| A very important element in successful reptile husbandry is nutrition. Chameleons need a wide variety of insects as well as the occasional pinky mouse for the larger species. You can buy your foods from your local pet store or through mail order. I find mail order easier because of the wide variety of insects you can order. The main type of food easily found in your local pet store are crickets. They are rather cheap and easy to keep in a small aquarium. However, they are not very nutritious. Before you feed them to your chameleon, allow them to eat some nutritious foods such as collard greens, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables. For a more detailed caresheet on crickets, follow the link at the end of this page. As I said earlier, chameleons need a varied diet. To accomplish this, you must feed them other insects besides crickets. Mealworms, Superworms, Waxworms, Moths, Flies, and other insects do well. You can also catch wild insects as long as they aren’t poisonous or from areas where pesticides have been used. For larger chameleons, such as C.melleri and C.parsonii, you can occassionaly feed them pinky mice. All food items should be dusted with vitamin and mineral supplements as well as calcium. Some supplements that I use are Sticky Tongue Farms Miner-All, RepCAL, and Herptivite. These I find work really well in providing the vitamins and calcium that my chameleons need. You should dust your chameleon’s food 2-3 times weekly. This should provide your chameleon with the proper amount of nutrition. |
