guppies, tiger barbs, danios, ghost shrimp, tetras

C

colinhagarty

New Member
My male veiled (bout a foot)has eaten them all and vet checked clean. 3 times over 6 monthes. Feed all staples and treats, even bi weekly enrichment. Any experience saying his aquatic freebies are detrimental to a chameleon's health? I know posts on here going out the norm get sent to care sheets.... Many species are highly adaptable and have a digestive system so complex it is still very unknown to the best, veiled chams being one of the best example of this.
 
Just curious how long you have been feeding them? I mean considering they are basically tree dwellers it would be odd for them to have fish in their diet in the wild I would think. I don't know about the amount of protein they provide. If it is too much, it is frowned upon, as a diet high in protein is thought to be the cause of gout.
 
Welcome to the forum!

I would consider it the same as feeding lizards to our chameleons - one every so often is not going to be detrimental, but twice weekly is too much. Chameleons are insectivores, and we do know for a fact that too much animal protein in their diets leads to gout (the uric acid crystals created can cause irreversible damage to joins and tissues) so it's better to treat any vertebrate food (be it pinkies, lizards, or fish) as a rare treat.

We have so many insects to choose from anyway, that there's a lot of alternative food to use as enrichment, I think. Especially now that it's summer, you can even catch your own grasshoppers and such from a safe, pesticide area.
 
Im sorry i cant help it. Digestive systems so complex...................................LOL
Do you think fish, shrimp are prey items eaten by chameleons in the wild? Sure, many of the insects we feed arent on the natural list but fish? Come on man. I dont even want to try to understand this.
 
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colinhagarty said:
My male veiled (bout a foot)has eaten them all and vet checked clean. 3 times over 6 monthes. Feed all staples and treats, even bi weekly enrichment. Any experience saying his aquatic freebies are detrimental to a chameleon's health? I know posts on here going out the norm get sent to care sheets.... Many species are highly adaptable and have a digestive system so complex it is still very unknown to the best, veiled chams being one of the best example of this.
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Meh... Really dude? Are you that bored? I think this is a terrible idea. On one hand its not part of a healthy diet. On the other it is done purely for entertainment purposes...and that seems cruel. I don't want to bash you, but I feel that when owners feed live animals and get a rush from seeing something get eaten, feeding things just to see them die, then it is wrong. Its unethical. If you are into owning a pet to gain a connection or bond with then animal, that is fine. If you own a pet to have fun and play with life, that is unethical. Your pets should be respected.
 
I think it is completely unnatural.... As said before Chameleons don't have access to fish in the wild.... I would stick to store-Bought insects, as I need to try more myself I cant really recommend certain ones to you though.... I was told to try Horn worms, Butter worms, Wax Worms, etc...
 
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