GooglezNvincent
New Member
so i read once that you need to peirce the horn worms befor you feed them to your chams, is that true or what?
Horn Worms
- Thread starter GooglezNvincent
- Start date
Sang
New Member
i think you are thinking of phoenix worms.
silkies from what i understand are very soft bodied, and will digest easly. if your chameleon is having trouble digesting a horn worm.. you may not have a good enough basking lamp to get his metabolism goin.
if you are having this problem, double check your husbandry, and consult a veterinarian.
silkies from what i understand are very soft bodied, and will digest easly. if your chameleon is having trouble digesting a horn worm.. you may not have a good enough basking lamp to get his metabolism goin.
if you are having this problem, double check your husbandry, and consult a veterinarian.
panthercham
New Member
I have never pierced a horn worm and never had any problems with them or digestion....Phoenix worms I have heard yes but I dont use them very often. Horn worms are soft bodies but just make sure they are not to large for your chams 
GooglezNvincent
New Member
I have never pierced a horn worm and never had any problems with them or digestion....Phoenix worms I have heard yes but I dont use them very often. Horn worms are soft bodies but just make sure they are not to large for your chams
HA HA HA ok that it! my bad Pheonix worms! since we are semi on this subject, why do you have to peirce the pheonix worms?
panthercham
New Member
I don't pierce mine but I don't use them very often and I have never had a problem with any of them. They are chew up and digested very well! I have read other posts that some members have seen undigested Phoenix worms in their chams poops so they poke a hole in them.
If you use them maybe its a good idea to pierce them to be on the safe side
GooglezNvincent
New Member
I don't pierce mine but I don't use them very often and I have never had a problem with any of them. They are chew up and digested very well! I have read other posts that some members have seen undigested Phoenix worms in their chams poops so they poke a hole in them.
If you use them maybe its a good idea to pierce them to be on the safe side
Ok cool! thanks!
summoner12
Avid Member
No you don't need to poke a hole.
You do however want to keep an eye on HWs when you feed them off to your cham. They like to bite. Any size worm should be watched when feeding. But the larger ones especially. Sometimes its not even the biting. I have had a couple of cases where my Melleri was slow to chew/swallow the worm and it was able to grab his lip with its rear feet. Lenny wasn't so thrilled to have a HW half down the hatch, grabbing his lip......
I had to help him once and I got bit. Lenny had no idea it was me he was biting, he just felt my finger and chomped down, it didn't hurt me too bad... just shocked me with the amount of force he has. He let go soon after and I learned.... don't put fingers in his mouth LOL.
Here is a pic of him struggling with a HW that grabbed his lip.
This was the first time... By the time I returned with a Q-Tip to assist he had gotten the worm down his throat...
You do however want to keep an eye on HWs when you feed them off to your cham. They like to bite. Any size worm should be watched when feeding. But the larger ones especially. Sometimes its not even the biting. I have had a couple of cases where my Melleri was slow to chew/swallow the worm and it was able to grab his lip with its rear feet. Lenny wasn't so thrilled to have a HW half down the hatch, grabbing his lip......
I had to help him once and I got bit. Lenny had no idea it was me he was biting, he just felt my finger and chomped down, it didn't hurt me too bad... just shocked me with the amount of force he has. He let go soon after and I learned.... don't put fingers in his mouth LOL.
Here is a pic of him struggling with a HW that grabbed his lip.
This was the first time... By the time I returned with a Q-Tip to assist he had gotten the worm down his throat...
Sancho
New Member
I cut of the horn of the hornworm all the time just so it doesn't wipe around and catch the cham in the eye.
summoner12
Avid Member
Yeah he didn't seem too happy about it... just kept gaping and trying to lick his lips but couldn't get to the worm
. And Sancho I've never had an issue with the horn. It is soft and chams close their eyes when they have prey in their mouth's... but not a bad idea if you have violent thrashing worms.
GooglezNvincent
New Member
So i would be better off feeding the hornworms when they are fresh out of the refrigerator so they are slow and wont thrash around and snag my chams lip with its caught
dodolah
Retired Moderator
seriously, I think either I under estimate hornworms or you guys over estimate them.
They do wild trashing, biting, and spitting...
but nothing that an adult chameleon cannot handle.
Have you ever been bitten by horn worms before? Not a big deal really.
I think crickets can bite harder than them.
The horn are fake. They are very soft. It won't pierce your chameleons.
Cutting them of produce gross effect actually.
Since they are very watery, cutting' piercing any part of their body will cause them to leak like a faucet.
It makes a huge mess in your cage.
Only concern that I think is quite real is Summoner's.
Hornworms do attach to anything real well.
All my chameleons have learned the trick of eating hornworms.
They never shoot at them anymore. They just go real close and chomp them off the vine (Other feeders they will hunt as usual).
GooglezNvincent
New Member
seriously, I think either I under estimate hornworms or you guys over estimate them.
They do wild trashing, biting, and spitting...
but nothing that an adult chameleon cannot handle.
Have you ever been bitten by horn worms before? Not a big deal really.
I think crickets can bite harder than them.
The horn are fake. They are very soft. It won't pierce your chameleons.
Cutting them of produce gross effect actually.
Since they are very watery, cutting' piercing any part of their body will cause them to leak like a faucet.
It makes a huge mess in your cage.
Only concern that I think is quite real is Summoner's.
Hornworms do attach to anything real well.
All my chameleons have learned the trick of eating hornworms.
They never shoot at them anymore. They just go real close and chomp them off the vine (Other feeders they will hunt as usual).
Amazing how Chams are to intelligent!, so is it bad to try and feed a 1.5'' hornworm to my 4-5month old male Nosy Be, hes prolly 4 or 5'' in length
Sancho
New Member
seriously, I think either I under estimate hornworms or you guys over estimate them.
They do wild trashing, biting, and spitting...
but nothing that an adult chameleon cannot handle.
Have you ever been bitten by horn worms before? Not a big deal really.
I think crickets can bite harder than them.
The horn are fake. They are very soft. It won't pierce your chameleons.
Cutting them of produce gross effect actually.
Since they are very watery, cutting' piercing any part of their body will cause them to leak like a faucet.
It makes a huge mess in your cage.
Only concern that I think is quite real is Summoner's.
Hornworms do attach to anything real well.
All my chameleons have learned the trick of eating hornworms.
They never shoot at them anymore. They just go real close and chomp them off the vine (Other feeders they will hunt as usual).
The spike might be soft but it's very pointy and if it connects with a chams eye you can beat their would be damage. I cut them off all the time and they drip like one or two drops and then stop not a mess at all.
lrg83caleb
New Member
I have a 7 month panther. I watched him take down a 2" Horned worm last night. He seemed to handle it fine. I am not saying that it was good for him because I don't know, but he did get it down.
GooglezNvincent
New Member
summoner12
Avid Member
seriously, I think either I under estimate hornworms or you guys over estimate them.
They do wild trashing, biting, and spitting...
but nothing that an adult chameleon cannot handle.
Have you ever been bitten by horn worms before? Not a big deal really.
I think crickets can bite harder than them.
Only concern that I think is quite real is Summoner's.
Hornworms do attach to anything real well.
All my chameleons have learned the trick of eating hornworms.
They never shoot at them anymore. They just go real close and chomp them off the vine (Other feeders they will hunt as usual).
The biting isn't sooo bad... But a chams lip or tongue is much softer than their skin and our own skin. I have had HWs pinch me in a tender place and it 'hurt'. Didn't make me cry, just was like.... 'wow if that was a chams tongue I am sure he would be in pain'. I have never had this issue personally. Someone on the forums said she had a HW go after her cham's tongues more than once and advised me to pay attention when feeding. So I just make sure they get them down before I walk away.
My guess havn't figured out the 'walk up and chomp' method. I normally hand feed them anyway...
