mealworms
- Thread starter Purpur
- Start date
Jamire
New Member
Mealworms are okay as a main diet, they can be hard to digest in large quantities and you need to supplement with calcium and make sure they are properly gutloaded. But remember no one bug should comprise more than 20% of your animals diet. You are thinking of wax worms as treat only. they are very high in fat.
NHenn
Avid Member
I agree, mealworms are fatty and should not be used as a main diet. I personally don't feed my chameleons any mealworms as they can't be gutloaded and really don't bring any benefit to the cham. Silkworms are a much better choice or even superworms as they can at least be gutloaded.
fluxlizard
Avid Member
This is not really true.
They can be gutloaded a variety of ways and were found to gutload calcium better than crickets when fed the exact same feed (according to ferguson- panther chameleons book. Ferguson used crickets and mealworms only to raise panthers over generations in his lab).
I recently posted a link with a nutritional analysis that found them similar to crickets in some ways, similar to superworms in others. Similar to other feeders in others.
That said, I agree with approximate percentages others here on the thread are recommending. Variety is the key.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
how often are mealworms an ok for chams? I thought that there was something about them and they were a treat only? I gave my girl her first worm today. she is a little piggie (ate 20 crickets in one day)
mealworms are fine for 10-20% of the total diet. depends what else you are offering and how well you gutload and how active the chameleon is and how well hydrated, etc.
careful not to overfeed, especially females.
