Fruit Flies

[pascalowner]

So, I bought my cham some flightless fruit flies yesterday. They're incredibly small, and I was just wondering if they're supposed to get bigger or if this is it? Also, how often can I feed them to my cham? I have a female veiled, very young.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Fruit flies stay very small. That small size plus how easy they are to keep and breed cheaply are what makes them a good choice to include in the diet of a small young chameleon
There are two common types of fruit flies - flightless and wingless. The flightless ones are a bit larger - black with red eyes. The wingless ones are a bit smaller, brownish in colour.

If your chameleon is less than 5 months old, feed it as much as it can eat within about 5 minutes, several times daily.
Lightly dust fruit flies with a phosphorous and vitamin free calcium supplement most daily feedings (some people dust only about half of what is offered). Dust with a vitamin powder about once a week - depends on the brand as to how often to use it.

Other prey choices for a young veiled would be small terrestrial isopods, small crickets, baby superworms, small butterworms, small/baby silkworms, leaf rollers, cockroach nymphs, grain moths, solider fly maggots (aka phoenix worms) and a limited number of small mealworms.

 

[pascalowner]

Fruit flies stay very small. That small size plus how easy they are to keep and breed cheaply are what makes them a good choice to include in the diet of a small young chameleon
There are two common types of fruit flies - flightless and wingless. The flightless ones are a bit larger - black with red eyes. The wingless ones are a bit smaller, brownish in colour.

If your chameleon is less than 5 months old, feed it as much as it can eat within about 5 minutes, several times daily.
Lightly dust fruit flies with a phosphorous and vitamin free calcium supplement most daily feedings (some people dust only about half of what is offered). Dust with a vitamin powder about once a week - depends on the brand as to how often to use it.

Other prey choices for a young veiled would be small terrestrial isopods, small crickets, baby superworms, small butterworms, small/baby silkworms, leaf rollers, cockroach nymphs, grain moths, solider fly maggots (aka phoenix worms) and a limited number of small mealworms.

Wow thank you for the info!

 

[pascalowner]

Btw, do I just toss them in her cage and let her get them herself or..??

 

[Captive Creations]

I too use flightless fruit flies and am currently breeding both types that sandra has posted. I offer my babies as much as they can eat within 5 minutes and I usually do this 3 times a day. This is just my schedule and if you notice he is acting like he is STARVING when you offer them maybe try a few extra minutes of eating at each feeding up to 10 minutes.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Yes, more or less. Keep in mind that if the cage is large, it may take awhile for her to find the food (and by then some of the supplement dust is likely to be gone). Also if your cage is screen, its likely the fruit flies will be able to escape. So you will want to shake the flies out close to her, while trying not to stress her out with your presence.

 

[Captive Creations]

Btw, do I just toss them in her cage and let her get them herself or..??

because they are good climbers the cup idea usually won't work because they will walk up the sides and out so yes I would say just put them into the enclosure Good luck

 

[eriksorg]

And to be even more specific...
The smaller flightless flys are melangaster, you can get them as wingless also..
The others that are flightless that Sandra mentions are Hydei..Black with red eyes, are almost twice the size as melangaster..and with hydei you can get them in a golden color..but both types have wings but are flightless..

 

[pascalowner]

And to be even more specific...
The smaller flightless flys are melangaster, you can get them as wingless also..
The others that are flightless that Sandra mentions are Hydei..Black with red eyes, are almost twice the size as melangaster..and with hydei you can get them in a golden color..but both types have wings but are flightless..

I have the Hydei ones, so about how big do they get if they're twice the size of the other kind? Cause right now, mine are like less than a centimeter long, lol.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I have the Hydei ones, so about how big do they get if they're twice the size of the other kind? Cause right now, mine are like less than a centimeter long, lol.

normal size is about 1/8'' (3.5mm)

the melanogaster are smaller, 1/16'' (1.5mm)

 

[pascalowner]

normal size is about 1/8'' (3.5mm)

the melanogaster are smaller, 1/16'' (1.5mm)

Oh, well I guess mine are as big as they'll ever be xD Thanks!