Simple.. I don't feed my chameleon spiders (period).
I don't have the time to catch one and confirm that the one I catch is not poisonous. You probably have heard the necessity to feed your chameleon baby spiders? it is a myth.
I agree with Dodolah, feeding spiders is probably a no-no.. Around here we have brown recluses, don't know about England, though. Anywho, it's not like you can test how poisonous they are without getting bit yourself, hehe.
Spiders are usually a readily eaten food by chameleons, just as other insects. As noted, the problem will likely lie in avoiding those spiders that may be poisonous or otherwise problematic. In the wild, I assume that chameleons rarely get themselves into trouble by eating the wrong bug, that being a bug prone to harm its consumer. Natural selection would seem to eliminate that trait.
With our greenhouse, spiders abound. Probably about 6 different species, to include black widows. I often observe chameleons eating the non-poisonous species, to include the large wolf spiders (see below). If you were knowledgable enough to only offer relatively non-toxic spiders, I see no problem.
I live in VA, and for some reason lately it's been "Invasion of the Wolf Spiders!"
One night last week we found FOUR of them in the span of 2 - 3 hours. They'd just scurry across the floor. My girlfriend deals with spiders by putting a glass on top of it until I get home. I just put them outside.
At one point I'd seen so many that I put a little spot of paint (I was painting at the time) on one's abdomen, to see if the same ones were sneaking back in.
Unfortunately we live in an apartment, and I know they spray and use pesticides outside, so I'm not willing to feed them to my chameleon. I'm betting he'd love em though.
All my chameleons love spiders!
Calummas and Trioceros too. Sometimes I catch him in my reptile room and give it, small spiders to baby and bigger to the adult and they go crazy.
I never had problems in years.
kewl pic......that wolf spider didn't stand a chance.
I wouldn't consider catching them and feeding them to anything, I don't like spiders that much. My kids really don't like them. They don't make it to a cage if we see them first.
If your talking about those brown house spiders I think they are fine. I know they arent poisonous to humans but you may wanna check on how they are to animals. Im pretty sure they are fine tho.