Alternative food sources

[Annum]

I am trying to come up with an alternative food for my Jackson. She won't use her tongue to catch crickets and I would like to find something else for her. (I posted a while ago about this problem but I can't find a reason for this problem and I have tried looking at her tongue, increasing the water, etc to solve the problem, but no resolution. So, I am concerned about her not getting enough food. She is catching the crickets, but not as effectively or nearly as fast as the other chameleon that we have.)

I remember hearing somewhere to not use mealworms, but I am not sure why. Can anyone help me?

Part of the problem is that I live in Hawaii and apparently I can't get live superworms shipped to me here.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[supermrchameleon]

Well the thing with mealworms is that they have a hard exo skeleton which in large amounts is difficult to digest. If you give meal worms, do once or twice a week.

Try silk worms. They are supposed to be really good for them. You can also use butterworms on an occasion.

I personally dont use them, but I've heard from many that flies and roaches are also really great.

 

[kinyonga]

Did you take the chameleon to the vet? Did you find out why the other one was having tongue problems too?

 

[Annum]

Yeah, there was nothing that he could see wrong. Told me to increase the water for her and give smaller crickets, make sure she the crickets were being fed and had calcium on them....I did and she still is doing the same thing. The other one has started to use her tongue again, but is not using it to snap up the crickets from very far away.

Other suggestions? Should I try something else?

 

[jamncristian]

the chitin levels are too high in mealworms and shouldnt be fed at all. silkworms are naturally high in calcium, protein, & other nutrients good for you cham & could be fed along with crickets. butterworms are also really high in calcium but a little high in fat so feed sparingly.

have you tried cup feeding??

 

[mwebb]

slugs

Have you tryed offeriing slugs. I had jacksons years ago and they loved eating slugs they would grab them with there mouth not shoot at them.

 

[jamncristian]

oh i forgot montane species love snails and slugs so i would order some snails instead of slugs because the shell is high in calcium. do not feed wild caught snails or slugs because they tend to be parasite farms.

you can grab some wild caught ones, breed them and feed off their offsprings

 

[ijmccollum]

oh i forgot montane species love snails and slugs so i would order some snails instead of slugs because the shell is high in calcium. do not feed wild caught snails or slugs because they tend to be parasite farms.

you can grab some wild caught ones, breed them and feed off their offsprings

Where do you order snails? I have garden slugs in the summer, can I breed them.

Sorry, not trying to hi-jack your thread -- I think you could use this info too.

 

[jamncristian]

wormman.com sells snails but i am not sure if they are terrestrial snails

snails would be a better option and chams seem to enjoy crunching down on the shells

 

[Lizardlover]

Where do you order snails? I have garden slugs in the summer, can I breed them.

Sorry, not trying to hi-jack your thread -- I think you could use this info too.

PM me

also, snails and slugs are great for montanes, but snails offer more nutrition than slugs due to their shell wich provides natural calcium to the animal.

 

[Annum]

Thanks, I would love to feed them snails, but do you know of a local breeder here in HI? No one will ship to HI. Otherwise, how do I breed snails? I do have snails in the yard, but they are the huge "Mondo-sized" ones that come out when it rains or overnight. Same with the slugs.

We tried cup feeding this afternoon and she didn't even look at them. So, I put a couple worms in the lid of a container and set them in the cage with her. Any suggestions on making that easier for her to recognize as a food source?

Thanks!!!

 

[DGray]

Roaches, Grasshoppers, Katydids,

They would probably prefer roaches. I can only imagine that you could find a roach in one minute at night. You could catch a few and breed them. You also could get a net and sweep some grassy areas for grasshopper and katydids. While you can't get bugs shipped easily, you sure can find all sorts on O`ahu.

 

[jamncristian]

try putting her favorite feeder in the cup to entice her to eat. grab a few of those snails and put them in a 10 tank or so with moist soil and calcium carbonate mixed in (for shell growth) and with food and they should start breeding

 

[Annum]

Where do you order snails? I have garden slugs in the summer, can I breed them.

Sorry, not trying to hi-jack your thread -- I think you could use this info too.

No problem, I'm glad others can get info from my post. I will see about finding some snails in the yard to breed, hopefully they will like those. I wish we could order some, but I can't get stuff shipped here. If someone in HI has suggestions on a breeder, etc that would be great. Otherwise, I'll see about setting up something to breed some snails and/or slugs. Suggestions on that operation will be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[sandrachameleon]

You may want to consult another vet about the reason for the problem.