Silliest question ever, but I have to know!

[crapwhereaminow]

This may be the silliest question ever, but I'm new to all this and trying to figure out as much as I can before I actually buy a chameleon (specifically a panther).

Here goes, is there another staple for a chameleon's diet that isn't crickets? Being a young woman raised in suburbia, I'm not fond of bugs in general and I'm terrified of crickets. It's just something about they way they look and move. I'm cool with all types of worms though, is there a worm that could replace crickets as a staple? Or anything that isn't hoppy? Honestly, the biggest thing that held me back from getting a lizard as a kid were the terrifying little crickets. I've only dealt with snake food and that food is nice and not scary.

If crickets are the best choice, I guess I could learn to deal.

Thanks for your help!

 

[ColorCham427]

Silkworms can work as a staple from what I have read. Have you tried these yet?

It might sound like I am insane, but Dubia are less creepy, annoying and jumpy than crickets. In my opinion! Have you ever seen a rollie pollie as a child? Really called a Sow/Pill bug? It's a little bugger with gils that chills in wet places, they literally roll into an armored ball... anyways, these Dubia roaches look like them when they're young. Maybe you could try these??

 

[warpdrive]

honestly, your only other choice is roaches.

both crickets and roaches are best staples mainly because they can be fed a high calcium diet (kale, dandelion, collardgreens).
yet you should also feed things like silkworms, butterworms, superworms, and moths.

it might take you some time to get over your fear of crickets, but I would try real hard for the rewards of owning a chameleon is realy nice.

Harry

 

[laurie]

Yes other types of food are out there. The two most common staples are crickets and roachs. If you want to try roachs check the misc for sale ads. I had resv about roachs but I now breed them. They are quite, don't smell and muliply easy. If you go the food forum ( at the top of the page click on forums, scroll down to food)you can get lots of good info on the "thoughts on food" thread. If you need more help just ask. There is also superworms some use as a staple but I have gotten a couple of chams hooked to where that is all they would eat, so I go light on them.

 

[nightcrawler]

Silkworms can work as a staple from what I have read. Have you tried these yet?

It might sound like I am insane, but Dubia are less creepy, annoying and jumpy than crickets. In my opinion! Have you ever seen a rollie pollie as a child? Really called a Sow/Pill bug? It's a little bugger with gils that chills in wet places, they literally roll into an armored ball... anyways, these Dubia roaches look like them when they're young. Maybe you could try these??

Rollie pollie are crustaceans! What an awesome thing to know.

 

[crapwhereaminow]

Thanks for the advice all! I love this forum, everyone answers so quickly, and I'm not buying a chameleon until all of my silly questions are answered.

Roaches sound awesome (never thought I'd say that) they're not hoppy and that's all I care. I really feel like a pansy but crickets give me the willies like no other animal out there.

I actually really like silkworms, in elementary school we kept some as a class. Neat little buggers, how often can they be fed?

 

[nightcrawler]

Thanks for the advice all! I love this forum, everyone answers so quickly, and I'm not buying a chameleon until all of my silly questions are answered.

Roaches sound awesome (never thought I'd say that) they're not hoppy and that's all I care. I really feel like a pansy but crickets give me the willies like no other animal out there.

I actually really like silkworms, in elementary school we kept some as a class. Neat little buggers, how often can they be fed?

They can be used everyday, And they are way better then crickets in healthy goodness.

 

[panthercham]

This may be the silliest question ever, but I'm new to all this and trying to figure out as much as I can before I actually buy a chameleon (specifically a panther).

Here goes, is there another staple for a chameleon's diet that isn't crickets? Being a young woman raised in suburbia, I'm not fond of bugs in general and I'm terrified of crickets. It's just something about they way they look and move. I'm cool with all types of worms though, is there a worm that could replace crickets as a staple? Or anything that isn't hoppy? Honestly, the biggest thing that held me back from getting a lizard as a kid were the terrifying little crickets. I've only dealt with snake food and that food is nice and not scary.

If crickets are the best choice, I guess I could learn to deal.

Thanks for your help!

I started off like you...couldn't stand crickets and then I got my first order of roaches and that was worse...i couldn't work out a way to get them into the cage let alone gutload them

Well....2 years later and I am fine with them both of them, I actually like the chirping at night of crickets and have learnt that they aren't that bad. In fact I have found the odd stray cricket in the shower, on the sofa and the dogs playing with them....bugs are a part of life with chams.

The best thing to do is also use silk, horn and superworms so you dont need a lot of crickets or roaches hanging around. If you vary your chams diet and you only have 1 cham by the time it reaches adulthood you wont need a lot of crickets hanging around unless you are breeding them

 

[warpdrive]

They can be used everyday, And they are way better then crickets in healthy goodness.

crickets and silkworms are basicly the same in "healthy goodness".

yet while silkworms eat chow or mulberry leaves, crickets can be gutloaded with a wide diet such as kale, dadelion, sweet potato, squash, orange, carrots, bee pollin, kelp, strawberries, blueberries,...and so on.
just think of all the vitamins and minerals swimming inside a well gutloaded cricket.

http://chamownersweb.net/insects/nutritional_values.htm

Harry

 

[sandrachameleon]

I would caution anyone from having a single staple. I feel it is healthier to offer a variety of feeder options. This variety can improve the nutrition getting to your chameleon, and also makes it far less likely the chameleon will get "bored" and go on a "hunger strike".

If you choose to use silkworms (or any soft bodied larva) as your primary feeder, be certain to add in something "crunchy" at least weekly. They need some chinton or "roughage" for their digestive system (I think of it like fibre for people). Crunchy options include superworms, mealworms (not all that great nutritionally, but they can be gutloaded), roaches, crickets, terrestrial isopods (aka pill bugs, rollie pollies, wood sows), stick insects, ...

There is a good list of common feeder choices (and a few uncommon ones) listed in this blog entry: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html along with information about each.

 

[laurie]

I would caution anyone from having a single staple. I feel it is healthier to offer a variety of feeder options. This variety can improve the nutrition getting to your chameleon, and also makes it far less likely the chameleon will get "bored" and go on a "hunger strike".

If you choose to use silkworms (or any soft bodied larva) as your primary feeder, be certain to add in something "crunchy" at least weekly. They need some chinton or "roughage" for their digestive system (I think of it like fibre for people). Crunchy options include superworms, mealworms (not all that great nutritionally, but they can be gutloaded), roaches, crickets, terrestrial isopods (aka pill bugs, rollie pollies, wood sows), stick insects, ...

There is a good list of common feeder choices (and a few uncommon ones) listed in this blog entry: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html along with information about each.

Just so you know This post is from the person who knows the most about food. I would follow her advice above all the rest of us, but we all are trying to help

 

[nightcrawler]

crickets and silkworms are basicly the same in "healthy goodness".

yet while silkworms eat chow or mulberry leaves, crickets can be gutloaded with a wide diet such as kale, dadelion, sweet potato, squash, orange, carrots, bee pollin, kelp, strawberries, blueberries,...and so on.
just think of all the vitamins and minerals swimming inside a well gutloaded cricket.

http://chamownersweb.net/insects/nutritional_values.htm

Harry

I was always under the impression that silkworms were better then crickets, and the only table I new of was the Mulberryfarms one.
http://mulberryfarms.com/faq.htm

But nonetheless they are both good.