Feeders available near me

[Hannah04]

These are the list of feeders that are available near me.

Crickets
Superworms
Mealworms
Hornworms
Silkworms
Butterworms
Waxworms

Which should i get for my chameleon?

Right now he is on a diet of crickets with the odd mealworm here and there.

Also how do you keep any of these different feeders?

 

[moogle73]

These are the list of feeders that are available near me.

Crickets
Superworms
Mealworms
Hornworms
Silkworms
Butterworms
Waxworms

Which should i get for my chameleon?

Right now he is on a diet of crickets with the odd mealworm here and there.

Also how do you keep any of these different feeders?

well it far to much info to do in one post, but generally speaking you will want multiples of the feeders listed above and provide a varied diet (like 3 minimum, if not more, the more the better).

the 2 worst of the above list I would prob say are waxworms (very high in fat content, low nutrition otherwise) essentially a treat worm and shouldn't be given on a regular basis, and the mealworms. Even though alot of people use mealworms for a wide assortment of small reptiles and small mammals because of their ease of use, price, and abundance, they also have the highest chitin content of all the feeders which is undigestable substance, and if given too much, can cause digestion issues etc.

as far as the rest, they all have their pluses and minuses, some have more calcium, some more protein, some more fat, moisture, etc. Prices vary alot between them too, as well does their care and housing, what they will eat, and how to gutload etc. I would recommend reading through a boat load of care-sheets on the insects to learn up on them and their care as its far to much for any one person to list on in a post.

 

[SaintJimmy]

I recommend:

• Crickets: Easy to gutload, cheap to buy in big numbers. Gutload with carrots, strawberries, oranges, collard greens, and lettuce & water for h20 so they don't die.
• Superworms: (Only feed maybe 1-2 every 1-2-3 days) They are fairly cheap (usually 6$ for a pack of 50) which lasts a long time if they are taken care of. Gutload with iceberg lettuce on top of oats (lots of oats for them to crawl in and burrow in) and also other things like carrot shavings and apples.
• Hornworms: I have never tried hornworms before but I assume they are slightly more costly and sensitive than superworms or silkworms or crickets or anything else. They have a high concentration of water so they are good for dehydrated chameleons to get a quick boost of water. They are nice and bright and wiggly and juicy so hopefully the chameleon likes them. Gutloading of these I have never done so I don't have info on that.
• Isopods (Rolly-Pollies mainly): Harder to take care of. If you want to order captive bred rolly polies that's great, but if you decide to catch and breed them, they are hard to breed and it takes patience. I tried before. You have to mimic the natural habitat while reducing the amount of bacteria they live in. Usually you can rid them of parasites by waiting for the wild caught ones to have babies. Then feed the babies to your chameleon. Gutload with the same thing. Make sure they don't have mold in the cage, but are eating slightly decomposed food. Got some old wrinkly strawberries? Throw 'em in there. No rotting/moldy food but just slightly decomposing. You will also have to lightly (LIGHTLY) mist one side of the cage they are in (and make sure there is substrate and hiding places like dead leaves and bark) as to encourage them to breed and live..

Not as recommended:

• Waxworms: High high high in fat (superworms have fat, too, but are just an occasional treat). Only feed maybe 1 time a week. Not really worth your time unless it's the chams hatchday or something.
• Mealworms: Have hard chitin (hard to digest) and can bite. lots of people confuse mealworms with superworms. Superworms are long and have black tips, and 6 legs by their head. Mealworms are small, pointy-ended and look grubby and usually have more of a red tinted ends.

And lastly:

• Think about the cleanliness of your feeder cages. Are there dead bodies? Rotting gutload? Remove it! Would you want your chameleon eating dead bug-poop-rotting food soup? I think not. Would you like your food crawling around other dead parts of it's brothers?
• Make sure your gutload is clean too. If you wouldn't eat the gutload, don't make the bugs eat it. Unless it's cricket crack/bug burger.