Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have my chameleon in an outdoor setup and was wondering if anyone has found any good tricks on brings butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, etc. to the cage. He seems to nab an occasional fly as a snack but I know he would like more. Thanks!

Put sliced fruit or meat in the cage to attract flies. Blooming flowers may attract butterflies, but most taste bad. Tomato plants may get you hornworms but they must be eating the fruit only. Hornworms who eat the leaves and stems will be toxic. You can collect hornworms yourself and feed them on tomato fruit for 2-3 days to make them safe. Not sure about grasshoppers unless you have lots around anyway. You don't really want bees or wasps. Chams can eat them, but they do get stung occasionally. I just plan to provide the food for my chams...and if they happen to catch something while outdoors it is gravy.

I keep my Jack's in a greenhouse and one in a large birdcage outside. If your cage has large enough screen for bugs to get in you can set a light, I use an old bug zapper with the zapping wire dissabled, on a timer to switch on in the dark of pre-dawn or for a couple hours after dark. I like the black light because it doesnt interupt the cham's sleep, but don't leave one on all night or you will get too many insects which stresses the cham.
I also keep a five gallon bucket with a small piece of rotten meat under the cage, which attracts green-bottle flies, which he LOVES. I can also put more "attractant" in the bucket, attract hundreds of flies, put a lid on, and release them in with my Jackson's greenhouse colony. YUMMY