Feeding for larger size Chameleon

[Littlehorn]

Is there anyone who can help with feeders for larger size chameleons? Such as parsonii and melleri?

From a few source I've read, these 2 types of chameleons needs to feed bi-weekly with some small rodents/ geckoes to sustain their mass as they get bigger, and one of my female parsonii is now 7inch+ STV, and large locust/ grasshoppers doesn't seem to provide what she needs.

I was just wondering how it should be fed. The only small rodents I can find is pinkies/ fuzzies, and basically I cannot find any source of gecko feeders. Does anyone have any experience with frozen pinkies? If so how could it be used? I just want to provide her a food source which can provide her more protein and fat.

The feeders I use now are:
Locust/ Grasshopper, dubias as staple diet.
Mantis as treats (every weekend)
Silkworms (if itz availiable, which only from Jan. - Apr.)
***Crickets, she doesn't even look at them at all.

 

[jadeaudio]

Try hornworms. They get huge and very thick and fat.

 

[Julirs]

I have raised one Mellers from a day old hatchling on crickets, supers, and ocasional silks and horns. He is now 18 months old and has grown just fine without feeding anything else. I feed both of my Mellers every other day just like the rest of the crew. They are terrible beggars, so I do slip them an extra worm sometimes on non feeding days. You don't want a fat Mellers. THe diet you are feeding seems varied-just gutload well.

 

[eisentrauti]

Very bad idea, to give chameleons like parsonii fat feeders...
I think your actual diet is very good for your parsonii female. She definitly don't need frozen mice. If you are sure that you must feed her bigger feeders try parasite free geckos or anoles. I knew many parsonii keepers who doesn't need vertebrates to get their animals happy.

 

[Digby Rigby]

Insect size rodents and rodent size insects

What you need are insect size rodents:

and rodent size insects:

The mouse is a young adult female pygmy mouse, Mus minutoides. 3 newborns can fit on a dime with room to spare! Adult rodents such as these are far less fatty than pinks of larger species. Also being adult they have developed organs and bones. Remember nutrition comes from the bones and organs not the fat and flesh. Bones= calcium.

As far as lizard feeders go get some pictus geckos and breed them or viper geckos. Both are far meatier and more prolific than anoles.

Snails and worms like nightcrawlers are also excellent staple items. You havent lived until you have seen a chameleon walk up to a snail and just pick it up and start crunching.

The roach is a peppered roach. What you want to do is not buy feeders but buy breeders then feed what you breed that way there is less chance of feeding infected or subpar animals to your chameleons.

Hornworms are also good. We have found it easier and more economical to get egg and chow combinations than to breed them. They grow very fast and 2 weeks or less from hatching you can have 12 gram green gobs of goodness for your chameleons!

Notice the ruler used to measure the mouse is in centimeters, 2.54 cm per inch! The rest are measured in inches.

 

[hallenhe]

There have been reports of vertebrate/mammal diets (e.g. more than a rare treat) leading to kidney trouble. At seven+ inches SVL, she's still smaller than my adult panther, who's done well on an all-insect diet. I'd agree that it may be time to mix it up a bit - hornworms (as occasional treats, as they're fatty), silkies, which can get quite big, dubias, superworms, mantids if you can get them...

 

[jamncristian]

this kind of roach would be a great large feeder roach
http://www.nyworms.com/craniifer_hybrids.htm

 

[mikee51]

hi there

i have never used mice or rats for my parsons,but as you say.they need variation.i mostly use b.dubia roaches as staple diet for my parsons,but after a while they dont respond,so use all you can get hold of.here is what i use: large locusts hissing roaches dubia roaches green roaches silkworms sometimes i use walking sticks crickets and sofobas and pachnoda worms.
parsons are very personal,my animals have different favourite foods.
good luck

 

[draetish]

I have a melleri and I do give her one frozen pinkie mouse a week. I thaw it out at room temp and when I'm ready to give it to her, I will put a superworm in my hand and the mouse. She will take the worm and mouse all at once. I do it for the calcium since I don't think she even knows she ate it.

 

[Littlehorn]

What you need are insect size rodents:

and rodent size insects:

The mouse is a young adult female pygmy mouse, Mus minutoides. 3 newborns can fit on a dime with room to spare! Adult rodents such as these are far less fatty than pinks of larger species. Also being adult they have developed organs and bones. Remember nutrition comes from the bones and organs not the fat and flesh. Bones= calcium.

As far as lizard feeders go get some pictus geckos and breed them or viper geckos. Both are far meatier and more prolific than anoles.

Snails and worms like nightcrawlers are also excellent staple items. You havent lived until you have seen a chameleon walk up to a snail and just pick it up and start crunching.

The roach is a peppered roach. What you want to do is not buy feeders but buy breeders then feed what you breed that way there is less chance of feeding infected or subpar animals to your chameleons.

Hornworms are also good. We have found it easier and more economical to get egg and chow combinations than to breed them. They grow very fast and 2 weeks or less from hatching you can have 12 gram green gobs of goodness for your chameleons!

Notice the ruler used to measure the mouse is in centimeters, 2.54 cm per inch! The rest are measured in inches.

The mouse I really need to find.
I also have breeders of the peppered roach, but I just don't wanna start using them until I have a colony.

Hornworms... I am unable to acquire them, I know they are good, but I just can't get them

 

[Littlehorn]

Try hornworms. They get huge and very thick and fat.

I know hornworms are good, but I have no place to buy them. considering where I'm situated...

 

[Littlehorn]

My main goal for feeding mice/ mouse/ pinky...etc. is because in the wild. Large size chameleons feed on almost anything. Apart from the insects they can found around them, they also eat lizards, geckoes, birds, etc..

So what I want to do is to provide food sources to my chameleons which are similar to what they get in the wild.

For my parsons and mellers, their weekly diet is;
Monday: Locusts/ Grasshoppers x 3
Wednesday: Dubias x 4
Friday: Locusts/ Grasshoppers x 3 (Calcium/ supplements are injected to their abdomen by syringe)
Saturday: Mantids x 1
Sunday: whatever I can find x 1
All my feeders are gut loaded with mixture of cereals, pollen, honey, veges.

But from the above, it seems to be missing one or two food source, in which I think it is some vertebrates (there is absolutely no animal protein in the diet I provided)... but I'm not 100% sure