Crickets or silkworms?

[joecham]

Im looking for some help on what to feed my chameleon. What is better, crickets or silkworms? I have been using crickets, but would prefer something that cant get away and form colonies in my home. Also, I read that silkworms are quite and not as smelly.

Thanks,
joecham

 

[joecham]

I have done some online reading, and silkworms sound like a good replacement to crickets. Some things that caught my attention were the fact that they dont smell like crickets, they dont escape, and they are very nutritious. I would love to hear the experiences of others.

 

[Mr Green]

Hello, this is my first post.
Ive used crickets and silkworms before. Its true that they dont smell as bad and dont escape.

You can get them online. I think I like silkworms better but they arent available in my area so I usualy get crickets.

 

[Brad]

Silkworms are great. A breeder recomended them to me a few years ago, and I have been using them since. I still sometimes buy a few crickets and/or mealworms at a local store to keep a little variety in the diet.

The chameleon news website recently posted a nice article on silkworms. I would highly recomend reading it if you are thinking about using silkworms for the first time.

 

[joecham]

Thanks for the info.
That article was very helpful. Think Im going to give them a try. Do you guys breed them or just order new eggs when needed?

 

[BigBird]

I never even heard of people using silkworms until I read this. Nice article. Im going to give this a try. My wife would love to lose the noisy crickets. Even though I keep them outdoors the noise still bothers her. What company does everyone order from?

 

[ChamFreak]

PLEASE READ:

You must realize that a chameleon main diet food is crickets. I must stress using that source of food to be your main source as well. Chameleons love hunting and prefer to as much as they sit. You must realize that the cricket is the best " gut load " food and most challeging thing to catch ( besides flying insects ) You should really use silkworks, superworks, flying insects, beetles ect.. for treats and mix there diets up for they get board eating same food after while and some won't eat if diet is not changed. Use these treats for 1 day a week and they will be very happy. Also dust those crickets...

 

[Brad]

Silkworms are actually good enough to use as a staple diet. They are higher in calcium and contain more moisture than crickets. However, as chamfreak mentioned above, most other worms should only be used as treats and/or to add a little variety into your chameleon's diet. Crickets are great and are readily available at your local store. Even petco sells them. I would recomend using both if you can. Roaches are even another option as a staple diet for your chams. I might be wrong, but I think the madagascar hissing cockroach is the only insect available in the states that the chams eat in the wild. There are other kinds of roaches available, but I have never used them.

Chamfreak brought up an excellent point about hunting. I let my feeders free-roam, and I believe my chameleons are more healthy because of it. Not only do they get more excercise, but more importantly (for my setups atleast) they are exposed to more water drinking opportunities. I feed crickets and silkworms as a main diet. Occasionally I will order a fly culture or something.

 

[slr]

www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/sept2002/nutrition/nutrition_sept_02.html

That says it all. I am a newbie still (in regards the chams) but from what I have read, heard and seen ... silkies are just as good, if not better, then crickets.

As for hunting ... I simply place the silkworms in different areas of her cage and Shelby goes nuts looking for them. Of course, I watch her to make sure she gets each and every one. I only feed 3 a day, so it's not hard!

 

[Brad]

Hey slr,

Are you breeding your own silk?

 

[slr]

No, I order them.

 

[Brad]

Thats what I am currently doing. Do you get the eggs or the live silkworms?

 

[slr]

I order the live. I order on Fridays from www.silkwormfarm.com and get free shipping and handling. I LOVE it. 200 worms for 18 bucks! (Chow is more, of course, but I buy the powder chow in bulk then I don't have to pay for shipping and it lasts in the powder form for a year!)

 

[chameleon97]

im thinking of trying silks. for 1 juvenile cham, how much should i feed per day, and how big of enclosure do i need for 1 month worth?

 

[sandrachameleon]

I think Variety is best.
That said, Silkworms are a great feeder. But because they contain very little chinton, you will still want to offer crickets or some other "crunchy" food like isopods or mealworms now and then (I think of it like fibre in humans).

I buy about 300 silkworm eggs at a time. I sprinkle them into three or four little plastic dishes/containers ontop of a small piece of papertowel (easier for them to walk on than plastic). I leave the dishes on a shelf. The silkworms dont tend to go far, so long as you feed them, so I dont have lids either. Dump the fras and change the papertowel now and then, feed em regularily, and youre done.

Edit: Wow, just noticed this thread is years old! LOL

 

[Chase]

Chameleon97, you're digging up some OOOOOLLLLLLDDDD Threads.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Since the ancient (almost four year old) thread has been resurrected, there are a couple of things worth mentioning.
Silkworms are a very good addition to the chameleon diet repertoire, in a natural environment caterpillars would be available to these animals and they are very nutritious. Also a good source of moisture.
Crickets, on the other hand would probably never be encountered by a chameleon.
However, it is important to include some chitinous insects (crickets, cockroaches, super worms, etc) in the chameleon diet and crickets are easy to gut load and readily available.
Currently the food inventory for my chameleons consists of: crickets, dubia roaches, super worms and silkworms.
There are many other feeder options and variety is important .... gut loading, however is more crucial.

-Brad

 

[summoner12]

PLEASE READ:

You must realize that a chameleon main diet food is crickets. I must stress using that source of food to be your main source as well. Chameleons love hunting and prefer to as much as they sit. You must realize that the cricket is the best " gut load " food and most challeging thing to catch ( besides flying insects ) You should really use silkworks, superworks, flying insects, beetles ect.. for treats and mix there diets up for they get board eating same food after while and some won't eat if diet is not changed. Use these treats for 1 day a week and they will be very happy. Also dust those crickets...

Where did you get this info from?

Silk worms are a great staple food. So are horn worms.

you should avoid supers, wax, butters and meal worms for every feeding.

Mealworms are just plain bad. supers, butters and wax worms are high in fat. not good staples. they are good for fattening up a sick cham or force feeding. they should be used as treats.

Variety is the key. no cham in the wild eats just one insect and chams in captivity tend to get bored with just one kind of bug.

mix it up

 

[summoner12]

Crickets, on the other hand would probably never be encountered by a chameleon.

-Brad

Amen Brotha!

 

[Vince]

I never even heard of people using silkworms until I read this. Nice article. Im going to give this a try. My wife would love to lose the noisy crickets. Even though I keep them outdoors the noise still bothers her. What company does everyone order from?

I order from coastal silkworms.com The guy is real nice, we had some worms die in he last batch. We usually get the three day shipping and guarantee is not included with that option, but the nice guy that he is sent us a whole new batch. We just had to pay shipping. We didn't complain or anything just called and asked what had happened because they have never froze on us before.