Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey I was just wondering if it's possible to give your cham a staple diet of basically everything else other than crickets to eat. Like waxworms (I know these are really fatty though), silkworms, superworms, roaches, moths/butterflies, and any other insects you can suggest. I just bought a new cage, and the metal screening used has holes that are big enough for a cricket to crawl thru. I really don't feel like having them running thru my house. Everything will be gutloaded, and dusted appropriately of course. Just wondering what peoples thoughts were on this. The person who sold me the cage had a male veiled in there for years, and never gave him crickets, so I just want other opinions and advice on the subject. Thanks in advance. And I will definitely take some pics when it is all setup, probably this weekend. It is a fantastic cage, and massive.

Roaches!
There are LOTS of different species of roaches available as feed insects. They're a really great alternative staple prey item, much better than crickets, IMHO.
Silkworkms are also great. I've never had issues with silks if I just follow the instructions and keep the silkworm chow as close to sterile as I can, which means wash your hands before handling chow, and never directly touch the stuff, use plenty of saran wrap.
Superworms are great. I wouldn't use them as a base for your staple diet, but I would definitely offer a couple of times per week.
Waxworms are too high in fat to use as staple diet, but they're great for the occasional treat.
House flies are another great treat item. Skipio's offers fly pupae at a very reasonable rate and their flies are clean.
Just wondering about the hole in the cage. How big is it? maybe you can patch it up using some florist wire or something similiar? Might be easier to simply replace the screen on that panel of your cage.
I'd also take that 'never gave him crickets' comment with a grain of salt. Perhaps the previous owner was trying to dispel your concerns about prey escapes with a blanket statement that disproves your concerns. Just random thoughts.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

Sorry for the confusion. What I meant was the screening itself was quite large. As in the screen holes are big enough for a cricket to climb thru. The previous owner said he just placed a feed dish on the bottom, and then placed food in each day, and he never had any issues at all. But thanks for the info on the nutrition on each food item. I'm not sure if I can locate roaches where I am, but will definitely try and see what I can do. Living in Calgary, Canada, so it makes for a bit of trouble every now and then, finding different items.