Worm feeding amount

[lil lito]

I have a 6 month old panther chameleon. I mainly give him crickets but i think he's getting bored. i got some meal worms and he LOVES them but i had read that you should give them a max of 2 each week because they can cause problems. i just ordered some silkworms and hornworms. how often can i feed those? Ive heard they are much better nutritionally. Also, i recently read that at this age i should start feeding him every other day. What is your opinion on that?

 

[sandrachameleon]

I suggest mealworms make up 10% or less of the total diet. Maybe a little more if the diet happens to be heavy in soft-bodied feeders like silkworms and hornworms.

Silkworms are an excellent choice, easily gutloaded on a variety of things, quite healthy, have an enzyme (serrapeptase) that may assist with calcium absorption -Up to 40%.

hornworms are good, but too many makes for runny poop. Id keep these under 20% of diet

other things to consider:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

I feed all my adult chameleons about 5 days a week, youngsters like yours are fed daily in my home. My animals are all healthy. so no, You don't have to reduce to every other day feeding, especially for a young growing cham. Just keep an eye on his body condition and reduce overall quantity if needs be.

 

[lil lito]

Wow that's some great detailed info. Thanks

 

[lil lito]

Can these worms be gut loaded with the same things I use for my crickets?

 

[sandrachameleon]

what various larva will eat varies

Superworms and mealworms: will eat most any vegetable or fruit, but good ones include papaya, dandelion, butternut squash, carrot, and apple. A substrate like this is also partly a gutload. Use a calcium supplement every time.

Silkworms: are gutloaded on mulberry leaves (or chow based on dried mulberry leaves), dandelion leaves, shaved carrot, organic sweet red pepper, grape leaves, etc. If you gutload with this selection, no supplementation required unless they form more than 20% of the chameleons diet in which case use a little calicum.

Hornworms: Hornworms are gutloaded on a purchased prepared "chow", sweet red or green bell peppers (organic), apple, maybe grape vine leaves (sometimes they eat these, sometimes they do not - not sure why), dandelion leaves, sweet potatoe (lightly steamed and cooled), basil, etc. A little calcium supplemetation is good. You can try making a paste (blender) from dandelion, a red bell pepper (organic), grape vine leaves, arugula, mustard greens, basil, some half-cooked sweet potatoe, some carrot, some wheat germ, a dash of spirulina and a little brewers yeast.

Solder fly maggots / calciworms / phoenixworms: soft, almost rotting veggies

Butterworms will eat soft (steamed and cooled) butternut squash, which is a good gutload for any feeder. They'll also eat thin shaved or half steamed (and cooled) carrot, and many other things. They are naturally high in calcium, and retain much of their inherent nutrients if kept cool (dormant). They do not need a calcium supplement, but a little vitamin supplement would be good now and then, especially if you use butterworms fairly often.

 

[lil lito]

once again, awesome reply. I was actually just searching around and saw that you had answered this question for someone else. Im sorry if you typed all of that up right now. Hopefully you had it filed away somewhere. Anyway, thanks again.

 

[sandrachameleon]

youre very welcome - my pleasure
(and don't worry, I do have a blog entry with essentially this same info in it that I can just copy/paste and touch up when asked )