Nutrition for my chameleon

[adam and rocky]

what else is there besides gutloading the cricket and dusting them? besides meal/waxworms and fatty treats. How can i get more nutrition into my cham?

 

[Jordan]

Gut loading would be a monsterous task if it where not for the supplements most use to fall back on.

This link will give you some insight into a little bit of everything. Now it is written for day geckos but all is applicable to chameleons.
Nutrition
With this and a couple of other things I have started going at how I gutload with a little intent. Not just using only foods that are high in calcium but rather making sure that the variety of all essential things are included on a daily basis.

 

[MWheelock]

The best way of delivering nutrition to your cham would to give a large variety of prey species. As you have mentioned, waxworms would be high in calcium, but very fatty. Mealworms would be a good staple if they didn't have such a high keratin ratio (among other things...). But everything in moderation. A cham in the wild likely feeds on >50 types of insects, allowing for various ratios of carbs,protiens,fats, and other nutrients averaging out to the "correct" amount.

You are most certainly not going to be able to provide that many types, but you can provide ones that are close to the chams needs and supplement with vitamins and calcium for the rest. I think based on this forums survey, 2-3 feeders is what most feed/keep for their chams.

Staple foods I keep (and I'm sure everybody has their favorites)-
Roaches (dubia)- man, these are easy and clean to keep-my favorite feeder
high meat/shell ratio
crickets (smelly, noisy little %$#@!)
Superworms
Mealworms
Sometimes waxworms, silkworms, flies

Of course all are gut loaded.

I am curious about 1 thing. Hoping to get some input. I no longer keep my mealworms in the fridge. I don't find that they grow especially fast in room temperature. I also find that they are heavier by letting them freechoice feed on babyfood(dry), bran, and carrot.

Do most of you keep yours in the fridge? If so, what are the benefits? Do you find they weigh less if you keep them in?

 

[adam and rocky]

thanks

thanks for all the input guys and any more little tricks you know.

Adam