OTHER insects
- Thread starter tryme
- Start date
THEO555HUGHES
New Member
I feed mine small moths that i catch outside about once a week. He seems to like them. as far as other insects I'm not sure. It would be nice to know what is safe and whats not.
SoCaliSon
Avid Member
I personally prefer breeding my own roaches... So many tropical species to choose from.. and they don't stink or make noise... And they are easy to breed.. Not to mention the nutritional value!! And you wanna talk about Gut loading!!! I love being able to tell which ones have gorged themselves when they get slow and fat.
As far as wild caught bugs... I always am tempted but always decided it wasn't worth the risk of introducing a parasite. You don't know where that food has been.
As far as wild caught bugs... I always am tempted but always decided it wasn't worth the risk of introducing a parasite. You don't know where that food has been.
chamsrcool
New Member
I feed my rudis chams stick bugs and they love 'em! I dont know the nutritional value of them so I dont feed them very much. They are so eay to breed and one bug can produce 50 or 60 babies plus you dont need more than one to start a colony (but more is perfurable) because their parthenogenic and dont need males to reproduce I use the indian stick bugs I found at a local petstore for 99 cents each and not to mention they eat the brambles that grow everywhere around my house so food is not a problem.
SoCaliSon
Avid Member
Wow that is so interesting about the snails... Would they be okay to add into a regular diet rotation??? I always try to offer a variety of feeders and am always looking for an easily breedable feeder to add to the diet. I like that they have all that calcium built in.. but what about the rest... Would it be to fatty to feed like every other day or so?
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
http://raisingkittytheveiledchamele.../feeders-and-their-husbandry-how-much-to.html
-Brad
http://raisingkittytheveiledchamele.../feeders-and-their-husbandry-how-much-to.html
-Brad
SoCaliSon
Avid Member
Brad, Your page is very informative... I actually do feed every one of the staples you mentioned in your article... but I was just wondering about the overall nutritional value of these snails and if it was safe to offer these, not as staples but as supplements a couple times a week. I am curious if the shell could cause damage to the digestive tract? I have heard of Chammy's Picking off humming birds! I am amazed that they can digest that sharp beak with no problems! Who knows maybe there is a feeder that is actually better as a staple, that we have yet to recognize as such in the community.
I bookmarked your page Brad... very good ref to have! Thanks!
I bookmarked your page Brad... very good ref to have! Thanks!
Amy J
New Member
Some other interesting ones I've heard of are locusts or grasshoppers, praying mantises, house flies, spiders, and earthworms. Haven't gotten a chance to try any yet because I haven't gotten my first cham yet. I'm getting a veiled on Saturday and I'm so excited. I've been doing my research though and most people seem to say that you shouldn't feed them bees or wasps unless the stingers are removed, which seems like to much work for me.
dodolah
Retired Moderator
if you can get a clean snail, probably you can.
(maybe get the snail the same way the french restaurant get the escargot).
But, if you get the source from the wild... I say DON'T.
Ugh. wild snails contain lots of parasites (flukes).
If ingested by your chameleon, he will get the parasites.
Duke
New Member
I've read in books NOT to feed wild caught insects because of parasite risk and also read in others that it is good because of variety and nutrition. I will say that I cannot believe that the pet store purchased insects are at any less risk for parasites than are wild insects. I will also second the previous post about snails. Snails are known to be intermediary host animals for parasites intended for animals that eat them. I do not know of any specifically that infect reptiles though I do know of some that infect birds and some that infect aquatic animals via snails. I would probably be worried about feeding wild snails to mine, the degree of fear escalating with the mean temperature of the area in the world the snail was caught. (I believe snails from warmer areas, say Okinawa, would be more inclined to have the parasites than in a cooler climate such as the UK).
I raise my own blaberus, buy some insects at the store, and my kids catch insects in the summer for them. I must approve the insects first. We avoid anything with red, caterpillars with spikes or fuzz, spiders, and specific insects that I know are bad such as the monarch butterfly caterpillars.
I raise my own blaberus, buy some insects at the store, and my kids catch insects in the summer for them. I must approve the insects first. We avoid anything with red, caterpillars with spikes or fuzz, spiders, and specific insects that I know are bad such as the monarch butterfly caterpillars.
christyo2o2
New Member
We feed out cham crickets, mealworms, wax worms(as a snack) and hornworms. And i have to say hornworms are his fav! and he loves them after they turn into moths
I've been obsessed with this site that has a couple of articles on what bugs you can feed:
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=92
Article about roaches
I'm not sure if they can eat Hercules beetles, but I think they can eat the grubs. I've seen shows on animal planet where a chameleon has eaten some sort of grub, but not exactly sure which ones. But here's an interesting article about raising them.
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=105
Also apparently they can eat termites. I personally wouldn't feed termites, because if they ever escape, that could hurt your home. But here's an article on raising them.
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=55
There's a couple more articles from the website but they deal with crickets and mealworms.
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=92
Article about roaches
I'm not sure if they can eat Hercules beetles, but I think they can eat the grubs. I've seen shows on animal planet where a chameleon has eaten some sort of grub, but not exactly sure which ones. But here's an interesting article about raising them.
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=105
Also apparently they can eat termites. I personally wouldn't feed termites, because if they ever escape, that could hurt your home. But here's an article on raising them.
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=55
There's a couple more articles from the website but they deal with crickets and mealworms.
