romaine lettuce OK ??

[Modkrew]

i feed my 2yr old male veild romaine lettuce about every other day....

i clip two huge peices in his tank and he goes to town usually only eats the juicy white parts. ( im assuming for the water) this is his main way of getting liquid because he is a brat about drinking through a dripper and otherwise he drinks when i spray him.....

 

[jrh3]

i would assume its ok since your asking if its ok, but you stated you already feed him.

Its better to ask the question first instead of feeding him then asking if it is ok

 

[pssh]

Not the best green out there to feed him. It lacks in nutrients, especially the white parts. Go for the darker greens like collards, mustard greens, dandelion, escarole, endive, etc.

 

[sandrachameleon]

It wont do any harm, but the white part lacks nutrients.
If the aim is to provide water, try injecting some of the feeders with extra water. Try using juicy prey like silkworms and hornworms. Try spraying more, since you indicate he does like that. Try the occassion piece of pear like you would lettuce. Better would be softened pieces of butternut squash, mustard greends, dandelion greens, or papaya.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Like thy've said, romaine isn't best because it doesn't have very many nutrients. It's not necessarily bad though if you're just using it as a snack and to provide another source of hydration. But if you give healthier greens you get even more benefit! Check this site for better options: http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm. You want the greens to have a high Ca ratio and be low in oxalates and goitrogens. The darker greens like collard, mustards, turnip greens, *dandelions* are some better options.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Nice looking cham by the way!

 

[Modkrew]

thanx 4 the quick responses, you guys are awesome! this site has never let me down with help with my chameleon. Obviously i knew that its ok to feed him romain i was just re-clarifying.. cause i herd from a semi-reliable resource.. so thanks for bein semi-rude JRH3... haha well thanx for suggesting the other greens but i have tried and he just wont go for a GREEN GREEN lettuce... he likes the white part thats juicy...

anyways thanks again guys you were all super helpful

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

He's a picky one! My veiled will eat anything green I put in his cage. Makes it easy for me

 

[rcutchens]

Along the same line what about kale? I've heard that is a good green to use.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Along the same line what about kale? I've heard that is a good green to use.

Calcium to phosphorus ratio is good but it's high in oxalates and goitrogens, so only use it occasionally. Ca 2.4:1, Pro: 3.3%, Fat: 0.7%, Water: 84%, Fiber: 2%
(Got info from the website I linked to - see link above, it has almost every vegetable you could think of)

 

[rcutchens]

Calcium to phosphorus ratio is good but it's high in oxalates and goitrogens, so only use it occasionally. Ca 2.4:1, Pro: 3.3%, Fat: 0.7%, Water: 84%, Fiber: 2%
(Got info from the website I linked to - see link above, it has almost every vegetable you could think of)

Thanks, ferret. We've actually been using it as part of our gutload for the crickets. We've not tried feeding Rico any fruits or vegetables directly yet - not even sure he'd eat them. I could see him eating leafy greens though and that might be worth a try. He's only 3.5 months old yet though and seems content with the crickets.

What I never really know is how much of what we're giving to the crickets they are actually eating. I see them on the carrots, apples, oats and kale but never can tell how much they are really consuming. We ordered some Cricket Crack recently and plan to offer that as a dry gutload option.

Thanks again!

 

[sandrachameleon]

ditto the above

more info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/nutritional-information/

 

[rcutchens]

ditto the above

more info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/nutritional-information/

Thanks, Sandra. I'd read your blog on gutloading previously and it's a great resource. I actually used it to create a shopping list when Keenan and I first went out to get stuff for the crickets.

One thing I'm still never sure of is just how nutritious our crickets are before we feed them to Rico. We use a variety of fruits and veggies and change what we offer the crickts about every two to three days as we feed them off but I just never know.

I know that the calcium to phospherous ratio is important as well but don't really know of a good way to measure this.

Any ideas for new owners like us as to how we can tell that Rico is getting a good, healthy diet?

Thanks in advance!

 

[sandrachameleon]

One thing I'm still never sure of is just how nutritious our crickets are before we feed them to Rico. We use a variety of fruits and veggies and change what we offer the crickts about every two to three days as we feed them off but I just never know.
I know that the calcium to phospherous ratio is important as well but don't really know of a good way to measure this.
Any ideas for new owners like us as to how we can tell that Rico is getting a good, healthy diet?

Short of sending some of your crickets in for nutritional analysis testing, you're never going to know for sure. By using a good gutload, and lightly dusting with calcium, you're doing the best you can for crickets. The best way to ensure your chameleon is getting a good healthy diet, IMHO, is to provide a wide variety of feeders, all gutloaded to the best of your ability, with supplemental use of supplements. And provide lots of water and appropriate temps for digestion.