chameleon97
New Member
ive been bored today. lol
Crickets or silkworms?
- Thread starter joecham
- Start date
ive been bored today. lol
summoner12
Avid Member
Your not the only one! LOL
You should also check out Mulberry Farms. They have a huge selection of bugs if you have a picky eater...
I don't think there is a worm they sell that isn't in my house right now LOL.
Lizardlover
New Member
Where did you get this info from?
Silk worms are a great staple food. So are horn worms.
you should avoid supers, wax, butters and meal worms for every feeding.
Mealworms are just plain bad. supers, butters and wax worms are high in fat. not good staples. they are good for fattening up a sick cham or force feeding. they should be used as treats.
Variety is the key. no cham in the wild eats just one insect and chams in captivity tend to get bored with just one kind of bug.
mix it up
Superworms arent that high in fat, and are easy to gutload, they eat just about anything making them nutritious if properly gutloaded, they go well in addition to crickets and or silkworms, waxies and butter are high in fat, but not so much supers.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
From what I have read, there is very little difference between butterworms and superworms in terms of fat vs protein content. The main difference is that you can gut-load a superworm, whereas you can not gut-load a butterworm.
It is fine to use supers fairly often, when gutloaded and lightly dusted with calcium.
It is fine to offer a butterworm weekly (no calcium dust required).
Waxworms are high in fat and offer very little else. Avoid them.
Mealworms can be gutloaded, but their skin is hard to digest - use sparingly (freshly moulted ones, soft and white are easier to digest) or not at all.
Silkworms are a good feeder option.
I use all of these, along with crickets, roaches and other gutloaded feeders.
I've got a list of good links in my blog, if you're interested in reading about the nutirional content of bugs and what we feed them:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition.html
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So silkworms are a better way to go I see.thanx i was gonna order like 1000 superworms before I read this.So I'm going with crickets as a staple and hissing roaches as a treat.Is a good third food silks?
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Silkworms are an excellent choice. Why stop at three? No reason not to include superworms also
Silkworms are an excellent choice. Why stop at three? No reason not to include superworms also
lol yeah your right,so how bout hornworms for now till I can get another container for some supers.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hornworms are another good option as an occassional feeder. I personally wouldnt want to use them all the time. They are expensive, big, contain lots of water (not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make for runnier poop).
I think silkies are better bang for the buck.
Supers are super easy to keep - any plastic bucket, some oats and/or bran for a substrate, toss in veg (dont let it get damp in there) and bobs your uncle. They last a long long time.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Im not the best person to respond regarding hornworms. I get them shipped to me - they arrive in a plastic container - and I generally feed them off almost immediately.
summoner12
Avid Member
Key word, gut load. Most things you can gut load are healthy.... if gut loaded right.
Even then, supers still have high fat and chiten.
Don't get me wrong, I think supers are great, just higher in fat than other worms.
summoner12
Avid Member
They come in cups with chow... the worms eat the chow. You need to empty the fras each day... especially as they get big. HWs are pooping machines. So are silks.
