Number of superworms

[boj3434]

Im just wondering how many supers I can feed my almost 9 month old panther. He is not a big fan of crickets he eats them when I dont feed him for a few days. I just ran out of silkies so I dont have that option for a while longer Im planning on getting more within the next month. I do gut load the supers but he almost eats nothing if i dont give him some. Thanks.

 

[pssh]

I only use a few a week. Have you tried roaches?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

My big male veiled has lived on gut loaded super worms exclusively for over two years.
I give him 5 or 6 every other day.

-Brad

 

[draetish]

My big male veiled has lived on gut loaded super worms exclusively for over two years.
I give him 5 or 6 every other day.

-Brad

Does you veiled have a BM problem? My panther does, so I started him on hornworms for awhile.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Im just wondering how many supers I can feed my almost 9 month old panther. He is not a big fan of crickets he eats them when I dont feed him for a few days. I just ran out of silkies so I dont have that option for a while longer Im planning on getting more within the next month. I do gut load the supers but he almost eats nothing if i dont give him some. Thanks.

How many you CAN feed him and how many you SHOULD feed him are likely different things. Certainly in the short-term, no harm is done to feed him these exclusively for awhile until the silkies come in. A few every other day.

Have you tried butterworms or roaches or other things as well?

 

[boj3434]

No i havent tried roaches yet i just got my colony going and I dont want to start feeding those off until it is more established. I have been gutloading them as good as they will eat but I really want him to eat more crickets. He still eats crickets just not as much as he used to. I guess ill just have to get him to eat at least a few crickets before i give him any supers.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Super worms are easy to gut load (they eat anything!) and they have less chitin than crickets.
The % of fat may be a bit higher, but is that really a problem if you're controlling quantity?
No Kitty does not have a problem eliminating.

-Brad

 

[boj3434]

Super worms are easy to gut load (they eat anything!) and they have less chitin than crickets.
The % of fat may be a bit higher, but is that really a problem if you're controlling quantity?
No Kitty does not have a problem eliminating.

-Brad

Yes i was looking at the nutrition tables online and there wasnt a huge difference between supers and crickets but everyone always says not to feed them. They are very easy to gutload and they are always packed with goodness when i feed them. I usually feed about 2-4 every other day or so, so ill prob stick with that for a while untill i can get some other stuff. I want to breed some silkworms but I really need to wait until the mulberry trees start getting leaves, they eat so much food. Thanks for the feedback anymore tips let me know.

 

[sandrachameleon]

...there wasnt a huge difference between supers and crickets but everyone always says not to feed them. .....

Maybe you are thinking of mealworms? Those are the ones that seem to have the bad reputation on this forum. I think many if not most folks here use superworms as a part of their chameleons diet.

 

[boj3434]

Maybe you are thinking of mealworms? Those are the ones that seem to have the bad reputation on this forum. I think many if not most folks here use superworms as a part of their chameleons diet.

No i was thinking of supers i know they are alot better than mealworms but I was just kind of worried since supers were making up about half of his diet. I have decided that they are fine but I am going to start cutting him back a little by skipping a day or two. Then im sure hell eat some crickets

 

[draetish]

Just FYI, my panther got addicted to supers and would not touch crickets or dubias. He would only eat 1-2 a day and it had me worried. Knowing what I know now, I would not steer away from crickets and maybe after he had his crickets for the day offer him a super. It's hard once they get addicted to one feeder to get them to eat anything else.

 

[sandrachameleon]

No i was thinking of supers i know they are alot better than mealworms but I was just kind of worried since supers were making up about half of his diet. I have decided that they are fine but I am going to start cutting him back a little by skipping a day or two. Then im sure hell eat some crickets

Fair enough. I wouldnt want supers to make up half the diet of my cham either, not long term.

 

[chamlover]

I agree. Once they have superworms i find alot of my reptiles will snub crickets.

Try putting an orange in with the crickets, it seems to change the taste of them, no i dont know from exp. Also if your just starting your roach colony, tried feeding him just a couple of your males. That shouldn't have any effect on your breeding colony.

 

[boj3434]

Just FYI, my panther got addicted to supers and would not touch crickets or dubias. He would only eat 1-2 a day and it had me worried. Knowing what I know now, I would not steer away from crickets and maybe after he had his crickets for the day offer him a super. It's hard once they get addicted to one feeder to get them to eat anything else.

That is what i meant i am going to steer away from supers and not give him any until he eats some crickets but thanks

I agree. Once they have superworms i find alot of my reptiles will snub crickets.

Try putting an orange in with the crickets, it seems to change the taste of them, no i dont know from exp. Also if your just starting your roach colony, tried feeding him just a couple of your males. That shouldn't have any effect on your breeding colony.

Ill try the orange thing I gutload with oranges sometimes but i switch it up week by week usually but its a good thought so ill try it. The male roaches seem to big for him to eat I am worried about him eating one.