Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It seems here in Michigan the only source I have for feeding my panther chameleons from the local pet stores are crickets, mealworms and wax worms. Can anyone give me a few links as to where I can get other variation for feed, I ask because I took my baby Nosy Be (those that have been reading my posts its the one with the eye problem) to the vet today and the Doc told me I should be able to find inchworms and silkworms online. Now I saw jdany from the silkwormfarm and will be placing an order very soon but please give me other options so I can give the best variety to all my babies.

Thanks so much - Thomas
1.0.0 Tamatave
0.0.1 Nosy Be
0.1.0 Ambanja

try mulberry farms.. they have silkies, hornworms, and roaches.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Veileds
1.0 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Tommy,

How is the Nosey doing? Was the vet able to make a diagnosis?
You can find pretty good feeders on Kingsnake. Did your Tamatave
eat the anole/gecko? I would keep up the vitamins for a few
days on the Nosey. One reason that it is good to feed your adults
vertibrates like small lizards is the amount of fat soluable
vitamins like A and E that are stored in the tissues, not to
mention the calcium in the bones. In the wild these chams eat
smaller vertibrates and get the proper amount of vitamins and
minerals.

Legendcham

Hey Legend -

The vet says the Nosy looks to be in excellent health other than the inflammed eye possible infection. He gave me a Triple antibiotic ophthalmic ointment called Vitropolycin that I am to apply twice a day for 5 days. As for the anole,, lol well it was the last one the pet store had and even though it looked a little fraile I bought it anyways. Well it died in the tank that same day within 4-6 hours. The gecko has been hiding ever since I put him in the tank. My Tamatave watched the anole intently though I have the belief he knew better than to eat such a sickly looking one. I will be getting another as soon as the pet store stocks up and can offer a wider selection. I will continue with the vitamins and I can't tell you how much I appreciate the knowledge you've given. Oh and as you can see by my list of pets I've aquired an Ambanja, don't really have her yet but the money order gets shipped out tomorrow.

Thanks so much - Thomas
1.0.0 Tamatave
0.0.1 Nosy Be
0.1.0 Ambanja

Tommy,

I get my Anoles from a guy in Florida named Terry McLeish.
If you go to the feeder section on Kingsnake, you will be able
to find feeder anoles. Most chams can't resist them, even though
they are fast. I feed my gravid females the really small anoles
when my supplier can get them. The best insect to feed to your
panthers are grasshoppers. You can gutload them with fresh
collard greens and kale, yams, carrots and oranges. You won't
be able to find them till summer, but where I live they number
in the trillions in the summer. Since I have alot of w/c panthers, feeding them can be a challange.

Legendcham

Hi: I was wondering if you ever run into problems with parasites for the WC anoles, house geckos, and grasshoppers? How do you ensure that the WC don't give something to the Cham? Or is there a source for CB ones. Course the prices of those might be prohibitive. Also, what other insects or foods can Panthers eat and really get healthy from? Praying mantis? Stick bugs(where do you find these?) Seems in the wild more variety then Silkies, roaches, Crickets, Meal/Super/wax/butterworms, and flies would be the menu. I would like to know if there are some VERY safe sources and what those entrees might be. Thanks for your help! Maggie

I could probably write a book on the host parasite relationship,
but I will give you the condensed version. It is stress, not
parasites that kill most panther chameleons. It is not in the
parasites best interest to kill the host that they are living
off of. When stress is a factor the chameleon does not eat or
drink properly, so the parasites begin to drain their host. You
will see this in the w/c panthers. As for the feeder anoles, insects etc. I would not worry. I keep a close eye on the chams
weight. It is a good practice to have fecal exams done every
6 months or so. My w/c panthers go through a acclimation process
lasting 6 months or so before I even consider worming them. Being
a microbilogist, I do my own fecal exams since I have a laboratory with microscopes. Maybe this info will help with the
parasite questions. As for feeder insects, grasshoppers are
the best because they can be quickly gutloaded and contain less
phosphrous than the crickets. Superworms run second to the grasshoppers. Most of my panthers, male and female get superworms. The superworms store fat and some of the essential
vitamins such as A and E are found in the fat reserves. You can
buy anoles on the feeder section on Kingsnake for about $1.50
to $2.00 a piece. They are field collected.

Hey Legendcham -

I went through every site listed in the feeder section of kingsnake and can't seem to find any company selling anoles for that price. Any chance you could give the exact link to this?

Thanks - Thomas

Tommy,

There is a guy named Manny that is selling lots of 25 Anoles
for $50 shipped. His ad says that he will include 10 extra
in the price. I have a contract will my supplier and he is
having a hard time collecting the anoles because of the temps
in Miami right now. Let me know if you are able to get any.

Legendcham