horn worms

[SycoSquirl]

My mother has a garden in our backyard where she is growing a bunch of fruits and veggies, including tomatoes. We have found a few horn worms in the tomatoes and I was wondering if i was to grab them for feeders when we find more if i would need to take off the spike on the bottom or not. She doesnt use any pesticides and hasnt done anything with her plants besides plant and water them so they should be safe to eat. Im just worried about the spiky part harming my veiled

 

[Kiwiflage]

You do not need to remove the horns. They are fleshy. HOWEVER! Do NOT feed those to your chams unless you keep them long enough in a controlled environment and feed them... Say... Bell peppers. This is because tomato plants are poisonous to chameleons and will surely get them very sick or kill them. Good luck, happy herping

 

[Olimpia]

Ditto what Kiwiflage said. Tomato leaves are poisonous so hornworms that feed on tomatoes should be avoided.

You can, however, take a few inside and attempt to breed them, if you wanted to.

You would have to wait for these worms to turn into moths but any babies those moths produce would be safe for your guys. In captivity they will happily eat mulberry leaves or mulberry prepared diet that some insect sites sell online.

 

[SycoSquirl]

thanks guys, I had no idea tomatoes were poisonous to chams! I really appreciate you letting me know this because I was totally going to search again today for some to feed my guy >.< I want to try breeding but what ive heard is it is really messy because the moths secrete something gross.
Ill probably just buy from someone online when I get the money to do so

 

[carol5208]

I remember a thread from way back about this very subject and there was a member who said he fed the hornworms safely that he found on the tomato plants and for a long period of time and had no problems. Now, if you are asking me if I would do it, the answer is no, only because of what others say and I would not take the chance! If I can find the thread I will provide a link to it but it was quite a few years back if my memory serves me right.

 

[SycoSquirl]

No that's Ok, I trust you guys and would rather be safe then cause my guy any more problems then he already has. Thank you so much for the information, really appreciate it.

 

[bennettandkelly]

My male veiled chameleon does not like hornworms...at all. He does love silkworms and mealworms, though.

 

[SycoSquirl]

I dont think mine has ever had any, i'm trying to get silkworms but have had a hard time finding places to order them. Right now Im raising some praying mantis I got from Orchards that hatched a day or two ago to see if he likes those or not