Staple diet for 2 month old veiled!

[Chellia]

I'm trying to put together a staple diet for a two month old male veiled chameleon I will be ordering in the next month. I would like to get the feeders before the chameleon is ordered.

What are good staples and other feeders for smaller veileds? The size to order of each would be great. Would pin heads and fruit flies be too small?


Thanks everyone, as always, you guys are THE BEST!

 

[Dagreek]

The best thing by far from my perspective is Phoenix worms. They have the most calcium by far and my chams like them as much as they do waxworms.

 

[Chellia]

The best thing by far from my perspective is Phoenix worms. They have the most calcium by far and my chams like them as much as they do waxworms.

What size would be best? Could I do roaches and crickets to mix it up as well?

Also, thank you!!!!

 

[Dagreek]

What size would be best? Could I do roaches and crickets to mix it up as well?

Also, thank you!!!!

I have roaches and don't like them. Id go with small to medium Phoenix worms. I have a four month old veiled and he'll eat 15 medium in one sitting so you can get a picture. They are skinny and he frequently eats two at a time when I have a bunch in the bowl at the same time.

 

[Andee]

Roaches are good to add to the mix better than crickets because they have a better meat to shell ratio and have more protein. The only problem is that I've noticed some veileds tend to not like them. Though this is just my experience from what I've heard.

Try some veggies and fruit as well. Also pinhead crickets I think should be fine but fruit flies might be too small. But the phoenix worms end up turning into flies so you still have those to feed. You can also try getting small silkworms or hatching small hornworms to feed. Just remember that hornworms will grow faster than you can feed most of the time.

Butter worms are good too, but always only feed one first to see if your little one has a allergic reaction to them. The reactions usually aren't bad so you don't have to worry about too much, (at least from what I hear). Also if you live in the USA and live near a field without pesticides you can catch some grasshoppers wait for them to lay eggs and have tons of feeders soon. That's what I'm doing.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. I agree that Phoenix worms are excellent but they are tiny, all sizes are tiny even the large so you will need other feeders also. If your baby is a true full size, healthy 2 month old he will be able to eat all feeders that are the appropriate size. He shouldn't have anything wider than the space between his eyes. Fruit flies and pinheads should be to small. He should be eating at least 1/4 inch crickets by 2 months and house flies would be a good option. You can buy those at mantisplace.com. Small roaches, small butterworms, small Silkworms, small hornworms and small superworms are good to add for variety. You can get micro superworms at Mulbery Farms. Since you are only going to have one chameleon you might want to check out lindasgonebuggy.com. She has value packs where you get a variety of small amounts of 4 or 5 different feeders for $20.00. I'm attaching my blog for new keepers below. It's how I have successfully raised my veiled chameleons. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[Chellia]

Roaches are good to add to the mix better than crickets because they have a better meat to shell ratio and have more protein. The only problem is that I've noticed some veileds tend to not like them. Though this is just my experience from what I've heard.

Try some veggies and fruit as well. Also pinhead crickets I think should be fine but fruit flies might be too small. But the phoenix worms end up turning into flies so you still have those to feed. You can also try getting small silkworms or hatching small hornworms to feed. Just remember that hornworms will grow faster than you can feed most of the time.

Butter worms are good too, but always only feed one first to see if your little one has a allergic reaction to them. The reactions usually aren't bad so you don't have to worry about too much, (at least from what I hear). Also if you live in the USA and live near a field without pesticides you can catch some grasshoppers wait for them to lay eggs and have tons of feeders soon. That's what I'm doing.

I definitely want to breed silkworms, would they be good to feed along with the phoenix worms?

I should also try to add roaches as well to the mix, right?

We have LOTS of katydids up here, but I'm not sure what to look for egg wise.

What should I feed all of these things? Gutload for bugs and fresh fruit/veggies. Oats?

 

[Chellia]

Welcome to the forums. I agree that Phoenix worms are excellent but they are tiny, all sizes are tiny even the large so you will need other feeders also. If your baby is a true full size, healthy 2 month old he will be able to eat all feeders that are the appropriate size. He shouldn't have anything wider than the space between his eyes. Fruit flies and pinheads should be to small. He should be eating at least 1/4 inch crickets by 2 months and house flies would be a good option. You can buy those at mantisplace.com. Small roaches, small Silkworms, small hornworms and small superworms are good to add for varirty. You can get micro superworms at Mulbery Farms. Since you are only going to have one chameleon you might want to check out lindasgonebuggy.com. She has value packs where you get a variety of small amounts of 4 or 5 different feeders for $20.00. I'm attaching my blog for new keepers below. It's how I have successfully raised my veiled chameleons. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

This is amazing info, thank you!!!!!

 

[Andee]

Katydids make great feeders, I'd catch a few adults and feed them whatever they eat, which they may eat different things depending on the species of Katydid. Then wait for them to lay eggs in the enclosure and seperate the eggs into a different container.

There is a great blog on here about making your own dry gutload which I use and tweak a little depending on what I have at hand. Silkworms are a great feeder to use along with phoenix worms, neither need to be dusted.

I agree, try to add dubia roaches to the mix. If he/she doesn't go for dubias there are also Green banana roaches or the giant green banana roach which chameleons supposedly go crazy for ^^

If you don't want to make your own gutload I reccomend Bug Burger or Cricket Crack. I also recommend using fresh fruits like oranges, papaya, mangoes, and apricots, etc. for water. And dark leafy greens like mustard greens, kale and dandelions (only every now and then), etc. for veggies.

The blog for gutload is: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/835-simple-gutload-bug-food.html