Black soldier flies constipated my chameleons

[44937]

Just wanted to post this out there for anyone wanting to feed lots of black soldier flies to your chams.
My BSFL all started to pupate and turn into flies. Perfect food for my chameleons. My large male chameleon eats them no problems and no issues.
My two females, a young 4 month female and an older 6 month female went CRAZY eating up flies after flies after flies for about 2-3 days straight; they LOVED them. But now both of them haven't pooped in about 5 days and I'm kinda worried especially for the smaller ones. They continue to eat small amounts of food but not at the appetite they should be at.
They keep drinking from the leaves and appear hydrated but still not poops.
I'm going to give them both a very long, warm shower tomorrow and see if it does any magic. If that doesn't work, then maybe mineral oil injected into a superworm.
My lesson in this is to feed the flies in moderation. 3-5 per day should be plenty to keep them actively hunting. I think they were eating 10-20 daily when I started noticing the lack of poops.

 

[JoshD49]

That's strange. People talk very highly about bsfl and I have not heard of this before. Maybe try some hornworms to loosen up the stools.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Never heard or experienced that either. Crickets gutloaded with prunes is another option...

 

[JoshD49]

Never heard or experienced that either. Crickets gutloaded with prunes is another option...

Hahaha that's awesome. Start injecting hornworms with prune juice.

 

[Mawtyplant]

Just wanted to post this out there for anyone wanting to feed lots of black soldier flies to your chams.
My BSFL all started to pupate and turn into flies. Perfect food for my chameleons. My large male chameleon eats them no problems and no issues.
My two females, a young 4 month female and an older 6 month female went CRAZY eating up flies after flies after flies for about 2-3 days straight; they LOVED them. But now both of them haven't pooped in about 5 days and I'm kinda worried especially for the smaller ones. They continue to eat small amounts of food but not at the appetite they should be at.
They keep drinking from the leaves and appear hydrated but still not poops.
I'm going to give them both a very long, warm shower tomorrow and see if it does any magic. If that doesn't work, then maybe mineral oil injected into a superworm.
My lesson in this is to feed the flies in moderation. 3-5 per day should be plenty to keep them actively hunting. I think they were eating 10-20 daily when I started noticing the lack of poops.

No warm shower.. it can just hurt your chameleon (can create a too big thermal shock) What is your temperature at basking spot? have you notice any change with ambiant temperatures lately? (here temperatures getting colder and my chameleons started too poop less frequently..maybe this is just a coincidence with colder temperatures).

Start with your basking-overall temperature, then try mineral oil BSF are easy to digest (compared to BSFL) so this is not supposed to be a problem.

Keep us updated!

 

[44937]

All great suggestions thank you all. Basking spot temps are mid to high 80s
Sorry mawtyplant I already gave them both warm showers. Little female had good feeding response today including a hornworm but no poops yet. Larger female still no poops and not eating. She sat in the squat position and I could see a bit of crowning from her rectum. She did this for 20 to 30 min and she just gave up. Tried hornworm but she didn't take it. What are my options if she is not taking in any food now?

 

[Mawtyplant]

All great suggestions thank you all. Basking spot temps are mid to high 80s
Sorry mawtyplant I already gave them both warm showers. Little female had good feeding response today including a hornworm but no poops yet. Larger female still no poops and not eating. She sat in the squat position and I could see a bit of crowning from her rectum. She did this for 20 to 30 min and she just gave up. Tried hornworm but she didn't take it. What are my options if she is not taking in any food now?

A small drop of mineral oil can help
If you have a fogger, put in on during the night too keep them hydrated.
How is the temperature outside? maybe its time for some natural sunlight (the best basking spot in town)

Sound conterintuitive but.. have you try to give another BSF? sometime they enter in a food strike juste because BSF turn to be favorite food.. (you can dip the fly butt in mineal oil

Be ready for a possible prolapse (some place in this forum who will help with "how to deal with" prolapse)

Can you feed the help form? or send some pictures? is there a gravid possibility?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Are you sure this is constapation and not an impaction?

Please fill out the “how to ask for help” form and post your answers back here. Quality pictures will help us help you.

Chameleon Info:

◦ Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?

◦ Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?

◦ Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?

◦ Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?

◦ Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?

◦ Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?

◦ History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.


Cage Info:

◦ Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?

◦ Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?

◦ Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?

◦ Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?

◦ Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?

◦ Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?

◦ Location - Where are you geographically located?


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


--------------


Please Note:

1 The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.

2 Photos can be very helpful.

 

[44937]

OK after three warms baths at 95F and two droplets of mineral oil into her angry mouth last night, she pooped this morning. Now I hope she gets back into her normal routine of killing feeder bugs

 

[JacksJill]

I'm glad it worked but that's too high a temp and immersion in water is extremely stressful.
Any feeder with a lot of calcium is going to be digested slower. Studies on Jackson's that eat snails in Hawaii
have been studied and calcium rich snail shells digest very slowly and decrease appetite during digestion.

 

[NickTide]

never heard this... thank you. I feed a lot of flies.

 

[Mawtyplant]

OK after three warms baths at 95F and two droplets of mineral oil into her angry mouth last night, she pooped this morning. Now I hope she gets back into her normal routine of killing feeder bugs

Glad she pooped.. but.. why 3 time 95 degree bath?! this make me angry..

 

[44937]

10 min baths at 95F 3 days in a row and I got her to poop. This is a decision I made after not seeing any poop for 7 days and also witnessing her trying to pass her poop for 30 min+ unsuccessfully.
I used information I had researched to determine the warmest temperature to give her a bath in. Frankly I rather have her stressed from warm baths than dead or prolapse.
Its my call based on my experience with other reptiles, and it rectified the situation. I used a temperature level that was based on facts and I measured the temperature with an IR temp gun; she experienced a hot November day in Ambanja for 10 minutes.
I feel terrible it made someone angry and I'm sorry.
Perhaps its best in the future if I don't share my experiences if and when it contradicts other people's opinions.
Not here to start an argument; just answering a question that was asked.

Source: https://weatherspark.com/m/104555/1...er-in-Ambanja-Madagascar#Sections-Temperature
Average Weather in November in Ambanja Madagascar
Daily high temperatures are around 93°F, rarely falling below 88°F or exceeding 97°F. The highest daily average high temperature is 93°F on November 2.
Daily low temperatures are around 72°F, rarely falling below 69°F or exceeding 75°F.
For reference, on November 1, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Ambanja typically range from 71°F to 93°F, while on July 25, the coldest day of the year, they range from 63°F to 87°F.

 

[Mawtyplant]

10 min baths at 95F 3 days in a row and I got her to poop. This is a decision I made after not seeing any poop for 7 days and also witnessing her trying to pass her poop for 30 min+ unsuccessfully.
I used information I had researched to determine the warmest temperature to give her a bath in. Frankly I rather have her stressed from warm baths than dead or prolapse.
Its my call based on my experience with other reptiles, and it rectified the situation. I used a temperature level that was based on facts and I measured the temperature with an IR temp gun; she experienced a hot November day in Ambanja for 10 minutes.
I feel terrible it made someone angry and I'm sorry.
Perhaps its best in the future if I don't share my experiences if and when it contradicts other people's opinions.
Not here to start an argument; just answering a question that was asked.

Source: https://weatherspark.com/m/104555/1...er-in-Ambanja-Madagascar#Sections-Temperature
Average Weather in November in Ambanja Madagascar
Daily high temperatures are around 93°F, rarely falling below 88°F or exceeding 97°F. The highest daily average high temperature is 93°F on November 2.
Daily low temperatures are around 72°F, rarely falling below 69°F or exceeding 75°F.
For reference, on November 1, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Ambanja typically range from 71°F to 93°F, while on July 25, the coldest day of the year, they range from 63°F to 87°F.

Its not about the highest temperatures of native country, it is about the shock if it happen again and you really want to give bath maybe you can go with something smoother for the body? this is to prevent any shock to the thermoceptor of the body chameleon (like 2 or 3 bac at a couple of degrees of interval in a really warm room?

Sorry for last night i was upset about lot of things, i might over reacted a bit and i've chilled down with your clarifications 95 degres is not deadly and crazy.. I think i'm most scared about other people reading this and got the idea to do the same after 2-3 day without poop, without gun temp or without good knowledge

How was the poop btw?

 

[Decadancin]

Actually, I would not suggest to match the water temp to the normal ambient temperature of a region. When it rains it will be much cooler, and the way a chameleon "feels" the temp of water is much different than how a warm blooded creature does. I generally do not like the idea of soaking a chameleon in water, but if it is done we should be very careful!

 

[GDiggs]

I tried feeding my female a fly yesterday she was not interested at all, was more thrown off by it flying