Okay so I have had Ezio for almost two months now haven't had any major problems until now. Here's the issue, he has a foam wall on the very back of his enclosure and he loves this wall but today I cleaned his cage and then when I was done I decided to turn his enclosure around and I seen meal worms had been burrowing into his wall and they are all through it. I don't know what to do because I really don't want to throw his wall away but I feel I might have no choice...what do you guys and gals think I should do?
Issues with His Wall...
- Thread starter a.miller
- Start date
Jared910
Member
It's important to keep the enclosure clean and be able to monitor his eating. If they are burrowing through they will either get out, or die and start to rot. I'm sure Ezio will be alright without his wall, but you can always buy him another. Either way, I would say you don't want mealworms staying around in the enclosure for too long because of sanitary reasons.
I usually feed him right after I wake up and he'll eat most of them before I leave for school, but I guess he's not eating all of them. With them burrowing they are leaving a whole lot of foam particles all over the bottom of the enclosure. What do you recommend I do about the meal worms that are already in the wall so I can stop this from happening?
Jared910
Member
Maybe pull the mealworms out of the burrows with tweezers, or just remove the wall altogether if that's possible. And if the mealworms are leaving foam particles at the bottom of the enclosure, I would pay attention to that. If the worms are attracted to the wall and happen to gather and burrow there, its possibly Ezio may go down and try to get one of them while they are getting into the wall and he can get some foam in his mouth and cause compaction. If your not going to remove or fix the wall I would clean the bottom of the enclosure often enough to keep the foam particles from being a danger.
Pulling them out actually sounds like a great idea but I'm not sure how I will get to them since every time I go to clean his enclosure or or open the doors to it he clings to the wall for dear life so I can't remove it...maybe I will look into getting a similar wall but slightly smaller
bobbydigital
Avid Member
Take them out and don't feed him meal worms anymore. Meal worms shouldn't be fed daily from what I understand. Give him more crickets or order some horn worms or butter worms.
I usually feed him the meal worms because at the pet stores around here they are cheaper than the crickets and there are more of them but I could try something else plus he's never had horn worms so I guess we'll see if he likes them. Thank you for the suggestion
bobbydigital
Avid Member
If that's the issue you should order them online in bulk. You'd probably save a lot of money. Meal worms have a hard exoskeleton and aren't very nutritious. You can order butter worms from Elliots butterworms for cheap with free shipping.
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
Mealworms are more useless than waxworms according to nutrition charts. That's the one thing i don't even offer my chameleon, ever. I do superworms instead. get him some variety.
On to the question though... i'd get the wall out, clean it, get as many worms out as you can, and then start using a dish they can't get out of. I'd put some silicone or some sort of sealant that works on foam over the holes just to be safe, but honestly i can't see it harming him any if the worms/holes are in a place he can't access. I would put a stop to it happening anymore though. if you like it don't throw it out, that's not necessary.
On to the question though... i'd get the wall out, clean it, get as many worms out as you can, and then start using a dish they can't get out of. I'd put some silicone or some sort of sealant that works on foam over the holes just to be safe, but honestly i can't see it harming him any if the worms/holes are in a place he can't access. I would put a stop to it happening anymore though. if you like it don't throw it out, that's not necessary.
He probably no bigger than my hand not including his tail...do you think he is too small for superworms or should I go for it? I try to give him a little diversity with the crickets and the mealworms and the occasional "leafy green" but he never seems to finish all of any of it even if I give a small amount of anything. Today he when I woke up I noticed one of his eyes had remained shut until I left and I thought nothing of it until I came home and it was still shut and the other one became cloudy what do you suggest I do to help him...I increased the humidity slightly but haven't seen any changes. You guys are the experts so I figured I'd ask you since we don't really have a reptile vet or any vet close to my area
bobbydigital
Avid Member
Besides there being more nutritious food for your cham than meal worms, how about cup feeding or "trough" feeding?
Here is my prototype. I have since made a new one out of PVC pipe.
I've been looking for ideas for a new feeder cup. I like the one you've posted. Would you mind posting a picture of your new one pretty please?
bobbydigital
Avid Member
Like another member stated, fill out the ask for help form so we can point out anything that could possibly be causing that.
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