Feeding wax worms
- Thread starter AReptile
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Lizardlover
New Member
they eat honey, as they come from the inside of bee hives, they will eat other mixtures as well but they are just complicated and still include honey.
SpinyFranky
New Member
Honey.
Lol, though I would assume it is probably diluted and bought in such bulk that it becomes dirt cheap.
However, if you notice most Meal Worms, Super Worms, Wax Worms - purchased at chains such at petco or petsmart are on there way to the grave from either inadequate temps ( sigh petco... yes you refrigerate meal worms... but no, you do not freeze them.... ) or poor nutrition
Or at least this applies to my local stores... perhaps in other areas, improvements have been made.
Crickets are a *decent* ( notice not saying good ) feeder source. Most of us use them because they are so dang cheap to buy in bulk, easy and cheap to maintain, gutload decently - and almost any reptile will eat them. However, Silkies - Horn Worms - Dubia - any many other feeders that you can find on the feeder list - are much better and nutritious for your animal.
Plus crickets stink like hell if you don't take their bin to the drive way and wash it every other day.
sageghost
Established Member
Most, actually just about all, dont feed them anything. Waxworms for retail sale are typically packaged in some kind of wood shavings. They are kept cold to slow their metabolism in hopes of keeping them alive long enough for the sale.
Ive reared Waxworms myself. I will tell you what, they are LIVELY critters, not the sluggish things you get from the store.
I use this recipe to feed them.
1 box of Gerber's Mixed Cereal, 7 tablespoons of honey and 7 tablespoons of glycerin and 3-ln tablespoons of water. Moisten the cereal with the liquid mixture to mold a ball that crumbles easily
Like I said, this mixture creates some Lively waxworms. You will be surprised at their speed in comparison to the store bought.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Keep them cool, and they last awhile. Most dont bother to feed them. HOw many do you have? Cant you just slowly feed them to your chameleon over a period of time (with other feeders forming the primary diet).
AReptile
New Member
Out of interest, what did you breed them for?
AReptile
New Member
Update on the wax worms. I looked today and two of them I looked and they were not normal colors. I thought they were dead but they're still like moving... I dont know what these guys are doing lol. They have like an orangey tinge to them along with black. Anyone have an idea?
Nixehface
New Member
I assumed that that was the time that they were gonna start morphing?
There have been so many times where I've opened my wax worms tub and seen loads of moths in there
EDIT: Can butterworms be used a staple or are they more for the treat side?
bugboy
Established Member
they are probably turning into pupae. keep em warm and theyll be moths soon enough.
butterworms are more of a treat as they still contain a decent amount of fat however they are incredibly high in calcium, so around one or two a week for an adult cham would probably be fine.
butterworms are more of a treat as they still contain a decent amount of fat however they are incredibly high in calcium, so around one or two a week for an adult cham would probably be fine.
pantherlover
New Member
hey, feeding my guy mostly crickets. are there any other feeders which would be a suitable primary food source?
Nixehface
New Member
yea, I wasn't really sure about them.
Thanks for that though!
EDIT: What about feeding them to baby chams?
Clifford
New Member
Silkworms, roaches
AReptile
New Member
I'm bumping this because now I want to know about the wax moths that these guys turn into. Last night my cat and I heard some strange noises in my room and i found out it was coming from the bukcet i kept the worms in. Sounded like the fluttering of wings. So basically I want to know if it's ok to feed it to my cham or should I not bother?
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Your chameleon will enjoy the moth. No harm in it (and very little nutrition either).
Nixehface, I dont support the notion of a "staple feeder", because I believe a variety is important. But butterworms certainly form a good portion of my chameleons diets. They have less fat content than supers, and are naturally higher in calicum, but you cant gutload them. Which perhaps isnt important if you are gutloading all the other feeders. I would feel comfortable offering butterworms every week, along with other stuff.
Nixehface, I dont support the notion of a "staple feeder", because I believe a variety is important. But butterworms certainly form a good portion of my chameleons diets. They have less fat content than supers, and are naturally higher in calicum, but you cant gutload them. Which perhaps isnt important if you are gutloading all the other feeders. I would feel comfortable offering butterworms every week, along with other stuff.
AReptile
New Member
Well for me the lack of availability has crickets as the primary food for my cham for now until i can convince my dad to lend me his credit card. My cham seemed to enjoy the moth =D. Now I know wax worms on a regular basis are bad but does that apply to their moths as well? If I wanted to go out and get wax worms and keep them alive till they turn into moths how often could one be fed to the cham without being harmful?
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
There's little point in offering waxmoths often, since they provide little to nothing nutritionally. In terms of providing just "something different" food interest for the chameleon, there is some limited value I suppose. A couple a month would certainly do no harm.
You are much better off getting other types of feeders. I dont know where you live, but I find it hard to imagine that crickets and waxworms are the only insects available to you locally.
But perhaps you could give cash up front to your dad or someone else with the means to buy online or drive you to a better pet store, so that you could get silkworms, butterworms, even superworms. Perhaps there is a local reptile club you could buy feeders at for cash. Be creative. Your chameleon will only benefit from a variety of bugs.
You are much better off getting other types of feeders. I dont know where you live, but I find it hard to imagine that crickets and waxworms are the only insects available to you locally.
But perhaps you could give cash up front to your dad or someone else with the means to buy online or drive you to a better pet store, so that you could get silkworms, butterworms, even superworms. Perhaps there is a local reptile club you could buy feeders at for cash. Be creative. Your chameleon will only benefit from a variety of bugs.
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
I know that my animals don't get any nutricitional value from waxworms, but damn do they love them. My geckos will leap into the air with their mouths wide open when they see I'm lowering one into their enclosure with tweezers (I don't touch any of my insects lol). It's like giving dogs bacon, they love it to death. It's like giving your cham a slice of double chocolate cake - it's anything but good for them, but doesn't it taste fantastic!
Since I get mine in containers of 50 worms, I'll give one or two to each animal until I'm out and not buy again for several months. They're fine in moderation, I think, just like bacon or chocolate cake. But there are better alternatives. I give mine butterworms too, but I have to order those online while I can get waxworms locally, so it really depends on what I have at the time.
Since I get mine in containers of 50 worms, I'll give one or two to each animal until I'm out and not buy again for several months. They're fine in moderation, I think, just like bacon or chocolate cake. But there are better alternatives. I give mine butterworms too, but I have to order those online while I can get waxworms locally, so it really depends on what I have at the time.
