horn worm feeding ? ?
- Thread starter Jeremy l
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THECHAMMAN
Established Member
no real horn, its real fleshy. they can bite really hard though. so make sure the 1st bite kills it.
Revler
New Member
Are hornworms ok for chams? I've never tried them, only used them for my Bearded Dragon but, they are huge. How many would you feed a full grown male panther cham? 180g Hmmmmmm It seems like if they would be OK, i.e. not poisenous, they would be a good feeder. I don't know anything about them have always fed waxworms, silkies, and crickets with the occasional dubia....what's everyone's imput?
dodolah
Retired Moderator
Are hornworms ok for chams? I've never tried them, only used them for my Bearded Dragon but, they are huge. How many would you feed a full grown male panther cham? 180g Hmmmmmm It seems like if they would be OK, i.e. not poisenous, they would be a good feeder. I don't know anything about them have always fed waxworms, silkies, and crickets with the occasional dubia....what's everyone's imput?
farm raised hornworms are fed with safe gutload insuring that they are not poisonous. The wild one usually feed on tomato leaves making them toxic.
They are wonderful feeders. Contain lots of protein and not as fattening as wax worm. They are juicy as well insuring your chameleon to remain hydrated.
When you see your chameleon a bit dehydrated, instead of showers try this feeder first.
The adult hornworm certainly can put up a fight although they are no match to adult chameleons. The first timer might be a bit surprised/. Horn worms struggle, bite, and spit if they are threatened.
But, the bite shouldn't be that dangerous to your chameleons. and the spit.. well.. it just a spit. it actually regurgitate its stomach content in hope that the predator will be shocked and run away.
Hornworm is an excellent feeder for recuperating chameleon that needed extra protein and hydration.
the horn is fleshy and should not injured your chameleon.
and from the look of my chameleons when eating them, hornworms seem to be delicacies.
I'm sure your chameleon will go wild on this feeder.
I love feeding hornworms to my cham since they save my veiled cham's life after being stressed out and refusing to eat for 3 weeks from Albon therapy.
Now, I used this feeder also whenever i need to administer oral medicine for my cham. I inject the medicine into the hornworms' body and let the cham eat it.
The only negative thing about them is the fact they are monstrous eaters. They grow to huge size extremely quick.
also, they latch on the vine stronger than silkies.
Sometimes your chameleon might have to struggle getting it off the vine. But, he will learn from the experience.
My veiled now will literally go real close to the worms and rip it off the vine instead of shooting from a far.
He only did this behavior with hornworms
Excellent feeder in my opinion!
Last edited:
Chameleonboy
Avid Member
dodola there is nothing i can add to that excellent responce 
chuck
New Member
tomato hornworms
We recently bought some tomato hornworms, and I thought I'd relate some my experience with them.
They came in a very convenient container - food at the top, lattice along the sides, so that you can empty the frass (poop). There is a lot of frass.
As others have mentioned, they grow EXTREMELY fast. The first time you raise them, you'll be caught by surprise, because for us they grew in one big spurt. The first week or so I was let down at their progrees. Then they got too big, too fast. Hugo, our Ambanja, absolutely loved them at first, then got picky about them. I wish we'd started feeding them to him when they were smaller, because several of them pupated before we could get them into Hugo's belly. We have saved a couple of the cocoons to see if Hugo will take out a moth - but I carefully destroyed the others. THey are a major pest capable of serious devastation - you see it when you see how much food they go through.
When they get big, they are pretty fierce, and can get a pretty powerful hold with their legs. You have to be careful not to damage them when pulling them off of something they are grabbing on to.
One time, Hugo nailed one on a branch, but it didn't come off right away. Hugo reeled his body in to the branch and chomped. He yanked the branch hard enough that it flexed, and half the hornworm was thrown across the room.
They can make a big splat when bitten into.
Not trying to gross people out, just passing on my experience.
We will get them again, but I won't wait for them to get big!
We recently bought some tomato hornworms, and I thought I'd relate some my experience with them.
They came in a very convenient container - food at the top, lattice along the sides, so that you can empty the frass (poop). There is a lot of frass.
As others have mentioned, they grow EXTREMELY fast. The first time you raise them, you'll be caught by surprise, because for us they grew in one big spurt. The first week or so I was let down at their progrees. Then they got too big, too fast. Hugo, our Ambanja, absolutely loved them at first, then got picky about them. I wish we'd started feeding them to him when they were smaller, because several of them pupated before we could get them into Hugo's belly. We have saved a couple of the cocoons to see if Hugo will take out a moth - but I carefully destroyed the others. THey are a major pest capable of serious devastation - you see it when you see how much food they go through.
When they get big, they are pretty fierce, and can get a pretty powerful hold with their legs. You have to be careful not to damage them when pulling them off of something they are grabbing on to.
One time, Hugo nailed one on a branch, but it didn't come off right away. Hugo reeled his body in to the branch and chomped. He yanked the branch hard enough that it flexed, and half the hornworm was thrown across the room.
They can make a big splat when bitten into.
Not trying to gross people out, just passing on my experience.
We will get them again, but I won't wait for them to get big!
chuck
New Member
following up on Hugo & the hornworms
We did get another batch of hornworms, and they arrived slightly larger than before. We decided to feed off smaller ones, since we had a problem going through the larger ones in advance of metamorphosis. Hugo likes them so much we've had to wait to let some get a little bigger.
We did get another batch of hornworms, and they arrived slightly larger than before. We decided to feed off smaller ones, since we had a problem going through the larger ones in advance of metamorphosis. Hugo likes them so much we've had to wait to let some get a little bigger.
JenniferAlicia
New Member
Thank you so much for this post, I was asking about them in a previous post that I had written and ended up with no insight...
One question though, how old should I wait for my cham to be before ordering them? Right now she is about 4 months old and a coordinating size.... From the sounds of it I am not sure how she would be able to handle a hornworm, any insight?
One question though, how old should I wait for my cham to be before ordering them? Right now she is about 4 months old and a coordinating size.... From the sounds of it I am not sure how she would be able to handle a hornworm, any insight?
dodolah
Retired Moderator
You absolutely can feed hornworms to a 4 month old cham.
But, make sure you tell the people selling them to give you small to medium small hornworms. Hornworms varies in size depending their age. from a .5 inch to a whopping 4 inches length.
Feed accordingly.
I adopted/rescued a male 2 year old veiled chameleon. I haven't seen him eat anything in the 2 1/2 weeks I have had him but I know he must be eating because he isn't skinny and is very active. He just wont eat when I am in the room. I have 2 feeding bowls in his cage. I bought some horn worms to feed him. I was hoping he would freak out and eat them up in front of me but he did his usual heavy breathing at me and walked away from me. I put 3 med-med large worms in the tank. 2 in feeder cups and 1 on a branch. They seem to be great climbers so I am assuming they will just climb right out of the dishes. I have a large pothos hanging plant and an almost too large ficus in there. Will the hornworms eat their leaves? Is it ok to just leave them in there hoping the cham will eat them? Also, with his picky eating habits how can I make sure he gets vitamins? The insects I put in there quickly get anything I've dusted them with off. He only will eat when I am not around. He seems to be gaining weight(filling out) and I watch him drink water(he will do that with me in the room) from my dripper. Are small hornworms ok to feed my other reptiles of appropriate sizes? Like a leopard gecko or crested gecko? I have a feeling I will have a container full of huge hornworms and then chrysalis...
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