3.5 mo Panther feeder recommendations?

[dco1990]

Hello all,

My 3.5 month Panther (Kiko) so far has basically only eaten smaller crickets. I've read that variety is key, and no one feeder should make up more than 20% of a diet.... So i went and got some Phoenix Worms and just a few Wax Worms for him at my local reptile store. Kiko didn't seem too interested in either of the worms, I think he ate just one, so it's back to crickets.. I was looking into flies but think fruit flies may be too small. What do you guys recommend for a good alternate feeder for a Pantherof that age?


Thanks

 

[cambech]

You could try hornworms or silkworms. my 2.5 month old panther just finished off a batch of 100 small silkworms. he loved them.

 

[Andee]

You can take the phoenix worms and wait for them to pupate and give him black soldier flies, he should be old enough for those. Young roach nymphs should be able to be fed at that time, just aren't always taken when that young. I agree with small silkworms, maybe not hornworms unless you get a really small amount because hornworms grow really really fast, and sometimes you are just left with either pupas or rotting worm .___. it kinda sucks

 

[dco1990]

Awesome! Thank you both. I will look into getting small silk worms. What do you guys think about Blue Bottle Flies?

 

[Justdents666]

I'll try this aswell as mine is exactly the same. You got any pics of your panther?

 

[dco1990]

I'll try this aswell as mine is exactly the same. You got any pics of your panther?

I have a few. Haven't posted any yet but i'm sure i'll get around to it eventually.

 

[kplatvoet]

Go for the blue bottle flies (mantisplace.com) mine liked silk worms too at that age - he never did like phoenix worms - i think they were always too small - my jackson likes them though- when he was little (the panther) he had a hard time thinking of worms as food - but now he'll turn his head and grab them out of my hand. Silks are nice as they cling to cages or leaves where hornsworms hold on real tight and the rest fall off.

 

[Furcifer Brussis]

Jim from The Chameleon Company says that one insect that is properly gut loaded is better than a variety of insects. He feeds his thousands of chams nothing but crickets and lets them get some wild insects here and there as well. He would know.

 

[bugboy]

Jim from The Chameleon Company says that one insect that is properly gut loaded is better than a variety of insects. He feeds his thousands of chams nothing but crickets and lets them get some wild insects here and there as well. He would know.

This is very much true, and a good piece of advice. The more you feed your feeders, the better they are for your chameleon. I do agree though that you should feed them more than just crickets, for a bit of variety and enrichment. Drop the waxworms almost completely, they are full of fat and do virtually nothing for your chameleon. Silkworms are fantastic, but hard to find and sometimes die off a little too quickly if you handle them too much. Goliaths are also great, but as previously stated in a week they'll be the size and width of your finger. Small superworms would be great if you can feed them some veggies before you feed them out, just like the crickets. Butterworms are a great way to get some extra calcium into your animal, and so are Phoenix worms. Flys make them go CRAZY, and they make me crazy too haha, but if you can contain them, use them. If you are trying to hand-feed, he may be too terrified to even recognize food as there's a big scary monster (no offense haha) looking straight at him and the first thing he's gonna do is run. I've taken worms and put them on the side of the cage or wrapped them around a branch and they seem to take them more eagerly.

With all of this said, I've only had one chameleon, a panther, be a real pain in the neck with his feeders. It's not that he won't eat them, because he WILL, but I've fed him superworms here and there before and for a week he would wait a few hours before he actually ate his crickets....sometimes he would leave them roaming his cage until the lights go out haha. He thought I would come back with a worm, so for a few days I didn't feed him anything. Sure enough when I finally fed him crickets, he took them straight from my hand, and that's been the way it is ever since. Sometimes you get an animal that becomes a real jerk with food, and just like a kid who won't eat his vegetables, you tell them "you're not getting anything else until you eat THIS" haha. Good luck!

 

[Furcifer Brussis]

They need a like button on these forums

 

[dco1990]

Jim from The Chameleon Company says that one insect that is properly gut loaded is better than a variety of insects. He feeds his thousands of chams nothing but crickets and lets them get some wild insects here and there as well. He would know.

Awesome. Thank you all of you. That's where my little guy came from so that may explain why he prefers his crickets.