Robobob
Member
So since i first got my panther chameleon i've been giving him a diet consisting of crickets and occasionally some superworms/silkworms.
While i think they are a good source of food, i've been having some problems with them. I keep my terrarium in my bedroom and the chirping noise they make is bothering my sleep.. they are also very keen on escaping my exo terra terrarium so i tend to find them roaming the floor almost daily..
Along with that my enclosure has alot of hiding places where they sneak in and stay out of reach for my poor cham..
So on my last visit to the pet store i consulted the staff and they suggested i tried feeding him with locusts instead to see how he liked it.
Said and done i bought a box of Large sized locusts, which by the way were huge! Didnt know they could even grow to this size so i was kind of nervous feeding them to my chameleon who is not yet an adult
Either way, he seem somewhat sceptical when i introduced the new snack in his enclosure but after a few minutes stare-down he went in for the kill and swallow it happily!(Dramatic video included below)
So my question to the community is, what are your thoughts on pros vs cons of switching from a cricket to a locust diet? Where i buy them the locusts are about 5 times as expensive but then again, they are probably 7 times bigger so a single locust keeps him full all day.
Pros that i thought of so far
+not as jumpy and keen to hide once in the enclosure
+no escaping
+wont bite chameleons if left over night
(I heard crickets could even though some people say its nonsense)
+very docile and easy for him to catch
+ dont find them as smelly as crickets
Cons i thought of:
- a little harder to dust
Here is a video of his first encounter with them, i kept him carefully monitored until i was sure he could eat it properly, enjoy!
(Ps, glass was cleaned after!)
While i think they are a good source of food, i've been having some problems with them. I keep my terrarium in my bedroom and the chirping noise they make is bothering my sleep.. they are also very keen on escaping my exo terra terrarium so i tend to find them roaming the floor almost daily..
Along with that my enclosure has alot of hiding places where they sneak in and stay out of reach for my poor cham..
So on my last visit to the pet store i consulted the staff and they suggested i tried feeding him with locusts instead to see how he liked it.
Said and done i bought a box of Large sized locusts, which by the way were huge! Didnt know they could even grow to this size so i was kind of nervous feeding them to my chameleon who is not yet an adult
Either way, he seem somewhat sceptical when i introduced the new snack in his enclosure but after a few minutes stare-down he went in for the kill and swallow it happily!(Dramatic video included below)
So my question to the community is, what are your thoughts on pros vs cons of switching from a cricket to a locust diet? Where i buy them the locusts are about 5 times as expensive but then again, they are probably 7 times bigger so a single locust keeps him full all day.
Pros that i thought of so far
+not as jumpy and keen to hide once in the enclosure
+no escaping
+wont bite chameleons if left over night
(I heard crickets could even though some people say its nonsense)
+very docile and easy for him to catch
+ dont find them as smelly as crickets
Cons i thought of:
- a little harder to dust
Here is a video of his first encounter with them, i kept him carefully monitored until i was sure he could eat it properly, enjoy!
(Ps, glass was cleaned after!)
