can silkmoths be fed to 4 months old cham?

dodolah

Retired Moderator
can a 4 months old veiled chameleon (about 4.5 inches w/o tail) eat silkmoth?
they are awfully big.. would it cause impaction?
 
Yes, have fed my veiled silkies at 2 months of age. He handled the large one's very well. I order small, but after a few weeks they got big. No problems at all.
 
Generally speaking....
IF the prey item is shorter than the length from the back of the eyesocket to
the midpoint of their body's length (not including the tail)
(by)
less then the width of the top of their heads

Then they're a good eating size for the young.
Adults can choke down much larger and crunchier prey.

YMMV

Caterpillars, waxworms and other larvae are "flexible" and can often change their sizes.
Usually they don't present much of a problem because these species try to chew their food
a bit before swallowing the really softbodied insects.
Anything with a tougher skin can cause some problems in the attempt to choke them down.
Bon Appetite
 
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Yes, you can fed him/her silk moths. Just note the life span on the moth is short so feed them after their wings dry for best results!
 
Silk moths do not eat from what i've read. Therefore I would think that the moths are of a lot less nutritional value than the caterpillars. I guess its fine if you have some extra moths, but I wouldn't feed them many like you would the caterpillars since their nutritional values are different.
Edit: By bad Coastal- I read your post wrong, I thought you meant feed the moths after their wings dry ;)
 
I rate the humble silky as my favourite feeder, both nutrition wise and ease of keeping/breeding.
Moths are fine to feed as a supplement feeder, i've been doing it for ages (mainly other herps) with no problems at all.
I just spent 3 hours on the weekend going to my mulberry tree, which is in the bush a short drive from my house, to come home and sort out the leaves, fold them up and store them... it's a labour of love! lol
Cheers
Scott.
 
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