Varied diet for 2 month old panther?

[Kali]

I was wondering if its too early to start feeding my 2 month old panther anything more than crickets? I've just purchased hatchling sized horn and butter worms online but now I'm not sure if this is safe for her. Thanks in advance!

 

[clarkrw3]

Personally I think VERY small silk and horns are okay but they are only small enough for a week or less which makes it hard. Also they still love Flightless Fruit Flies at that stage.

 

[Todnedo]

house flies and blue bottle flies will be a big improvement in a young chameleons diet at that age. What kind of gutload are you feeding the crickets?

 

[sandrachameleon]

I was wondering if its too early to start feeding my 2 month old panther anything more than crickets? I've just purchased hatchling sized horn and butter worms online but now I'm not sure if this is safe for her. Thanks in advance!

I feed my baby panthers a variety of bugs from the beginning, the first meal may include three different feeders. At two months old, Choices include:
fruit flies, small crickets, small silkworms, roach nymhs, cultured (not wc) house or bottle flies, small butterworms, small terrestrial isopods; small stick insects; small moths, occassional small mealworms, soldier fly maggots, ...

 

[Kali]

house flies and blue bottle flies will be a big improvement in a young chameleons diet at that age. What kind of gutload are you feeding the crickets?

I've only had her for 2 days now and I work full time so I have not been able to feed the crickets with anything but romaine and orange bell peppers. After reading all the different advice about gut loading I am a bit overwhelmed with which course to take. Any simple recipes for a dry gut load you could recommend? Thanks Tonedo!

**Also, since the horn & butters are on their way, would it be safe to try and feed the tiniest ones to her?

 

[Kali]

Thanks Sandra! Does WC mean "wild caught" in reference to the flies?

 

[azgnoinc]

After reading all the different advice about gut loading I am a bit overwhelmed with which course to take. Any simple recipes for a dry gut load you could recommend? Thanks Tonedo!

I would suggest mixing a batch over the weekend-it will save a LOT of time in the long run - just make sure to have a good blender on hand and store whatever mix you go with store it in an airtight container, most truly dry mixes will keep well in the freezer for at least a few months with no issues.
As for the veggies- there are people on here with some great ides, including chopping multiple varieties of veggies in a blender and freezing that to use on an as needed basis - I haven't tried it but it sounds like a great idea.

I use dry milk, unsalted sunflower seeds, baby rice cereal, spirulina (ebay or natural food stores) and dry kelp, raw bee pollen (find it local or on ebay), wheat germ, and monkey chow (can be found at pet stores or ebay) - blend it all together - the crickets love it.

Hope this helps, and keep doing your homework, then go with what info you are comfortable with.

 

[Kali]

Thanks Azgnoinc, I will be mixing some sort of dry concoction this weekend for the crickets, because time saving is something I definitely need!

 

[sandrachameleon]

I recommend you Limit or skip the baby cereal, the wheat germ (wrong calcium to phosphorous ratio), the milk powder (you dont want a lot of animal sourced fat or protein or preformed vitamin A in your gutload) and be cautious about the monkey food. Read the ingredients to see what it contains. Some brands are NOT good.

A WET gutload is more important that a dry one. Good choices are Papaya, oranges, butternut squash, dandelion leaves.
More on the gutloading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...just-crickets-roaches-gutload-everything.html

Dry gutload recipe, to compliment the wet:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/425-may-2011-gutload.html

Remember the gutloading is done for the benefit of the chameleon, not the crickets etc. The ingredients you gutload with need to provide what the chameleon needs, not what a cricket necessarily most enjoys