Mealworms Staple

[chameleoman]

can you use mealworms as a staple diet i have been feeding it as a staple for about a month and a half now there cheaper and easy maintnence

i have been gutloading them pretty good with the help of sandrachameleon

i use
celery
apple
yam
squash
papaya
blueberries
fresh spearmint leafs
and rasperries

 

[DavidBuchan]

When you say staple what percentage of feeders do you mean? I know sandra recommends not having one feeder making up more than 20% of the diet if possible (mealworms should be even less because of the high chitin, high fat). Varied diet as much as possible is best. Even low fat silkworms shouldn't be more than 40% if you can manage it.
No matter how good your gutload is you should use crickets and roaches, they are also very cheap and easy to keep.

 

[amanda509]

mealworms can cause impaction and should not be fed more than a treat once in awhile :/

 

[fluxlizard]

mealworms can cause impaction and should not be fed more than a treat once in awhile :/

Only if your lizard has other problems to begin with. Digesting exoskeleton is what chameleons do for a living. Lizard digestion in general is pretty amazing- my tegus and monitors digest chicken bones and beaks and feet, feathers, etc.

But mealworms are probably too high in fat to be a high percentage of the diet.

I feed a meal of mealworms about 1x per week and have done for years.

You want as wide a variety of feeders as possible. Mealworms are convenient and easy to grow, but there are better staples (crickets, roaches). Tropical roaches are very inexpensive and easy to breed. Dubia is a good choice.

In a laboratory setting, several generations of panther chameleon were successfully raised on alternating mealworms and crickets (see ferguson, panther chameleon). The percentage acceptable may be more than some here believe.

But it is still not the greatest idea in the world.

For single pet it shouldn't be expensive to alternate between a number of feeders- crickets, mealworms, superworms, waxworms, butterworms, soldier fly larvae, silkworms, roaches, etc.

Long term high percentage of mealworms is an experiment and risky with your lizard- bottom line.

 

[Canny Chams]

although i dont think its a big deal if you feed a single species for more than 40% of your diet, mealworms are very low in nutrition, hard to digest, hard to gutload. If you were to have any single insect placing more than 40% of your diet, it should be crickets, roaches, or maybe silkworms. Mealworms can extend impaction problems and its the same with superworms. Just stick with roaches, crickets, silkworms, butter worms,mantids, locusts, and the occasional few waxworms. Mealworms arent the worst if your cham is being carefully and properly supplemented, as flux said dr ferguson has done some extensive studies on it, but he doesnt reccomend them as a feeder, he just says they are over blown, but you know, better safe than sorry

 

[sdheli420]

NO, they are NOT a staple feeder...staple feeders include crickets, dubia roaches, and silk worms can also be used...

personally i use crickets as the staple, then go for horn worms, and silk worms, with meal worms once and a while..they are all fat..even if you coated them with supplements they still have nothing to offer your pet other than a treat..

 

[batmancumming]

i've noticed that my jacksons has a preference of worms over things like crickets and dubia, but i still have times when i offer him strictly crickets n dubia so he doesnt get addicted to the worms lol. mealworms really arent very nutritious and can be difficult to digest. i have heard of people using a staple of mostly mealworms and never having a problem, but yea why risk it? especially since other feeders are cheap, readily available and easy to keep. silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, and reptiworms among other things. mix it up, your cham will appreciate it

 

[chameleoman]

whats impaction?

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Constipation. Well, "blockage in Chameleon's digestive system or any other internal organs"

 

[chameleoman]

i already have a dubia colony going so ill feed those

 

[sandrachameleon]

i already have a dubia colony going so ill feed those

Use the dubia, some mealworms, and some other things as well like crickets and silkworms.

 

[Canny Chams]

impaction is the "constapation of reptiles, but its more like a kidney stone, build up of certain things they might have eaten such as substrate, that eventually does not allow them to defecate.