Don't Just Love! This Is The Best Chameleon Food Choice For Their Nutritional Needs
Keeping a chameleon at home? The following are recommendations for the best chameleon foods, such as insects, vegetables, and additional supplements to meet their nutritional needs.
Keeping reptiles is now starting to be loved. Having an anti-mainstream impression compared to pets in general, has made reptiles start to be ogled by some circles.
One type of reptile that is widely kept is lizards, such as the popular iguana and chameleon.
Although they have almost the same shape, these two types of lizards have significant differences. Chameleons have the characteristic of being able to change their body color according to their surroundings quickly.
While iguanas generally only change color when they are adults. In terms of size, chameleons generally have a smaller body size than iguanas.
With this uniqueness, it is not surprising that Smart Friends are starting to be interested in keeping chameleons as pets as well as decorations at home.
But before that, you certainly have to know how to take care of chameleons. One of them is knowing the right chameleon food recommendations to meet their nutritional needs.
What Do Wild Chameleons Eat In Their Habitat?
To find out what type of food is right for pet chameleons, it's good for you to know what wild chameleons eat in their natural habitat.
Chameleons spend most of their time living in trees and waiting for prey to approach them.
They take advantage of the unique shape of their feet to grip tree branches. Partly to help, they also use a coiled tail during hunting, feeding, and resting.
Also read: Beware Of Wrong! This Is The Type Of Frog Food That Is Suitable For Its Age
Because of their slow movement, chameleons do not stalk and chase their prey. Chameleons will use their eyes that can rotate 360 degrees to observe.
Once the prey is within reach, the chameleon will use its sticky, long, fast tongue to catch the prey and eat it.
In general, a chameleon's diet in the wild will adapt to any type of prey in its environment.
There are various kinds of prey that can be eaten by chameleons, including:
- Flies;
- Worm;
- Cricket;
- Snail;
- Caterpillar;
- Small rodents;
- Lizard;
- Gecko ( gecko ); and
- Small bird.
Apart from animals, a number of chameleon species also obtain nutrients from plants. As in the type of veiled chameleon that lives in desert areas, where they eat flowers and leaves to get water.
Both small chameleons and adult chameleons do not really have a significant difference in their food choices.
The choice of food for wild chameleons is strongly influenced by the size of the chameleon itself, where small chameleons prey on smaller animals and vice versa.
Best Chameleon Food Recommendations, From Animal To Vegetable
Most types of chameleons are carnivorous animals, with the main diet of insects. While some of them also eat a number of types of vegetables.
Some reptile lovers also say that chameleons are picky eaters. So the owner must provide additional supplements to keep the nutrition fulfilled, you know.
Insect
As previously discussed, the majority of chameleons are carnivorous animals that make insects as their main food.
There are various types of insects that are used as a source of animal food for chameleons that are easy to find around at relatively affordable prices, such as:
- Cricket;
- cockroaches; and
- Hong Kong caterpillar.
For crickets and cockroaches, you can make daily food choices for chameleons because they have quite balanced nutrition.
As for the type of hong kong caterpillar, you can give it occasionally because this type of food contains quite a lot of fat, you know.
Then the selection of insects on chameleons is to try to be the result of livestock, not caught in the wild. This is of course to prevent parasites that may be contained in it.
In addition, some reptile owners also recommend treating insects that will be used as bait for pet chameleons. Why should it be like that?
This is done so that the insects are more nutritious and have more benefits. Later, the nutrients in the form of vitamins and minerals consumed by insects will automatically be absorbed by the chameleon's body.
You can give insect food, in the form of fruit or vegetables for a few days first.
After it is enough, you can only give it to the chameleon. The process of treating this bait itself is widely known as, gut-loading , you know.
Vegetables
Some types of chameleons, such as the Yemeni chameleon or the hooded chameleon also like food in the form of vegetables to meet nutritional needs in the form of vitamins and minerals.
Although not everyone will like it, there are several types of vegetables that you can make chameleon food, such as:
- Mustard greens;
- Lettuce;
- Cabbage/cabbage;
- Carrot;
- Pumpkin; and
- Sweet potatoes.
Before giving it a plant-based food source, make sure you clean and cut it into small pieces.
As PetPi mentioned earlier, chameleons don't necessarily like this type of food. You can experiment with putting some in a cage and see how they react.
Fruits
In addition to vegetables, chameleons can also be given fresh fruit, you know. This additional type of chameleon food contains lots of vitamins and nutrients for their growth and development.
Although there are also some chameleons who refuse, there are several types of fruit that they like the most, such as:
- Apple;
- Orange;
- Kiwi;
- Mango;
- Melon;
- Banana;
- Strawberry; and
- Tomato.
If you want to give fruit to chameleons, you can get used to it from a young age so that they will get used to it when they grow up.
In addition, it should be noted also not to give this type of feed too often because fruit is not the main food.
Rat Chicks
Newborn white mouse puppies that are pink and hairless can also be used as food choices for chameleons, although they should only be given occasionally.
This food choice is only recommended for adult chameleons that are already large, so they can be easily swallowed and digested.
Although they contain several nutrients, these mice contain excess amounts of fat that may be detrimental to the chameleon's health if given too often.
To give food in the form of rat pups, make sure it is dead first.
You can also give frozen rat puppies which must be thawed first with warm water and allowed to adjust to room temperature, yes.
Also read: How to Make Animal Feed With Straw
Additional Supplements
Some of the chameleon food choices above may not be enough to meet their nutritional needs. So, you can also add additional supplements specifically for reptiles, here.
Some additional nutrients needed include vitamin A, vitamin D3, calcium, and phosphorus.
Reptile supplements are generally in powder form. It is given in moderation using the dusting method , which is to cover insects, the chameleon's staple food, with supplement powder.
Supplementation in the form of calcium with vitamin D3 can be done once to twice per week. While for multivitamins can be given once a week or two weeks.
Water
All living things need water to support their life, including chameleons. What should be considered in giving water to chameleons is the method, here.
Chameleons cannot drink water placed in special containers like other pets. Because in the wild, chameleons consume dew water found on the surface of the leaves.
To stimulate it, you can also spray water on the plants in the chameleon's cage. You can do this process four or five times a day to quench thirst.
How To Give A Chameleon The Right Food For Its Age?
Launching from PetMD.com, the number of servings of chameleon food can be adjusted according to age and body size. Generally, small chameleons to juveniles need more food than adult chameleons.
- Chameleon children to teenagers generally consume 12-20 small crickets every day. The size of the small chameleon's food is adjusted to the size of the mouth, at least 1 to 1.5 times its size.
- Adult chameleons can eat up to 12 large crickets daily. In addition, some large chameleons are also not required to eat every day, which can apply a 1-day fasting system.
The amount above is uncertain, it could also be less or more than the needs of each chameleon.
To find out, you can try thrusting food right in front of it until the chameleon no longer shows an appetite.
Those are some chameleon food recommendations that you can give to maintain the nutrition of your pet reptile.
Because it is an animal that likes to be picky about food, you have to be more observant in maintaining its nutritional intake. Don't let health problems get to your pet chameleon, okay?
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