Veiled Chameleon live food
- Thread starter Me3
- Start date
carbyville
Member
If you can't feed it anything live then it's probably not a good idea to own a chameleon.
JoCarp
Established Member
Silk worms will be a good staple food (but I think should be mixed with crickets), I'm not sure if there are many others that can be an everyday food versus the "treat food". I know Wax worms are not very good, super worms are a little better, but I don't know that they should be everyday either I don't think. I don't know veileds as well as panthers, but I wonder if you used silks, some fruit and greens (collard, mustard etc.) if that would be enough to get him the necessary nutrition (plus dusting obviously). Maybe someone more familiar with veileds can chime in, I think it's JannB really knows veileds.
I definitely don't want to steer you down the wrong path and I know everyone on here wants to make sure the chameleon will THRIVE not just survive. If others say it won't work, please don't push it. The animal will suffer (possibly for the extent of it's life, however long it may be) if it doesn't get all it needs.
Make it a great day,
MamatoElvis
Member
You could do silkworm, hornworms and Phoenix worms. Blue bottle flies would give him some hunting. What about stick bugs for a little crunch.
Is the opposition because you are grossed out by them? Trust me, it's not that bad. I thought it would be a bigger hurdle for me but I make it my mission now to vary my chams diet as much as possible. If you had told me I'd have two different kinds of roaches in bins in my garage a year ago. I would have had you committed. My guy seems to get bored easily. If I fed him only worms he's starve to death because eventually he'd boycott them. You may find yourself with a problem if your Cham decides he doesn't like worms. Some chams love them and some don't. Will be ruled by your chams personality.
If the opposition is more of a "it's not humane" thing, then I would get a different pet.
Is the opposition because you are grossed out by them? Trust me, it's not that bad. I thought it would be a bigger hurdle for me but I make it my mission now to vary my chams diet as much as possible. If you had told me I'd have two different kinds of roaches in bins in my garage a year ago. I would have had you committed. My guy seems to get bored easily. If I fed him only worms he's starve to death because eventually he'd boycott them. You may find yourself with a problem if your Cham decides he doesn't like worms. Some chams love them and some don't. Will be ruled by your chams personality.
If the opposition is more of a "it's not humane" thing, then I would get a different pet.
JoCarp
Established Member
That's a great point, my Panther ate maybe 10 of the 500 silk worms I hatched out, then went on a hunger strike. I tried to wait it out, but Merlin called my bluff and we are back on crickets and occasionally blue bottle flies haha
MamatoElvis
Member
Where do you live? If you are in a warm state you could do a lot of wild bugs. Just be sure you are collecting in a pesticide free area and you bring in fecal samples to a vet several times a year. I understand not wanting to keep anything in your house. The only other solution would be to buy crickets a dozen at a time every day.
Chameleons are not hard to care for but they have very specific needs to stay healthy. When you deviate from those needs you are going to have problems.
Maybe a different lizard might be the best option. I only have a snake and a dog but maybe another member would be able to suggest a better fit for you. I'm thinking about a bearded dragon for my daughter but I haven't done my research yet. I do know they are much more handleable which is why I'm considering it. My 6 year old really wants someone she can hold.
Chameleons are not hard to care for but they have very specific needs to stay healthy. When you deviate from those needs you are going to have problems.
Maybe a different lizard might be the best option. I only have a snake and a dog but maybe another member would be able to suggest a better fit for you. I'm thinking about a bearded dragon for my daughter but I haven't done my research yet. I do know they are much more handleable which is why I'm considering it. My 6 year old really wants someone she can hold.
MamatoElvis
Member
You can't keep them outside in the winter but just so you are aware. Feeder roaches will not survive if they escape. You would have to keep your house heated to 80 degrees all the time. I live in Florida and they won't survive in my house because of the air conditioning. I took one and put it in a Tupperware away from the heat just to test it. It was dead the next day. You might be able to keep them in the garage with the proper heating.
pgr7
Avid Member
The dubia roaches would have a hard time escaping to be honest,my chameleon doesn't really bother with crickets, so I use dubias as the staple food of sorts, they can't climb smooth surfaces,and don't smell,or jump. If you keep them in plastic or a small glass aquarium they won't go anyware. And like was previously said,they would have a difficult, if not really impossible time living. You can also try to cup train you chameleon, mine eats roaches and phoenix worms out of a cup, most other things I just out in his enclosure one at a time and watch him eat them,that way he gets to hunt a little.
pgr7
Avid Member
MamatoElvis
Member
Again depends on his personality. To start I would just put a few in at a time. You don't have to touch them, I only hand feed worms because I don't have any desire to touch roaches or crickets. A healthy juvenile should eat 12 a day. When they are adults they will eat less and sometimes not everyday. Start out with a reputable chameleon breeder not a pet store. It's really important to start out with a healthy animal, that's half the battle. Start with a healthy animal and study the care sheets on this forum. Don't deviate from the care sheet, that's where all the problems start.
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