Meal Worms

[Mama Lizzy]

Hey all,

My Jackson's Chameleon ate her first meal worms on Sunday afternoon!

She gulped the first one down right off my palm with no problem. The second one was a bit of a struggle for her, as she kept her mouth open and seemed to be having a hard time getting the meal worm down. I was concerned she was going to choke so I put some water on her nose to ensure her tongue and mouth were wet enough.

Not sure how many she should eat at one time? She's about 3 months old now. She's been subsisting on fruit flies pretty much since we got her, so I thought it was about time she started eating other bugs.

Also, what other types of bugs from outside can I give her? Can she eat those rolly polly bugs? We've got tons of them outside (pesticide free), but I'm not sure if those are edible?

 

[unknown91]

mealworms are pretty small, shouldn't be a problem ...
are you sure they weren't superworms ?

 

[Mama Lizzy]

Definitely weren't super worms. They were tiny meal worms.

I've also got an ornate uromastyx lizard that eats the meal worms all the time.

 

[Fogerty]

Avoid outside bugs due to pesticides and parasites ,get her some small crickets put them in a bin with some dandelion leaves ,apple ,carrot etc.. at least overnight to fill the cricket up with nutrients, dust them with plain calcium ,and throw a half dozen in the enclosure and let her hunt. Search the forums ,start with the care sheets, and keep that Jax well hydrated, and humidity up, I can not recommend the Mist King highly enough.
Good luck!

 

[Jaden]

I agree with Fogerty about not feeding wild isopods (rolly pollies) because they accumulate heavy metals. However other wild caught bugs like grasshoppers, moths, and aphids can be a good addition to a chameleon's diet as long as they are collected in a pesticide free area.

Jaden

 

[SilverWolf]

Hm…jackson chameleons love flies. That's what everyone says anyway. I will be giving some to mine soon, but I am not 100% sure whether or not they are appropriate for her age. Perhaps make a separate post about that unless someone here reading this can assure you blue bottle flies are okay for a 3 month old jackson chameleon.