new to forum . advice on feeding

clyde1985

clyde1985

New Member
Hello all, im new to this forum . ive had my 1st veiled for 2 years and he is super healthy and beautiful. i switched him to superworms only at 1 yr with occasional roaches . i just couldn't deal with the crickets any longer, the stink, the care & the all around headache of crickets. I recently got a jacksons and he is about 6 months old now. he has only ever eaten crickets, I now have the hassle of crickets again but would eventually like to switch him over to worms as well. ive tried to get him to eat a super but he wont even blink ane eye at them. should i try roaches ? id rather have roaches in my home than crickets at this point. what is a good alternative for a jacksons besides crickets ? thank you all !! i plan on being an active member of this forum :)
 
Well roaches would be a lot better, and he would probably love them. As well as your veiled. Plus they're easy to breed and good, nutritionally speaking, for your little guy and easy to gut load with all the right things. They don't stink, so I'm told, and don't die as much. Super worms really shouldn't make up more than 20% of your chameleon's diet. They're high in fat and have small stomachs, so you can't gut load them as much.
 
thank you mychamtini ! I never knew of the high in fat factor and small stomachs for gut loading. should i switch my veiled from supers to roaches ? do roaches gut load ? when i pick up roaches from my local reptile store i feed them to the veiled immediately so i never feed the roaches...
 
No problem. :)

Yes roaches can be gut loaded. Just like crickets, and they can be very good for your chameleons. I would definitely switch them over if I was you. For gut loads you can feed them what you would feed crickets. So some fresh fruits and veggies sprinkled with some commercial gut load you can buy from some of the site sponsors. Cricket Crack sold at Tiki Tiki and Dino Fuel sold by Kilgour Chameleons is good as well. And then a lot of people use Bug burger as well. You could set up a colony of them and have them breed and get free feeders. Lol. And then they would always be gut loaded and a lot healthier for your boys. It's best to let them eat and gut load for at least twenty four hours before you feed them off.
 
beautiful ! you answered everything with this reply ! thank you !! p.s i get my chams ,feeders & cricket crack from tiki tiki , i live across the street from the owners shop in las vegas. theyre awsome people there ! ill definitely make the switch to roaches !
 
you can gutload the superworms just as you would the roaches and the crickets. They will eat anything!!! I have never heard the small stomach thing before. That is a new one!!!
 
carol5208 said:
you can gutload the superworms just as you would the roaches and the crickets. They will eat anything!!! I have never heard the small stomach thing before. That is a new one!!!
Click to expand...

I read it on one of Sandra's many comments. :) lol. I stalk and read, and just learn a bunch of stuff.
 
mychamtini112012 said:
I read it on one of Sandra's many comments. :) lol. I stalk and read, and just learn a bunch of stuff.
Click to expand...

I suppose cause they are skinnier in body type than a roach or cricket their stomachs would be smaller, but they still will eat just about anything so they can be made more nutritious by what you feed themn. They are much fattier than crickets(( do not know about roaches) so yes they should be limited due to that factor.
 
carol5208 said:
I suppose cause they are skinnier in body type than a roach or cricket their stomachs would be smaller, but they still will eat just about anything so they can be made more nutritious by what you feed themn. They are much fattier than crickets(( do not know about roaches) so yes they should be limited due to that factor.
Click to expand...

Yes. She did say that they could be gut loaded just they had small stomachs so not as big as a quantity of it. If that makes sense.? Lol. She worded it better.
 
clyde1985 said:
what do you feed your chams carol ? whats thier diet made up of ? thanks
Click to expand...

I hate roaches so do not feed them. I hate crickets also, but can tolerate them, so I do use them as feeders. I also feed silkworms mostly, hornworms, some supers, moths and dragon flies when I can catch them or hatch them out from the hornworms or silkworms. Silks and horns eat the chow, or mulberry leaves, the supers and crickets eat just about anything fruit and vegetable. I also use Repashy Bug Burger
 
thanks carol, ill be looking into some silkworms this weekend.i want to mix it up alot more. keep my guys happy. i learned alot tonight !
 
clyde1985 said:
wheres the best place to order silk worms from ?
Click to expand...

this guy right now- :p https://www.chameleonforums.com/silkworms-help-me-thin-herd-115571/

also , check the sponsor links - I also have 3 6 mo old Jax - I feed mine roaches, silks, horns, isopods, flies, earwigs, mantis, moths, and anything else that is small, and not as fast as me :p I do feed crix , but not often - I would rather have roaches ( did that come outta MY mouth?? :eek: :p I HATE to see roaches, but hate the smell of crix even more ! ) I also keep my chams outside 24/7 - the sun is so good for them :)
welcome to the forum :D
 
little leaf said:
this guy right now- :p https://www.chameleonforums.com/silkworms-help-me-thin-herd-115571/

also , check the sponsor links - I also have 3 6 mo old Jax - I feed mine roaches, silks, horns, isopods, flies, earwigs, mantis, moths, and anything else that is small, and not as fast as me :p I do feed crix , but not often - I would rather have roaches ( did that come outta MY mouth?? :eek: :p I HATE to see roaches, but hate the smell of crix even more ! ) I also keep my chams outside 24/7 - the sun is so good for them :)
welcome to the forum :D
Click to expand...


wow!!! how do you get your Jacksons to eat those different types of bugs? i cant get mine to eat anything excpet for crickets still. im offering silk worms, roaches, baby hormed worms. nothing !! only crickets ... advice please ?? i want him to more of a selection like my Veiled. should i just stay persistent ? thank you thank you !!
 
also thanks for everyone's input here. im new here still. only 2nd day ever being on a forum lol!! but i love my veiled ( hes my avatar ). 1 & 1/2 yrs old and my 5 month jacksons . my jacksons is from Hawaii and my veiled is captive bred . id think my jackson has been in a cage since he was very young and is only used to crickets.. im hoping he will lighten up and eat some worms :)
 
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