Chameleons, as their name suggests, are creatures who are well developed but fragile omnivores along with an inability to generate body heat by themselves.
In many houses, keeping a Chameleon as a pet is considered to be rather hard due to how carefully one must handle their Chameleon’s diet and the way they live. One mistake and their Chameleon would be done for.
There are many specialties and myths to a Chameleon, the most famous being that they change their colors to mainly camouflage themselves from predators.
That is not true at all, they change their colors to properly adjust to the temperature of an environment as they can’t generate heat from their bodies, they may also change colors to reflect their mood.
Chameleons as carnivores mainly feed on insects and other worms alike, this might actually work in favor of an owner whose house is infested with various kinds of bugs, from roaches to flies and whatnot. Chameleons will feed on any insect as long as they not bigger than them.
They are also capable of eating few specific vegetables as long as they are the right selection from the list of green vegetables.
Chameleons can eat:
Worms likes:
- Silkworms
- Calcium worms
- Earth worms
- Buffalo worms
- Butter worms
- Meal worms
- Wax worms
- Bamboo worms
- Morios
- Pachnoda grubs
Insects likes:
- Crickets
- Locusts
- Cockroaches
- Flies
- Blue bottles and Green bottles fly
- Curly wing fly
- Black soldier fly
- Wax month and
- Fruit flies
What do Baby Chameleons Eat
Baby Chameleons mainly feed on insects smaller than them, although they require more vitamins than adults owing to their fragility. They mainly require Vitamin A for their eyes, Vitamin E for the skin, and D3 in case the Baby Chameleon is lacking in it for some reason along with calcium.
Baby Chameleons prefer feeding on insects that provide them the vitamins and nutrients that are needed for healthy growth, Locusts or crickets are preferable for their diet along with wax-worms and spiders.
Although they would eat any small insect that comes before them, even cockroaches or flies as long as they are present. Baby Chameleons are also capable of drinking water in small amounts.
What do Adult Chameleons Eat
Adult Chameleons generally have the same diet as a baby Chameleon, but their diet is slightly more controlled and can be mixed with green vegetables or fruits as long as they feed on them in moderation. Besides that, they will generally crack down on the crickets or locusts with glee.
The unique part about them is the fact that they can up to several weeks without eating anything as long as they are drinking water.
Some larger Chameleons might even dare to go out on hunting down reptiles or birds, although that could be considered a rare behavior as most of them are known to only munch down on insects smaller than them.
What do Chameleons Eat as a Pet
Owners keeping Chameleons as pets can feed them gut-loaded insects or worms, gut-loaded essentially means a creature that has been feed properly to fatten them up and load them up with the necessary vitamins and nutrients.
Chameleons can also be given slight amounts of water along with small leaves of a plant. Although make sure to not feed them too much of wax-worms or butter-worms as they are high in fat content, it would be better to give those to the Chameleon as a treat to keep their diet moderated and not bloat them up unnecessarily in an effort to toughen them up.
What do Chameleons Eat in the Wild
Chameleons hunt slowly as they know to not make their prey just run away. That is why they will either approach them slowly, or wait for them to come. Their stinging tongues are enough to quickly wrap up any sort of small insect or worm and swallow them up.
Chameleons are also known to eat plants along with small birds and a few lizards. Their color-changing mechanics also help in this regard as the insects or other small creatures will often remove unaware of them until the chameleons have started their attack. All in all, Chameleons main diet in the wild are any small creatures.
Conclusion:
As you have read, taking care of a Chameleon can be a risky venture for someone who is new to them, but their uniqueness can be one of the motivations.
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