phoenix worm and supplements?

[kim01]

my 16 week old male panther got here on tuesday. he is in a 100 gallon reptairum. but seems to be staying as black as he can.
i haven't seen him eat anything yet(in feeder cup). how many days should i wait before getting worried he isn't eating. i got crickets and gut loaded with endive,dandelion greens,collard greens. he has however drank each time i have misted him. i am just not sure when i should worry about him not eating. also i would really like to order some phoniex worms. anyone given their cham theses? wwith these from what i have read it says you don't need to feed or gut load them. so i am wondering do you still need to add supplements to them? if so how do you dust them and how often? can the worms be a regular staple? i really hate the crickets(my anole eats them though).
any help would be very apprciated.

 

[dodolah]

as far as phoenix worm goes, i don't feed them nor do I dust them.
I think they are nutritious enough.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Try free ranging some feeders. It will take him awhile to learn where his cup is.
I don't use phoenix worms. I have found nearly everyone ingested completely intact in the poop.
You can prick them with a pin and hope that your chameleon can digest it ... I think they are more trouble than they are worth, and pretty expensive.
Supposedly they are high in Calcium, but so is a dusted superworm.

-Brad

 

[dodolah]

Try free ranging some feeders. It will take him awhile to learn where his cup is.
I don't use phoenix worms. I have found nearly everyone ingested completely intact in the poop.
You can prick them with a pin and hope that your chameleon can digest it ... I think they are more trouble than they are worth, and pretty expensive.
Supposedly they are high in Calcium, but so is a dusted superworm.

-Brad

pricking them certainly will help getting them ingested in your chameleon's tummy.
But, I think it's differ between each chameleons.
Some chameleons tend to not chew well.

Mine seems to always chew his food.
So far, I have never seen an intact phoenix worm in my cham's poop i have too much time, i guess.

The only problem with them is the size.
Some chameleons won't touch them at all since they are too small.
Babies (3 months to 5 months) are generally more intrigued to phoenix worms.

Overall, i've been happy with phoenix worms.
For some reason, my chameleon never touch superworms at all.
idk why

 

[Cainschams]

I havent seen one in my 2 panthers. They both chew like crazy though. The male is 13 months and still loves them.

 

[lonomac]

If its herpavite or D3 day, ill dust them. But theyre high in calcium so i dont bother dusting them with extra Calcium. I dump mine in a small phoenix worm cup that hangs just below the basking spot, so your cham will see it easily there.

 

[Julirs]

Try silkworms-a very nutritous feeder. They don't end up crawling and chirping all over you house!

 

[ken2414]

can i feed silkworms to a four month old male veiled chameleon? he eats one waxworm every other day to avoid regurgatation.

 

[Julirs]

Of course-he would love them! What is with the regurgitation?

 

[ken2414]

regurgitation is when the chameleon has too many in his stomach and throws them back up. how many could i feed him? where is the best place to get them for cheaP?

 

[Julirs]

I have some hefty eaters and no one has regurgitated! I order from Coastal Silkworms-silkworms unfortunately are not cheap. My male Veiled can eat several large-one your age could easily eat 5-11 small-mediums daily.

 

[ken2414]

do you use those as a staple? i feed mine crickets and waxies

 

[Julirs]

I do when I have them. I generally use crickets as a staple but there are times that I use silkworms as a staple. Either or-or both. I feed waxies only ocasionally as treats!

 

[dodolah]

silkworm is an excellent staple feeder!
much more so than crickets and wax worms.

I am a bit worried when you say your cham regurgitated.
Is this happening quite often?
how big is the feeder you are giving him?
how many insects?

have you ever done a fecal float test?

 

[ken2414]

i looked at the prices and they seem like a good price. i might see if my local pet store has some since my mom will not order any more cham food of the net since i have 500 crickets coming to day.

 

[ken2414]

silkworm is an excellent staple feeders!
much more so than crickets and wax worms.

I am a bit worried when you say your cham regurgitated.
Is this happening quite often?

how old is your veiled?
how big is the feeder you are giving him?
how many insects?

have you ever done a fecal float test?

my cham has never regurgutated. i read that about waxies in a book called THE ESSENTIAL CARE OF CHAMELEONS by Philippe de Vosojli

 

[dodolah]

oh.. alright then.
but, yeah, silkworm is a very nutritious feeder.
try using those rather than wax worms.

 

[ken2414]

OK then i will give it a try especially since my cham has just figured out that when i come to his cage it means food. he also figured out that my hands will hold food and he can feed from it without being scared of it. it was a huge accomplishment for me though to all you pros who can hand feed them just as good as breathing