Need Help with Hand Feeding and Gut loading

[Matt1851]

Alright so i just bought some meal worms for my panther and i want to start hand feeding him. He is about 3 - 4 months but i think hes scared of the worms because everytime i hold one he just backs away from it :/ So does anyone know when he might start letting me hand feed him? And if this continues i dont want my meal worms to die so what do i feed/gut load them with?

 

[jannb]

Meal worm are not a good feeder for chameleons. They are hard for them to digest. I've never had them before but you could just probably keep them in oatmeal like you would superworms.

Instead of meal worms try super worms or silk worms.

 

[Matt1851]

Meal worm are not a good feeder for chameleons. They are hard for them to digest. I've never had them before but you could just probably keep them in oatmeal like you would superworms.

Instead of meal worms try super worms or silk worms.

i bought super worms but they are way to big for my chameleon :\ hes only little and the superworms are about half his body length :\

 

[Miss Lily]

As Jann already said, mealies do contain a large proprtion of chitin (outer skin) which is hard for chams to digest. You can feed them occasionally as treats though - my two go nuts for the newly moulted white ones of either mealies or supers! When newly moulted the outer skin has not hardened, therefore they ar much softer and easier to digest.

I keep mealies for my sugar glider and the chams have them as treats but not very often! I keep mine in an open top tub with a layer of bran as bedding. Keeping a lid on may cause too much moisture to be retained, which is not good, as mould starts to grow. I gutload mine with apple, potato, carrot and wild rocket leaves although not all at the same time - whatever I have got when I feed them!

 

[Matt1851]

As Jann already said, mealies do contain a large proprtion of chitin (outer skin) which is hard for chams to digest. You can feed them occasionally as treats though - my two go nuts for the newly moulted white ones of either mealies or supers! When newly moulted the outer skin has not hardened, therefore they ar much softer and easier to digest.

I keep mealies for my sugar glider and the chams have them as treats but not very often! I keep mine in an open top tub with a layer of bran as bedding. Keeping a lid on may cause too much moisture to be retained, which is not good, as mould starts to grow. I gutload mine with apple, potato, carrot and wild rocket leaves although not all at the same time - whatever I have got when I feed them!

well ya i wasnt going to put him on a meal worm diet hes gunna eat the crickets but i figured id get him and my anole a little treat and i wanted to hand feed him aswell but i don tlik eholding crickets... lol

 

[warpdrive]

if you don't like holding crickets, then try silkworms and hornworms.
many places will sell you worms small enough to feed your guy...including small supers.

Harry

 

[Matt1851]

if you don't like holding crickets, then try silkworms and hornworms.
many places will sell you worms small enough to feed your guy...including small supers.

Harry

ya im a bit of a wus when it comes to bugs -_- but i think i might have to order them. i havent seen small superworms at any of my local stores

 

[pssh]

Maybe you can order some smalls online? My female wouldn't eat supers or mealies until she had silkworms. She hand fed regularly with silkies but not crickets/dubia/supers/mealies/etc. My male wouldn't eat supers until after he was comfortable hand feeding. Now he will only eat them off the screen of the cage He also doesn't even like eating crickets out of my hand, mainly just silkies and dubia.