Super Worms / Meal Worms

[adprince0418]

Hi All,

I just recently baught a new Panther Chameleon who is only 4 months old. I am trying to introduce different feeders to his diet. I currently have small crickets which are gut loaded and butter worms.

My questions is that I am curious if it is ok for a young chameleon to eat super worms or meal worms. I have read that they are great, I have read that they are high in fat & I have read that you have to wait for them to shed their skin and then feed them to the chameleon. Anyone hear about this?

 

[chambabysitter1]

The general consensus seems to be:

Mealworms: Too hard to digest. Not much to offer nutritionally.

Superworms: Better nutrient balance, I was told to dust 'em. Easier to digest. Can be addictive to chameleon, so best to use alongside a staple feeder, probably for reasons beyond that as well.

My experience is limited, I'd wait for some senior members to start dropping number bombs if you would like.

 

[jojackson]

A few every few days perhaps, Mine likes them. More of a treat than a staple though.

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Can i feed my baby veiled chameleon silkworms, super worms, horn worms, and locust? Right now she is on crickets and mealworms but i want to give her a treat. Please help

 

[sandrachameleon]

Silkworms make a good feeder insect. You can use as often as you use crickets.

Mealworms arent a very good feeder option over all, but there's no reason not to include them from time to time (once a week or less), as a treat and for variety. Gut load them as best you can, and if possible offer freshly molted ones (white and soft). If the skin /chinton feels a little tough or rubbery to your fingers, dont use that worm and wait for it to shed.

You can feed appropriately sized Superworms (zophobas) to small chameleons. Be sure to gutload and dust the worms. Be aware that superworms are high in fat, and thus should be used less often than other feeders. (once or twice a week is fine)

Butterworms a higher in calcium naturally, but you cant gutload them. They are no higher in fat than superworms. (once or twice a week is fine)

Hornworms are good for occassionaly feeding, but too many of these will lead to runny eliminations, due to the high water content of this larva. Hornworms are usually too big for small chameleons.

The best thing to do, IMHO, is to mix it up - offer lots of variety! Crickets for one meal, a butterworm and a mealworm for the next meal, then crickets again for meal three, followed by superworm, then roaches, then silkworms, followed by a totally different feeder, then crickets again, ....https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

There's at least one entry in my blog on what I was feeding a young female panther, and several blog entries on what I feed adult males, so you may find reviewing that of some use. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/feeding-supplements/

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Thank you so much. i also would like to say that my baby chameleon eats mealworms every day but they are small and crickets now to. is that bad?

 

[sandrachameleon]

Thank you so much. i also would like to say that my baby chameleon eats mealworms every day but they are small and crickets now to. is that bad?

I wouldnt feed mealworms every day to any chameleon, baby or grown. As stated above, they offer little to no nutritional value, and are hard to digest.

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

So what else do you think i should feed him daily?

 

[sandrachameleon]

As I said previously, I try to offer something different at every meal.
For a list of feeder options, check out this blog entry:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

For a sample of what I feed my chameleons: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/feeding-supplements/

 

[chameleon guy]

Do you have to take the head off of supers because I heard they can bite the stomach of whatever ate it.

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Thank you and i have not heard anything about those super-worms heads problem. The chameleon will squish the head by the time its in the stomach

 

[sandrachameleon]

There is no truth to the story of superworms or mealworms eating through stomachs. Leave the heads on.

Most chameleons chew a bit anyhow, but even if they dont the worst that can happen is the superworm (if large) might try to bite the chameleon (no significant damage).

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Ik i was just trying to help the other person.

 

[Zeke]

What is the max number of superworms that you should feed a juv veiled? I just picked some up at the store this weekend and Zeke seems to like them.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I aim to offer superworms no more than once a week. Sometimes its more, sometimes its less. Superworms are quite fatty (less of an issue for a growing cham than an adult) and occassionally chams get "addicted" to them, not wanting to eat anything else.

 

[Docility]

I aim to offer superworms no more than once a week. Sometimes its more, sometimes its less. Superworms are quite fatty (less of an issue for a growing cham than an adult) and occassionally chams get "addicted" to them, not wanting to eat anything else.

now i have also read a few times that wax worms are mainly just fat, and are only needed to be used as a treat. is there any place that offers nutritional value breakdowns for the insects?

 

[sandrachameleon]

Waxworms are terrible - all fat and you cant gutload them.

There are several places to look at nutritional values

https://www.chameleonforums.com/nutritional-analysis-2522/

http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=92

and http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html (scroll down, there's a list of both veggies and feeder insect values)