Chocolate?

[jr andrade]

OK this might be far-fetched but heres my theory; Chameleons use antioxidants to keep good general health and immune system function so here it is... can we gutload our feeder insects with chocolate once a week? This would be very strategic since chocolate can be melted and different berries/nuts fruits veggie's can be added to the mix and then frozen and fed off to the insects. Chocolate is all human grade so i figured it'd be safe for chameleons.

What are the flaws?

Is there anything added to chocolate that harms bugs or chameleons?

What about sugars etc.? fruit has alot of sugar in it too and again itll only be fed once a week.
Thanks, Jr.

 

[fusionf5]

You could just use beens, berrys, some fruits.. they all have it

 

[jr andrade]

I'm not saying to replace those items but simply if it'll work

 

[dodolah]

One of the flaw that I see of using chocolate as a gutload regiment is the fact that it contains Theobromine, a xanthine compound known to be lethal to cats and dogs. Theobromine is not toxic to us because our body can break down the compounds effectively compared to our pet.
But, I cannot find any article if this is indeed the same case with reptiles. So, I am not sure the toxicity of chocolate to our chameleons.

Assuming that it is lethal to reptiles and due to chameleon's size, it will take much smaller doze of Theobromine to kill our chameleons than our dog.
I would rather be safe than sorry in this case.

like other people say, "Chocolate is not meant to be shared" anyway

 

[fusionf5]

It may even kill the insects

 

[Amanda1801]

One of the flaw that I see of using chocolate as a gutload regiment is the fact that it contains Theobromine, a xanthine compound known to be lethal to cats and dogs. Theobromine is not toxic to us because our body can break down the compounds effectively compared to our pet.
But, I cannot find any article if this is indeed the same case with reptiles. So, I am not sure the toxicity of chocolate to our chameleons.

Assuming that it is lethal to reptiles and due to chameleon's size, it will take much smaller doze of Theobromine to kill our chameleons than our dog.
I would rather be safe than sorry in this case.

like other people say, "Chocolate is not meant to be shared" anyway

Beat me to it - it's very toxic to a lot of species - and lets face it, its prob better to be safe than sorry! Theobromine has a relatively low mg/kg toxic dose and if you consider that a chameleon is what - 0.05-0.2kg? it wouldn't take much at all....

And for all those people who are gonna say "well my dog ate X amount of chocolate and was fine...." - I've seen dogs, large and small, die from chocolate toxicity, so it does happen - including my own dog (who got to a vet in time and is now fine) almost died from only a small amount that he managed to pick up on a walk.

 

[Itwas]

its also toxic to humans, 22lbs is enough to kill an adult, but the quantities we usually eats are able to be broken down and digested.

 

[Amanda1801]

its also very toxic to humans, 22lbs is enough to kill an adult, but the quantities we usually eats are able to be broken down and digested.

I'd be willing to volunteer myself to experiment and verify this theory!!

 

[kinyonga]

Hmmm...death by chocolate...what a way to go! (evil grin)

 

[Amanda1801]

Hmmm...death by chocolate...what a way to go! (evil grin)

I can certainly think of worse ways

 

[Syn]

Do chameleons really need the antioxidants?