Easy prey items to breed for a Veiled Chameleon?

[eChams]

As of now, I want to get my breeding colony of prey items going now, so i have a nice stable colony next spring when I get my cham However I've never set up a breeding system of prey items. I do know however that crickets are very smelly, and I'd like to know of some good alternatives. I mean I can handle a little odor but crickets are where I draw the line. (I can't stand things that stink) Anyway I'm thinking Dubia roaches, but they are a little big from what I understand. Are there any other nutritious food sources that are easy to breed/don't smell as bad as crickets? I read that a lot of the worms (larvae) are alright, but the chitin levels are a little high...are there any larvae that well...aren't "junk food" for the chameleon? Thanks!

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

As of now, I want to get my breeding colony of prey items going now, so i have a nice stable colony next spring when I get my cham However I've never set up a breeding system of prey items. I do know however that crickets are very smelly, and I'd like to know of some good alternatives. I mean I can handle a little odor but crickets are where I draw the line. (I can't stand things that stink) Anyway I'm thinking Dubia roaches, but they are a little big from what I understand. Are there any other nutritious food sources that are easy to breed/don't smell as bad as crickets? I read that a lot of the worms (larvae) are alright, but the chitin levels are a little high...are there any larvae that well...aren't "junk food" for the chameleon? Thanks!

Dubia...They look like roly-poly bugs...but they're actually roaches. They dont smell bad like crick-sh*ts do. I breed the dang crickets and they are a mess. I hate the dang things. Just buy some adults and let em breed, they have live birth so its pretty easy to do. 1 adult Dubia is like 5 regular crickets in regards to nutrition and such for your chameleon. Good luck buddy.

 

[eChams]

Gee thanks! How many should I buy? Is 50 enough or should I go 100? And what size? Small, medium, large or mixed? Thanks!

 

[Klink]

Give Hissers a try, my guys love them, and they're easy. They can climb any thing though. They don't have any wings so my wife thinks they are beetles. He he he.

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

Dubia can get pricey. I would get like 5 females and 2-3 male adults to start. In like 2 months, you will have multiplied exponentially. The benefit to Dubia over other types of roach, is that Dubia do not climb as well and are easy to contain. Hissers can get out of most tubs and aquariums if you dont have a tight lid. A good price for a Dubia is $2-3 for one female, and about $1 for a male. They do get expensive, I got my initial colony of babies at a show years ago. They take a couple of months to mature, but I am sure there are many members here selling them. As for gut-loading, they will eat pretty much anything. I keep a staple of vegetables and fruits.

 

[Olimpia]

The great thing about roaches (whether it's dubia, discoids, etc.) is that while the adults may be too big to feed off (although not necessarily, mine love adult roaches) they produce nymphs that come in a variety of sizes. So the idea is to let the adults do their thing and just use the nymphs for feeding, which come in really tiny sizes (like this: ---) or much bigger.

I highly recommend roaches. I keep several species myself and love how easy they are to raise and breed.