Chameleons are a very popular pet in the UK and some of our biggest sellers all year round. We love them for their amazing colours, ease of care and great personalities. Of the various species available we find Yemen and panther chameleons to be the most popular in-store.
Yemen chameleons have gorgeous colouration, reach a good size and while they can be feisty we find that given time they make a brilliant pet for new and experienced keepers. Panther chameleons, on the other hand, are a little more sensitive and involved but given the correct conditions and care, they are one of the most gorgeous and rewarding pets in the hobby. If you are looking into chameleon lifespan and care, getting their diet right is a key part of keeping them healthy.
In this blog, we thought we would list the top 5 chameleon live foods we use and recommend for our customers.
1. Crickets
Crickets are the most cost-effective and nutritious meal for your chameleon on the market. They are often the staple diet for insect-eating species of lizard for a number of reasons.
We recommend them because they are really easy to digest, really easy to find even when you don’t have a local reptile store and quite a cheap way to feed your chameleon.
As with most of the live reptile food on this blog they should be gut loaded and dusted before they are added to the chameleon’s enclosure.
2. Locust (Hoppers)
Locust are the slightly fancier and more colourful alternative to crickets. They are also very nutritious and easy to find but they don’t tend to be quite as cheap and they are a bigger meal.
We recommend them for sub-adults or adults just to make sure that the chameleon is big enough to take a locust really easily. They are brilliant for keepers who like to watch their chameleon hunt as they will be easy to spot in the enclosure.
3. Waxworms
Waxworms are our go-to treat food for the chameleons in store. They are quite small so they can be fed to juveniles, sub-adults and adults. They have quite a high fat content so we wouldn’t use them as a main diet but once or twice per week would be fine.
Depending on the chameleon we will tweezer feed (using wooden or plastic tweezers) or leave them in a worm dish within the enclosure.
4. Cockroaches
Cockroaches are a protein rich mega meal for your chameleon. They are a bigger food item and a bit harder to digest than crickets and mealworms so we would only use them as a treat once or twice per week.
They will live in the tub for a long time compared to other live foods so we normally recommend one tub a month (a couple of cockroaches a week) just as a treat.
5. Fruit Beetle Grubs (Adults Only)
Fruit beetle grubs are the ultimate treat for a chameleon. They may not be suitable depending on the species due to the sheer size but if you have a chameleon similar in size to the Yemen chameleon they will love this grub.
They have roughly the same shape and size as the large or adult cockroaches but similar fat content to the waxworms making them highly desirable. We would recommend 1 maybe 2 grubs in a week for an adult.
Final Thoughts
If you have any questions on gut loading and dusting your live food, would like more information on the live foods listed here or need any other help with your pet, its enclosure or diet please contact us on 01604753823 or email us at sales@reptilecentre.com.
