chameleonman57
New Member
Just wondering can veiled chameleons eat grapes.
Chameleon food
- Thread starter chameleonman57
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chameleonman57
New Member
Because I had some grapes left over, so I'll give it a try, I'll let you know if she eats them or not, thanks for letting me know.
chameleonman57
New Member
Athena just ate one grape cut up into halfs, she had some trouble because the grape is smooth and it doesn't stick, but I think she liked it.
Jonas
New Member
Whether or not an animal CAN eat something is not really interesting. A chemistry teacher of mine got the question "Can you drink concentrated sulfuric acid?", and he gladly answered "Yes!"
Just because an animal CAN eat something does not mean its a good idea or even healthy. Contrary to common belief, animals do not always know what are good for them; dogs will happily drink antifreeze, poisoning themselves in the process.
I would say that there is no need to try to find fruits and greens to give our veiled chameleons. They do just great on insects.
Mathematically, if giving them fruit/greens or not gives the same result, you have a fruit/no-fruit 0/0 situation, then there is no good reason to gamble and end up with a -1/0 situation. If that makes any sense.
Just because an animal CAN eat something does not mean its a good idea or even healthy. Contrary to common belief, animals do not always know what are good for them; dogs will happily drink antifreeze, poisoning themselves in the process.
I would say that there is no need to try to find fruits and greens to give our veiled chameleons. They do just great on insects.
Mathematically, if giving them fruit/greens or not gives the same result, you have a fruit/no-fruit 0/0 situation, then there is no good reason to gamble and end up with a -1/0 situation. If that makes any sense.
chameleonman57
New Member
Thanks for the info.
HairyScaryMark
New Member
There is an awful lot of people recommending Veieled to eat fruit so i've tried various things, Grapes, Strawberries and Tomatoes. I've got him to eat all these things but only after cutting them into small pieces and holding them next to his mouth while he was eating something else. On one ocasion when I tried to get him to eat a strawberry he backed off twice before standing on his hind legs and hissing at me. Purely my fault, should have got the message the first time.
I don't mean to dismiss what people say about nutrition as there may be good evidence to back it up but I am yet to see details of any studies or research. As far as I understand it would require sizeable control groups of chameleons kept in identical conditions where half were given fruit when another wasn't. Lifespans, colouration, droppings etc. could then be compared to gather a picture of how healthy the chameleons were... Even if such a study found the chameleons with fruit lived longer it would only really carry much weight if sucessive studies found the same results. Correct me if I am out of line saying this. Perhaps the colours give away more than enough or this sort of research has already been done? Or research has been done for other reptiles that share enough features for the same to be true of chameleons? I am genuinely interested to know so I can act with good knowledge of what is best for my chameleon. In the meantime, I will continue to try and get him to eat fruit on the basis other people probably know things I don't.
I don't mean to dismiss what people say about nutrition as there may be good evidence to back it up but I am yet to see details of any studies or research. As far as I understand it would require sizeable control groups of chameleons kept in identical conditions where half were given fruit when another wasn't. Lifespans, colouration, droppings etc. could then be compared to gather a picture of how healthy the chameleons were... Even if such a study found the chameleons with fruit lived longer it would only really carry much weight if sucessive studies found the same results. Correct me if I am out of line saying this. Perhaps the colours give away more than enough or this sort of research has already been done? Or research has been done for other reptiles that share enough features for the same to be true of chameleons? I am genuinely interested to know so I can act with good knowledge of what is best for my chameleon. In the meantime, I will continue to try and get him to eat fruit on the basis other people probably know things I don't.
Pure
New Member
It's a well known fact that chams WILL eat leaves and flowers in the wild. And I'm pretty sure that given their attraction to color, they wouldn't pass up some fruits.
I see no problems in offering these food items on a random and limited basis.
Comparing domesticated dogs, who over the centuries have evolved (thanks to humans) to eat anything tasty, to wild animals isn't really scientifically appropriate.
In the wild, animals know what is or isn't good for them to eat. Parrots, elephants and scores of other animals will eat clay as it provides nutrients lacking from their diet. It also aids in digestion of toxic plants. TheY will also stay away from dangerous food sources. If they didn't they would all go extinct rather quickly.
I see no problems in offering these food items on a random and limited basis.
Comparing domesticated dogs, who over the centuries have evolved (thanks to humans) to eat anything tasty, to wild animals isn't really scientifically appropriate.
In the wild, animals know what is or isn't good for them to eat. Parrots, elephants and scores of other animals will eat clay as it provides nutrients lacking from their diet. It also aids in digestion of toxic plants. TheY will also stay away from dangerous food sources. If they didn't they would all go extinct rather quickly.
