New to the hobby

[divingne1]

Hi everyone. I am new to Chameleons but have wanted one for a long time. I have several pets...2 cats, 2 dogs, 2 fish tanks (one freshwater & one saltwater), & 5 dart frog tanks. I live in one of the northern suburbs of Atlanta, GA so if there are breeders local, please let me know. I am interested in the male Red-barred Ambilobe Panther Chameleon. I have no interest in breeding the chameleon. I don't plan on buying the chameleon until I have researched their care and have their home properly set up.

My first question (probably out of many) is do you get fecals done on your chameleons to test for parasites? Second, can you supplement with Rep-cal and Herptavite? 3rd, can silkworms be a main staple or does crickets have to be their staple?

Candy

 

[Marc10edora]

I do fecals once a year. I also use rep cal brand supplements. Get calcium with D3 and without D3. Also get herptivite. I wouldn't use silkworms for a baby cham because they can get spoiled off them. Chams can be picky eater, which makes them difficult to care for. Start them off on crickets and roaches. Once they are an adult you can use silkworms as part of their main diet. The key is to offer a variety of feeders.

 

[divingne1]

Thank you for your reply. What insects can be cultured (other than crickets) for adult chameleons. Right now I culture melongaster fruit flies and trying to culture the larger Hydei fruitflies (flightless) for dart frogs. I have read some people culturing silkworms and wax worms. Are mealworms ok for chameleons? I have also cultured bean beetles but have not read that they would be a good snack for chameleons. I have seen where hornworms can be offered. Could these be part of their staple along with silkworms and crickets?

One other question, what is the life expectancy for a healthy chameleon? Just wondering how old should the max age be when considering an adult.

Thanks again for your time in answering my questions.
Candy

 

[Marc10edora]

Mealworms can be fed to your cham. But I prefer kingworms (Zophoba). They are bigger and have less skin. They gutload easy too. Hornworms should be used as a snack. A really good feeder to culture is Dubia Roaches. They can't fly or climb glass. They are full of meat and they gutload easy. Once you get a roach colony going, you will have more than enough to feed your reptiles. They can be used as a main staple and may even replace crickets. I prefer them over crickets because they are actually cleaner and don't stink. I just had to get over the idea that I was breeding roaches in the garage.

A healthy cham in captivity will live up to 5-8 years. (I'm guessing). Every spring I breed praying mantis too. I offer them as a snack and release the extra into my garden to kill off any pests.

 

[divingne1]

Yeah I am thinking if I feed roaches, they are going to have to be cultured/stored under the bed or in the closet. My husband would scream like a girl if he found out I had roaches in the house. I think anything is better than those stinking crickets. Not to mention, my terribilis will love the roaches too.
Candy

 

[chequepoint]

If you're really that against crickets.. I think a silkworm/roach/superworm mix would do fine. If you threw crickets in once a month, maybe got them from the pet store, gutloaded them, and fed them all off, it wouldn't hurt.

 

[divingne1]

I would probably get crickets once or twice a week. I want to keep other staple food on hand at the house. I got my first wiff of crickets at Petsmart yesterday. I never knew what people meant when they said they stink (I thought bean beetles stunk until I smelled that). I have no problem at all with going to get them from the store once or twice a week and feeding them all at once. Once the terribilis get bigger, I will do the same for them.
Candy

 

[chequepoint]

They stick if you don't keep them clean. Petsmart isn't a great example.
I use a kritter keeper, once a week I get about 6 dozen. I don't leave old food in. They live in there, at the end of the week, they're all fed off, I clean out the kritter keeper, and go get more crickets.

 

[Marc10edora]

I would probably get crickets once or twice a week. I want to keep other staple food on hand at the house. I got my first wiff of crickets at Petsmart yesterday. I never knew what people meant when they said they stink (I thought bean beetles stunk until I smelled that). I have no problem at all with going to get them from the store once or twice a week and feeding them all at once. Once the terribilis get bigger, I will do the same for them.
Candy

Yeah, Crickets will start to smell the less you clean their container. In order to totally keep the smell down, you have to do alot of maintenance and clean they're container every 2-3 days. Make sure you give them fresh greens and gut-load. Constant cleaning will also reduce the ones that die off. The more crickets you keep = the more it will stink. But if you have to buy them every week, you will spend alot. I buy 1000 at a time and try to keep it clean. But I also use superworms (Zophoba) as a staple.