Feeder varieties for growing panther

[ajs]

I am looking for input on the variety of feeders for my 4-5 month old Ambilobe/Ambanja mix.

Currently he eats Dubia Roches and Crickets without much hesitation. I would be open to introducing more variety, but I am pretty opposed to mealworms and superworms (other than maybe a treat once a week) due to the lack of nutrition these provide.

Do you guys have any suggestions or are crickets and dubias a good enough variety for him?

 

[Acidsin]

Silkworms and hornworms aka goliath worms only while small and if you keep them at a cooler temperature keeps the hornworms from growing

 

[jamest0o0]

Superworms provide good nutrition. They're high in fat, those calories are just what a growing panther needs. You just don't want to offer too often or he'll likely get addicted to them.

So many good options... silkworms, hornworms, bottleflies, black soldier fly larvae/flies, captive bred snails, isopods, phasmids, mantids, wax moths, grasahoppers/katydids if you can manage to get them, and of course tons of roach species to choose from

 

[Gingero]

Just made a video about this

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Just made a video about this

This was most helpful.
I've seen these feeders at Josh's Frogs. And to be honest, I didn't know what some of them were

 

[Gingero]

This was most helpful.
I've seen these feeders at Josh's Frogs. And to be honest, I didn't know what some of them were

Yay happy to hear it Hopefully now you can try out some new feeders.

 

[ajs]

Thanks for the replies! Really helpful.

I have some black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, and hornworms headed my way now.

I saw a post recommending to "pin" the black soldier fly larvae to aid in digestion. What are your thoughts on that?

 

[PabloTheCham]

Thanks for the replies! Really helpful.

I have some black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, and hornworms headed my way now.

I saw a post recommending to "pin" the black soldier fly larvae to aid in digestion. What are your thoughts on that?

i don't know what "pining" is, but whatever it is, you don't have to do anything to do to your bsfl before feeding them off.

 

[ajs]

Sometimes the bsfl come out whole in their stool, so some folks prick their bsfl with a pin just before eating.

Found the post about it

 

[snitz427]

Silkworms are, hands down, my favorite feeder (and my chams’). They are easy to care for, take up minimal space, no escapees or smell, and they’re very nutritious. Best of all I can spread (hide) them throughout the enclosures so that the chams can hunt them on their own.

I also like bsfl - but digging them out and rinsing the medium off them is a pain. Mantids are super easy and @nick barta has a great deal on them right now. Hatch them right in the cage and your cham will wake up like a kid on Christmas. Lots of options - but those are the easiest IMO

 

[jamest0o0]

Silkworms are, hands down, my favorite feeder (and my chams’). They are easy to care for, take up minimal space, no escapees or smell, and they’re very nutritious. Best of all I can spread (hide) them throughout the enclosures so that the chams can hunt them on their own.

I also like bsfl - but digging them out and rinsing the medium off them is a pain. Mantids are super easy and @nick barta has a great deal on them right now. Hatch them right in the cage and your cham will wake up like a kid on Christmas. Lots of options - but those are the easiest IMO

No disrespect on the silkworm game. I have much appreciation for them, but I always found them more difficult to raise than I'd like lol. Used to the roach level of easiness .

 

[snitz427]

No disrespect on the silkworm game. I have much appreciation for them, but I always found them more difficult to raise than I'd like lol. Used to the roach level of easiness .

Lol none taken. Some people really struggle with them - but I love em!

 

[Kaizen]

No disrespect on the silkworm game. I have much appreciation for them, but I always found them more difficult to raise than I'd like lol. Used to the roach level of easiness .

Yup, silks and bsfl are great as online orders, but roaches reign supreme as home-grown feeders. You have two options for gutloading silks, and roaches’ll eat whatever. Don’t get me wrong, silks are good feeders, but you can take a colony of roaches, split into three, and focus on different gutload ingredients for each group. For instance, Monday could be the day when you feed roaches gutloaded on dandelion, collard and kale. Wednesday could be roaches gutloaded on spirulina, bee pollen and sweet potatoes, Friday could be roaches gutloaded on oranges, prickly pear and blueberries. With silks, every feeding is just mulberry, mulberry and mulberry. Also, silks are really soft, and it seems like chitin might actually perform an important digestive function—acting like dietary fiber.

 

[JacksJill]

Thanks for the replies! Really helpful.

I have some black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, and hornworms headed my way now.

I saw a post recommending to "pin" the black soldier fly larvae to aid in digestion. What are your thoughts on that?

If your cham is one to eat without chewing then pin them if he is a chewer then he will make plenty of holes in them.

 

[PabloTheCham]

roaches reign supreme as home-grown feeders.

yea... if your cham will eat them....

 

[jamest0o0]

yea... if your cham will eat them....

Chams will all accept some type of roach, the problem is, people always start with dubia which is seemingly the least palatable roach, find out their cham doesn't like them, and then they swear off roaches altogether.

 

[NikkiA]

Chams will all accept some type of roach, the problem is, people always start with dubia which is seemingly the least palatable roach, find out their cham doesn't like them, and then they swear off roaches altogether.

Roaches are something I have considered, but they make me a little nervous, so I haven't tried them. I know there's so many types, but they are roaches. If one got loose I think my other half would not be appreciative of the situation because of that fact.

 

[jamest0o0]

Roaches are something I have considered, but they make me a little nervous, so I haven't tried them. I know there's so many types, but they are roaches. If one got loose I think my other half would not be appreciative of the situation because of that fact.

Understandable, my wife was not pleased the few times I dropped roaches and the cats found them . I actually stayed away from chameleons for years because I initially got the impression they needed roaches to thrive(not true, they need variety though) and that freaked me out. Eventually I figured it was just the stigma. People even tell me now, you better not let those get out, they'll infest your house. Meanwhile, there are like 5? Species that infest houses out of the thousands and rarely does anyone use those species for feeders. I guess since crickets don't infest houses, we don't associate them with filth, but they are probably the most unhygienic and nasty insects we keep as feeders lol.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yay happy to hear it Hopefully now you can try out some new feeders.

Yep
I'll get a Josh's frogs order coming

 

[Tinytort]

Found the post about it

You pin superworms