Silkworms

[rgladu]

My 3 month old is not eating the silkworms I bought for him. He prefers the crickets and baby mealworms. Has anyone seen them develop a taste for silkworms later in life?

 

[pssh]

Has he eated one yet? Use micro superworms instead of baby mealworms. Mealworms can impact him.

EDIT: Oops, I forgot to say why. Thanks Tiff!

 

[Miss Lily]

What pssh means is that mealworms have a very tough outer skin (chitin) and this is hard for chams to digest and , if eaten in large quantities can cause a blockage in the cham's intestines.

Tommy is between 1 and 2 years old and was never fed anything other than locusts and waxworms before I got him - he now loves silkworms but I can't get hold of them very often.

 

[sandrachameleon]

My 3 month old is not eating the silkworms I bought for him. He prefers the crickets and baby mealworms. Has anyone seen them develop a taste for silkworms later in life?

Is it possibly that the silkworms are not moving around as much as the mealworms and crickets? Movement attracts attention, especially if the prey item is unfamiliar. Perhaps try wiggling a silkworm or putting it in such a position that it crawls right near the cham.

Is it possible the silkworm is too large?

If you put the crickets in a cup, get the chameleon used to associating a certain cup/bowl with food, then put silkworms in there .... this will take longer than you have though.

and finally yes, I purchased some of my chameleons from other people and they took awhile to get used to the different food choices, one of them refused/wasnt interested in butterworms until she was a year old.

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

Some of my chameleons loved them instantly and some of them probably thought they were moving bird poop. Lol. It took me 2 months to get one of my guys to even try one and another couple weeks to et them regularly and he eats almost anything. There is a technique that I use to get them to try food the don't like though. It works only if they are hand fed though. I take a pair of tweezers and grab one of their absolute favorite bug that they will never pass up and one of the bug I want them to try. When they shoot they get both bugs about 50% if you just hold still but if you turn the tweezers really fast you can get them to eat only the bug yu want. I have had one little guy chew the bug up, realize it wasn't the mantis he had hoped for, and spit it out and then shot the bug he wanted. Generally the'll eat it though it it ends up in their mouth. This is how I get my guys to try new things and realize they aren't horrible tasting. It takes 30mins tops instead of offering them only the bugs you want until they get hungry enough and eat them. It has worked 100% of the time I have used it since I found it out. But thats only with my pigs, er chameleons. It works especially well if their favorite food item is a hornworm or a superworm because they bit and grab onto the other bug and when they get shot the other one tags along. Good luck.



Justin


If he isn't hand fed try setting them upside down initially because then they wiggle more and attract attention. Or you can blow air or a little water mist and they and they shake back and forth. It helps my guys notice they are alive and not a birds pile.

 

[rgladu]

Oops - I do have the baby superworms - not mealworms.

 

[rgladu]

Some of my chameleons loved them instantly and some of them probably thought they were moving bird poop. Lol. It took me 2 months to get one of my guys to even try one and another couple weeks to et them regularly and he eats almost anything. There is a technique that I use to get them to try food the don't like though. It works only if they are hand fed though. I take a pair of tweezers and grab one of their absolute favorite bug that they will never pass up and one of the bug I want them to try. When they shoot they get both bugs about 50% if you just hold still but if you turn the tweezers really fast you can get them to eat only the bug yu want. I have had one little guy chew the bug up, realize it wasn't the mantis he had hoped for, and spit it out and then shot the bug he wanted. Generally the'll eat it though it it ends up in their mouth. This is how I get my guys to try new things and realize they aren't horrible tasting. It takes 30mins tops instead of offering them only the bugs you want until they get hungry enough and eat them. It has worked 100% of the time I have used it since I found it out. But thats only with my pigs, er chameleons. It works especially well if their favorite food item is a hornworm or a superworm because they bit and grab onto the other bug and when they get shot the other one tags along. Good luck.



I will certainly try this!