YOU SAID..."I think it's a great point of discussion. It was addressed above a bit, but I guess then the question becomes, what do we want the chameleons to gain by eating vegetables? I would argue that not being able to digest them does not equal them being bad to consume. It's not just about calories, right? Consumption of non-digestible (and digestible) fiber for instance, is extremely beneficial in humans for myriad reasons. So to me, digestion is not all that matters and more should be considered about the potential utility of allowing chams to eat vegetables/plants. I don't think this speculation is sufficient to alter how we manage plant consumption by calyptratus in captivity, but I think we should steer a little further from the idea that it's bad simply because there's not as much evidence that they can digest it fully"...WELL SAID...I'M NOT SURE THEY ARE HARMFUL FOR THEM TO INGEST. EVEN IF THE ONLY PURPOSE THEY SERVE IS ROUGHAGE!
YOU SAID..."As for directly answering the question, as above, here are my thoughts. Whether enzymes are functional depends on the environment they are present (and other factors described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics, see
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Structural_Biochemistry/Enzyme/Michaelis_and_Menten_Equation#:~:text=The Michaelis-Menten equation arises,and P is the product.) in so to my knowledge, we don't know if the chameleon's GI system is the appropriate conditions for bug enzyme activity. Probably a pretty low amount of the enzymes to begin with compared to the full gut size of the chameleon. That, plus degradation of the enzymes due to GI conditions, makes me think that residual activity of these enzymes ultimately doesn't do a whole lot though as far as breaking down the plant material. Just an idea though"...I REALLYBDONT HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THIS EITHER.
YOU SAID..."This is kind of an aside, and not in direct reply to what's been said here, but I think a lot of the recommendations for chameleon care are really based largely on hearsay, anecdotes, or whoever speaks the loudest. I think we should always be careful proclaiming info about chameleon care as facts, and moreso should reference this info as what our experiences suggest rather than biological facts. Not enough controlled studies addressing things unfortunately. For example, many "people" indicate that chameleons don't digest sugars and so we shouldn't feed fruits to them. The reality is that this is based on almost nothing. However, a lack of evidence that it improves any aspect of their health makes me personally not recommend it"...AND YET WE RECOMMEND USING BEE POLLEN, WHICH I BELIEVE HAS QUITE A BIT OF SUGAR IN IT.
YOU SAID...On the veggie thing, I think people probably say not to feed them veggies because it's unclear that they derive any benefit from it, and we wouldn't want someone feeding their veileds nothing but veggies, potentially leading to their starvation. But, what seems to be the bigger problem here is obesity in veileds. So if they can be made full by eating plants, thus lowering their caloric intake, maybe that's actually helpful for preventing obesity"...interesting idea!
YOU SAID..."Just some thoughts, it's an interesting question and discussion"...WORTH FURTHER STUDY I THINK.
@Thatcher SORRY FOR HIJACKING YOUR THREAD. THANKS FOR BRINGING IT UP THOUGH. HOPE YOUR NOT ANGRY STILL. WE ENCOUNTER ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE IN OUR JOURNEYS AND WE WILL NEVER GET ALL OF THEM TO UNDERSTAND OR AGREE WITH US. ALL WE CAN DO IS TYE BEST WE CAN. (Sorry about the capitals..it's not yelling..I just forgot to turn them off.)
I love when huge thoughts and opinions come up on my threads and any thread for that matter!
