Bugs...

[joeandsoph]

So which of these can I actually feed to my cham and which ones can be classed as a staple:

Beetle Larvae (the Pachnoda grub)
Butterworms
Silkworms
Phoenix Worms
Wax Worms (I know this is a treat only).

Are wax worms and butter worms the same!?

Thanks!

 

[Miss Lily]

You can fed all of those to your cham. Wax worms and butterworms are different types of moth larvae. I have never tried my chams with Pachnoda grubs. Phoenix worms (aka Nutrigrubs) are the larvae of the Black Soldier fly and are maggots rather than caterpillars. Butterworms don't require feeding and will stay dormant for weeks/months if kept in the fridge.

Silkworms can be considered as a staple, and I would love to use them more often, but I have real trouble keeping them alive! Obviously a varied diet with a bit of everything is best for the cham though.

Some people also feed cabbage white butterflies. I am thinking of growing cabbages next year and maybe feed of some of the caterpillars as well as the butterflies.

 

[ghettomike]

You can feed all of those to your cham ( not sure about the pachnoda as Ive never heard of it) crickets, roaches, silkies, supers , grasshoppers and hornworms all make great staple feeders but variety is the key, switching between all of them is what I try to do. Waxies and butters ( not the same) make great treats. I also like feeding moths/butterflys and dragonflies just to add variety.

 

[Miss Lily]

Unfortunately, we can't get hornworms over here in the UK, which is probably why they weren't in JoeandSoph's list!

 

[Olimpia]

Wax worms and butterworms are very different. Waxworms are little little globs of fat (which makes them delicious to our reptiles!) while butterworms are exceptionally high in calcium, so they're much more nutriciously valuable.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Beetle Larvae (the Pachnoda grub) - Periodic
Butterworms - periodic (way better than wax worms)
Silkworms - staple
Phoenix Worms - too small for most chameleons, otherwise periodic
Wax Worms (I know this is a treat only). - never

 

[sarah777]

My chameleons don't like butterworms, and I have 5.