Black soldier fly

[zsazsa85]

Hi Guys,

Are black soldier flies ok for chameleons?

Thank you

 

[Blink]

Yes, definitely! My cham adores them!

 

[Wowbango]

Yep, my cham loves them too. You can get them pretty cheap in bulk from ebay. I paid $30 for 450g of larvae.

 

[Rufi0]

My Chameleon loves the larvae and the flies, so those that don't get eaten and pupate I just put in the cage also.

I wanted to know what the nutritional value of the actual flies were as all the info seems to relate to the larvae only.

I found a website which is currently studying the black soldier fly and found this information.

"The adult black soldier flies carry most of the nutrients stored in their larvae stage, which is 16% protein, 11% fat and 2.7% calcium"

~ http://youtu.be/RLperqyYkDI

I emailed them to find out more as I thought surely the nutritional value will change after the effort it takes for them to change into flies and got the following response:

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your comment on our website, and sorry about the lateness. The data we shown was from our research, which is going to be published soon. You are right about the adult that it does take a lot of nutrient when undergoes pupation, but most of which are lipid, with the maximum reservation on the protein. However, because the adult does not feed at all, the nutrient in the fly will deplete over times. We will suggest feeding on the larval stage while they are actively accumulating nutrient, and feeding the adult is an alternative strategy when one gets excess worms. Hope these helps.

Sincerely,

Spring

Symton
www.symtonbsf.com
[email protected]

 

[laurie]

Hey thanks for the info on where to get black solider flys. My hoednelii love them.

 

[nightanole]

Dumb question. So the larva are basicaly garbage disposals, and live in garbage. How do you feed off the larva? Every time i try this experiment my little guys end up puking them all back up (both beardies and chams). I feed them about the same diet as dubias with more moisture. I could try rinsing them off or something...

 

[SSimsswiSS]

Dumb question. So the larva are basicaly garbage disposals, and live in garbage. How do you feed off the larva? Every time i try this experiment my little guys end up puking them all back up (both beardies and chams). I feed them about the same diet as dubias with more moisture. I could try rinsing them off or something...

They make good composters. Use plant matter like lawn clipping, and vegetable green tops, like radish, carrot tops, dandelion and mustard weeds.

 

[zsazsa85]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the respond!!
I learned something today again.

 

[junglefries]

Don't forget about the household flies. I bought 50g (500) for $9.16 shipped, and my chams went bat crap crazy. The subadults and the adult females couldn't get enough. They lasted no time. Very easy to hatch and I don't think a single one died. (spiderpharm)

 

[jajeanpierre]

They make good composters. Use plant matter like lawn clipping, and vegetable green tops, like radish, carrot tops, dandelion and mustard weeds.

I have not found them to eat grass clippings. They love melons, squash, pinapple tops and coffee. The really love their coffee! (I have to pull them out of the composter several days before I feed them to get the coffee out of their system.)