Wild Insects??

[Matt1851]

So last week when i took charlie to the vet they told me i can feed him wild insects like spiders, house flys, moths earthworms, ect... after thinking to myself i asked what about pesticides and he said that if the insect had it it would be dead, aware that they might carry parasites would it really harm my chameleon if i fed him wild insects? just looking for opinions on this matter.

 

[sandrachameleon]

A pesticide may not be enough to kill the bug immediatley.
The wild insect may have been eating something fine for it but toxic for chameleons.
Parasites are a true possibility
some wild prey is toxic.

My blog entry on the subject: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/213-use-wild-caught-insects.html

 

[Texas Panther Man]

A lot of people on here will tell you no to do it. I personally have been keeping chams since 1996. I have always given some wild bugs to my chams. I however do not feed them something that i cant identify. Thats why I stick to grasshoppers, katydids, and stick bugs mostly. I feed the occasional moth also. If you have a cham that goes on a hunger strike often wild bugs will get them to start eatting again. Jmp experiences.

 

[Matt1851]

well if it ever came down to it i wouldnt feed him anything i knew would affect hin (House flys ect) bugs that eat garbage and whatnot

 

[VeiledOwner87]

canadas by law have been tp remove all toxic pesticides from the shelves. that does however leave out pesticide companies.. weedman, etc. im not sure what the use. but because of this law, there has been a great increase of butterflies and other insects ( which is good) this does not include though what previous poster said about what the insect ingests. may be fine for it, but harmfull to the cham. so i would avoid flies, months and butterflies, unless identified. grasshopers, katidyds seem good to me though

 

[pantherlover]

pesticide companies are not allowed to use the bad stuff anymore. id be more cautious of the neighbours with the big bucket of old poison in the garage who still use it. did you go to the links? who was the vet?

 

[ghettomike]

Some specially licenced companies are still allowed to use the nasty stuff. Ive got a pal that sprays hydro sites, industrial sites, along rail tracks and beside highways all across Ontario and they are still able to use the potent stuff so it is still good to be wary of where insects are caught.

 

[primestick]

I would not feed any wild insects to any animal you have. Like mike said there are too much bad stuff being sprayed. i.e agent orange was used all the way into the 80's. If you do feed wild i would deworm twice a year and keep the wild incets for at least 24 hours before feeding.

 

[Matt1851]

pesticide companies are not allowed to use the bad stuff anymore. id be more cautious of the neighbours with the big bucket of old poison in the garage who still use it. did you go to the links? who was the vet?

i did go to the links i cant remember his name but he was very nice

 

[Todnedo]

Wild insects? I catch them by the thousands

 

[pantherlover]

Wild insects? I catch them by the thousands

thats a pretty awesome idea.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

I would not feed any wild insects to any animal you have. Like mike said there are too much bad stuff being sprayed. i.e agent orange was used all the way into the 80's. If you do feed wild i would deworm twice a year and keep the wild incets for at least 24 hours before feeding.

what does deworming have to do with pesticides? pesticides wont cause parasites, they'll kill the parasites and kill or harm your cham...