What types of worms?

[awtye]

Im pretty new to the whole chameleon gig, and I'm curious on what types of worms I should use if I want them to be able to crawl up a screen cage and move often. For some reason my cham only likes the bugs that come close to him, probably just lazy haha! So suggestions please!

 

[MSMorgan]

Follow the info in the link provided.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

You can't go wrong with this info.

 

[ridgebax1]

Generally chameleons will ignore food items that are still and go after food items that move around. I place hornworrms and silkworns on the branches of my chameleon's tree. I have a vertical feeder I purchased from Nick Barta that I use for crickets and roaches. CJ used to eat roaches as a staple but has not eaten them for quite some time. I still try occasionally but he usually ignores them, I think because they cluster together and stay still. The horns and silks are pretty active and he gets them pretty quickly after I place them in his environment. I am reluctant to free range the roaches. I also give him butter and phoenix worms which I put in a little wire dish that looks like a strainer. To make the worms more active I run them under hot water then pat them dry. They will instantly become more active.

 

[nick barta]

As Ridgebax1 states, it is all about movement to trigger feeding. Crickets move on the screen, and if they don't get eaten generally will cluster around the basking light for heat. The best screen climbing worm is super worms, place them on the screen below, and near, the chameleon, he will strike.

If you have a small chameleon, order small super worms from Mulberryfarm.com, put them in wheat bran, and keep a fresh slice of apple in the bran, and they are kept at room temperature. They will grow with your chameleon.

CHEERS!

Nick

 

[rminnis]

Supers are great my cham loves they are cheap easy to care for and last a long time. Just make sure they have food and dont get too cold and they last for months.

 

[rminnis]

Silksworms and hornworms require more work and dont last as long but are still great feeders each requires its own specialty food and silks require quite a bit of attention 2 feedings a day at least. Crickets are a bit nasty sometimes but banded crickets are definitely my preference they are very hardy.

 

[ridgebax1]

Personally I think horns and silks are easier than crickets or roaches. I get mine from the various sponsors here; usually Mulberry Farms but have also gotten from Great Lakes Hornworms and Coastal Silkworms. Hornworms will eat either hormworm chow or silkworm chow. Depending on the color of the food you will have pretty green or teal worms. You do have to keep an eye on them as they grow REALLY FAST. So fast I swear you can watch them grow, so you need to feed them off at the appropriate size for your cham. I have a bearded dragon too and she can eat them even when they are massive (like 4 inches long and as big as my index finger). The only demanding thing about silkworms is they have to have mulberry leaves or mulberry leaf based chow. Now if you are going to attempt to breed them it can be a bit challenging in that one needs to pay attention to them but they kind of do all the work. Roaches are the easiest I think. Just throw them in a bin with food and water give them some heat and off they go. You just need to clean the bins periodically. Crickets are nasty. Who would have thought such a tiny bug could stink so bad! I used to get them by the hundreds from Ghann's, which is a great source and the crickets are very healthy and you have very little die off but they are the ones that I think are the most demanding due to the stench they produce. Phoenix worms are also very easy. You can just keep them in the little container they come in and feed them off. I put them in a small critter keeper that I covered with duct tape to make it dark inside. I throw the worms in along with various food items which they will eat and grow fairly large almost 3/4 to an inch long. Butters, supers and meal worms are the easiest because you can just leave them as is and pop them in the fridge. One thing to keep in mind though is supers and meal worms have very little nutritional value. They are kind of like the McDonald's fries of the bug world. Very tasty but not that good for you.