Feeding butterflies to chameleon?
- Thread starter MariaRusso
- Start date
skateboardia
New Member
no!!! they don't like butterflies!! try grasshoppers, mealworms, silkworms, or crickets
Virgil1972
Avid Member
I would stay away from butterflies as there are many poisonous ones. I do feed moths once and a while when I catch one. I would also stay away from meal worms as well, hard to digest and little nutrients.
MariaRusso
Member
Thanks for reply, he eats crickets and roaches on daily basis, i just caught that butterfly today and was thinking about giving it to him as a treat, but ok then, guess not ))
Crashbandit05
Avid Member
I'm sorry but that's completely false. I catch butterflies in the warmer months and my panther is on them in seconds. You have to be very careful with identifying them. Many species will mimic the colors of toxic butterflies.
MariaRusso
Member
Can you tell me is the one in the pic that i posted a safe kind?
Crashbandit05
Avid Member
I can't but I imagine Wikipedia would have information.
trickedoutbiker
Avid Member
I have a panther chameleon as well and I catch it all sorts of wild insects in the summer, including butterflies. I ALWAYS make sure to do proper research on the insects I catch if I am uncertain of them though to make sure that nothing toxic is being fed to my cham. Extensive research can help you find out what kind of insect you have and whether it is safe or not. If there is ever any doubt and you cannot find an answer that is 100% certain, just release the insect back into the wild. Don't chance it.
As for butterflies, some of them can be toxic yes, but lots of butterflies only APPEAR toxic as they are using Batesian mimicry to appear dangerous to predators by looking like other, actual toxic butterflies.
Here is a thread I commented on a little over a year ago where I posted lots of good info about some commonly found butterflies: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/can-i-feed-my-chameleon-this-butterfly.151980/
Here is a link I found just now pertaining to the Red Admiral on a butterfly and moth website: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-atalanta
If you scroll down the page a bit, it reads as follows >>
"Adult Food: Red Admirals prefer sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings; visiting flowers only when these are not available. Then they will nectar at common milkweed, red clover, aster, and alfalfa, among others."
It mentions that the Red Admiral might eat the nectar of the common milkweed plant if its other preferred food sources are not available. This is very bad. Milkweed is the same plant that a Monarch butterfly feeds on as a caterpillar, and a Monarch is a VERY toxic butterfly. The milkweed plant that a Monarch butterfly feeds on as a caterpillar actually contains poisonous toxins which are stored in the body of the Monarch caterpillar. They eat these leaves to integrate the milkweed toxins into their body in order to poison their predators. This is what makes the Monarch butterfly (and caterpillar) taste so terrible to predators. Because of this, the Monarch butterfly (and caterpillar) is poisonous and the animals that eat it can get very sick and vomit. Generally, it does not cause death, but it is very harmful and can most certainly cause death in smaller animals (and I personally would consider a chameleon to be a smaller animal).
Given that the Red Admiral you have there MIGHT HAVE EATEN milkweed nectar, I would avoid it. There is no way of telling for sure what the butterfly ate, but given that poisonous milkweed is a possible part of their diet, I would not risk it at all. Also, I'm not too sure their PREFERRED diet of fermenting fruit and bird droppings would make them too healthy either.....
That's my 2 cents.
Last edited:
Crashbandit05
Avid Member
I was actually going to tag you but didn't know if you were still active! You helped me identify a few species of butterflies a year ago including an Eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar aka caterpie. (Which my panther did NOT enjoy once it released the foul odor)I have a panther chameleon as well and I catch it all sorts of wild insects in the summer, including butterflies. I ALWAYS make sure to do proper research on the insects I catch if I am uncertain of them though to make sure that nothing toxic is being fed to my cham. Extensive research can help you find out what kind of insect you have and whether it is safe or not. If there is ever any doubt and you cannot find an answer that is 100% certain, just release the insect back into the wild. Don't chance it.
As for butterflies, some of them can be toxic yes, but lots of butterflies only APPEAR toxic as they are using Batesian mimicry to appear dangerous to predators by looking like other, actual toxic butterflies.
Here is a thread I commented on a little over a year ago where I posted lots of good info about some commonly found butterflies: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/can-i-feed-my-chameleon-this-butterfly.151980/
Here is a link I found just now pertaining to the Red Admiral on a butterfly and moth website: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-atalanta
If you scroll down the page a bit, it reads as follows >>
"Adult Food: Red Admirals prefer sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings; visiting flowers only when these are not available. Then they will nectar at common milkweed, red clover, aster, and alfalfa, among others."
It mentions that the Red Admiral might eat the nectar of the common milkweed plant if its other preferred food sources are not available. This is very bad. Milkweed is the same plant that a Monarch butterfly feeds on as a caterpillar, and a Monarch is a VERY toxic butterfly. The milkweed plant that a Monarch butterfly feeds on as a caterpillar actually contains poisonous toxins which are stored in the body of the Monarch caterpillar. They eat these leaves to integrate the milkweed toxins into their body in order to poison their predators. This is what makes the Monarch butterfly (and caterpillar) taste so terrible to predators. Because of this, the Monarch butterfly (and caterpillar) is poisonous and the animals that eat it can get very sick and vomit. Generally, it does not cause death, but it is very harmful and can most certainly cause death in smaller animals (and I personally would consider a chameleon to be a smaller animal).
Given that the Red Admiral you have there MIGHT HAVE EATEN milkweed nectar, I would avoid it. There is no way of telling for sure what the butterfly ate, but given that poisonous milkweed is a possible part of their diet, I would not risk it at all. Also, I'm not too sure their PREFERRED diet of fermenting fruit and bird droppings would make them too healthy either.....
That's my 2 cents.
trickedoutbiker
Avid Member
I remember that. LOL That was a pretty funny video. Totally safe caterpillar, but very foul odor (and apparently taste as well). Your cham spit it out pretty quick once that taste hit his tongue lol.
My panther chameleon absolutely loves the darkling beetles that a superworm turns into, but I think they smell absolutely horrible and probably taste pretty bad too. He still nabs em up super quick every time though. I'd love to see how mine reacts to a "caterpie"
Yea I am still active man. I just don't get on here daily anymore. More like once or twice a week. Both of my new jobs keep me a bit busier than I used to be, but rest assured, I am most definitely still around.
MariaRusso
Member
Thanks!! That was very helpfulI have a panther chameleon as well and I catch it all sorts of wild insects in the summer, including butterflies. I ALWAYS make sure to do proper research on the insects I catch if I am uncertain of them though to make sure that nothing toxic is being fed to my cham. Extensive research can help you find out what kind of insect you have and whether it is safe or not. If there is ever any doubt and you cannot find an answer that is 100% certain, just release the insect back into the wild. Don't chance it.
As for butterflies, some of them can be toxic yes, but lots of butterflies only APPEAR toxic as they are using Batesian mimicry to appear dangerous to predators by looking like other, actual toxic butterflies.
Here is a thread I commented on a little over a year ago where I posted lots of good info about some commonly found butterflies: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/can-i-feed-my-chameleon-this-butterfly.151980/
Here is a link I found just now pertaining to the Red Admiral on a butterfly and moth website: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-atalanta
If you scroll down the page a bit, it reads as follows >>
"Adult Food: Red Admirals prefer sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings; visiting flowers only when these are not available. Then they will nectar at common milkweed, red clover, aster, and alfalfa, among others."
It mentions that the Red Admiral might eat the nectar of the common milkweed plant if its other preferred food sources are not available. This is very bad. Milkweed is the same plant that a Monarch butterfly feeds on as a caterpillar, and a Monarch is a VERY toxic butterfly. The milkweed plant that a Monarch butterfly feeds on as a caterpillar actually contains poisonous toxins which are stored in the body of the Monarch caterpillar. They eat these leaves to integrate the milkweed toxins into their body in order to poison their predators. This is what makes the Monarch butterfly (and caterpillar) taste so terrible to predators. Because of this, the Monarch butterfly (and caterpillar) is poisonous and the animals that eat it can get very sick and vomit. Generally, it does not cause death, but it is very harmful and can most certainly cause death in smaller animals (and I personally would consider a chameleon to be a smaller animal).
Given that the Red Admiral you have there MIGHT HAVE EATEN milkweed nectar, I would avoid it. There is no way of telling for sure what the butterfly ate, but given that poisonous milkweed is a possible part of their diet, I would not risk it at all. Also, I'm not too sure their PREFERRED diet of fermenting fruit and bird droppings would make them too healthy either.....
That's my 2 cents.
have released that butterfly, it got lucky this time 
absolutbill
Chameleon Enthusiast
So I actually just tried feeding off butterflies that I had purchased for this purpose. I went on Amazon and bought a cup of painted lady caterpillars, and they came in their own cup of food. I raised them up, they cocooned, and then turned into butterflies in an old cham cage I had on the back porch. I added a pot of daisies and marigolds which they eat. Out of my 5 caterpillars, 4 hatched. I put one in each cage - while I didn't see it, my veiled ate his quickly, but my panther just liked to watch his. By the time I went to put the other 2 in the cages to eat (I work long hours, and the hubby was not going to try to catch the butterflies himself), they had died of old age. Bottom line - cool as a one-off, but expensive - this cost me $16 for the caterpillars, and a few bucks for the plants, which I have since killed
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