Crickets vs Mealworms?

therealmermaid

New Member
Hey guys!

My panther chameleon is around 7 months old now, and he's been feeding really really well on silent crickets. He handfed all the time and even fed outside of his viv :)

I gave him a bit of difference a couple of weeks ago, a couple of mealworms - which he loved also.

The trouble is, he doesn't want to readily take the crickets off of me now (which are easier to gutload) but LOVES taking mealworms off of me.

I was wondering, what are peoples opinions of the nutritional value between crickets and mealworms? I don't want to feed my chameleon on primarily mealworms if they're not that good for him. (can you tell i'm a novice?)

Thank you!

Hollie x
 
Mealworms have little to no nutritional value from what I've heard and they have a hard shell. Stop feeding him mealworms if he goes on a hunger strike to crickets.
 
Thanks for your reply! I will feed him on crickets - I hope he doesn't hunger strike for too long. I've heard that panthers can be really stubborn!
 
Hi
Mealworms can be gutloaded too, but overal they are not a good feeder choice for more than 10% of the chameleons diet. I like to vary my chameleons diets such that every day is different - they never know what's going to come, and that helps ensure they dont hold out for particular prey types. It also ensures they dont get bored, and that they can get a more varied nutrient mix.

You cham will go back to crickets once he realizes you're not going to give in and offer mealworms. or when it gets hungry, whatever comes first :)

You may find these links helpful to you:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
http://www.chameleonnews.com/02SepDonoghue.html
http://bamboozoo.weebly.com/the-feeders.html
 
Meal worms and super worms are like candy bars to chams, its like saying to a child do you want a chocolate bar or a peice of fruit, what will the child choose? The unhealthy option I bet ;)

Crickets aren't the only staple feeder you can try, you can tree silk worms, locusts, dubia roaches, moths (free of chemicals such as pestisides) horn worms :D. But yes I know the feeling of a stubborn panther, my panther will not take crickets, he's only taking locusts right now but I am determined for him to have a varied diet
 
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