle. Are they able to eat them still?
 
Do you feed the mealworms, though? Mealworms should not be a part of your chameleon's diet

They can be part of a balance diet. They certainly eat and gut load different foods vs crickets etc. But yea you might mow through a 1000 count box of crickets per month, but a 1000 count super/meal worm box lasts me close to a year, they seem to live forever.
 
They can be part of a balance diet. They certainly eat and gut load different foods vs crickets etc. But yea you might mow through a 1000 count box of crickets per month, but a 1000 count super/meal worm box lasts me close to a year, they seem to live forever.


No they should not be.

Superworms =/= Mealworms.

Superworms, are fine as a treat and part of a Balanced diet. Mealworms have extremely hard chitinous shells, cause impaction and are not as nutritious as Supers. There is 100% no reason, to and plenty of reasons not to ever feed Mealworms. Superworms however again, are fine.

However while we are on the subject, Crickets are also a terrible feeder, but I am not going to try to sway tradition :). (I wouldn't feed Crickets though)
 
No they should not be.

Superworms =/= Mealworms.

Superworms, are fine as a treat and part of a Balanced diet. Mealworms have extremely hard chitinous shells, cause impaction and are not as nutritious as Supers. There is 100% no reason, to and plenty of reasons not to ever feed Mealworms. Superworms however again, are fine.

However while we are on the subject, Crickets are also a terrible feeder, but I am not going to try to sway tradition :). (I wouldn't feed Crickets though)


Im on team dubias/silkies/supers :)

I can honestly say i have never fed a meal worm to a chameleon, but my dragons love them, maybe its the whole chewing thing. All my research has shown they have less chitin then crickets at least.
 
No they should not be.

Superworms =/= Mealworms.

Superworms, are fine as a treat and part of a Balanced diet. Mealworms have extremely hard chitinous shells, cause impaction and are not as nutritious as Supers. There is 100% no reason, to and plenty of reasons not to ever feed Mealworms. Superworms however again, are fine.

However while we are on the subject, Crickets are also a terrible feeder, but I am not going to try to sway tradition :). (I wouldn't feed Crickets though)

Interesting. Why no crickets?
 
Interesting. Why no crickets?

Crickets are Chitin Heavy, have a poor C/P ratio, smell, make noise, and have a knack for getting sick, and sometimes those sicknesses can spread to Chams, like Alfatoxins.

Roaches make a much better "Staple", and pose less risk than Crickets. I hate crickets.

The only advantage Crickets have over other feeders, is they are found everywhere, pretty much every pet store ect. Other than that, they Re pretty inferior in every way to other options.
 
Crickets are Chitin Heavy, have a poor C/P ratio, smell, make noise, and have a knack for getting sick, and sometimes those sicknesses can spread to Chams, like Alfatoxins.

Roaches make a much better "Staple", and pose less risk than Crickets. I hate crickets.

The only advantage Crickets have over other feeders, is they are found everywhere, pretty much every pet store ect. Other than that, they Re pretty inferior in every way to other options.
OK, thanks. I feed my guy eight different feeders, including crickets, so thanks for the info. He recently starting accepting dubia, thank God, so I've cut back on crickets anyhow.
 
OK, thanks. I feed my guy eight different feeders, including crickets, so thanks for the info. He recently starting accepting dubia, thank God, so I've cut back on crickets anyhow.


I woudnt worry:



https://dubiaroachdepot.com/guidance/20-dubia-roach-benefits

cricket has 50% more chitin(maybe its the legs?) than a meal worm. And a super has half the chitin of a mealworm, and is on par with a dubia.


If you go by that chart, a locus is an armored tank that is completely indigestible, yet everyone in the EU uses them since they cant grow crickets, and you dont hear about any digestive problems.
 
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