Gutloading/Fruits and Veggies for munchies

[jennelite]

I see a lot of people posting about what they use for gutloading and feeding veiled chameleons, but are there fruits and veggies that should be avoided?

 

[camimom]

we try to avoid fruits being fed daily because of teh natural sugar.

as for avoided. not sure.. but pretty much whatever you feed your bugs in gutload, you can feed to your cham.

 

[jennelite]

ok thanks! Just didn't want to feed him something toxic

 

[camimom]

no worries!

ive heard of chams eating, banana, strawberry, leafy greans, grapes (though i think maybe these shoudl be avoided, nto sure)

but whatever items are in sandra chameleons blog, you can feed.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Major things to avoid: Broccoli, spinach, beets, and parsley, have large amounts of oxalic acids which bind calcium absorption. Lettuces (iceberg, redleaf, etc) and cabbage do not have any significant nutritional value. Also, avoid things like dog food, cat food, and fish flakes which are high in animal proteins which can cause kidney damage.

Overall you want to avoid veggies high in oxalates, goitrogens or higher in phosphorus than calcium. The link in my signature has a chart with the basic contents of common fruits and veggies you can use as a guide.

 

[jennelite]

Awesome! Thank you very much!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Of course! Sandracham has a ton of good blog entries on gutloading for more info.