Why not hissers?

[chamlover]

I just read on the forum that you should not feed Madagascar Hissers to chams. Why is that? I figure one reason is their size, but if you were to feed them when they are smaller would that still be a problem?

Debby

 

[Tygerr]

Yes, it's just a size thing. There's no reason not to feed them when they are small.
The reason most people avoid them as feeder insects is because roaches generally have a long life cycle (for a feeder insect): by the time they get too big to feed off, they're still young enough to be around for a long time still. And if you've got a successful breeding programme going, you might end up having to keep alive a lot of useless adults which means a lot of feeding simply for the sake of keeping them alive (unless you plan on euthanasia as an exit strategy).

But if you simply have excess small roaches, then gutload them properly and feed them off to your chams...

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I agree that small hissers are okay to feed.
The other problem with them though, is that they fight back more than other roaches and they have pretty strong spiny legs.
It is possible they could hurt your chameleon (especially a full grown one).

-Brad

 

[SoCaliSon]

I breed Hissers and Dubia... By far the Dubias are the better choice for Chams... as even at full size a full grown Cham can normally handle them. I use Hissers for my Beardies... They eat them up like candy, are the perfect size to be a nice Beardie Meal... That and I find the Beardies tend to be stimulated by the Hissers fighting back and trying to get away... I think it is good natural activity for them to have to struggle a bit with their meal. With the way the Chams eat... I don't feed them the Hissers just casue they are so rough and tough... I like them to be able to shoot, chomp a couple times and swallow... Last time I fed a hissers to an Adult veiled, It was not full grown... but I did notice It caused the cham to have Minor bleeding to a spot inside his mouth. No real serious damage... but enough to make me choose a softer feeder.

 

[chamlover]

Thanks guys. I never knew they were a rough and tough kinda roach. I think i will just feed them to my beardies and pick up some more dubias for my chams. I can certainly see how the beardies are more likely to handle them better.

Debby