New member/Chameleon owner....Needs Help!

[ColinMcC123]

Hey Chameleon forums! Ive recently brought home a Nosey Be Chameleon (named Basil) as a new addition to my family, and Im looking for some pointers to taking care of him.

Ive been taken to a few reptile shows before and after seeing a Nosey Be...I was sold! Basils the first pet Ive had and i want to make sure I give him the care he needs so i have a couple questions.

1) Does anyone have any recommendations for what i should use for good cricket gutloading?

2) Basils now about 9-9.5 inches long from head to tail and hes being kept in a mesh enclosure 12x18x20 inches (70 litres i think), do you think it is it time for me to get him a bigger cage?

Thanks

 

[sandrachameleon]

1) Does anyone have any recommendations for what i should use for good cricket gutloading?
2) Basils now about 9-9.5 inches long from head to tail and hes being kept in a mesh enclosure 12x18x20 inches (70 litres i think), do you think it is it time for me to get him a bigger cage?
Thanks

Hello back at ya

Gutloading: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition.html

And if you're only offering him crickets, you may like to consider feeding Basil a variety of insects. Options include: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

And if you're into reading a bunch more, here's a list of chameleon related websites:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/56-chameleon-related-websites.html


And yes, He sounds big enough (he's about 4 inches in body?) soon for an adult sized cage (2 feet deep, 2 feet wide, 4 feet tall)

 

[ColinMcC123]

Hey, thanks for the help and the links Sandra! Ill definetly check out the websites too, make it bedtime reading.

I have another question by the way, ive been able to pick up some mealworms and was wondering how many mealworms is recommended to feed him in a sitting and how often should i put them in with his diet?

also yeah hes around 4 inches in body

thanks again for the help

 

[sandrachameleon]

ive been able to pick up some mealworms and was wondering how many mealworms is recommended to feed him in a sitting and how often should i put them in with his diet?

Mealworms are unfortunately not a good option as food for chameleons, or rather not good as a large part of the diet.. This is because they have quite a lot of chinton compared to the "meat" and are therefore somewhat hard to digest. Feed off freshly molted ones (soft and white in colour) to mitigate the digesting issue. And/or feed mealworms alongside lots of soft bodied bugs like silkworms and hornworms (which are quite low in chinton, so it balances out)

They are also somewhat low in nutrients, though you can gutload somewhat to improve.

That said, I still include mealworms in the diet of my panthers. But only one or two every other week, or less.

 

[laurie]

Welcome to the forum. Great place to learn and have that little nosey be lead a long and healthy life. The more you read the more you learn, and don't forget questions are always good. We may have different opinions but we are all here to help.

 

[ColinMcC123]

Hey, thanks for the wecoming. and thanks for the pointers Sandra. I apologize in advance if any off the questions Im asking seem kinda stupid or like it should be common sense, this is new to me, but I do appreciate any advice you can give that will help me learn . I want to make sure i can give him the most proper I can.

so yet another question:

1) Im looking into buying silkworms tomorrow for variety in his diet along with crickets, being 4 inches in body would he be large enough to eat silkworms? and if so how many silkworms & how often would be a good amount to feed him be? if i am also going to be feeding him crickts in his diet

 

[xanthoman]

your cham needs more than just silkies and crickets

 

[Metric]

your cham needs more than just silkies and crickets

.....thats an informative post......



/end sarcasm.



Anyways....

Variety is best when it comes to Chameleon diets. Crickets are a great staple and adding silkworms is even better. Other feeders you may want to look into as a staple (something you can replace crickets with if you find you don't like them) is cockroaches.

Non-staple feeders you can give as treats, and for more variety are numerous including; Hormworms, superworms, phenix worms, butterworms, stick bugs, praying mantis', dragonflies, grasshoppers, and the list goes on.

you can check out this section of the forum for more info on these and other feeders. https://www.chameleonforums.com/food/

As for the amount of silk worms, that depends on your cham's age. Since I'm not too experienced with nosy be's specifically i wouldn't be able to decipher how old 9-9.5 inch nosy be is. Generally a few silkies a week is fine depending on size of the silkworm as well.

hope that helps : )