Feeding Your Chameleon

We all love the sight of a chameleons slingshot tongue gobbling up what would be considered creepy crawlers, however there are 4 important factors when it comes to feeding our beloved bug killers:

1. Which insects to feed?

2. Gut-loading your insects

3. How many to feed?

4. Vitamins and Supplement Dusting

Watching chameleons snatch prey from two whole body lengths away is a truly an amazing sight. Their projectile tongue, with an insect engulfing suction-cup like tip, will go from 0 to 60 mph in 0.01 seconds, striking their prey in the blink of an eye.

Learn more about your Chameleons Nutrition

Feeders and Feeder Care

Feeder Type:

There are a number of different feeders we can choose from, however the most readily available are crickets. Although mealworms are also commonly found at most pet stores we do not recommend feeding them to your chameleon regularly, due to high amounts of chitin, which is difficult for our chameleons bodies to digest. For commonly recommended feeders list please see the chameleon forums link here.

Feeder Care:

If you are keeping more than a couple weeks worth of crickets, you may need to set up a large container for them to live. Crickets do best in warm temperatures (80 degrees) Be sure to have good ventilation and fresh foods. Your feeders will need to have their bins cleaned out periodically to avoid bacteria and ensure their health until they become a nutritious meal for your chameleon.

Gut-Loading

Nutrition for your Feeders = Nutrition for your Chameleon

Gut-loading feeders is an important part of your chameleon’s diet. As with humans, what is fed to our food has been shown to have effects on us. Think of it as giving them the equivalent of a prime cut, grass fed, no hormone, non GMO steak (or a non-GMO, organically grown, local farmed, fresh vegetable tray for our Vegan/Vegetarian readers)

See recommended insect Gut-Loading Chart from the Chameleon Forums

*Keep in mind that the gut-loading diet is most effective for the first 24-48 hours after ingestion. For insect keeping/raising, a diet more suited towards the insect can be fed up until a few days of being fed to the chameleon. Long term high calcium diets have been shown to cause blockage in crickets.

How Much to Feed Your Chameleon

In captivity, we must keep our chameleons fit and healthy by limiting their food intake. With significantly less room to burn calories, and a consistent supply of food, it is easy to over-feed your chameleon. Obesity is a condition that can lead to very serious, and even deadly, medical conditions.

See Chameleon Health

Feeding Schedule

The amount of feeders recommended for your chameleon will depend on their age, gender, and physical state. For most chameleons the recommended schedule is:

Babies (neonates/0-3 mo)- ad libitum (constant access to as many as they will consume). Start decreasing food items at 4 mo (10 feeders every other day/5 for female Veiled chameleons).
Juveniles (6-12 mo)- 5 feeders every other day (10 feeders every other day for Jackson’s chameleons). Start decreasing food items at 9 mo to 2-3 every other day for female Veiled chameleons.
Adults (12 mo+)- 1 feeder per day OR 2-3 feeders every other day.
Pregnant (gravid)- 3-5 feeders every other day (appetite will decrease as abdomen grows)

Keep in mind the size of your feeder should be no longer than the length of the space between your chameleons eyes. These numbers are based on providing the appropriate sized insects.

Supplement Schedules

Calcium Supplements and Multivitamins

In the wild, chameleons have a diet of many different types of insects. In captivity we have a limited selection of readily available feeders. What we lack in variety, we must make up for in supplements and proper nutrition. Your feeders need to be full of nutrients (gut-loaded) and lightly coated in a powder supplement.

Veiled and Panther chameleons recommended supplement schedule:

Using a combination of Calcium without D3, Calcium with D3, and Multivitamin (without D3)

· Calcium without D3 (with bee pollen)- Every feeding except one per week.

· Calcium with D3- Once every other week (total 2x per month).

· Multivitamin- Once every other week (total 2x per month)

Using a combination of Arcadia EarthPro-A and Repashy Lo-D

· Arcadia EarthPro-A- Every feeding except one per 2 weeks

· Repashy Lo-D- Once every 2 weeks (total 2x per month)

Jackson’s chameleons recommended supplement schedule:

Using a combination of Calcium without D3

Calcium with D3, and Multivitamin (without D3)

· Calcium without D3 (with bee pollen)- Every other feeding except twice per month

· Calcium with D3- Once a month (two weeks after multivitamin)

· Multivitamin- Once a month (two weeks after calcium with D3)