Needing a lil info on waxworms & mealworms?

[Lckyclvr4213]

We have had our Veiled Cham for about 2 1/2 months, feeding him crickets as main diet. Also having the veg. and fruits available to him. We purchased mealworms first about a month ago and he loves them, and then just today decided to try some Waxworms. The person at the pet store said that we needed to be careful if feeding these to our cham. Because if he does not digest these the right way, they could eat through his stomach?? We have watched him eat both of these and he seems to chew them good enough. Just wondering 1. if this is true and 2. if there are other things we need to look out for??

 

[lele]

ah yes...the herp legend

First off, wax worms are high in fat and should be given only as a treat. They are the caterpillar stage of a moth that lays her eggs in honey beehives , thus the name, and the larvae really do a number on the poor hives.

Mealies, which are beetle larvae, should not be a staple either b/c they are high in chitin (the "skin" of the insect) and can be hard to digest.

As for eating thru the gut? Nope. The stomach acids as well as the chewing by the cham will render that thing useless by the time it hits the gut.

So feel OK about offering a variety of food just make sure they are not too big for him (no longer than the cham's head is wide b/t the eyes). You can also offer silkworms (naturally high in calcium) and phoenix worms (also high in calcium).

Btw, don't be disappointed if he does not eat veggies right away, they often don't until they are 6 months or so.

What are you gutloading your feeders with and what is your calcium and vitamin dusting regimen? As he grows he needs his calcium - just don't over do it

 

[Heika]

I visited a pet store that I have always liked in another town, and bought some superworms while I was there. The woman who range them up told me that they would chew through my chameleon's stomach, too. I just laughed, and said I would take the chance.

Heika

 

[Prism Chameleons]

By the time my chameleons swallow the worms they are munched meat and completely useless to use anything, let alone their mouth to munch on the insides of a chameleon, as they are dead by the time they reach the stomach... That is just my observation while watching them eat. Now of course, I'm talking full grown adult chameleons.

 

[Lckyclvr4213]

Thnx

Thank you for the info. Also we are trying some other things, was reading info about not dusting them everyday. Then someone trying babyfood said it worked pretty well that their cham liked it. So we bought some Banana and sweet potatoe flavors. Regarding your question about the cal/phosp ratio: im reading a couple different things but its the REP-CAL Phosphorus-free : - Calcium with Vit.D3. Hopefully he will start growing a lil more here soon..he was very tiny when we first got him at 1 month old, the pic of him on our hand is the very first pic of him. But he has grown about twice the size. Thanx again

 

[Eric Adrignola]

Superworms will eat through an animals stomach... if the animal is dead.

We had an African flat rock lizard die on us about 10 years ago with a superworm
coming out of him. It was loose in his tank when he died, and chewed it's way in.

Superworms are VERY nasty critters when you're dealing with dead meat - I've
used them to clean off skeletons of my deceased animals. They can do a number on
the cartilagenous ribs though... They are not as neat as dermestids, but they'll clean
an entire animal, not just dry meat, like dermestids.

Even if swallowed whole and alive, they'll die int he stomach very quickly.
Superworms are nto very tolernt of water, let alone stomach acids. Waxworms
even less so.