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Anyone got a site or directions on creating a trap to catch insects like house flies? I found a house fly buzzing around my house and I cought it with a plastic cup and put it in my cham's cage. It was flying around and my cham seemed to love hunting it down. He flung its tongue at it twice, but it flew right before so he missed until the third time he finally got it. I wanna give him more treats like this? Any way to get more insects? I live in Miami, Fl if that helps to show what insects are available.

Catching wild insects can be great treats for chams but you have to remember these very important rules:

1- make absolutely sure that no biocides (pesticides, herbicides, lawn chemicals, etc.) have been used on or NEAR the area you are collecting

2- many insects are toxic and can kill your chameleon. A general rule of thumb is to become familiar with "warning colors" which are primarily combinations of orange/red/black/yellow. Examples are: monarch butterflies and their caterpillars, lightning bugs (aka fireflies), lady bugs, hornworms that have been feeding on plants (as opposed to hand-reared on non-toxic chow). So in other words you not only need to know exactly what the bug is but whether there is any chance of toxicity. NEVER TAKE A CHANCE. If someone tells you an insect is a such and such check several resources (google images is always good for i.d.) to know for sure. If you catch a bug and do not know its i.d. take a photo (as good as possible) and post it here.

3- consider what the insect feeds on: flies and their larva feed on crap (literally) and decomposing tissue (dead animals). Catching one occasionally is OK, but if you want to have them on hand you can order the larva or pupa from a few different sources and rear them on a yogurt/honey/egg mix

these are the three main issues regarding wild collecting insects so print out this post and hang it on the cage

As for how to collect there are a few methods:

1- collect small moths around your lights at night. Many of them are OK to feed, but if they have any bright warning colors (often covered by front wing) don't risk it. Moths in general feed on nectar (if at all).

2- you can field sweep, which is using a bug net and "sweeping" thru high grasses and such. Just be aware of the "rules" above.

3- you can look for caterpillars (and other insects) in the veggie patch. Avoid any insect feeding on any plant in the Solanaceae family which includes: tomato, potato, petunia, eggplant, pepper, tobacco, nightshade and datura.

Hope this helps and PLEASE do heed all I have said. Remember, too, that if you make this a regular habit for her don't forget your dusting routine - easy to do when you just want to toss something in the cage and watch her hunt!

lele
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