Dragonfly for a feeder?

[Justin Carl]

Just wanted to know if a dragonfly is safe for an adult Veiled. He goes to the vet tomorrow and they need a fecal, but has NOT been eating. so i'm going with a crazy dragonfly, just maybe he will eat it. they fly and buzz around so maybe that will induce some hunger.

 

[Dylan Dutz]

All I can say is it's worth a try!

 

[Justin Carl]

thats what im thinking.

 

[Jordan]

Yes they are safe. You got to remember that reptiles where most likely been eating dragonflies...well before the dinosaurs where around. Seems like a classic choice if you ask me. Big, juice and nasty all the things a chameleon loves.

 

[Justin Carl]

i sure hope so lol. he has just gotta survive the night for now.

 

[dodolah]

just remember, they can fight back (but, nothing that your cham can't handle)

 

[Justin Carl]

yea it bit me when i was holding it earlier. i yelled! haha

 

[PardalisGirl]

I will have to "harvest" some.......

Hummmmmm.....I never thought about dragonflies. I have thousands of them hatching in my pond every year. Every spring I have to clean out my pond and wade waist deep into the muck to clean up leaves and trim the water lilies and other plants. It is the grossest thing I've ever done because my feet sink into the muddy muck and you can see about a million larvae crawling in the mud. Sometimes I find dead birds, etc. in the muck too. It took me a couple of years to learn that the disgusting looking larvae I was seeing was from dragonflies. This spring I think I will try hatching the larvae out in containers to I can get the dragonflies. That sounds better than letting the neighbors see me running around in the yard with a net for catching them

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I think they live a relatively long life as nymphs and are most ferocious during this stage.
You'll have to feed them feeder fish.

-Brad

 

[Justin Carl]

ha ha ha that would be funny. i caught mine at work to day. i smacked him with a 2x4 and he kind of got shocked. so i put him in a box and like a min. later he was buzzing around again.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Great............

Great info Brad.............I feel so much better about walking around in the muck with them in my bare feet. I do have cheapo feeder goldfish in my pond procreating at will in order to keep algae at bay. So they are are eating the babies that are hatching in my pond? Chasing after them with a net in my yard sounds a lot better right now

 

[Justin Carl]

i am almost certain that dragonflyies eat mostly mosquitos. so they are a nice thing to have around your house.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

i am almost certain that dragonflyies eat mostly mosquitos. so they are a nice thing to have around your house.

As adults, yes.

-Brad

 

[Brad Ramsey]

This video is supposed to be a dragonfly nymph eating a minnow....it's actually a tadpole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Q8gUTmyd8&feature=related

-Brad

 

[Justin Carl]

well my dragonfly didnt survive the night. it was dead this morning. gosh! its like i cant win. lol

 

[lele]

something to keep in mind...

I am not sure where everyone else lives or if this is a concern but adult dragonflies feed on mosquitoes and female mosquitoes take blood meals from birds and mammals, which are both carriers of diseases such as West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. I know that the latter can sometimes kill birds but don't know if this would be concern in reptiles - maybe a vet can step in here? yes, I realize that chameleons might eat these in the wild and it might also cause its death in the wild? Or maybe it would not be a problem. My other thought is, why bother. Dragonflies have next to no "meat", they are mostly head and wing and have slender abdomens. An egg carrying female would lend the most, but there is surely more chitin to digest then anything else. just some thoughts.

JustinIgor - have you tried just holding your cham and gently pressing with thumb and forefinger on either side of his mouth (come from behind while holding) - toward the back so he doesn't get your finger - so he will open his mouth and place a meaty roach or superworm in? I know you said in another post that you shoved some food in (not quite sure how you did that). I find when Cy gets too picky about eating this is a very easy way to get him to open and he then readily eats what's in his mouth, but he is a pretty mellow guy.

Anyway, best of luck with your vet visit!

lele

 

[Justin Carl]

no i did not know that at all. wow! i wish i would have lol. i will give that a shot ASAP. thank you so much. as far a putting food in his mouth he will hiss and i toss it in his mouth.

 

[lele]

if your guy is mellow enough where you can just pick him up over his back where other fingers wrap around his belly (and maybe hold a front leg down if necessary) then just gently massage the very back of his jaw. have a roach or other juicy morsel ready with other hand. Works with Cyrus, just get your fingers out of the way before he snaps those jaws shut! Mellow or not, it's going to hurt

here, I interrupted his Honor for a couple of poses

 

[Justin Carl]

so you dont squeez...is that correct. gently massage. by the way he is great looking.

 

[RhettusMaximus]

give it a shot

I'd say give it a shot. i don't know that i'd feed my cham something from outside being that i'mf rom the suburbs of chicago. Lots of pollution that i wouldn't want to transfer into my cham. That's just me tho, just playing devil's advocate!