Hatchling food

[Wartortle]

I've got a single panther chameleon egg that I need to start looking out for in the next few months to hatch and I'm trying to get ready for it. I have about 500-1000 pinheads hatching every week, I've got extremely small mealworms, and I have newborn Dubia roaches from my colony. But I've seen that a lot of people feed their hatchlings fruit flies for the first week or two. Is there a reason for this? I'll probably get some for more variety, but is it a necessity?

 

[Wowbango]

I've got a single panther chameleon egg that I need to start looking out for in the next few months to hatch and I'm trying to get ready for it. I have about 500-1000 pinheads hatching every week, I've got extremely small mealworms, and I have newborn Dubia roaches from my colony. But I've seen that a lot of people feed their hatchlings fruit flies for the first week or two. Is there a reason for this? I'll probably get some for more variety, but is it a necessity?

Fruit flies are very attractive to neonates. They absolutely love them and will get them eating. I'd say after a week or two you can probably get them to start eating the pinheads and other very small feeders.

 

[deerharvester]

New born dubia and small meal worms are going to be too big for probably at least a month, month and a half. Start your newborn with fruitflies(very easy to breed), crickets 1/8 inch or smaller, bean beetles (very easy to breed), and possibly rice flour beetles. Having a good variety is a key contributor to good health.

Scott

 

[junglefries]

Go ahead and give away the mealworms. Useless and harmful for a chameleon. You want superworms for a cham. Even then, a cham should be at least 3-4 months old before trying to eat a small superworm. Phoenixworms, silkworms, or hornworms are good worms, also. Hydei fruit flies are used because of their size and hyper activity. They are perfect sized for a baby veil or panther chameleon. Their quick movements entice the babies to feed. Houseflies (hatched from pupae, not wildcaught) can be used to feed 3 week and older babies. Pinhead crickets can be used right away, also. However, they tend to hide and move a lot less. I offer them in conjuction with the hydei, as the flies aggravate the crickets into moving around more. Flies are soft bodied feeders and will be more easily digested than a cricket. Therefore, quicker growth results. However, combinations of feeders insure a healthier chameleon.