Starving crickets=starving chameleon?
- Thread starter Reganold
- Start date
Chameleonmaster
Avid Member
Your chameleon wouldn't be getting its normal nutrients that it should be getting causing them to get sick over time. That's why it's important to gutload your feeders
ChameleonMom
New Member
That's not an experiment I'd be too eager to try. Your Cham is only as healthy as the food it's food eats. Remember that!
No they wouldn't starve. The same way you wouldn't starve if all you ate was doughnuts. You'd be doing yourself a disservice with complete lack of nutrients and damaging your health but you would have enough calories to sustain life.
Chameleonmaster
Avid Member
No your chameleon wouldn't starve if you fed them enough of the ungutloaded ones
Chameleonmaster
Avid Member
Oops posted at the same time
Julija
New Member
I would say it depends on a few things.
What chameleon are we talking about? Is it an adult, is it a juvenile?
No way would I try it out on a pregnant female, especially on a young female about to lay eggs the first time. Neither would I do that with a juvenile or a chameleon that already has or is prone to easily getting health problems.
What do you mean by ungutloaded crickets? Are you just gonna buy a bunch and keep them for a month without feeding them? Well, then your crickets are going to eat each other or they are going to die, and probably not gonna last a whole month that way. Another things is, if you are going to buy them regularly from a pet-shop in smaller portions during that month and worry that pet-shops don't gutload them properly.
Because then another important thing is supplementation. Lets say that for whatever reason for a month you can only feed you chameleon ungutloaded crickets (from a pet-shop?). Do you have the necessary supplements? Ca, Ca+D3 and multivitamins?
From my personal experience with an adult healthy male veiled chameleon I can say that with supplements used as required two month on crickets (primarily) and locusts (occasional treats) that I bought in the pet-shop and didn't additionally gutload went fine and had no consequence for the chameleon. But I have to underline, that this is all very, so to say, case-specific - I had no other choice in the situation I was in. Every chameleon is different and they are, after all, very sensitive creatures.
What chameleon are we talking about? Is it an adult, is it a juvenile?
No way would I try it out on a pregnant female, especially on a young female about to lay eggs the first time. Neither would I do that with a juvenile or a chameleon that already has or is prone to easily getting health problems.
What do you mean by ungutloaded crickets? Are you just gonna buy a bunch and keep them for a month without feeding them? Well, then your crickets are going to eat each other or they are going to die, and probably not gonna last a whole month that way. Another things is, if you are going to buy them regularly from a pet-shop in smaller portions during that month and worry that pet-shops don't gutload them properly.
Because then another important thing is supplementation. Lets say that for whatever reason for a month you can only feed you chameleon ungutloaded crickets (from a pet-shop?). Do you have the necessary supplements? Ca, Ca+D3 and multivitamins?
From my personal experience with an adult healthy male veiled chameleon I can say that with supplements used as required two month on crickets (primarily) and locusts (occasional treats) that I bought in the pet-shop and didn't additionally gutload went fine and had no consequence for the chameleon. But I have to underline, that this is all very, so to say, case-specific - I had no other choice in the situation I was in. Every chameleon is different and they are, after all, very sensitive creatures.
pssh
Avid Member
Like said above, they wouldnt necissarily die, but it could cause other bigger issues. In addition to gutloading crickets, its always a good idea to provide a variety of other insects to help balance nutrition. Silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, crickets, roaches, superworms, safe wild caught insects, etc. all bring different nutrient contents to the table. Try to not let any one insect make up more than 20-30% of the chameleons food if its possible.
Kate
Avid Member
Before I found this forum I would buy locusts and crickets for all my reptiles. They came in boxes with a sprinkling of bran. To keep them alive i would put a piece of carrot in with the crickets and spring greens in with locusts and replace as necessary that was it. Needless to say after I became educated my reptiles thrived. The previous veiled chams I had lived on average of two years. I also keep leopard and crested geckos and they are much healthier and showing more colours than before I became educated. I think you could compare it to us eating substandard food. How healthy would we be if all we ate were potato chips? My panther Popeye is really healthy and showing fantastic colours and I am improving his health daily by learning on here. Check out my avatar to see what I mean.
Reganold
New Member
that is a very elaborate response. thank you
If you get in a tight spot just look at your own food. Usually you have some oatmeal, bran, maybe some kind of nut and or cereal you eat. give some to your feeders. also, what ever veggies you eat start saving your scraps in a zip lock in the freezer and either give little bits like that or when you've save a baggie full blend together for your wetload. do you eat carrot, any greens, sweet potatos. Usually you'll clean them or peel them. save that. A little can go a long way. when it's spring collect wild greens. You'll need to ID them but they are free.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
yes, temporarily.
But not long term. You need nutritious items. If the "tight situation" is money related, .... sometimes grocery stores will give away fruit and veg that is bruised or similar - butternut squash is cheap, as are carrots and romaine lettuce and there are even weeds (depending where you live) that make for good gutloads, like dandelion leaves or even clover.
pssh
Avid Member
This! Definitely ask stores if you can have the fruits and veggies that they are going to throw away. Sometimes they throw away greens that are a little wilted and they work just fine for bugs! Especially if only a tiny bit is wilted and the rest is fine. Bruised fruits and what not work really well too. Also ask friends if they can save any scraps of veggies and fruits and give them to you. Frozen stuff is better than nothing! Also go outside and find areas that are pesticide free and look for raspberries/blackberries and their leaves, dandelions, wild mustard greens and related plants, chickweeds, mallows, mulberry, grape leaves, even some grasses! If you look up which kinds of wild plants are safe for reptiles and tortoises/turtles, you can go and look for them outside.
Reganold
New Member
well my dad does pest control so aside from my in the garden in the front yard (gonna grow my own gutload) its all pesticides lol. but i will try the grocery store thing.
pssh
Avid Member
Some fields, especially away from urban areas, are pesticide free and safe wild bugs and plants can be picked from them. Growing your own is a good idea too. All sorts of plants and seeds can be purchased online to grow. I grow lots of plants in my tortoise pen. He eats them all before I can use any for gutloads though.
