Chams and pinkies

You should only if they just had a clutch, or needs to gain wait. They aren't too good for them.
 
LinkinParkRulez08 said:
You should only if they just had a clutch, or needs to gain wait. They aren't too good for them.
Click to expand...



Thanks

i haven't feed 1 just that i have just rehomed a 3 year old male that looks a tiny bit under weight so fort of giving him 1 to gain a little more weight and i feed my CWD pinkies every 6 months he loves them :)
 
In general, chameleons do not have the proper enzymes to digest meat and other types of mammalian tissue. Chameleons are insectivores, meaning their diet is composed primarily of insects and other chitinous and soft body invertebrates. I wouldn't make a habit of feeding pinkies, in fact, I wouldn't start ever. That isn't to say that in the wild, a chameleon has never devoured a baby rodent. If you are trying to encourage weight gain for a thin chameleon, I would suggest feeding insects that are high in calories, fat, and water mass. Silkworms and horn-worms are good feeders to use to "pack on the pounds". But always remember that chameleons can put on too much weight, so it is always good to encourage variety. Just some "food for thought".

-Cala-
 
I agree with Calavera, silkworms and hornworms are definitely better than pinkies.
 
Calavera said:
In general, chameleons do not have the proper enzymes to digest meat and other types of mammalian tissue. Chameleons are insectivores, meaning their diet is composed primarily of insects and other chitinous and soft body invertebrates. I wouldn't make a habit of feeding pinkies, in fact, I wouldn't start ever. That isn't to say that in the wild, a chameleon has never devoured a baby rodent. If you are trying to encourage weight gain for a thin chameleon, I would suggest feeding insects that are high in calories, fat, and water mass. Silkworms and horn-worms are good feeders to use to "pack on the pounds". But always remember that chameleons can put on too much weight, so it is always good to encourage variety. Just some "food for thought".

-Cala-
Click to expand...


Thanks ! and i will not feed my cham any pinkies now your words are so true thanks again !
 
Calavera said:
In general, chameleons do not have the proper enzymes to digest meat and other types of mammalian tissue.
-Cala-
Click to expand...

this statement is quite interesting.
Not that I doubt you.. but, would you happen to have an article or a link that support this?
I would love to read on that.
 
Calavera said:
In general, chameleons do not have the proper enzymes to digest meat and other types of mammalian tissue.

-Cala-
Click to expand...

Well, this is not completely true. I think I know where you're going though, as it's kinda close.

Chameleons* can easily digest animal proteins and mammalian tissues - and some species can digest a bit of plant matter as well.

They can digest animal fats pretty well.

I've seen what veiled turds look like after a fuzzy - looks no different than when they're eating insects, only with a bit of fur.

The problem isn't simply their ability to digest them and make use of them, it's their ability to metabolize all the fats and rich animal proteins. Their systems aren't designed to deal with the rich fats and proteins, and, in time, they can have problems.

too much fat in their diet will lead to a fat chameleon. Too much animal protein will damage their liver and kidneys, and lead to gout. You'll hear of lots of gout stories from people who feed their crickets fish food flakes.

To help an animal put on weight, it's fine every once in a while. The extra calcium is certainly not a bad thing. It's something they wouldn't ignore in the wild, for sure.

As a side note - there are a lot of veileds roaming the woods in Florida. And they're eating a TON of anoles, from what I've been told. And if the WC male I got from Florida is any indication, they can handle them pretty well.


*at least many species can, maybe not all of them though, no way to prove that.
 
Hey Eric a ? for you. Have there been alot of veileds released into the wild in florida on purpose or is it just owners getting tired of them and letting them go down there, kind of like snakes? Ive seen people selling the WC veileds from florida and im very curios about it. How do they seem to be doing in the wild down there also?
 
Well, they were "released" several years back, and have established themselves. Been years. At first, I heard they were pretty typical. Last 2-3 years, people have een finding huge ones - approaching two feet. I'm guessing the Flordia climate, and the ecosystems the chameleons are now a part of, has a different set of selective forces than their native Yemen. End result, is that the chameleons are evolving differently there than they would in Yemen.

A less harsh climate, more food (it's Florida, Florida crawls with everything)...

From the looks of the one I got (and the others ) they're doing pretty well. Natural selection is much more strict than the average breeder is - most of us dont' like to kill the sickly, cute ones... and many people won't hesitate to breed them. Took only a few years to start seeing monster veileds in Florida, when captive populations have become much smaller on average.
 
They are welcome to come and hang out in my trees and bushes. We shelter all our wildlife on our property and love to watch them out our sliders. We get plenty of igunas, curley tails, geckos, on and on and on.



Eric Adrignola said:
Well, they were "released" several years back, and have established themselves. Been years. At first, I heard they were pretty typical. Last 2-3 years, people have een finding huge ones - approaching two feet. I'm guessing the Flordia climate, and the ecosystems the chameleons are now a part of, has a different set of selective forces than their native Yemen. End result, is that the chameleons are evolving differently there than they would in Yemen.

A less harsh climate, more food (it's Florida, Florida crawls with everything)...

From the looks of the one I got (and the others ) they're doing pretty well. Natural selection is much more strict than the average breeder is - most of us dont' like to kill the sickly, cute ones... and many people won't hesitate to breed them. Took only a few years to start seeing monster veileds in Florida, when captive populations have become much smaller on average.
Click to expand...
 
BocaJan said:
They are welcome to come and hang out in my trees and bushes. We shelter all our wildlife on our property and love to watch them out our sliders. We get plenty of igunas, curley tails, geckos, on and on and on.
Click to expand...

same here, i rescued an iguana a few weeks ago, the cold shock makes them go into a sudden hibernation, his one however didnt make it because when she fell from the tree she hit her head on a rock, she didnt make it through the night:(

yes this was in my backyard
 
Where in Florida are they? I would love too see a chameleon in their "natural" habitat. I really dont see myself going to Madagascar or Saudi Arabia, so ill take Florida
 
Chams can eat pinkies just fine. Don't use them as a staple feeder, but from what I am told they are a great little source of Calcium now and then. Lombardi Loves them...He gets maybe one ot two a month. I have fed them to several of my chams in the past, and have never observed any ill effects.
 
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