Which feeder to try next

[azrael]

We have a male and female panther who are about 6 months old. Right now our staple diet is gutloaded crickets. I want to make sure their diet is varied. Our female will eat almost anything except black soldier fly large (she loves silkies and hornworms).

Our male however is a bit more picky. We have tried everything from silkworms to hornworms, mealworms, super worms and black soldier fly larvae and he's only eaten the meal worms. I want to give him something more nutritious. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[xephyr17]

Roaches are great in my experience. Dubias.

 

[LLLReptile]

they're not housed together, are they?

Often a picky cham is due to something causing a bit of stress. Make sure that your male can get warm enough and is not seeing the female constantly or getting handled frequently.

Roaches are a great staple that are often very nutritious - look into those!

-Jen

 

[melble68]

thumbs up on the dubias...

You will love dubias. No stink, no climbing, no flying, no jumping like a cricket, and easy to get a colony established. They are very prolific. There are quite a few good threads about raising dubias. Try and find a local shop that you can get a dozen or two and see if you chams like um.

Also from what I understand, crickets are about 18% protein and roaches are 33%.

 

[sandrachameleon]

grasshoppers
termites
gutloaded butterworms
gutloaded superworms
moths
blue bottle flies
hissers
dubia

if you ease off the quantity of crickets, you may find slight hunger encourages him to try other things. Once he has a taste for other prey, crickets can come back on the menu.

 

[azrael]

Dubia's are certainly going to be next on the menu. Trying to decide where to order from as we don't want to start a whole colony until we know they like them. Any one know a reliable place in the Chicago area to pick some up? I looked on craigslist and the closest place is about 2 hours away.

I was under the impression that you feed dubias instead of crickets. Is it a bad idea to feed dubias and crickets at the same time? Is that too much chitin?

and Jen: to answer your questions, no they are not housed together. In the same room, about 6 feet apart. He is certainly warm enough. High 90s basking. mid to low 80s ambient, drop at night. We only handle him as necessary to medicate him as we are still giving eye drops daily and he had his last antibiotic injection on Monday. I considered his illness playing a part in his pickyness but he didn't have interest in them before he wasn't feeling well either and he is eating crickets fine.

Hypothetically, say that he doesn't ever take an interest in worms and/or other insects. How bad is it really if he only eats properly gut loaded dubias and/or crickets? This isn't to say ill stop trying and I know his tastes may change as he gets older.

 

[azrael]

grasshoppers
termites
gutloaded butterworms
gutloaded superworms
moths
blue bottle flies
hissers
dubia

if you ease off the quantity of crickets, you may find slight hunger encourages him to try other things. Once he has a taste for other prey, crickets can come back on the menu.

Thanks for this list. Would you say that you listed them in descending order of nutrition or is it random?

Also, do you have a recommended source for all things buggy or should I just shop around? In the past I have purchased insects with varying degrees of satisfaction from Mulberry farms, Coastal Silkworms, Greatlakes Hornworms and Linda's Gone Buggy.

 

[xraygirl]

High 90's is a bit toasty... I keep my male panthers basking temp around 88 degrees

 

[azrael]

High 90's is a bit toasty... I keep my male panthers basking temp around 88 degrees

I'm going on the recommendation from his breeder Bruce at Chameleon paradise.

 

[melble68]

Dubia's are certainly going to be next on the menu. Trying to decide where to order from as we don't want to start a whole colony until we know they like them. Any one know a reliable place in the Chicago area to pick some up? I looked on craigslist and the closest place is about 2 hours away.

I was under the impression that you feed dubias instead of crickets. Is it a bad idea to feed dubias and crickets at the same time? Is that too much chitin?

and Jen: to answer your questions, no they are not housed together. In the same room, about 6 feet apart. He is certainly warm enough. High 90s basking. mid to low 80s ambient, drop at night. We only handle him as necessary to medicate him as we are still giving eye drops daily and he had his last antibiotic injection on Monday. I considered his illness playing a part in his pickyness but he didn't have interest in them before he wasn't feeling well either and he is eating crickets fine.

Hypothetically, say that he doesn't ever take an interest in worms and/or other insects. How bad is it really if he only eats properly gut loaded dubias and/or crickets? This isn't to say ill stop trying and I know his tastes may change as he gets older.

i would think if you keep an eye out you would probably at least find a fellow member from your area may be able to help get you some to try. http://dubiaroaches.com/ is one of our sponsors that you can buy quantities of 50 for 14 bucks.

I don't feed discoids (we can't have legally dubias in FL) and crickets at the same time. my main staple feeder is discoids, but i also go thru 4 or 5 dozen crickets a month to mix it up as something different.

I would also be patient. 6 months old I wouldn't worry about it so much. The first few times I tried roaches, my panther didn't get to excited. The first time he saw them he did eat them up, then he didn't even look at them. I ended up keeping a dozen of them for easily another 4 months and added them into the adult bin of the discoid colony I aquired. Now he loves them. He especially loves when I hand feed them to him. He also was the same w/ horn worms and silkies. first batch of either went real quick, and the next thing you know I had a bunch of silky cocoons cause he didn't eat them quick enough. Patience my grasshoppa. Keep trying different feeders in the next couple coming months. I bet you eventually get some results you are hoping for.

 

[azrael]

i would think if you keep an eye out you would probably at least find a fellow member from your area may be able to help get you some to try. http://dubiaroaches.com/ is one of our sponsors that you can buy quantities of 50 for 14 bucks.

I don't feed discoids (we can't have legally dubias in FL) and crickets at the same time. my main staple feeder is discoids, but i also go thru 4 or 5 dozen crickets a month to mix it up as something different.

I would also be patient. 6 months old I wouldn't worry about it so much. The first few times I tried roaches, my panther didn't get to excited. The first time he saw them he did eat them up, then he didn't even look at them. I ended up keeping a dozen of them for easily another 4 months and added them into the adult bin of the discoid colony I aquired. Now he loves them. He especially loves when I hand feed them to him. He also was the same w/ horn worms and silkies. first batch of either went real quick, and the next thing you know I had a bunch of silky cocoons cause he didn't eat them quick enough. Patience my grasshoppa. Keep trying different feeders in the next couple coming months. I bet you eventually get some results you are hoping for.

this was very helpful. Thanks!

 

[azrael]

i would think if you keep an eye out you would probably at least find a fellow member from your area may be able to help get you some to try. http://dubiaroaches.com/ is one of our sponsors that you can buy quantities of 50 for 14 bucks.

I don't feed discoids (we can't have legally dubias in FL) and crickets at the same time. my main staple feeder is discoids, but i also go thru 4 or 5 dozen crickets a month to mix it up as something different.

I would also be patient. 6 months old I wouldn't worry about it so much. The first few times I tried roaches, my panther didn't get to excited. The first time he saw them he did eat them up, then he didn't even look at them. I ended up keeping a dozen of them for easily another 4 months and added them into the adult bin of the discoid colony I aquired. Now he loves them. He especially loves when I hand feed them to him. He also was the same w/ horn worms and silkies. first batch of either went real quick, and the next thing you know I had a bunch of silky cocoons cause he didn't eat them quick enough. Patience my grasshoppa. Keep trying different feeders in the next couple coming months. I bet you eventually get some results you are hoping for.

This was very helpful, Thanks!