murray0827
New Member
I was wondering if anyone feeds their chams a staple diet of super worms? If so how many do you give them? Is this a good idea?
Super worms as a staple?
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lbesok
Avid Member
IMO though some say you can do this without a problem, I had a growing cham develop MBD from giving him too many and only superworms. If they are properly gutloaded then from what I understand they can be a decent staple, but other feeders can be much better. The quantity would be determined by the type, age and or size of your chameleon
chamlover
New Member
I have 2 chams that almost exclusively live on superworms as their main diet. I read on one of the threads awhile back that they can become addictive. If that is true that is probably what happened because now those 2 refuse crickets. 1 even refuses silkworms. They aren't the best to feed them though. If you can get them to eat something else i would suggest that and only give superworms on occasions or you'll end up with spoiled ones that won't eat anything else too. I gutload them superwell but still believe they aren't the best feeder around and have tried numerous other things.
Debby
Debby
summoner12
Avid Member
Silkworms and Hornworms are a good staple. It is always good to give a variety of offerings. If you give them something and they don't take to it the first time, just don't offer your guy food for a day and try again the next day. If the food is moving and he is hungry, he will eat it. If your guy goes on a full fledge hunger strike, you'll have to wait it out. This will happen in the winter months most of the time. Some chams just get sick of the same old thing every single day and want something new. Changing it up a bit for his sake is always a good idea.
shaneandjennifer
New Member
Superworms are my veiled's staple. I am working on a dubia colony as well though. Mulberryfarms sells like 1k superworms for like $18. They live forever. Once you get superworms you will never get crickets again. I haven't had the experience of my chameleon being spoiled on them. My chameleon eats superworms almost every day, with a hornworm, roach or butterworm mixed in there. Superworms are great.
CleanLineChameleons
Avid Member
I definitely would not. Super worms, wax worms, and meal worms are very high in fat. They should be treats, not a staple. I use them when I get a WC in that looks super thin and dehydrated, but never as a staple. If you ever see a chameleons that has huge head caps and thick arms and legs, it is fat. Look at pictures of them in the wild, there are none that have those huge head caps. Check out this from GrubCo: http://www.grubco.com/Nutritional_Information.cfm
-chris
-chris
RhettusMaximus
New Member
super worms
I know Brad Ramsey swears by superworms. I also am supportive of feeding supers as a staple diet. They are slow prey and are very easy to gutload. You can gutload them with anything you would gutload crickets with. These guys are also pretty inexpensive and have a long shelf life.
Silkies and hornworms are def. your best bet when it comes to staple diet, because nutritionally they are superior to just about anything else.
-The downfall to using silk/hornworms as a staple is they may refuse to eat other insects (crickets, roaches, superworms, the occasional waxworm). Another negative thing about using silkworms and hornworms as a staple diet is the cost issue and also the shipping issues.
-IE silk/horn worms are not cheap even when you buy in bulk you're looking to spend $50+ for a decent supply (for 1+ large chameleons). They may be DOA too, they don't do so well in very hot and very cold shipping conditions, or if it's decently warm out, you may have ordered medium or small silkworms and hornworms but they'll arrive as larges or jumbos because of how fast they grow.
-Silkworm and hornworm companies CAN run out of them as well when a lot of people are ordering. Oh yah, and if they run out of a particular size you may have to wait for them to grow up a bit for your cham, or they may only have sizes in that are too big for your cham.
++ Don't get me wrong, i wish i could afford to use silkworms and hornworms more often, but for someone on a fixed budget it's just not a practical decision to use them as a staple or anything other than a treat now and then.
Just some things to think about...
I know Brad Ramsey swears by superworms. I also am supportive of feeding supers as a staple diet. They are slow prey and are very easy to gutload. You can gutload them with anything you would gutload crickets with. These guys are also pretty inexpensive and have a long shelf life.
Silkies and hornworms are def. your best bet when it comes to staple diet, because nutritionally they are superior to just about anything else.
-The downfall to using silk/hornworms as a staple is they may refuse to eat other insects (crickets, roaches, superworms, the occasional waxworm). Another negative thing about using silkworms and hornworms as a staple diet is the cost issue and also the shipping issues.
-IE silk/horn worms are not cheap even when you buy in bulk you're looking to spend $50+ for a decent supply (for 1+ large chameleons). They may be DOA too, they don't do so well in very hot and very cold shipping conditions, or if it's decently warm out, you may have ordered medium or small silkworms and hornworms but they'll arrive as larges or jumbos because of how fast they grow.
-Silkworm and hornworm companies CAN run out of them as well when a lot of people are ordering. Oh yah, and if they run out of a particular size you may have to wait for them to grow up a bit for your cham, or they may only have sizes in that are too big for your cham.
++ Don't get me wrong, i wish i could afford to use silkworms and hornworms more often, but for someone on a fixed budget it's just not a practical decision to use them as a staple or anything other than a treat now and then.
Just some things to think about...
desultadox
Established Member
http://www.chameleonnews.com/new/?page=article&id=92
There's a table there that shows that superworms provide twice as much fat as they do protein. Obviously, that's not what we want for our chameleons... or any organism for that matter. I'd love to get rid of crickets once and for all, and superworms' crunchy characteristics made me think they might be a good alternative, but crickets are much healthier it seems. Superworms are't the worst thing you can feed your cham though, and my chams certainly get their share of supers, just not as a staple. I'm starting to look into roaches now that my chams are growing. Sure they're gross, but at least they don't jump and hopefully they don't stink as much as crickets!
There's a table there that shows that superworms provide twice as much fat as they do protein. Obviously, that's not what we want for our chameleons... or any organism for that matter. I'd love to get rid of crickets once and for all, and superworms' crunchy characteristics made me think they might be a good alternative, but crickets are much healthier it seems. Superworms are't the worst thing you can feed your cham though, and my chams certainly get their share of supers, just not as a staple. I'm starting to look into roaches now that my chams are growing. Sure they're gross, but at least they don't jump and hopefully they don't stink as much as crickets!
CleanLineChameleons
Avid Member
IMHO if I couldn't afford silkies and hornworms I would look into crickets and roaches as a staple. They have a much higher nutritional value and you will have a healthier chameleon for sure. Roaches are probably the easiest and cheapest as far as starting a colony that can support a few chameleons. You can buy 50 or so and in a few months you will have hundreds just feeding them cricket food and fruit. Crickets are cheaper but they are a little tougher to keep a reproducing colony.
Think of supers, mealworms, and wax worms as chocolate, we can survive on it yet it is very unhealthy and will have negative affects in the long run.
Also I have seen chameleons raised on only supers refuse other feeders as well.
-chris
Think of supers, mealworms, and wax worms as chocolate, we can survive on it yet it is very unhealthy and will have negative affects in the long run.
Also I have seen chameleons raised on only supers refuse other feeders as well.
-chris
RhettusMaximus
New Member
roaches
Yah roaches are a freakin gold mine for chameleon owners. I def. agree with roaches being an amazing feeder. haha how could i forget to mention roaches.
Yah roaches are a freakin gold mine for chameleon owners. I def. agree with roaches being an amazing feeder. haha how could i forget to mention roaches.
chamlover
New Member
I agree. Roaches are awesome. I have recently started a colony a few months back and have yet to smell them or have to change the cage because it is dirty. The only problem is i use the orange spotted because they don't climb and stuff, but when i put them in for my chams they don't move, so they don't eat them. I've been trying to get my veiled and my melleri to eat these instead of the superworms, but no luck so far. I will keep trying. I hope eventually to get off crickets all together. Don't forget they don't make noise and can live up to 2 years!!!
Debby
Debby
Billyjack187
New Member
Roaches are the reason jackson thrive in hawaii, they grow to the size of birds. But I will go with the flow...variety is key. I may waste a few insects but I gutload everything, and throwing in some dried seaweed for the insects to munch is a good source of vitamin everything...not to mention fruits and vegs.
