can chameleons safely eat stink bugs? maybe.....
Hi, I registered to find out if others can say if it's ok for chameleons to eat stink bugs (what a potential great free food source!).
We have a 6 month old panther chameleon who is thriving on crickets and mealworms. While cleaning his enclosure we typically put him in a large fica tree. We noticed that he was hunting and CRUNCHING a stink bug (very distinctive noisy crunch). There was no smell emitted. while we were worrying about the effects, he caught another. We saw no sign that these 2 bugs in any way negatively affected him.
As a chemist, I have checked on the web to see the chemical composition, and there is some research:
"A 2006 study done at Clemson University used Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry to determine at least two of the compounds present in the stink bug odor: the aldehydes trans-2-decenal and trans-2-octenal. These two compounds are used in the food industry to add flavor and aroma to products. The trans-2-decenal, also known as decenaldehyde is described as having a “powerful waxy orange aroma” by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).
trans-2-decenal (decenaldehyde)
trans-2-octenal
The trans-2-octenal is described as having a nutty flavor and an odor described as waxy or like a cucumber. In the world of food chemistry it is can found used in bakery items or dairy products."
Since these do not seem poisonous, we put another in his cage and he hunted it preferentially to the crickets and meal worms. He has certainly developed a taste for stink bugs, and it doesn't stink when he eats them and so far no problem.
I will certainly be careful introducing this food into his diet, but it seems advantageous for both of us! You gotta love these beautiful chameleons!
Please let me know your thoughts!
Leslie
