Staple diets

[meow_mix450]

I was wondering what incests can be a staple diet for chameleons

Meow

[Bartman]

crickets, like everything.

From the info i got off this link and analyzing the nutritional values of each food item, i would conclude butter worms are also a good supplement. I give my guy a little bit of everything anyway but could that be? Correct me if im wrong.

[kidchameleon]

crickets, silkworms, superworms, butterworms, and mealworms

[latazyo]

I don't think incest is good for anything...jk

I feed him crickets mainly with superworms

[Bartman]

hey latazyo, how big is your russian tortoise? I have one too, and im getting her a male soon. Mine is about 5 inches in diametre

[latazyo]

it is just a baby, I think the SCL is 4.25"

[meow_mix450]

so feeding meal worms as a staple is fine??? Like if there main diet was meal worms that would be o.k??? and the feed a little bit of crikets

Meow

[panther_dude]

FEEDING JUST MEAL WORMS IS NOT GOOD THEY CONTAIN LOTS OF CUTCHIN WHICH IS REALLY HARD FOR YOUR CHAMELEON TO DIGEST. i WOULD KEEP FEEDING CRIX REGULARLY BUT ALSO THROW IN SOME MEAL WORMS TWICE A WEEK AND SOME SUPER WORMS ONCE A WEEK.

Also you should consider wild caught insects. As they are the best as far as nutrition goes. When collecting wild caught uinsects make sure 110% that the area you are collecting from is completely natural, with no pestisides for fertilizers being used. Also anouther thing to watch out for is brittly coloured insects. In the wild bright colours mean beware I am poison. Things like white moths, buterflies ( cept monarch), grasshoppers (again watchout for brite colours), I would be weary of catipillars as some though they are not poision as a butterfly can be as a cattipillar.
Also aside from insects you could try feeding once in a while not to often pinky mice, and snails. Although your cham might not go for it is is worth a try, they are very high in calcium and other nutrients, so again dont feed them these items too often.

Well I hope I helped you out. Good luck with her.

Wade Shaw

[vtbigyellow]

any advice on catching insects from outside? any traps, or just go at them with a net or something?

[Bartman]

net...or a bear trap

[HeatherRose]

I think you mean chitin Chitin is the protein that makes up the exoskeleton of many insects, including mealworms. In some lizards (beardies are a good example) build up of chitin can lead to problems.

Be extra super careful when you're taking insects out of the wild, even though they might not be 'brightly' coloured they could still be dangerous. Parasites are another problem to consider.

I feed my chameleon a mix of crickets and mealworms, and I pick up silkworms for him whenever I get the chance.

[Collide]

Id say the top two good staples are crix and silks, mealies and superworms are not as bad as people make them out to be though if feed and keep properly these can be a great feeder. her is a article on them

http://www.chameleonnews.com/year200...mealworms.html

[Brock]

The best feeder of all is cockroaches. They're prolific (live up to 3 years or more), they breed like nobody's business, they can be gutloaded with anything you give them, and they're easy to keep, unlike frikin crickets.

If you can't get roaches, I'd opt for silkworms, stick bugs, praying mantids, sow bugs, june bugs (japanese beetles), earthworms, slugs, green grasshoppers. The most experienced chameleon owner that I have known said they love slugs and green bugs out of everything the best, he also said a variety of phasmids (stick bugs) are great.

[meow_mix450]

Nice, i was planinng on breeding silkworms so i think im gonna go with the silkworms as a staple diet. I beleive they set in a new law say not to use pesticies, so go wild lol i could b wrong

Meow

[vtbigyellow]

any instructions on catching them? should i just take a net and run it through a patch of field? sorry about all the dumb questions, just never done this before