Chameleon food storage- HELP!

MaryMoorebid

MaryMoorebid

New Member
Okay so I feed my chameleon meal worms and crickets she seems to be more fond of the meal worms (shes a baby) so her variety in foods is scarce. At least thats how it seems.. SO I was just wondering where you all store your chams food at? (or in!) Because I bought a can of these meal worms and leave the can near her cage so I have easy access. But the problem im having is this can of worms is starting to smell TERRIBLE! And I really dont think their rotted because they look fine and my cham isnt acting weird if there was anything wrong with the worms...

Storage suggestions? .
 
Not to immediately skip your question, but I would ditch the mealworms. They are not a good feeder for chameleons. If you start getting superworms(which is what I would recommend) you can keep them in something larger. I personally have a 15 gallon tote that I keep mine in. The smell is from the bedding that the mealworms are in. That's why a larger container with more bedding will stave off the smells for a longer period of time. I like to use rolled oats as my bedding.
 
I agree, do not feed too many meal worms at a time. They can obstruct the chameleons gut! Just like with us humans variety is the spice of life! Please add much more variety to your babies diet!
 
I store crickets in a big tub in my shop/ carport area. 2 roach colonies on shelf under the chameleons in tubs and just leave BSF and worms in whatever containers they come in. You'll need a variety of feeders to your Cham happy but it's simple once you get the hang of things and find places for everything.
 
So, as stated, get Superworms and they can live for a long time in wheat germ or oats. As for crickets, THEY STINK!!! No matter what you do they will stink. I have to buy small amounts and gutload the day before they are put in the feeder cup. Supers I can buy 100 at a time and they don't die off or smell. (Only feeding one adult cham that doesn't eat every day.) Roaches don't smell, but my wife would never go for that :D. Hornworms are a great occasional treat, but I usually don't get to feed too many before they get too big and die (My little picky eater will usually eat one or two and then he's done. :mad:
 
I would not use meal worms either, they are high in Chitten. Did I spell that right? But to answer your question keep meal worms in the fridge untill ready to gutload.

Ben
 
To be honest i have used standard mealworms as well as superworms without issue over 20+ years. I did only use them as a treat feeder, never a diet staple. Most of the time you only see adult superworms for sale, speak to the rep at the cricket farm and you can get them the size of mini mealworms. But as guanagator stated tall tupperware totes work really well. Same way we keep all of our roach colonies.
 
There is actually nothing wrong with supposedly high chitin ratio feeders as long as they have soft bodied feeders and other kinds of feeders to round out the diet. And also as long as the food is appropriately sized and such.

In fact mealworms from what I have read have a higher protein to fat ratio than the regular super worm does. However, supplements do not cling to their exoskeleton well and feeding them is pretty much something you only want to do as a treat.

I still prefer silkworms and hornworms to any mealworm. And I would only ever recommend using a mealworm as a treat, never as a main part of the diet.

Most of my information has come from here if you want to see for yourself : http://www.geckotime.com/nutritional-value-of-commercially-raised-insects/
 
I keep 500 crickets in a 10 gal. tank with a mesh lid (the regular lid with a piece of mesh glued over it so any fruit flies don't escape). My superworms are in a plastic tote - I'd call it a shoebox, but it has a snap on lid that I cut and replaced with mesh for airflow. I would guess it holds about 3 gal. I don't breed supers any longer, so when the bedding gets damp I sift out the worms and replace the bedding, so it helps to have an extra set up for easy transferring. Hornworms are kept in the container they are shipped in.
 
I am starting a dubia roach colony as we speak! I hear they are among the best feeder insects pound for pound however variety is extremely important with these little guys! Different species of feeder insects will have different nutrient profiles and by mixing it up you are more likely to cover your cham's nutritional needs!
 
I don't recommend either super worms or mealworms. They should serve only as treats. Feed her crickets, dubia roaches, and very small hornworms. You can give her 3 small SW/MWs every 2 weeks. The same with butter worms and waxworms.
 
K. Host said:
I don't recommend either super worms or mealworms. They should serve only as treats. Feed her crickets, dubia roaches, and very small hornworms. You can give her 3 small SW/MWs every 2 weeks. The same with butter worms and waxworms.
Click to expand...

I use superworms all the time as a feeder. I also alternate with crickets for variety. I try to use a varied diet for the best results, but I have a very picky eater :rolleyes:.
 
Decadancin said:
I use superworms all the time as a feeder. I also alternate with crickets for variety. I try to use a varied diet for the best results, but I have a very picky eater :rolleyes:.
Click to expand...
I also use super worms, crickets, and Dubai's without any problems, have done so for years. Now mill worms, and wax worms AKA (bee moth) I only give as treats.
 
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