best foods to put weight on?

[Muddyfeet]

What are the best feeders to try to get a Vield to regain some weight? Mine has been on a hunger strike, Again.. also been having some humidity and temp issues (running a bit low) That is corrected, he is much happier..

Right now he Is eating crickets very well, hornworms.. will not touch supers, roaches.. wax or butter worms.. feeders are gut loaded dusted with appropriate supplements.. as my hornworms got huge fast and when full size he will not touch them.. I have several I hope to pupate even if it is just for some entertainment value..
With the cold right now, shipping in Silk worms may not be advisable.. but if silks are a bit better than the hormworms I give it a try.. They don't grow as fast as the hornworms..

would trying to get him to eat more fruits for the sugar be good?? He is not a good veggie eater, but curious if bananas, strawberry oranges etc and the sugars may be good for extra calories heck if he will not eat them I can feed the crickets a TON of fruit before feeding too I usually use veggies and greens..
Thanks!!

Thanks..

 

[carol5208]

How much weight has he lost??? Silks are not a fattening worm, but a very good feeder. They only contain about 6 grams of fat as opposed to some of the other fatty worms such as supers and wax worms. Those are two I would have suggested for weight gain but you said he wont eat them Flying insects, such as moths seem to do the trick for mine, but they are not always easy to come by. Mine both love the moths that hatch out from supers but it takes a long time to get them to the moth stage as you may know.

 

[Chameleon Creator]

I would assume hornworms, especially if he is already eating them. Get some more eggs with food and let then grow, in the meantime just feed a lot of crickets if that's all he will eat.

 

[Muddyfeet]

he is way thinner than I like, as I have not weighed him don't have a number.. It not dehydration.. or at least his feces don't indicate that, very white urates.. from firm white, to almost bird like liquid white... He was picky last winter too.. so not out of his normal behavior.. and never been a fat cham..
I have not offered a ton of supers as he has been kind of off them, and did not want to overdue it.. but if they have a good level of fat I keep trying.. I was not sure and had some conflicting numbers... Wish he would eat at least butter worms.. however even when he was a baby and sub adult.. has never touched them.. Loves the hornworms right now as long as they are not huge.. kind of a pain.. as they are more expensive, and it is nice they are a larger feeder option.. oh well.. he will get what he wants..

Irony Is what started this yes winter less active, more picky.. but I also I moved his regular indoor enclosure to get him out of a higher traffic area, because I have a few more dogs, staying right now as fosters etc.. so more dogs in the area where his cage was.. worried about him stressing.. but the new area I discovered was WAY dryer, and harder to keep the temps right.. it was great in the summer.. but come winter.. just some days really good some crappy. changing the spray cycle, several changes in basking lights.. just seems like there is to much draft or something.. with this noted a change compared to last winter notes, yes also less active and eating less.. So moved him back as I could get the temps better.. Now back to active.. and more consistent housing temps, and humidity..
Irony I set him back trying to give him what "he" should have preferred not in a high traffic area.. Nope.. bugger will NOT take feeders from me.. Either only looks at them to turning black and running away offended.. some days I get the complete don't mess with me.. so does NOT like to be messed with.. so figured more activity by the dogs around the cage by more dogs would be a problem.. .gave myself a whole lot of temp etc issues.. and turns out.. does not even notice the dogs.. sigh..

anyhow long story short.. as he is thin,, had a bit of a setback.. this winter.. I was looking for best bang for the buck feeders.. Don't want him to get even thinner.. and I want to put weight on him.. If he does not kind of perk up even more, already seen a big improvement.. Rule one.. see a change in behavior etc.. LOOK at husbandry first.. however if he fails to put some weight on, or changes his activity level, or appetite compared to my notes last winter.. a trip to the vet will be in order!.. I may take him anyhow.. just don't want to stress him out.. however at three.. may be worth doing anyhow as a general wellness visit..
Thanks..

 

[jannb]

Going to the vets is an excellent idea. He could be ill or have parasites or both. A large variety of well gutloaded feeders is always best. I weigh my guys once a week and have noticed the weeks they have soft bodied feeders included in they diet they all usually gain a gram or two so add some silkworms, hornworms, butter worms and super worms to his diet.

 

[warpup999]

If it's an adult you could also try newborn pinky mice. Had a female veiled occasionally eat them after she was a year old.

 

[SaintJimmy]

If it's an adult you could also try newborn pinky mice. Had a female veiled occasionally eat them after she was a year old.

Never feed pinky mice unless advised by a vet (which I don't know any vet that would tell you to do that)...

They are too high in fat/protein and a lot of the times are just no good.

If you really want to fatten up your cham, try superworms and other "worm" feeders like horn worms, silk worms, they'll eat a lot of them. Superworms especially have lots of fat in them.

Also a vet visit would be good just in case.

 

[sandrachameleon]

have you tried butterworms? they can be gutloaded a bit, are high calcium, and are somewhat fatty (though not as fatty as superworms or waxworms). moths are another option worth considering - fatty but not gutloadable.

you might find these links useful:
http://www.chameleonnews.com/02SepDonoghue.html (about half way down in speaks to bulking up thin chams)
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...s-day-required-maintain-chameleon-weight.html
http://bamboozoo.weebly.com/the-feeders.html

edit: just realized you said the cham doesn't eat butters, wax or supers - how odd! how about mealworms or soldier fly maggots (aka phoenix worms / calci worms) ? Maybe if they were presented in a different way he'd try them again?

I wouldn't go with the sugary fruits more than as treats.

 

[Tay And A]

This should help you make a decision

 

[ataraxia]

To be completely honest. No single feeder is going to have a huge wight gain over another. Keep feeding him a consistent variety of prey, so that he does not become dependent on a bug that he will even eventually strike again. His care, appetite, actual intake will determine how fast he gains weight.

I would not put efforts into fatty feeders. It is simply not worth it. Again, consistent intake and you want variety.

 

[sandrachameleon]

To be completely honest. No single feeder is going to have a huge wight gain over another. Keep feeding him a consistent variety of prey, so that he does not become dependent on a bug that he will even eventually strike again. His care, appetite, actual intake will determine how fast he gains weight.

I would not put efforts into fatty feeders. It is simply not worth it. Again, consistent intake and you want variety.

agree.
aim for Variety and quantity.