I new there was a reason why I didn't feed these other then them being nasty as heck.Maggots produce ammonia
bbfl
- Thread starter coastal_chameleon
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cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
You dont feed BSFL. They have been fed enough by the time they arrive to you, pick the size you want and feed them off, never feed them.
They will become flys too, no matter what size they are. I been getting crawl outs as of late, my cham dont like the larvae much anymore, but boy he loves those flies. Anyway the crawl outs, some are very small, like very small, and result in very small flies, but they still become flies.
I use the flies to trick him muhahaha. He has been a slower grower, so I feed him his crickets/roaches and when he is done I Chuck in the flies that emerged that day, usually 3-6. He will gobble up every single one, even after refusing crickets/roaches. He will chase them down to, usually with the crickets/roaches he will only run over to get the first one or 2, after that he waits for then to come to him. The flies, he sprints for, climbs the walls (they are all 3 corkbark) and does some serious acrobatics to get them all.
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coastal_chameleon
Avid Member
yeah I know the don't need to be gutloaded , wouldn't the blue bottle fly be the same ? as long as I don't feed the larva they wont have ammonia built up right ? I buy them from rainbow meal worms and they pretty big . my chames love them and don't seam bothered by the taste at all ... that's why im confused as to why people say they are bad to feed .
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have no idea. Your point is logical, but I don't know much about BBFL.
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
Josh's frogs sell the Pupae and the Spikes, they said you can feed the Spikes to a reptile as well, if that's any help.
I didn't know you could refrigate the pupae and pull them out to hatch that's interesting. I may do that and just Chuck the Pupae into the cage every couple of days.
Aren't those thing like super flyers though? We don't mind the soldier flys, as even if they do escape (they do sometimes) they are very docile and easy to catch.
I didn't know you could refrigate the pupae and pull them out to hatch that's interesting. I may do that and just Chuck the Pupae into the cage every couple of days.
Aren't those thing like super flyers though? We don't mind the soldier flys, as even if they do escape (they do sometimes) they are very docile and easy to catch.
coastal_chameleon
Avid Member
rainbow meal worms says the same , ive been feeding them the larva for about a year now . id I love them I set them in the fridge for up to month and they start wiggling around almost immediately just recently iv seen post about not feeding the larva only the flies .
just recently iv seen post about not feeding the larva only the flies .
coastal_chameleon
Avid Member
I do the same, kinda , what ever they don't eat I toss in the plant
all I can say is that they are huge when they do hatch and are fast !!!! if you open the cage they dash out !! so prolly not the best thing to feed for chameleons indoor !
Rst_Cham
Chameleon Enthusiast
My Cham loves BBFL but I heard from a couple people not to feed them because they were too high in something, can’t remember what now, so I stopped feeding them ...
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
You can especially if you don't feed the larvae. The reason it's not a good idea to feed them is they produce ammonia, it smells, the food makes bacteria, it's just gross to feed them. And since there is really no reason to do so, it leads to just why bother.
Their high nutrition is because of them, not what they eat, so they don't need fed.
Also if your just hatching to flys, buy crawl outs (the dark ones) they don't really eat anyhow.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Good to know! Thanks for the info!
Monties1982
Avid Member
The hatch rate of the pupae drops off quite a bit after about a month in the refigerator, so you don't want to have more than you'll be able to use in more than a few weeks. The way I feed off BBF is to put the number of pupae I want to give in one feeding in a small plastic container with some fly food and water crystals. Once they all hatch, I'll put them in the refrigerator the night before I want to feed them off. That cools them down enough to not be able to fly so I can dust them and get them in the cage. You have to do it fairly quickly, though, because it only takes a few minutes out of the refrigerator before they warm up enough to be able to fly again. They are hard to catch if they get out, but they seem to be attracted to light, so escapees tend to end up mostly staying around my windows.
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
Ya the escapes, and now that I will stick to my BSFs lol, they are docile and look like wasps so the Family is okay with them
. Plus they are super easy to scoop up escapees and throw them back in .In my limited experience with BSFs, only fed a few thousand as of now, they like to hatch at different times. I buy 500 or so, crawlouts, and put them in this container and 3-6 hatch a day, I throw them in and there will be 3-6 tomorrow until they are all gone, so it works for me
. I am not sure why this happens, the shelf they sit on is hot from the LEDs on the shelf below, so it gets heat, and that creates some humidity and water (which I know they dont like when pupating) but its the right combo of conditions to give me a few per day, and for right now, thats perfect .
snitz427
Chameleon Enthusiast
Does the ammonia apply to bsfl? They are being raised as an alternative protein/food for human consumption (bsfl not spikes). There is definitely nutritional studies around bsfl that shows their nutritional values at different stages of larval development, with the darker flies having the highest calcium levels. I dont believe any Ive seen show anything related to ammonia - not implying its not present but perhaps inconsequential?
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
snitz427
Chameleon Enthusiast
That refers to decaying compost, though, not fresh foods. It doesn’t answer the question as to if the level of ammonia produced has significance nutritionally.
cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
I'm not sure if BSFL will eat fresh foods, I do not attempt to feed them often, however my previous attempts, with Carrot and Dandelion went unwanted. Have you got them to eat Fresh Foods?
I did undertake some study in breeding them myself, and everything I had seen is they will eat decaying waste.
And Ya I seen that as well, I am not sure how to make heads or tails out of that. Its the only thing I had recalled reading about the Ammonia, thats why I asked if that was what you were looking for
.I do remember a DBP about BSFL, and I think she mentioned something but forgot completely what was said. I remember seeing it, and just thinking it didn't apply as I dont feed them anyway, and the DBP, if IIRC, she did specify not to feed them, or maybe that you didn't have to, something along those lines.
Also I forgot to ask, but was curious. Do you recall the article or whatever that showed the flies being darker meaning more calcium? Or did you mean the Larvae? I think thats what the DBP said as well, that "Crawl Outs" or Spikes, had the highest calcium content, but, they have hard shells, as that is the final stage before fly AFAIK. My cham will not eat them when they are hard like that, I was curious the drop in calcium when they became flies and couldn't find anything about it and thus was curious if you meant the flies or the spikes.
All the Flys I have reared are pretty much the same extremely dark black.
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cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
Update to above, this seems to suggest they will eat soft fruit. Maybe the Carrots and Dandelion were just too hard to eat.
https://flukerfarms.com/black-soldier-fly-larvae-care-sheet/
https://flukerfarms.com/black-soldier-fly-larvae-care-sheet/
