Chameleon Success with ALL dead food (Good Read)!

So you've raised ONE chameleon to adult size (what, 8-12 months?) on canned insects and don't have any signs of issues yet?

That's not quite enough info to make the statement that you can keep healthy chameleons their entire life-time on canned, un-gutloaded food. Especially since we have to assume you're right when you say that he's healthy, has no deficiencies, etc. (and that's not personal, but we have people all the time that say "my chameleon is in great shape, I don't know why he's suddenly on the floor!" and then the photo shows a totally deformed chameleon that hasn't seen calcium a day in it's life. So we take people's claims with a grain of salt!)

Sorry to be the skeptic but those feeder insects by themselves have fairly terrible ratios of things like phosphorous to calcium (some more than others) and without any gut loading make pretty poor food. You can correct for calcium with supplements but they're void of any additional value. If anything, it says more about the hardiness of veileds more than it does about the quality of nutrition! I'm sorry, but I wouldn't recommend this type of diet to anyone, ever.

I went to the Vet yesterday and she said that "Your chameleon is as healthy as can be, you must be doing something right" I asked if he had any deficiency and she said not the slightest case of MBD or anything I can tell. His bones are completely straight and have a good high density. So I have told mt fried Trevor to try an all Can O' Dead Food Products. Ill post an additional link on how that turns out in about 2-3 weeks.
 
Why did you take your chameleon to the vet? Just curious if he is doing so well. And you really didn't answer anyone's questions.... So your vet told you your chameleon had no deficiencies by just looking at him? What other tests did she run to determine this??? Also how did she determine his bone density? By xray? That would be the only way to tell, and why would she do xrays on bones that look healthy? Please enlighten me.
 
Hi y'all,

Gosh I didn't realize how old this thread is so my comment is probably not relevant. But I do feel that those of us who are interested but not experienced really appreciate gaining insight from folks that have knowledge. I am so fascinated by these animals (and have seen them in the wilds of Madagascar) but am afraid I don't have what it takes to maintain a healthy diet and environment (live food makes me jittery!). So I will stick to reading about these unique creatures and learning all that I can. On a side note, what do you all think about purchasing an egg and hatching yourself?
 
You really dusted off an antique with this one. Sandra, Carol and Olympia are good resources.
I get the bugs making you jittery thing but in a few months you won't believe how easily you can handle them.
I don't know if I would start with my first chameleon coming from an egg but others are more able to talk about that.
 
So I was not a fan of bugs at all when I first got into the hobby. Now I have more kinds then I know what to do with lol. I talk to them, clean them, and feed them everyday. So yeah the whole bug thing kinda goes away with time. I still am not a fan of roaches but even with those I can deal. I am a first time keeper and I gotta say I would be terrified to start out with hatching one. It is a little nerve wracking just starting out with a 4 month old.
 
Hi y'all,

Gosh I didn't realize how old this thread is so my comment is probably not relevant. But I do feel that those of us who are interested but not experienced really appreciate gaining insight from folks that have knowledge. I am so fascinated by these animals (and have seen them in the wilds of Madagascar) but am afraid I don't have what it takes to maintain a healthy diet and environment (live food makes me jittery!). So I will stick to reading about these unique creatures and learning all that I can. On a side note, what do you all think about purchasing an egg and hatching yourself?
eggs can be finicky, but you will need live food, its almost essential, the live food has enzymes and vitamins that bugs lose when they die.
 
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