Ever think. How many feeders should he/she be eating to maintain weight? or My animal is a little over weight and i want to put he/she on a diet but dont know where to start? or maybe your animal is skinny and you want to put a little meat on them bones...The info below is a base intake on a young average adult. Age, temperature, activity, individual metabolic rate, etc. will play a roll in your final calculations.
I recently came across some pretty interesting info on daily calorie intake per weight of animal. This is a reference point to base how much you should feed your animal.
You will need a gram scale to start. You will need to weigh your chameleon. Then weigh your feeders.
This formula is based off of 5.6 calories per 1000g/. (5.6 x per kilogram)
Now you take the formulation below that is based off of 100 grams. Im in the process of finding out if the analysis given was done by a independent study or if they was taken off of a website and calculated. Either way great info. I am also collecting weights of insects and will post. Weight is going to vary. So it will be best to weigh on your personal stock to be a little more precise.
Fat contains 9 kcal per gram
Protein contains 4 kcal per gram
Carbohydrates contain 4 kcal per gram
Organic acids contain 3 kcal per gram
Fiber contains 2 kcal per gram
Crickets; 12.9% protein (51.6 kcal), 5.5% fat (49.5 kcal), 5.1% carbohydrates (20.4 kcal), 3.2% fiber (6.4 kcal), total kilocalories (127.9 kcal/100g)
Mealworms; 19% protein (76.0 kcal), 14% fat (126 kcal), 4% carbohydrates (16 kcal), 2% fiber (4 kcal), total kilocalories (222 kcal/100g)
Superworm; 18.92% protein (75.68 kcal), 15.07% fat (135.63 kcal), 5.81% carbohydrates (23.24 kcal), 2.2% fiber (4.4 kcal), total kilocalories (238.95 kcal/100g)
Wax worm; 15.4% protein (61.6 kcal), 20.12% fat (181.08 kcal), 2.54% carbohydrates (10.16 kcal), 1.6% fiber (3.2 kcal), total kilocalories (256.04 kcal/100g)
Fly larva; 15.32% protein (61.28 kcal), 5.96% fat (53.64 kcal), 8.46% carbohydrates (33.84 kcal), 2.7% fiber (5.4 kcal), total kilocalories (154.16 kcal/100g)
Dubia; 35.6% protein (142.4 kcal), 6.75% fat (60.75 kcal), ??.?% carbohydrates (??.? kcal), 3.25% fiber (6.5 kcal), total kilocalories (>209.65 kcal/100g)
Turkestan; 36.5% (146.0 kcal), 5.31% fat (47.79 kcal), ??.?% carbohydrates (??.? kcal), 2.19% fiber (4.38 kcal), total kilocalories (>198.17 kcal/100g)
Portentosa; 26.7% (106.8 kcal), 5.05% fat (45.45 kcal), ??.?% carbohydrates (??.? kcal), 5.62% fiber (11.24 kcal), total kilocalories (>163.49 kcal/100g)
Credit to: Maurice Pudlo
So basically if you had a 150 gram chameleon and fed him dubia that weighed 1 gram a piece. You would need to feed approx 3-4 x 1 gram dubia to maintain weight. Note: Carbs have not been factored in on dubia.
I recently came across some pretty interesting info on daily calorie intake per weight of animal. This is a reference point to base how much you should feed your animal.
You will need a gram scale to start. You will need to weigh your chameleon. Then weigh your feeders.
This formula is based off of 5.6 calories per 1000g/. (5.6 x per kilogram)
Now you take the formulation below that is based off of 100 grams. Im in the process of finding out if the analysis given was done by a independent study or if they was taken off of a website and calculated. Either way great info. I am also collecting weights of insects and will post. Weight is going to vary. So it will be best to weigh on your personal stock to be a little more precise.
Fat contains 9 kcal per gram
Protein contains 4 kcal per gram
Carbohydrates contain 4 kcal per gram
Organic acids contain 3 kcal per gram
Fiber contains 2 kcal per gram
Crickets; 12.9% protein (51.6 kcal), 5.5% fat (49.5 kcal), 5.1% carbohydrates (20.4 kcal), 3.2% fiber (6.4 kcal), total kilocalories (127.9 kcal/100g)
Mealworms; 19% protein (76.0 kcal), 14% fat (126 kcal), 4% carbohydrates (16 kcal), 2% fiber (4 kcal), total kilocalories (222 kcal/100g)
Superworm; 18.92% protein (75.68 kcal), 15.07% fat (135.63 kcal), 5.81% carbohydrates (23.24 kcal), 2.2% fiber (4.4 kcal), total kilocalories (238.95 kcal/100g)
Wax worm; 15.4% protein (61.6 kcal), 20.12% fat (181.08 kcal), 2.54% carbohydrates (10.16 kcal), 1.6% fiber (3.2 kcal), total kilocalories (256.04 kcal/100g)
Fly larva; 15.32% protein (61.28 kcal), 5.96% fat (53.64 kcal), 8.46% carbohydrates (33.84 kcal), 2.7% fiber (5.4 kcal), total kilocalories (154.16 kcal/100g)
Dubia; 35.6% protein (142.4 kcal), 6.75% fat (60.75 kcal), ??.?% carbohydrates (??.? kcal), 3.25% fiber (6.5 kcal), total kilocalories (>209.65 kcal/100g)
Turkestan; 36.5% (146.0 kcal), 5.31% fat (47.79 kcal), ??.?% carbohydrates (??.? kcal), 2.19% fiber (4.38 kcal), total kilocalories (>198.17 kcal/100g)
Portentosa; 26.7% (106.8 kcal), 5.05% fat (45.45 kcal), ??.?% carbohydrates (??.? kcal), 5.62% fiber (11.24 kcal), total kilocalories (>163.49 kcal/100g)
Credit to: Maurice Pudlo
So basically if you had a 150 gram chameleon and fed him dubia that weighed 1 gram a piece. You would need to feed approx 3-4 x 1 gram dubia to maintain weight. Note: Carbs have not been factored in on dubia.
