Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK i recently got a new batch of large superworms and theyre just bein a pain! My veiled wont eat them if they dont move--and whenever i put them in her cup they STOP MOVING!

They wriggle fine when i pick them up --trying to get away. but as soon as i put them down they lay still after 3 seconds. They have juicy vegie slices in their container and bran so it cant be dehydration!

My poor cham goes over to them and stares at them for a few minutes then leaves. SOMETIMES she'll catch one moving and shell grab it but all i have now are ones that play dead in the cup!

what can i do?

have you tried spaying them really lightly? When I spray my wax worms they tend to squirm for 30 seconds or so.

Might be worth a shot
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Adam
Portland, OR

1.2 Jacksons Chameleons (Females are red phase)
0.0.4 Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Thanks ill give it a try

they will squirm but not move their legs when the are about to pupate...if they start you should save them until they are beetles becuase my chams love the beetles maby yours will to

If you stick the worm on a screen side of the cage, they almosyt always climb uphill pretty fast. That is how I feed all my chameleons their superworms. Some of my panthers prefer to eat them from a branch. Supers are pretty good about staying on the branch you put them on and they rarely let go of the screen, so try those 2 things. It'll take a bit more of your time, but it's kinda fun to watch them eat worms off the walls or branches and there's nothing better than hearing a worm crunch when eaten! Oh, besides maybe a roach.
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV

I hand feed supers. they used to freak me out, but I'm getting used to them. I do crush their heads first though... I am always scared that they will bite. They move around lots still even with crushed heads... nasty little things.
lol, when I first started hand feeding I wore leather gloves. I couldn't stand the worms. You could try that...

I think it's funny that you say that because out of all feeder insects, I think Supers are the easiest to handle. Roaches I think are the worst. I have lots of them but I hate every one. Nothing makes me happier than watching a big juicy one get crushed my a chameleon's jaws. I don't think supers can (or will) bite humans. I've certainly never been bit and I've handled them everyday now for a few years. How do you think they're gross to handle but you crush their heads? Do you handle them after you do that? That's even sicker to me. Even crickets are worse to me than handling supers. Supers are just simple, hard long bugs with no akward legs squirming or legs kicking. How long do they live after being be-headed?
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV