Cham eats lizard

Hunterk

Hunterk

New Member
I was watching some videos when I came across this video of a chameleon eating a lizard. Correct me if im wrong, but arnt they insectivores, and eating a lizard would possibly kill them. I would think that they wouldnt be able to digest the bones, teeth, etc. Looking for some insight on this.
 
Hunterk said:
I was watching some videos when I came across this video of a chameleon eating a lizard. Correct me if im wrong, but arnt they insectivores, and eating a lizard would possibly kill them. I would think that they wouldnt be able to digest the bones, teeth, etc. Looking for some insight on this.
Click to expand...


If they were in the wild, and they were hungry, they eat what they can find. Now I definitely don't suggest feeding a CB cham another lizard like this video.
 
it is possible for them to consume small lizards and mice but it is debatable as to weather it is a good idea or not. i personally would not
in the wild chams have been found to eat other small lizzards.
 
Yea I dont think that I would every feed my lil guy a lizard or any other small animal for that fact, just to be on the safe side.
 
They can deal with bones and teeth just fine.

A number of chameleon species relish eating other lizards (including other chameleons).

You should see my tegus- They can eat chickens (frozen and thawed from me)- feathers, bones, beaks and all, and do a great job digesting them...

Too much is not good for chameleons though (too rich to be fed often), occasionally is possibly OK, but in captivity parasites and disease that can be passed on from the other lizard is also a consideration.
 
my chameleon has eaten the little anoles down here with no ill effects. Now, I do not feed them to him but I have seen him snag a couple in my patio that come in from outside. He probably has eaten more than I need to know about in his outdoorcage, cause I am always shooing them out of there. So, the answer is, no it will not kill them, but it is debateable as to how good they are for them.
 
i have a green anole in a cage across from my chams, my panther could care less but my veiled always went crazy over him and whenever he was roaming around my room he would go over and try to eat it, so i had to move it into another room.
 
Same here, I've had mine catch little house geckos and anoles that sneak into the house.

This is what I think on the subject. Even though these animals are insectivores, it wouldn't surprise me if perhaps 10% of their diet in the wild is composed of small vertebrates (lizards, frogs, birds, etc.). I was surprised to learn while working at a wildlife rescue in Costa Rica that toucans, who are fruit-eaters, will catch and eat small birds. They would catch the small birds that got into their cage to eat their food and eat them, and would enjoy a boiled egg happily as a treat. So they clearly enjoy some animal protein in their diet.

That said, there is a link between gout in reptiles and too much animal protein, so that's why I think vertebrates wouldn't make up a huge part of a chameleon's diet. Once in a while I'm sure it's fine, but I wouldn't feed stuff like pinkies or anoles as a regular food item.
 
It strikes me as a bit strange that you guys are happy to feed a chameleon another lizard. What if someone said he was feeding chameleons to another bigger lizard? would you all be so tolerable then? Im not saying its not right, and im not saying its a good thing and "natures way", just that sometimes a different point of view on things can change a persons perspective. :p
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hoj
Benton1576 said:
It strikes me as a bit strange that you guys are happy to feed a chameleon another lizard. What if someone said he was feeding chameleons to another bigger lizard? would you all be so tolerable then? Im not saying its not right, and im not saying its a good thing and "natures way", just that sometimes a different point of view on things can change a persons perspective. :p
Click to expand...

Ive fed weak panther offspring back to their parents.
 
i agree. id be pritty mad if someone fed of chams to something else. i dont think anoles are feeders and i dislike when they are sold as such. any lizzard for that matter.
 
Benton1576 said:
It strikes me as a bit strange that you guys are happy to feed a chameleon another lizard. What if someone said he was feeding chameleons to another bigger lizard? would you all be so tolerable then? Im not saying its not right, and im not saying its a good thing and "natures way", just that sometimes a different point of view on things can change a persons perspective. :p
Click to expand...

this is kinda how i see it. i do agree with nature, but evey time i look at the cute lil face of any lizzard i think of my chams and couldnt do it... just me
however if my cham is outside and it just happens then i feel diferently about it.
it may be that up here there arent really any indigenous lizzards so i see them all as pets.
 
Well, you guys know that sometimes you have to cull hatchlings because they are malformed or too sickly, right? I see more point in making them food than just crushing them under a brick. Cycle of life thing.
 
i understand that culling can be required, but to feed off spring back to its parents, im sorry this really sickens me and makes my heart hurt. there are better ways..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Peppered
Hatchling with one bulging eye
Replies
8
Views
303
Gloriawood
Gloriawood
N
Carpet chameleon importing across BC border from Washington state?
Replies
7
Views
538
KarenWarner
K
KailieBug
She's eating!!
Replies
18
Views
922
TheMotherChameleon
TheMotherChameleon
sketchtone
not eating still :/
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
Beman
Beman
jamest0o0
Thinking of getting back into it
2
Replies
39
Views
2K
jamest0o0
jamest0o0
Back
Top Bottom