Loss of appetite, need some help!

[Melvin]

I thought my grown up yemen lost his appetite because of the season in sweden, it's winter now. So he didn't eat anything at all in 5 days and i got a little bit worried. In the winter they only have crickets in the pet store and superworms (zophobas).

I always hand feed him, so I tried every day and i Also put a feeding cup with some crickets in it and he didn't want to eat, so today I went to the pet store and bhought som superworms, when I tried to feed him with them he ate 11 of them! And i was so happy he finally ate something

but here's my question, are superworm unhealthy for him? What should i do if he don't want to eat crickets the whole winter? Can he live with only superworms for a while? Because he's not even a little bit intrested in the crickets right now.

 

[carol5208]

yes, it can be done. I have read on here where chameleons only wanting to eat supers. There was a member on here some time ago that had a chameleon who was only eating supers for like a year because the owner got tired of trying other insects that it would not eat. He said his chameleon was fine. Is it the best? Probably, not. We all know that some kind of variety in the diet is best. Here is a link for you to check out. It is the nutritional values of feeder insects. There are different charts with the same insects with a variety of analysis' but most of them are pretty close. Superworms are fatty compared to crickets and contain alot less calcium to phosphorus ratio so you might want to dust a little extra to get you through. If anything you might see your chameleon gain some weight but I don't think feeding supers can kill him!!.
http://chamownersweb.net/insects/nutritional_values.htm Also, keep trying to reintroduce the crickets periodically. My cham has not eaten crickets for over 4 months and I keep trying with no luck though!

 

[Melvin]

Thank you very much! He will not eat superworms all the time, bcause when its summer in sweden we have plenty of grasshoppers in the wild and they sell them in every pet store to. Grasshoppers is his favorite food! When he eats hunt crickets he's lazy but when he see a grasshopper he's hunting like a lion

 

[carol5208]

I think he should be ok. It was very frustrating for me when my chameleon quit eating crickets. They were cheap!!! I still would keep trying on the crickets, you never know, he might surprise you!!!

 

[Melvin]

The crickets in sweden are expensive tho! but the supers are cheap. I'll try with crickets next week, I'll try to keep the crickets out of his sight and he'll maybe miss them

 

[carol5208]

The crickets in sweden are expensive tho! but the supers are cheap. I'll try with crickets next week, I'll try to keep the crickets out of his sight and he'll maybe miss them

haha don't count on it! I figured if I waited for weeks at a time he would think it was some kind of "new" food he was being offered! no such luck!!! How much do your crickets cost over there. I was getting 500 shipped to my door for $14.00 U.S. Dollars.

 

[carol5208]

The crickets in sweden are expensive tho! but the supers are cheap. I'll try with crickets next week, I'll try to keep the crickets out of his sight and he'll maybe miss them

haha don't count on it! I figured if I waited for weeks at a time he would think it was some kind of "new" food he was being offered! no such luck!!! How much do your crickets cost over there?. I was getting 500 shipped to my door for $14.00 U.S. Dollars.

 

[nhblond]

Wow, Carol5208 where do you get your crickets from at that price? I just recv'd my first shipment of 500 and it cost me $26

 

[carol5208]

I was buying(before my cham went on the cricket strike) from a place called Lazy H Bait, in LaBelle Florida. I don't think they ship to Sweden though!!!