feeder geckos-reptiles for chams

What I would like to know is will it damage a cham to eat another reptile or...pinky mouse

It's definitely not recommended. Chameleons are insectivores, and their digestive systems simply aren't designed to process bone and animal tissues. A hungry cham might eat it, but that doesn't mean it's healthy.

This is directly from the "Food & Nutrition" section under the "Resources" tab:
"Vertebrates (pinkies, lizards, etc.) are not a notable part of a chameleon's normal diet in the wild. Too many animal proteins in the diet of an animal that's not a carnivore can wreak havoc on their kidneys leading to kidney damage and gout due to the difference in protein breakdown. Everything your chameleon needs can be obtained through an all-insect diet with good gutloading and supplementation."
 
I believe @nightanole was just talking about a veiled from back in the day fed exclusively pinky mice and lived for 6 years(correct me if I'm wrong!). I wouldn't recommend it, but as a once and awhile thing I think It could be very beneficial.

And if we're talking about parsonii or melleri, I'd be surprised if half or more of a wild adults diet wasn't made up of small birds, rodents, and lizards. Whole prey organs are very nutritious. And for montanes that can be sensitive to supplementation I think it's a good idea when done correctly.

In general though, I probably wouldn't feed vertebrates regularly to anything other than those large species. If I had a large veiled I'd consider giving him a mouse or lizard once and awhile. With vitamin supplementation, gutloading, varied feeders it's definitely not a must.
 
yea, my veiled is full grown and about 2 ft head to tail, he gets a pinky every 6 months or every year. although im gonna start cutting back because he's becoming a little over weight i can imagine once in a while could be beneficial, extra protein!
 
Yea i dont think there liver/organs like a large amount of "meat", but maybe 10% or so might be fine, and like coffee in humans, im not sure were the benefits stop and the detriment begins. I did raise a veiled with no insects and just pinkies, he did great and got good marks from the vet, but i still wouldnt recommend it.

Could be worse, imagine have a several several pound monitor, that requires half its "meat" diet to come from insects. You have to hope they really like dubia, and you have an ample supply of tossed produce from the local market :)
 
Yea i dont think there liver/organs like a large amount of "meat", but maybe 10% or so might be fine, and like coffee in humans, im not sure were the benefits stop and the detriment begins. I did raise a veiled with no insects and just pinkies, he did great and got good marks from the vet, but i still wouldnt recommend it.

Could be worse, imagine have a several several pound monitor, that requires half its "meat" diet to come from insects. You have to hope they really like dubia, and you have an ample supply of tossed produce from the local market :)

Thank you for posting!

Definitely not something that is a must or even recommended, but I can see why someone would do it with certain species.
 
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