help with diet

[latshki]

ok so I was about to buy this veiled I had been eyeing for a while at my local pet shop and when I got there he was gone, so Im ordering one now and
I have one question concerning care
I HATE crickets I have them but I hate them to me they are nasty poop machines and I much prefer worms
so can a veiled live off of a worm based diet of mealies, supers, silks, horns and so on with a few crix a week
or should it be more 50/50 kind of thing?
also do you have any advice for a soon to be cham owner

 

[Syn]

mealworms have chitin I believe, they aren't that great, and most people don't suggest using them often.. I'm not a diet person but horns are juicy, but if you can't handle the crickets just try going to petsmart every (other) day and buy 12-36 at a time and stick them in an aquarium like I do? It gets a bit expensive but if you don't like 2000 crickets at a time.. well..

 

[latshki]

well I would be buying everything in bulk and I am getting 1000 crix in a week or 2 when the weather warms up

its just I hate touching them but after a while Im like ahhh and grab a handful and throw them in for some "shake n bake" for my geckos
but when ever 1 gets loose I dont sleep for a day or two as Im scared of them crawling over me and the such

 

[Syn]

All my crickets died because they were in bad condition in the first place and it gets too hot here at my house.

 

[latshki]

wanna trade it gets too cold here
right now it is like -5 and that is quite warm for the first of march

 

[sandrachameleon]

Yes, a chameleon can live off a diet that is made up largely of non-cricket feeders.

I would encourage the use of some crickets, simply because they are fairly easy to gutload. An excellent alternative to crickets would be cockroaches - also easy to gutload, and not nearly as stinky or noisey as crickets.

If you use primarily worms, try to ensure you use a variety (silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, zophoba (superworms) etc), include gutloaded items (like superworms, silkworms), a few that contain chinton (like superworms, mealworms) but not too much chinton (not too many mealworms). Keep in mind larva tend to be higher in fat content than crickets or roaches.

You may find the list of feeders here in my blog useful

 

[latshki]

ok and I would love to use roaches but they are illegal in canada

 

[sandrachameleon]

Roaches are not illegal in canada, or at least some types are not. I live in canada too, though on the other coast My local pet shop has them for sale periodically.

But there are other options beyond worms including: isopods, moths, grasshoppers....

 

[latshki]

according to other forums all common feeder roaches are illegal so shipping isn't very possible
the only source for them I know is geckoboygeckos
but what kind do you use, dubia?