Some questions about food...

[JMBNRC]

I'm curious about a couple things regarding my chameleon's feeding...

1. Is it a bad idea to feed chameleons mealworms? We feed our chameleon mealworms every now & then for a snack but I was recently told that I shouldn't feed him mealworms because they have an exo-skeleton that is too hard to digest. Does anyone else feed their chameleon mealworms? Any opinions on this?

2. Where do you all buy your crickets? My boyfriend used to own two chameleons and he bought he crickets online at that time. He said it was cheaper but it was messier and kind of nasty when they arrived. We now buy our crickets from Petco. We go about twice a week and spend $5.30 each time (with our Pals card). Anyone have any suggestions on what is more cost effective, reasonable, and easiest? I must say, crickets are my least favorite part of owning a chameleon!!

3. Does anyone feed their chameleon greens? We tried to feed our chameleon collard greens once and he didn't look twice. I've heard they like some greens, but he didn't seen interested.

Any other feeding suggestions are welcome!! Thanks!

 

[RhettusMaximus]

feeding habits

1. Mealworms - don't feed mealies to chams under 6 mo.s of age as a rule of thumb. It's true that the exoskeleton can be hard for younger chams to digest, but as they get older they have less difficulty with these. Go with superworms now and then it's just a bigger bellyful, but really you don't want to feed them more than once a month from my experience.

2. Crickets- Ebugco.com is the best place to order crix. 1000 crickets for 16 dollars shipped. Just put them in a large sterilite container with the top cut out and covered in screen. Put gutload and dry cornmeal inside for the crickets to eat. Make sure you have plenty of egg cartons and things for the crickets to hide in or else you may experience alot of deaths in the population due to overcrowding. You can feed your chams for over a month buying from here. i used to do this until i started breeding roaches and have had GREAT success

3. Greens- I feed my veiled chams some chunks of romaine lettuce. i put it near the basking spot and the chams seem to enjoy going up there and munching out on some romaine. I've heard alot of different people trying collard greens, kale, parsley, cilantro, and red leaf lettuce. I'd just stick to romaine because the prices remain decently constant from $.72/lb to $.99/lb in the winter. It's a good idea to offer greens to your chams.

 

[RhettusMaximus]

roaches

almost forgot, you should breed roaches. it's easier, less smelly, and more satisfying for chams than crickets are. There's alot of safe species to breed, but i would recommend eithe turkistan roaches and or hissers.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

1. Mealworms - don't feed mealies to chams under 6 mo.s of age as a rule of thumb. It's true that the exoskeleton can be hard for younger chams to digest, but as they get older they have less difficulty with these. Go with superworms now and then it's just a bigger bellyful, but really you don't want to feed them more than once a month from my experience.


Once a month for Superworms or mealworms in your experience?

We would go without food for a couple of days here if the only option were mealworms. They are not a feeder I would offer to a chameleon ... they have been the cause of more than one renal prolapse and are extremely hard to digest.

Superworms, on the other hand, are a fantastic staple feeder. Easy to gut-load and therefore, very nutritious. If I had to pick one feeder only it would be zoophobas ... even over silkworms.

-Brad

 

[Vegas Chad]

1. Mealworms - don't feed mealies to chams under 6 mo.s of age as a rule of thumb. It's true that the exoskeleton can be hard for younger chams to digest, but as they get older they have less difficulty with these. Go with superworms now and then it's just a bigger bellyful, but really you don't want to feed them more than once a month from my experience.


Once a month for Superworms or mealworms in your experience?

We would go without food for a couple of days here if the only option were mealworms. They are not a feeder I would offer to a chameleon ... they have been the cause of more than one renal prolapse and are extremely hard to digest.

Superworms, on the other hand, are a fantastic staple feeder. Easy to gut-load and therefore, very nutritious. If I had to pick one feeder only it would be zoophobas ... even over silkworms.

-Brad

Agreed... The Supers have a much softer skin to then that the mealworms... I have had tbl in the past with chams having a very hard time going poo after a round of mealworms. My main feed is probably 1/3 roach, 1/3 crix and 1/3 super... Then some wax, silk and whatever else I can find for treats

 

[RhettusMaximus]

mealies

I very very rarely feed mealies now that i've been getting my chams on roaches. Never had any problems with mealies, but haven't fed them to the chams often at all. I could see where you would say that they would be hard to digest. They're all shell and no value.

Superworms my chams are in love with. Looking for a good online site to order supers from at a fair price....

 

[JMBNRC]

Thanks for all the suggestions!! Does anyone know where I can get superworms?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I order 1000 at a time from: http://reptilefood.com/

They last forever!

-Brad

 

[RhettusMaximus]

superworms

Very cool, thanks Brad, i'll probably order from here too. DO you use any special technique when feeding superworms to your cham? By the way, your veiled in your avatar is awsome looking.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Thanks! He is my baby!!!
I just cup feed them.
If you put a piece of carrot and some roach coach or dry cricket food in the cup ... you can even leave town for a couple days (provided misting happens ... my mister is my neighbor!) and not worry about your chameleon being hungry.

-Brad

 

[JMBNRC]

Thanks Brad...I'm going to check out that site.