is it ok to give your chameleon a pinky mouse

mightyzug.....here's who they are...
Gary Ferguson...
"Dr. Ferguson is well known for work on the ecology, behavior, evolution and nutrition of lizards. With chameleons, he is particularly known for his description of Chamaeleo (Trioceros) jacksonii xantholophus in 1988 with Eason and Hebrard and for his nutritional and behavioral studies of Malagasy reptiles, concentrating on the Panther chameleon, Furcifer pardalis. His demographic, nutritional and behavioral research on F. pardalis is of particular importance to chameleon breeders "...quoted from this site...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/interviewfer.html

Kenneth Kalisch..."Ken Kalisch has worked with over 40 species of chameleons in the last decade. He was co-editor of the Chameleon Information Network, as well as being published by Advanced Vivarium Systems dealing with his experience breeding Calumma parsonii parsonii in captivity. His goal for this "mag" -e-zine is would be to assist others growth and understanding, always working toward the enhancement of the captive care of these unusual reptiles"...quoted from this site...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/nov2002/nov2002index.html

Sean McKeown...
http://forum.kingsnake.com/scha/messages/24html
 
no way will i get pleasure for feeding him a pinky

but if it is good for him and his health i will feed him a pinky mouse
 
Lost Lake Chameleons said:
Do you seriously think someone gets arousal from feeding 30+adult chams a mouse every single month @ around a buck a piece for a live mouse?
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first, let's not get mad at me just for having thoughts. if you fully read my comment i think it's quite clear that i never insinuated anyone here was feeding them just for the sake of watching a cham eat a mouse. just because i personally don't see any other reason for it doesn't mean that there aren't any. so i apologize if you somehow took that comment the wrong way. what's more productive, yellin at me about spending time in the bookstore / tellin me how wrong i am, or simply posting a better reference to tell me why i'm so wrong? discussion. it's why we are here. or did i stumble in to the 'everybody agree with everybody else' section?

secondly, YES, i am absolutely positive i could list off several people i have known in the past who would be very excited, even aroused i suppose, about watching a cham eat a mouse... i have known lots of so called 'herp keepers' who owned snake collections just for the sake of watching them eat mice. it's pretty messed up, but they are out there.
 
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Pinkies........

Pinkies are like little sticks of butter in the reptile world. You can actually see the globs of fat in them. I have tree monitors which eat mice as the major food source. Pinkies are the last choice because of the high fat content. I buy frozen hopper mice for the tree monitors. High in calcium and low in fat. A chameleon would very rarely find a pinkie out in nature to eat. So why feed it to your captive cham. If you had a severely under weight cham I can maybe see the point in feeding it one. Other than that I don't think it's a good idea. Feed your cham as close to nature as you can get. Would you eat a stick of butter and feel good about your diet?
 
I feed my cham a baby ghost gecko once a month in the hopes that I am doing what they would run across in the wild. They are abundant in my area and less than an inch long. He seems to love them and they should be a great source of calcium and protein.
david
 
Apparently, one of my Jackson's ate a baby bearded dragon last summer.


dectr6 said:
I feed my cham a baby ghost gecko once a month in the hopes that I am doing what they would run across in the wild. They are abundant in my area and less than an inch long. He seems to love them and they should be a great source of calcium and protein.
david
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enuff with the pinkie crap i cant believe oustalets and panthers can breed this has really peaked my interest please if anyone has seen this or have one could they post some pics
 
Ive fed my mine a pinky before - the male (veiled) wasnt so sure but took it and the female nearly fell off her branch trying to get it! I will only do it once every 3/4 months though. Apparently some (bad) breeders do it to make them grow quicker? Dont know if that true. They might get a bit of meat in the wild - its up to you? x
 
I have snakes so I feed pinkies to them when they are babies but the second they are old/large enough to eat hoppers I switch to them. Pinkies are pretty much all fat. It is what helps them survive.

I have not yet offered one to my cham but I wouldnt have a problem with doing so. I feed a lot of snakes every 4 - 7 days around here. What's one more mouse when I am already going through 50 or so a month. :)
 
I forgot to add that I always feed thawed out frozen pinkies/mice to prevent my snakes from getting injured. I probably would not feed live to my cham for the same reason.
 
Brad Ramsey said:
I do see an advantage in great calcium (cartilidge and bones) and preformed vitamin A. I also believe that in a natural environment chameleons are going to run across the occasional, appropriately sized vertebrate and consume it.
However, I think I'm going to stick to my supplementation schedule, dark leafy greens, and insects. So far it's working great for us and if it aint broke.....:)
-Brad
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I beleive Pinkies dont have much in the way of formed bones and they have as much fat as protein. But ondoubtedly a wild chameleon might from time to time catch a tiny rodent, bird or snake. Nevertheless, I plan to stick with a variety of insects. There seems no significant benefit to feeding pinkies. At the most, I'd consider offering pinkies about as often as I offer waxworms (almost never).
 
To tell you all the truth. I tried to feed my cham a pinkie and really could not handle it. Just looking at that little baby in my hand and thinking of my cham eating it disturbed me so i took it back to the store. :rolleyes:
 
Chameleonboy said:
To tell you all the truth. I tried to feed my cham a pinkie and really could not handle it. Just looking at that little baby in my hand and thinking of my cham eating it disturbed me so i took it back to the store. :rolleyes:
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next time your up my way stop by for Rambo's lunch, lol, he's only 7 months old and will eat 2 full grown mice at a time, lunch is every tuesday....

PS: Rambo is not a chameleon...
 
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