How many worms to feed?

[CLANOFTHECHAMELEON]

Hi!
I have had my Cham for two feedings now. I bought worms for him but the general consensus is that worms are more a treat than anything else. Is this true? Should I use crickets instead? How many crickets should i feed him? And for now how many worms are sufficient? Sorry lots of q's but I'm a little new to this!

 

[carol5208]

well what kind of chameleon do you have and what age? How much you feed him is going to mostly depend on how old he is.

 

[CLANOFTHECHAMELEON]

I really don't know how old it is... It doesn't look like there is a sure way to tell. It's a Jackson. About two inches from snout to tail base.

 

[DavidBuchan]

The best staple foods for captive chameleons are crickets and locusts - they are easy to keep and breed, and easy to gutload too. Mealworms have a lot of chitin, too much fat, less vitamins - they are good for a treat because the chams all seem to love them. At the age your cham is then get little crickets to gutload with high calcium foods like butternut squash, and dark leafy green stuff like dandelions. Fruit flies are also good fun at that age, but flies are not a good staple either due to too much protein........

 

[lisa h]

A lot depends on the type of worm too. Phoenix worms, super worms and butter worms are better choices than meal worms and wax worms, for example.

 

[CLANOFTHECHAMELEON]

The best staple foods for captive chameleons are crickets and locusts - they are easy to keep and breed, and easy to gutload too. Mealworms have a lot of chitin, too much fat, less vitamins - they are good for a treat because the chams all seem to love them. At the age your cham is then get little crickets to gutload with high calcium foods like butternut squash, and dark leafy green stuff like dandelions. Fruit flies are also good fun at that age, but flies are not a good staple either due to too much protein........

Thanks for the info! I'm still not clear on the gutloading thing, what is it?

 

[DavidBuchan]

Thanks for the info! I'm still not clear on the gutloading thing, what is it?

Gutloading just means feeding the insects with good quality foods - not good for the insects, necessarily, but good for your Chameleon.

 

[OrangeCrush]

I suggest u sit down for about a day some time soon and do some serious research on chams. There is a lot of info needs to be able to just keep a Cham alive. Its not hard to find online just sure goolge and type in Cham care sheets. This will provide sites with everything u need to know. But about the feeding u need to just stick with crickets for now. Get him used to his cage and just feed him crickets for a little bit because this is what he is used to eating. Then after about 2 weeks u can start feeding him worms like wax worms silk worms etc.. Try an stay away from meal worms and super worms. Meal worms do not provide much health benefits and super worms can possible chew through a Cham stomach if not digested correctly not really worth the risk.