mattjillson
New Member
I used Grasshoppers for a brief stint, I found them to be very chitenous with a lot of material that was just passed. I think for an occasional feeder to get attention they're solid but not a daily feeder type.
American Grasshopper
- Thread starter CleanLineChameleons
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CleanLineChameleons
Avid Member
I haven't done enough research to have a solid opinion, but I do know europeans are successful using desert locust as a staple. I am indifferent as of right now. I honestly don't have a staple, every week I try to mix roaches, super worms, crickets, silk worms, flies, and now grasshoppers. I just feel that like us humans, a variety is the best diet. There is stuff in our food that we don't know why it reacts the way it does in our bodies, much less what is in feeder insects. All I know is my guys definitely start hunting when the grasshoppers fly by.
-chris
-chris
summoner12
Avid Member
I would like to try to breed these... but I can't imagine I can get them in CA
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
I agree - there is nothing my animals like more than a greasshopper or katydid. I've had animals going downhill fast still perk up to catch a hopper.
The chitin is probably a positive thing, in captivity. So much of their diet is rich and low in chitin, even crickets, compared to what they eat in the wild. My melleri would prefer tenebrio (mealworm) beetles and flies above all other feeders. They are certainly high in chitin. While a larger percentage of the prey is passed, I do believe they are benifitting from it in more ways than simple roughage. Chtinous exoskeletons passed through a chameleon's digestive system seems to be quite a bit softer than when it went in. There seems to be at least some partial digestion of the material going on. I believe some enzymes in their GI tract are doing some work on the stuff.
Another benifit is the gut contents of grasshoppers tends to be very grassy, very green. Probably a major source of calcium and dietary D3 for the animals.
The chitin is probably a positive thing, in captivity. So much of their diet is rich and low in chitin, even crickets, compared to what they eat in the wild. My melleri would prefer tenebrio (mealworm) beetles and flies above all other feeders. They are certainly high in chitin. While a larger percentage of the prey is passed, I do believe they are benifitting from it in more ways than simple roughage. Chtinous exoskeletons passed through a chameleon's digestive system seems to be quite a bit softer than when it went in. There seems to be at least some partial digestion of the material going on. I believe some enzymes in their GI tract are doing some work on the stuff.
Another benifit is the gut contents of grasshoppers tends to be very grassy, very green. Probably a major source of calcium and dietary D3 for the animals.
100 grams of large grasshopper contains 20.6 grams of protein, 6.1 grams of fat, 35.2 milligrams of calcium, and 5 milligrams of iron. By weight, termites, grasshoppers, caterpillars, weevils, house flies and spiders are better sources of protein than beef, chicken, pork or lamb according to the Entomological Society of America. Also, insects are low in cholesterol and low in fat. Well then, what are we waiting for?
http://everything2.com/title/grasshopper
This "snip-it" is at he bottom.
http://everything2.com/title/grasshopper
This "snip-it" is at he bottom.
summoner12
Avid Member
dodolah
Retired Moderator
I think we're waiting for them to taste better!
why wait?
Deep fry them in a corn batter, you got yourself a healthier version of french fries.
Like my friends always say, anything taste good when deep fried.
MesophillicChik
New Member
Been there, done that. Actually "bugs" are, like svatch says, a really great source of protein and calcium! AND LOW FAT!!! People in many many countries eat them and they actually taste really good!!
Most Americans are scared to try things out of the ordinary at first, but when it's popular or trendy, they're all in. Think about grains like couscous or quinoa, that until relatively recently haven't been a part of the typical American's diet, but are awesome grains.
These guys taste sort of like almost burnt popcorn. Very nutty, and quite good. Thailand is another popular place for sauteeing and deep frying buggers. And if you're skeptical about the deep frying, consider that because of their exoskeletons, they don't absorb nearly as much fat as anything else you put in there!!
Most Americans are scared to try things out of the ordinary at first, but when it's popular or trendy, they're all in. Think about grains like couscous or quinoa, that until relatively recently haven't been a part of the typical American's diet, but are awesome grains.
These guys taste sort of like almost burnt popcorn. Very nutty, and quite good. Thailand is another popular place for sauteeing and deep frying buggers. And if you're skeptical about the deep frying, consider that because of their exoskeletons, they don't absorb nearly as much fat as anything else you put in there!!
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Totally agree - variety (no staple) is the way to go. Mine love the big grasshoppers when I catch some wild in the summer. But I remove the big jumping legs (the meat isnt lost, as I feed the legs to the kingworms and isopods, which in turn are fed to chams). I find they have less trouble crunching and swallowing if the grasshopper is minus the legs.
jonpat83
Member
I live in the UK and we have locusts available as livefoods from all the suppliers, i'm not sure what exact species they are but they are listed as Schistocerca sp. They are excellent feeders and will eat copious amounts of dandelion, collard, mustard greens and basically any other leafy green plant. It's a great way of getting all the good stuff into your cham. The adults are more chitinous because of the wings but their flying does exite the chams. I usually feed the younger stages as they don't have wings yet and their bodies feel just slightly softer. The subadults are basically full size minus the wings. I use them as a joint staple with crickets and roaches and have never had any problems with regurgitation as they get well crunched before swallowing and are a definate favourite of almost all of my chams. They don't sell them in the US because of the risk of them establishing in the wild, but the species you are using looks almost identical and is of the same adult size too so I think they will be a fantastic livefood for your chams. If you have good success with breeding them I think you will have a ready market for your surplus! Now if only I could get hornworms in the UK!
Rocky
Established Member
why wait?
Deep fry them in a corn batter, you got yourself a healthier version of french fries.
Like my friends always say, anything taste good when deep fried.
In my home town brownwood tx they have this event called the brownwood reunion and in the food court they always have a booth that fries EVERYTHING
I think they have fried snickers, baby ruths, ding dongs, twinkies, etc... everything you could think of they fried up.
MesophillicChik
New Member
In my home town brownwood tx they have this event called the brownwood reunion and in the food court they always have a booth that fries EVERYTHING
I think they have fried snickers, baby ruths, ding dongs, twinkies, etc... everything you could think of they fried up.
I feel like fried twinkies would give me an instant heart attack... hey, at least I'd be smiling in the grave! LOL!
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