Outside help?/ superworm sizes

[kfacetastic]

Hello again!

i have started taking my 4 month old panther chameleon, reptar, outside into our screened in porch, he doesnt seem too stressed at all, he doesnt turn dark or try and bite or anything. he even ate from my hand for the first time right after i brought him out here. i bring one of his plants and have a stick on branch/leaves for him to crawl on (connected to the table) i dont handle him a whole bunch when he is out here( though he does like to explore and get into things, and then i feel then need to step in and place him back on his plants) but he does tend to crawl all over me. if there isnt anything to harm him on the table, is it a horrible thing to let him just take in his surroundings and explore? I dont want to stress him out by allowing him to get into things you wouldnt find in his natural habitat, but he doesnt show signs of a stressful situation...advice?

also, i just bought the smallest superworms i could find, and they still seemed pretty big for his size (he is about 7 inches including his tale and the worm prob an inch or tad bigger. he still ate it from my hand, it just took a little longer to chew. what is too big worm wise? i understand the concept of how to know with crickets...but not superworms.

thanks!

 

[kfacetastic]

his outside play area

he loves to just climb all over me....

 

[nick barta]

You can get small supers (and horn worms) from Great Lake hornworms who is a sponsor here.

Nick

 

[Symbiot]

Those small superworms will be just fine for him. My 2 and a half month old ambilobe has eaten up to 2 inch long superworms with no problem. Usually with worms you can feed a bit bigger in size to your chams.

 

[Olimpia]

Free ranging is great for chameleons. I would put the plants ontop of the table or something so he's a little more inclined to stay in the plants, but there's no reason to not let him explore. I let mine go lose in my screened balcony or cham room. Sometimes I'll find that one has climbed over the baby gate to the cham room (to keep my dog from going after the feeder insect veggies lol), crossed half the livingroom, and she's made it to the sofa where I am, to come chill with me. They're at their happiest when they can go anywhere they want. As long as they're in a safe area (they can't get hurt by other animals, crawl on sharp/dangerous things, or get at anything poisonous) they'll be more than fine exploring for a little while. In fact, it's when mine show the BEST colors.

If he climbs on to you willingly, don't be worried about stressing him. If it's on his terms then he's probably more than comfortable with the idea, so don't think that you must follow the "don't touch" rule or he'll just die. If he wants to hang out on your arm or shoulder, then great, let him and enjoy the interaction. It's better for a chameleon to be comfortable with you than terrified of you, in my opinion.

Also, the superworms you have are fine. The eye width thing still applies to worms. If the worms are thin, then it doesn't matter how long they are. It'll obviously take him a second longer to chew it and bring it all into his mouth, but he's fine. I notice with all of mine that they won't even attempt to go for an insect they can't handle. They know if it's too big most of the time.

He's beautiful, by the way What's his locale?

 

[kfacetastic]

oh great! you guys have def eased my soul on both issues, so thanks

reptar and i are chilling in NC at the moment, the weather has been BEAUTIFUL the last week or so, and more to come.