Highlighter yellow panther mouth and still very little growth

[MissSkittles]

Silkworms are a good staple feeder, which from what I’ve been told by a chameleon vet/breeder in the past are only second to roaches in nutrition. Of course adding crickets and other feeders for variety is best, but if he doesn’t want roaches now, that’s ok IMO.

 

[jannb]

What drops are you using? I’d stop drops is you have been using them that long. Normally, you only use them 7 to 10 days.

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

Hi. I am aware of how bug burger works and I use it accordingly. I dust my bugs with Repashi NO D and use LoD once every 2 weeks. I grow greens for them and feed them bug burger as well. They are healthy and well gutloaded, I assure you, but thank you for taking the time to make sure. I know people are at all stages here and perhaps this will help someone else too! I order all of my bugs from bug breeders also, rather than getting them from local stores. I find the quality of the bugs here are at our local stores is awful!

As for silks vs dubias, this is interesting. The breeder he came from uses a lot of silks when they are small and he was very happy to have them. It is what he always goes to first. Are you suggesting I should try to stop feeding those to him until he eats more dubias? He rarely goes to his dubia bowl actually. Maybe once or twice a week. He is more fond of silks and crickets. I am so worried about his wee size, I have not been challenging his eating of the silks, just trying to keep enough in the house at a reasonable size for him, which is an awesome adventure in itself! Thoughts?

Thanks again. Always happy to keep learning.

It's probably because he's used to eating silkworms is why he's rejecting other types of food. I would stave off on those for a little while and give him a more nutritious snack, like dubias. There is a chart somewhere on this forum that shows what the different feeders are for, I'm sure someone here has it saved and could post it. IIRC silkworms are fatty feeders, dubias are a good daily feeder.

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

Oh wait you know wait I'm thinking of wax worms sorry. Waxworms are the fatty worm, that and mealworms. Regardless though, variety IS not a bad thing, I still offer other feeders, like sometimes my local shop gets hornworms in so I pick those up, waxworms from time to time, and silkworms my local store doesn't carry so I don't know much about them.

Out here in Oregon my options are basically crickets, dubias, hornworms if I'm lucky, waxworms and mealworms, of all those staples or treats dubias is my go-to so that's why I'm swearing by them right now. I've noticed an improvement in growth since switching to dubias, I can't speak to silkworms, sorry for the slight misnomer on my part.

 

[Tarzanfam]

Oh wait you know wait I'm thinking of wax worms sorry. Waxworms are the fatty worm, that and mealworms. Regardless though, variety IS not a bad thing, I still offer other feeders, like sometimes my local shop gets hornworms in so I pick those up, waxworms from time to time, and silkworms my local store doesn't carry so I don't know much about them.

Out here in Oregon my options are basically crickets, dubias, hornworms if I'm lucky, waxworms and mealworms, of all those staples or treats dubias is my go-to so that's why I'm swearing by them right now. I've noticed an improvement in growth since switching to dubias, I can't speak to silkworms, sorry for the slight misnomer on my part.

No problem. I am so glad to have this forum to learn! It is my understanding that silkworms are very high in calcium and are a good regular feeder. I order them in as none of our stores carry them either. If you are interested, there are quite a few locations to get them from.

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

No problem. I am so glad to have this forum to learn! It is my understanding that silkworms are very high in calcium and are a good regular feeder. I order them in as none of our stores carry them either. If you are interested, there are quite a few locations to get them from.

If you know of any that'd be fine, I'm working on trying to start my own dubia roach colony right now so I don't have to rely on pet stores and supply chains. With things going the way they are I just worry about my 3 chameleons going hungry, so I'd rather just colonize enough generations of dubia cockroaches to have it be self sustaining.

To get things off to a start I started buying excess feeders and in sizes medium and large. I have probably 75-100 in there excluding the larvae, I'm looking forward to not having to rely on someone else for my pets food.

I always have troubles with shipping feeders, half of them generally arive dead, I know they are just little bugs but it's just a waste and abuse of life to ship little creatures knowing many may not survive transit.

I once tried ordering hornworms online and about 90% of the shipment was dead either from the temperature or being crushed rattling around in shipping.

These roaches are formidable and have long life spans, you should consider moving to dubia roaches as a more regular feeder, as you could do the same thing yourself and probably save quite a bit of money in the long run.

Regardless I always like to know where I can get good bugs from, cause like I said from time to time I do like to give them some variety, I don't believe any of them have tried silkworms yet. So feel free to share, thank you.

 

[Tarzanfam]

If you know of any that'd be fine, I'm working on trying to start my own dubia roach colony right now so I don't have to rely on pet stores and supply chains. With things going the way they are I just worry about my 3 chameleons going hungry, so I'd rather just colonize enough generations of dubia cockroaches to have it be self sustaining.

To get things off to a start I started buying excess feeders and in sizes medium and large. I have probably 75-100 in there excluding the larvae, I'm looking forward to not having to rely on someone else for my pets food.

I always have troubles with shipping feeders, half of them generally arive dead, I know they are just little bugs but it's just a waste and abuse of life to ship little creatures knowing many may not survive transit.

I once tried ordering hornworms online and about 90% of the shipment was dead either from the temperature or being crushed rattling around in shipping.

These roaches are formidable and have long life spans, you should consider moving to dubia roaches as a more regular feeder, as you could do the same thing yourself and probably save quite a bit of money in the long run.

Regardless I always like to know where I can get good bugs from, cause like I said from time to time I do like to give them some variety, I don't believe any of them have tried silkworms yet. So feel free to share, thank you.

I have been thinking about a dubia "farm" also, but until he chooses to eat them regularly, it does not make sense. Here is my list:

My favourite is https://www.tcinsects.com/

Also check out:
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/live-silkworms-available-now-c22/

https://www.silkwormshop.com/

https://www.coastalsilkworms.com/

I have ordered from each of these places with good success, but as I have a small little guy right now, TC is working best because I can buy really small ones and regular small ones and cut shipping costs down.

Good luck!