Food other than bugs?

Not trying to debate but what about wild chameleons? Do you think that they know when its time to stop eating other reptiles or birds? Im sorry, but just for the sole fact that they eat other reptiles and birds on occasion is enough to label them a carnivore. What are humans? Carnivores and herbivores right? I eat way more meat then I do veggies but Im still considered both.
 
graydon said:
Not trying to debate but what about wild chameleons? Do you think that they know when its time to stop eating other reptiles or birds? Im sorry, but just for the sole fact that they eat other reptiles and birds on occasion is enough to label them a carnivore. What are humans? Carnivores and herbivores right? I eat way more meat then I do veggies but Im still considered both.
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No that does not make you an carnivore/herbivore, that makes you an omnivore, chams are also omnivorous as they eat insects/animals with flesh/ and plant matter.
 
Humans are neither carnivores nor herbivores. We are Omnivores.

Chameleons in the wild do not come across animals small enough to consider as a food source often enough for the protein content added to the diet to be considered an issue. They are opportunistic in that they will eat any prey item small enough to fit into their mouths. But like I said this isn't often enough to cause serious issues. Feed your cham high amounts of protein and it will soon suffer from a number of health problems. From gout to kidney failure. Protein is hard on the kidneys to begin with, and too much protein in abundant proportions given to an animal not designed to process that much protein can and will cause kidney failure. Trust me on this particular subject, I'm some what of an expert.

Feed a lion nothing but protein and it will not have any ill effects as it is a true carnivore and is designed to handle high amounts of protein.

edit: lizard lover, the correct terminology to describe insect eating animals is insectivores

really guys, this is not something that is open for argument. It's a fact.
 
Chameleons (mainly Chamaeleo calyptratus) are not carnivores(insectivores in captivity, somewhat carnivorous {not carnivores but carnivorous} in the wild, more or less), they are omnivores plain and simple.

If any of you keep live plants in your enclosures you would know this, unless you never look at your chameleons, never clean the cage, or just have fake plants.

So which is it? Are people just oblivious to the fact or ignorant?

I just think many people didn't pay attention in biology and ignored everything about "omnivores".

Again, mainly speaking for Veileds.. but..
 
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I live in New Hampshire is it ok to feed chameleons grasshoppers from outside? what about crickets? aren't the black crickets shell to hard for them?
 
mttycaz85 said:
I live in New Hampshire is it ok to feed chameleons grasshoppers from outside? what about crickets? aren't the black crickets shell to hard for them?
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Yes, all of them are fine just make sure you collect them from ares clean of pesticides and herbicides, the black crickets are fine they are just more aggressive than normal house crickets. (the kind you normally use)
 
Pure said:
Humans are neither carnivores nor herbivores. We are Omnivores.

Chameleons in the wild do not come across animals small enough to consider as a food source often enough for the protein content added to the diet to be considered an issue. They are opportunistic in that they will eat any prey item small enough to fit into their mouths. But like I said this isn't often enough to cause serious issues. Feed your cham high amounts of protein and it will soon suffer from a number of health problems. From gout to kidney failure. Protein is hard on the kidneys to begin with, and too much protein in abundant proportions given to an animal not designed to process that much protein can and will cause kidney failure. Trust me on this particular subject, I'm some what of an expert.

Feed a lion nothing but protein and it will not have any ill effects as it is a true carnivore and is designed to handle high amounts of protein.

edit: lizard lover, the correct terminology to describe insect eating animals is insectivores

really guys, this is not something that is open for argument. It's a fact.
Click to expand...

yes I know, I said that they are omnivores because they eat plant matter, animals with flesh, and insects.
 
Lizardlover said:
Yes, all of them are fine just make sure you collect them from ares clean of pesticides and herbicides, the black crickets are fine they are just more aggressive than normal house crickets. (the kind you normally use)
Click to expand...

If you have other cultured feeders I would use them.
Grasshoppers have alot of parasites.
 
Wile I would concede to calling them omnivores before I called them carnivores as it is a more accurate description of what they are. I still would argue that they are not technically omnivores. Omnivores eat everything And as we all know this is not true for chams. Their eating greens on the rare occasion does not really happen enough to change their classification in this regard. Just as eating a pinky or a fledgling bird doesn't make them carnivores. The classification of insectivores is based on their primary diet needed to remain healthy. Your cham can go his entire life without ever eating any actual vegetable matter and be ok. They get all they need from the gut of the insects they ingest.
 
Pure, humans are omnivors by choice. A look at the length of the human digestive tract and the shape of our teeth suggest we are suited to a mostly herbivorous diet.
The fact that we took to hunting after our brains evolved enough to use tools, and continued to evolve rapidly thereafter, is commonly overlooked by those who claim the evolution came only after prefrence for meat.
Carnivors have a much shorter digestive tract and more than two token 'eye teeth'.
Our teeth are not made for tearing.
This is a fact you can google.
Trivia done! :D

P.S. how about this?

veiled chameleon = opportunistic insectivor
veiled chameleon owner = very opportunistic herbivor

:D
 
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LOL Dan. :D

I honestly did not know we were designed to be herbivores. Our teeth aren't really what I would call ideal for either herbivore nor carnivore diets. I always thought they were more of a nice blend of the 2, with the fronts designed for cutting and the back for smashing/grinding. Compare our chompers to say a horse or an elephant and they are really quit different. Much in the same way they are different from a lions. Eh go figure, learn summin every day. lol but now we are totally off topic. :p
 
Lovereps said:
Poopdedoop, I noticed you're in Ontario. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd guess that it might be a hassle to buy crickets from the USA and get them shipped into Canada.
No matter, one of the forum sponsors, Chameleon Nation is in Canada.
He sells feeders, including crickets.
Here's a link:
http://www.trinitychameleons.com/
Of course, if 40 last you 2 weeks, you might not want to buy 500 ;)
Click to expand...


hey it turns out that the Chameleon Nation HQ :)P) is located about 45min away from me. I might have to give them a visit some time.

And I think I might get a bunch of cricket during the summer, so in about 8 months :p
 
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