Which Feeder Worms are the best for Panthers??

[dacrazycanadian]

Hi, I have a 13 month panther and I wanted to add some feeder worms into his diet besides mealworms.

Right now he gets mainly crickets with various gutloads and at most 10% mealworms for the week (so like 3-4 mealworms one day of the week). I was wondering which worms (hornworms, silkworms, or butterworms) are the best to be fed as almost a third of his diet?

My concerns are:

Are there any too fatty?
Are hornworms too big for a normal 13 month old chameleon?
Are any too hard to digest?

Thanks in advance!

 

[carol5208]

Silkworms are the best of the three. They are high in calcium and I think around 6 grams of fat. I am very careful about the size of the hornworms I feed my adults. They can eat the big ones, but I still worry they are gonna choke! You really have to use your judgement on the size. Superworms are very fatty I know and waxworms are about the worst as far as fat. I think butters are up there in fat content too, but not 100% sure on that. I always feed silks when I can get them. Anything in moderation is fine. The chitin(the hard outer shell) on the meals and supers could be hard to digest if overfed.

 

[dacrazycanadian]

Thanks, for the quick response. What size and how many silkworms would you give to an almost full grown adult male? And is there any special keeping for them (like refrigeration)?

 

[Simon1986]

Definitely silk worms my two love them, problem I have is getting them as they're quite a delicacy to find in the uk so if anyone knows where to get them then a share of info would be amazing

 

[carol5208]

I would probably just order like a pod of 50. It comes with a chow that they feed on. They can just be kep in the pod at room temp. Do not need refrigeration. If you run out of chow you can order extra containers of chow or you can feed them mulberry leaves if you have access to a tree or a bush. I usually buy 100 for my two panthers. I keep them in a open container like a tupperware and just spoon the chow in that. I usually have good luck keeping them alive this way but my last bunch all died off little by little. You have to keep the containers clean and wash your hands if you are going to handle the silks and put them back after you clean it. When they get big enough, they will start cocooning. They will turn in to moths which you can feed to your chameleons also or if you wish to start breeding them! I never got into the breeding thing. Usually I have fed them off before they cocoon.

 

[Simon1986]

They're quite susceptible to bacteria (not harmful to chameleons) but I learnt the hard way by not washing my hand s once and picked a couple up and within a couple of days a lot had died so I now use tongs. Also they only eat mulberry leaves or 'chow' (it's a pastey mulberry mix that they eat like gannets). I tend to give 2-3 a day as they're so nutritious I think it's 4-5 times the value of a cricket but like wax worms they can get addicted (again made that mistake) so mix it into their diet

Hope this helps

 

[ChameleonBoss]

How about Phoneix worms? nutritional or good for panthers?

 

[bbprinting]

Phoenix worms are actually the best when it come to calcium content, They are just usually smaller and some of the adult panthers will ignore them.

Here is the calcium ppm
Crickets 345
Mealworms 33
Superworms 123
Medium Phoenix Worms 8155

 

[ChameleonBoss]

Phoenix worms are actually the best when it come to calcium content, They are just usually smaller and some of the adult panthers will ignore them.

Here is the calcium ppm
Crickets 345
Mealworms 33
Superworms 123
Medium Phoenix Worms 8155

Thanks that really helps.

 

[dacrazycanadian]

Thank you so much Carol and Simon. This is super helpful. I want to keep my chameleon happy and interested with everything, you know. Just upgraded his cage to a 3 foot tall with a monsoon misting system, and put a hibiscus in also.

 

[COASTALSILKWORMS]

We can ship silkworm eggs and dry food to you in the UK...

 

[sandrachameleon]

Id go with both silkworms and butterworms. Both are gutloadable and have good calcium content and are less fatty than some other larva like superworms

 

[dacrazycanadian]

Thanks everyone! I just got a cup of 25 silks in the mail today and he had a couple. He definitely likes them!

 

[djfishygillz]

Butterworms have been show to make a weird blackish appearance in chameleons mouths from time to time... but no one has reported any injury or death after feeding butterworms.