evertech11
New Member
what about fish as a feeder?
fish
- Thread starter evertech11
- Start date
You mean as in possibly providng a dish of water that would contain fish small enough to be eaten by a chameleon?
I have personally never heard of chameleons eating fish, but that by no means indicates that it never happens. I would think that the only way a chameleon could take a fish would either be hand fed or if the fish were on the surface of the water. More likely would be that a chameleon would be interested in bugs that could sit on the surface of the water, but then I'm not seeing much difference between normal feeder insects and these aside from variety.
A very interesting question though, and I definitely would like to know if anyone has ever heard accounts or has information about chameleons feeding on fish!
Edit*
I forgot to mention that the standing water could also produce a sanitation/health risk as chameleons frequently defecate in standing water, which can encourage bacterial growth. This would most likely raise issues concerning the chameleons health.
I have personally never heard of chameleons eating fish, but that by no means indicates that it never happens. I would think that the only way a chameleon could take a fish would either be hand fed or if the fish were on the surface of the water. More likely would be that a chameleon would be interested in bugs that could sit on the surface of the water, but then I'm not seeing much difference between normal feeder insects and these aside from variety.
A very interesting question though, and I definitely would like to know if anyone has ever heard accounts or has information about chameleons feeding on fish!
Edit*
I forgot to mention that the standing water could also produce a sanitation/health risk as chameleons frequently defecate in standing water, which can encourage bacterial growth. This would most likely raise issues concerning the chameleons health.
There is no evidence to suggest that chams consume fish in the wild. I wouldn't even apttempt this due to the conditions of most feeder fish. Most are kept in crowded tanks and kept alive through the use of chemical treatments. I'd stay away from fish as there are plenty of insects avilable to feed that are safe to use.
Frank Castle
New Member
I use to feed my water dragon feeder fish by hand. But they are more hearty than a cham. Like Jason said, the enviroment that feeders are in wouldnt be good for a cham. On another note though, their nutritional value may be good in that you get Calcium from the bones and protien from the flesh. Pinkies may also be good in this regaurd. But actually feeding them to a cham may be difficult?
Frank
Frank
Pinkies are very fatty and the content of their gut can often lead to issues with your chameleon. I see very few instances where feeding pinkies would be needed. A cham that is fed a varied diet of properly gutloaded insects, has exposure to UVB and is hydrated would never have a need for pinkies or fish.
Will Hayward
New Member
Not to mention that calumma hillenisui is the only species know to even attempt to enter a stream. And chameleons seem to have gret difficulty catching eathworms, I can't imagine a fish.
evertech11
New Member
i know it would be simple enough to take out a feeder comet with a net every day and supplements would stick well. i was just wondering if anyone had ever tried it. it doesn't sound like that bad of an idea to me other than the conditions lots of fish are kept in. i wonder if it would be possible to flush out the fishes system with nutrients, and what not before feding it to a cham.
westcoastchameleons
New Member
It would be very interesting if a cham. fed on fish, although i can personally say i have niether seen nor heard of this before.
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
It does SEEM like it's a good thing to do "once in a while,"but if you look at it, from pretty much any angle, it's never ever worth it.
I had to deal with my brother doing this. The little turd would - behind my back - feed our female veiled full size bullfrog tadpoles, and my male (who was only 13-13" long) fuzzies. Never did we observe any unusual stools, or any weird digestive problems, so his digesting it was not - in our case, anyway - an issue.
It's fat and calories. It's so easy to overfeed chameleons in captivity, I find it a challange to keep them lean. Most of the most convienient feeders are fatty larvae. Vertebrates have a different balance of nutrition than arthropods. People think a pinkie is like a "shot in the arm" of calcium, protein and nutrients. In reality, the chameleons digestive system will probably extract more nutrients out of a dollar's worth of gutloaded crickets, than one single pinkie. Factor in the milk in it's gut content, and you may be giving it indigestion - reptiles and dairy do not usually mix.
Insects have more protein, per pound, and per dollar, than mice. Even more importantly, they are optimized in the digestion of insects and insect proteins, not mammals and animal proteins.
The only real reason anyone oculd have to justiy feeding mice or fish or frogs to a chameleon is "cause they think it's cool to watch."
If that's the case, then give your chameleon to someone else and buy a snake!
They really dont' benifit from eating vertebrates - at all - when insects are available.
I had to deal with my brother doing this. The little turd would - behind my back - feed our female veiled full size bullfrog tadpoles, and my male (who was only 13-13" long) fuzzies. Never did we observe any unusual stools, or any weird digestive problems, so his digesting it was not - in our case, anyway - an issue.
It's fat and calories. It's so easy to overfeed chameleons in captivity, I find it a challange to keep them lean. Most of the most convienient feeders are fatty larvae. Vertebrates have a different balance of nutrition than arthropods. People think a pinkie is like a "shot in the arm" of calcium, protein and nutrients. In reality, the chameleons digestive system will probably extract more nutrients out of a dollar's worth of gutloaded crickets, than one single pinkie. Factor in the milk in it's gut content, and you may be giving it indigestion - reptiles and dairy do not usually mix.
Insects have more protein, per pound, and per dollar, than mice. Even more importantly, they are optimized in the digestion of insects and insect proteins, not mammals and animal proteins.
The only real reason anyone oculd have to justiy feeding mice or fish or frogs to a chameleon is "cause they think it's cool to watch."
If that's the case, then give your chameleon to someone else and buy a snake!
They really dont' benifit from eating vertebrates - at all - when insects are available.
evertech11
New Member
so it's like Burger King for chameleons?
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
Even worse - burger king is TOO much of a good thing - we need calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, salt, etc. Too much nutrition at once.
Vertebrates, pinkies for example, are a whole load of stuff that isn't really good for them in the first place!
Vertebrates, pinkies for example, are a whole load of stuff that isn't really good for them in the first place!
