Mantids?

[K. Host]

Okay, I'm going to sound like an idiot, but are young mantises okay for my female Veiled as a daily feeding or just weekly? Also, how are things as far as dusting/spraying (I have spray vitamins) mantises? I really only ask because I'm worried my babies aren't getting a good variety. I feed them crickets daily (about 6-10 per cham), dusted with calcium and sprayed weekly with the vitamins mentioned earlier. I also feed worms once to twice a month. I thought of mealworms, and honestly I'm worried. I don't feel they are safe enough, with their hard exoskeleton. I feed earthworms dusted with a teensy bit of calcium-vitamin mix, since they already contain a good load of protein (I think they do anyway?) Please help. Any input is welcome.

Thanks a million,
Kara Host

 

[Blang]

Id skip the earthworms, cause of possible parasites!

 

[brownie64]

Mantis's are a good feeder, but I find variety to be best. You are right meal worms are bad, and can cause impaction that's why you feed the sparingly as a sometimes treat. And like Blang said earthworms aren't a good idea do to parasites. They aren't nutritious anyway all the eat is dirt which has, animal manures, nematodes, protozoans, rotifers, bacteria, and fungi in it yum.

 

[guanagator]

Mantids are good. Tried tropical feeder roaches? They are my nutritional staples, so are BSF larvae and my chams lover superworms for one a week feeder and treats.

 

[K. Host]

Yeah, I figured you'd say something about the earthworms. I'll stop feeding those, and try some Mantids, roaches, and BSF larvae.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

If you get mantises make sure you have separate containers ready for however many you want to keep and raise. And be sure to have a lot of fruit flies on hand. Mantises are a really cool feeder but they take a lot of feeding and quite a bit of time to get to a decent size to feed off. Do some research on them. They're easy to kill. But again, super cool feeders! If your chameleons are still pretty small you can simply hang the egg case inside the cage and let it hatch out and your chameleon will have a buffet of mantises lol Otherwise I would separate about 10 or 15 of them in individual containers and let the rest go outside. I tried to set up a massive enclosure for about maybe 50 of them and it was just too hard to do. There was too much cannibalism and too many dying off. Some people and some places will say that they won't be cannibalistic until sub-adult stage but I found that to be false . So I learned it's best to separate and make mico-habitats for each one. Good luck!

 

[nyahhamilton]

I feed my baby mostly meal-worms and crickets but it really depends on the age of you chameleon so if he is about 4 mouths or older meal-worms, horn-worms are a great food source though i would wait a few more mouths for super-worms though because they are a bit bigger...

 

[K. Host]

Female Veiled, nine months old. She currently eats crickets and worms (as a snack). Never laid eggs. I dust daily, D3 weekly. She lives next to a supposed male, but they never flare up or hiss. Exercises twice a month by walking in the garden. Showers every third Friday to ensure hydration. No sicknesses or disorders. Vet checkups twice a year or as needed. Little Dripper for water, ReptiBreeze (xLarge), plenty of plants (all safe), no substrate (white bottom on cage to catch droppings and deceased insects). Very territorial for a girl (?), hard to remove from cage. Once removed, she's fine. Hands washed before and after or as needed (I'm not stupid). Has never needed any injections/medications. That about sums up my chameleon's life! I say I'm a pretty good owner, eh?

 

[Craigwyatt]

Female Veiled, nine months old. She currently eats crickets and worms (as a snack). Never laid eggs. I dust daily, D3 weekly. She lives next to a supposed male, but they never flare up or hiss. Exercises twice a month by walking in the garden. Showers every third Friday to ensure hydration. No sicknesses or disorders. Vet checkups twice a year or as needed. Little Dripper for water, ReptiBreeze (xLarge), plenty of plants (all safe), no substrate (white bottom on cage to catch droppings and deceased insects). Very territorial for a girl (?), hard to remove from cage. Once removed, she's fine. Hands washed before and after or as needed (I'm not stupid). Has never needed any injections/medications. That about sums up my chameleon's life! I say I'm a pretty good owner, eh?

D3 weekly is too much. Twice a month or even every 20 days is optimal. They should be getting most of there D3 through there UVB light. D3 is one thing you don't want to over do.

 

[K. Host]

Well she should be fine bc I usually forget anyway!