Kamikaze Chameleon
Avid Member
Sorry I have seen a bee sting my brothers cham tounge with my VERY own eyes! So NO i wont be feeding bees sorry guys idc what wild chams eat, my chams not wild ? but thanks for info!
Catching insects in flight
- Thread starter Sunnysenorita
- Start date
PetNcs
Chameleon Enthusiast
Kamikaze Chameleon
Avid Member
Well if chams eat bees that often, it cant truly be THAT rare. I was stunned i didnt know what to do! I was just a lil kid and it was my older brothers cham so never knew if there were any SERIOUS repercussions but i remember after she got stung she quickly retreated and was thinking thats probably the last bee she'll ever mess with ?
Bees can be fed. I don't because I am extremely allergic to them... But if Beman is outside and one happens to get into his enclosure then it is his to eat. Yes, there is a risk of sting but if you look at a lot of our feeders there are risks of bites and even tongue injury when it comes to large hornworms fed via a branch.
You can minimize risks by feeding smaller sized feeders which I have always done. I feel like I read that there was another good reason for this. Maybe @PetNcs spoke on small sized feeders vs large. But I was already feeding that way so I do not remember exactly.
You can minimize risks by feeding smaller sized feeders which I have always done. I feel like I read that there was another good reason for this. Maybe @PetNcs spoke on small sized feeders vs large. But I was already feeding that way so I do not remember exactly.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I very rarely give hornworms and superworms, but I have noticed with them and silkworms, that my chams seem to intentionally aim for their heads. Maybe it is the same with bees.
PetNcs
Chameleon Enthusiast
Sorry, that is just a story
And I do not hear anything concrete
It IS extremely rare
As I feed with bees and do reaearch on chameleons for 35years an I have not aeen it even once to happen.
I guess the chameleon might have been weak ir having some oroblem rather than that is a rule.
I heard reports on a bee sting in chameleons but all
Were without any consequences.
I do not force yij to feed bees,
Your choice
But there is really no reason not do
Do so
Millions if chameleons do it
Daily fir millions of years
PetNcs
Chameleon Enthusiast
Pearl Fields
Avid Member
They eat their own skin? I've seen this!! Mine ate a piece of shed hanging off his tail once!!Thisnis well possible
There is evidnec that chameleons eat xhameleons
Mostly of
Another soecies, but sime can be even caninalistoc
oustalets feed on F lateralis
T deremensis feed on R brevicaudatus
And they also eat their own skinwhen shedding
PetNcs
Chameleon Enthusiast
Ues they do
But it hardly can be considered a cannibalism
Petr have you found eating the shed serves a purpose other then to remove it from the body? Does it hold some sort of nutritional component?
PetNcs
Chameleon Enthusiast
Today is a day of wonderful
Quwstions!
The answer is: thisnis a mystery.
The shed is basixally firmed by Keratin. It is a protein.
So, the logical pirpose would
Be aort of recycling...
But, Keratin resists digestion in general
An in chameleons in particular (therefore feathers and lizard or snake skins are detectable in chameleon faeces.
So,
The purpose of eating it is NOT nutrition.
So,
We can only specullate...
Does
It play the same role as leaves! -
Roughage as peristaltics aid?
Or is it eaten unintentionally when trying to
Help with the shed using jaws?
No,
Because they really eat it intentionally,
They eat it when they find it and rhey even have been observed to shoot it from each other
With tongue...
Another unstudied and unresolved mysteries
It is quite fascinating to me and I appreciate your thorough explanation.
I never observed my oldest Male Veiled doing this. I have had him 2 years now. But my two boys that I got in the last few months eat their shed. The first time I saw it I was quite panicked as I had not witnessed it before and he was pulling it from his tail. All the motions were very intentional grabbing at the loose piece without grabbing the tail. He is 7 months old. Now my baby that is 4 months will shoot at the pieces that fall on the plants.
CasqueAbove
Chameleon Enthusiast
As a note, If you watch carefully they seem to target different feeders differently. I don't think the shots are as haphazard as people may think.
I have noticed wasps and super worms are always taken head first. mine will take more time to line up with them, whereas other things like small roaches and crickets are more grab and go.
I have noticed wasps and super worms are always taken head first. mine will take more time to line up with them, whereas other things like small roaches and crickets are more grab and go.
NashansCamos
Chameleon Enthusiast
Aren't bees endangered? so wouldn't it not be good to feed them?
CrazyMango
Member
CrazyMango
Member
depends what kind of bee your talking about. If your talking about certain types of bumblebees, then yes they are endangered, but where I am in northern VA they are not endangered. But if you are talking about something like honey bees, even though they are least concern, chances are that your chameleon will only eat 2 or 3 out of a huge colony of 10,000 to 60,000 worker bees which are also being produced every second by a queen. So I don't think it would be a problem if your chameleon chowed down on a little bee meat.
CrazyMango
Member
Also I like how this was a discussion of whether chameleons could catch things out of the air to arguing if bees are okay for your cham.
CasqueAbove
Chameleon Enthusiast
Define "Bee" This is where a lot of confusion happens. We picture the European honey bee, and these are pretty common around. But there are actually lots of kind of bees.
As far as endangered, it is a little different with colony insects because we don't count the individual, but the hive or colony itself. So yes there is a decline in colonies, but feeding a few individuals won't hurt. It is the neighbor that sprays, and those pesticides get back to the colony is a bigger threat.
The actual issue of the disappearing bees is real and complicated. It unfortunately is not just pesticides, but habitat loss, climate change and I believe introduced pests and parasites.
NashansCamos
Chameleon Enthusiast
thanks i undertstand that. picking off 2 or 3 workers would have no effect on the colony.
That was quite rude. This is not just a forum in which English speaking people come and contribute. English is not his first language.bruh why is this mans spelling everything wrong?
