OTHER insects

[gollum]

im thinking of breeding snails for my veiled, i fed him some wild ones outta desperationg coz he wouldnt eat anything else, he loved them now hes eating superworms aswell, seems really healthy now, he liked slugs too, but they were harder for him to get with his tongue, im thinking earthworms next, i can get them from breeders, so i dont have to worry about parasites so much.

i have a good colony of dubia roaches, but my cham wont touch them, which is very frustrating! any ideads how to tempt himwith them?

 

[JoshCrane1]

im thinking of breeding snails for my veiled, i fed him some wild ones outta desperationg coz he wouldnt eat anything else, he loved them now hes eating superworms aswell, seems really healthy now, he liked slugs too, but they were harder for him to get with his tongue, im thinking earthworms next, i can get them from breeders, so i dont have to worry about parasites so much.

i have a good colony of dubia roaches, but my cham wont touch them, which is very frustrating! any ideads how to tempt himwith them?

give em a freshly molted one, they will be white. that sometimes provokes interest.

 

[AndrewH]

wouldn't the shells on the snail be a risk for the cham?

i would think it could possibly cause some lacerations like walnut shells but thats just speculative of course.

 

[mczoo]

i am not sure they are considered other bugs but my chams love flies. My female Jackson will eat blue bottle flies in midflight. its cool to watch. The only problem is transfering them and losing them. i bought fly swatters for my failures. I hate to chill them daily

Sean

 

[SoCaliSon]

wouldn't the shells on the snail be a risk for the cham?

i would think it could possibly cause some lacerations like walnut shells but thats just speculative of course.

Hey Andrew,

You would be suprised what a Cham can digest. There are shots up on the Forum of a Veiled munching on a hummingbird that it sniped... Imagine trying to digest that beak!!! Well they do it, with no issues from what I have heard... I would imagine their stomach acids are pretty good at breaking down solid matter. This isn't to say that no risk is involved... I think all eating comes with risk... Especially when you hear about perfectly healthy chams that suddenly die from choking on a cricket. Variety is a great thing for Chams when it comes to food, In the case of the Snails... The snails shell is actually a great source of Calcium.

Joe

 

[stucoady]

I have just ordered some fruit beetle grubs so it will be interesting to see how they go down. I also use wax warms but allow them to turn into moths before feeding.I've also tried roaches but not sure if these are a massive hit.

As you living in the uk check out Mantis World Exotics on ebay as they sell different types of insects that are very cheap and in excellent conditon.

 

[AndrewH]

cool, thanks for the info, any particular type of snails you guys are using, or just whatever you can find?

Hey Andrew,

You would be suprised what a Cham can digest. There are shots up on the Forum of a Veiled munching on a hummingbird that it sniped... Imagine trying to digest that beak!!! Well they do it, with no issues from what I have heard... I would imagine their stomach acids are pretty good at breaking down solid matter. This isn't to say that no risk is involved... I think all eating comes with risk... Especially when you hear about perfectly healthy chams that suddenly die from choking on a cricket. Variety is a great thing for Chams when it comes to food, In the case of the Snails... The snails shell is actually a great source of Calcium.

Joe

 

[Tygerr]

im thinking of breeding snails for my veiled, i fed him some wild ones outta desperationg coz he wouldnt eat anything else, he loved them

I asked this question a while back (https://www.chameleonforums.com/snails-1666/): the general thinking around snails is that since they are commonly a vector for parasites, it was risky to use them as a feeder despite their potential nutritional value (being mainly calcium from their shells).

There is evidence that chameleons eat snails in the wild:
"Chameleons are largely insectivores. Analyses of their stomach contents and fresh droppings, as well as on-the-spot observations disclose that besides insects, vertebrates (frogs, birds and small mammals) and snails are consumed by some chameleons" (from 'The Chameleon Handbook' by Le Barre, Le Barre, Bartlett and Bartlett)

And a few sources recommend snails as feeder insects:
- The Kammers' website (Chameleons Only: Feeding) says, "Some chameleons like small snails but we recommend gut-loading the snails on fresh romaine and other produce for at least 48 hrs. before offering them to your animals. This allows the snail to clear it's gut content of any potentially harmful matter."
- In 'Breeding Food Animals' by Friederich and Volland, the authors state, "the number [of animals] that accepts snails is comparatively modest", but that "chameleons like snails as supplemental food".

The same Friederich and Volland book goes on to say however, that "A single-celled organism from the order of Coccidida, Klossia helicana, sometimes occurs in the epithelium of the kidneys of the snails. This parasite is harmless to the snails and of no consequence to vivarium animals".
Now I don't know anything about Klossia organisms, but the fact they they are in the same order as other Coccidia worries me a bit. Does anyone know whether what the authors state (about Klossia helicana being safe to the animals) is true?

Either way, since I was initially warned off snails, I've never actually tried using them.
However, since I keep coming across literature that says chams enjoy them, and because the Friederich and Volland book provides quite a lot of detail on how to keep and breed snails, I might just give it a go in the summer. I'd feel safer feeding off snails that came from my own CB environment, rather than WC ones straight from the garden.

 

[Tygerr]

cool, thanks for the info, any particular type of snails you guys are using, or just whatever you can find?

Wherever I have seen snails recommended as feeder 'insects', the one important warning is that you should always use land snails, never any species of snail that spends any part of its life-cycle in water. So aquatic snails (the type they sell for aquariums) should not be used.

I think this may have something to do with the parasites that are picked up by these snails in the water.