Is cricket-breeding necessary?

[lionfranky]

Hi, I am new here. I have been studying chameleon care before buying one.

I think I am fair knowledgeable on other stuff like set up, moisture, lighting, heat, etc. I looked at gut load part and I also found out cricket breeding.

Question here.
I will get only one veiled male chameleon baby. Is cricket breeding necessary to supply constant demand? Does this method cut cost of food supply?

 

[ChameLIonLover]

I recently thought i'd give it a try, but then I went on vacation so I kind of stopped. I got some wonderful crickets from Ghann's... 500 of them, but my cham tested positive for coccidia and he hasn't been eating much. Also, he used to love cricks, but has minimal interest for them now. I am going to try silkworms now to add variety. I personally don't think I'll be getting crickets in bulk again anytime soon.

 

[absolutbill]

Honestly, if you only have one or two chams (careful, they are addictive!), I wouldn't recommend cricket breeding. You can buy in bulk, though I wouldn't do it until your little guy is grown, because usually the smallest amount you can buy is 500 and one little cham won't be able to eat them before they grow too big for him. I'd concentrate on smaller quantities, and have a variety of feeders (you can raise your own superworms for when he's bigger, as well as silk and horn worms if you'd like a challenge). My 2 guys are both adults, so I buy 1000 crickets at a time, 1/2". When the crickets are smaller I just feed more, as they grow I feed less, and generally speaking everything works out where the crickets are eaten before they die of old age.

 

[MSMorgan]

If you'd like to try breeding a feeder, I'd recommend dubia roaches. Very easy, low cost. They don't smell (like crickets) and reproduce, well.....like cockroaches. Lots of info on the web about them. If your colony gets too big, sell them off or give the adult males to a friend with chickens. IMHO crickets are better bought at your store, or in bulk from a breeder like others have posted.

 

[lionfranky]

If you'd like to try breeding a feeder, I'd recommend dubia roaches. Very easy, low cost. They don't smell (like crickets) and reproduce, well.....like cockroaches. Lots of info on the web about them. If your colony gets too big, sell them off or give the adult males to a friend with chickens. IMHO crickets are better bought at your store, or in bulk from a breeder like others have posted.

So they are even easier than breeding crickets? So do they not eat their own kinds? Not that it matters, my sister doesn't like cockroach. It seems for only one male, buying bulk at a time would be more economical.
But, I still have to gut load crickets right? Even though they are already gut loaded in the store, they lose their nutrition over two days from what I learned. So no breeding means minus soil for laying eggs?

Which sites do you recommend for buying chameleon food? Do you think PETCO is good source? Or any other pet stores?

 

[Andee]

Petco and Petsmart are fine for buying small amounts for crickets but if you are planning on buying in bulk it is waaaay too expensive. I usually only buy crickets at most twice a week and usually only 16-20 at a time. That still costs me around 3 dollars. It's not worth it buying from stores, most of the time, you get a better deal online most of the time. But yes, always gut load. Pet stores, whether small or large tend to use horrible gutloads with little to no nutrition or even some gutloads that do harm, such as fish food or dog food. I make my own gutloads and grow most of my own veggies and fruits for the wet part of their gut load.

Healthy bugs make a healthy chameleon. Good commercial gutloads are Bug Burger, Cricket Crack, etc. There are others but these are ones I have heard very good things about. I would ask around if you are looking for others.

I would also start looking into buying some soft bodied worms, and such. Like silkworms and hornworms. They are great if your chameleon is being finicky or you get a dehydrated one or your chameleon gets sick and you need to get some medicine in it. Hornworms grow super fast so it can be an issue, store them in a cooler room and you can put them in a fridge for a day to slow their growth. Silkworms are amazing but they can be hard to raise when they are youngsters, and when they can be hard to get any older than eggs. Both worms have to eat specially prepared foods or in the silkworms case Mulberry leaves.

Wax worms are a good treat on occasion but only like one like once or twice a month. They are good for keeping a good weight on your cham, and just making sure everything stays that way, though they are pretty much pure fat. Praying mantis are a high manteinance feeder, but often worth it just to watch them grow up XD they are amazing. Moths are great but make sure there are no pesticides if they are wild caught. I love raising stick insects for feeding my cham. They are great fun and Ryker loves them. Roaches are great feeders and loved by a lot of chams. Especially green banana roaches. Super worms are good on occasion, I personally never use them unless I've mutilated their mandibles, they can bite the soft mouth and tongue of a chameleon and infections can happen. There are tons of things to feed, and if you are unsure always ask, I'm pretty sure someone will know lol.