When you are going to keep a panther chameleon as your pet, you should know about their food habit in details. They are mostly insectivores. There are various insects that are loved and cherished by the panther chameleon. You can offer them cricket, roaches, locusts or butter worm. Silkworms and flies are also on the list of their chosen food items. Some other safe options are super worms, wax worms and grasshoppers.
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What Do Panther Chameleons likes to Eat?
Panther chameleons love to eat different kind of food, so if you keep them happy and satisfied, you need to offer them a variety of insects and sometimes you can offer those greens as well as fruits. The different insects that they eat are listed below and also you should never forget to put some greens once a week in their diet.
What vegetables can panther chameleon eat?
Among all the vegetable, lettuce is one liked and safe vegetable for panther chameleon. It has been seen that most chameleons prefer to eat some fragrant or aromatic vegetables, though lettuce does not fall under the aromatic category, still, it is loved by some chameleons like the panther variety. Their main food is not greens but you can offer them some fresh lettuce when you think it needs some hydration in its system.
How often the panther chameleon does eat?
The time and amount of feeding of panther chameleon depend a lot upon the age and size of the creature. When it is a baby of 3 months you need to offer it food every day. Also, the amount of food is not restricted as they should eat as much as possible.
When they become 4 months, they need some more food. So you should offer them 5 different food items on an alternate day and 10 food items on the other.
A 6 months panther chameleon can be called a sub-adult and they need less food then. So you can feed them with 5 items on every alternate day. The day in between will be the day of no food.
When the panther chameleon becomes 12 months, they will have three items of food on alternate days.
How can you manage the portion control on the panther chameleon?
When you are offering food to the panther chameleon, you need to remember that this is actually a wild creature. In the area where panther chameleons are found in abundance, food is not so easily found in that surrounding. So they do not eat daily, as they do not get food daily.
To survive in that situation they eat a huge amount when they get food. Also, they are not much choosy when it comes to food items. They eat any and every food item that is available around them. But when you are offering it food, it must be of only 5 items per feeding day and not more than that. Also, remember to feed the mature panther chameleon on every alternate day as we mentioned earlier.
Why do you need to offer food on an alternative day to the panther chameleon?
When you are keeping a panther chameleon at the captivity, then you should be aware of the amount that you are offering it. You can offer them food daily and also that can be in good amount. But to keep them healthy and fit, you should offer them food once in two days, as that is the process of their digestion.
If you feed them regularly and that is in good amount, there is a chance that the chameleon will get fatty and it will not be good for its health. They consume their food slowly and they take at least two days to consume the amount of food consumed in a day.
What can be included in the diet of panther chameleon?
There should be a wide range of insects that are useful and nutritious for panther chameleon. They are fond of crickets but mealworms and roaches can also be provided in their daily diet. You need to gut load the insects that you will be feeding the chameleon.
When they eat vegetables, those should be only the dark green leafy vegetables. There are several options like collard greens, mustard greens and ficus leaves.
Gut loading process of insects to feed panther chameleon:
When you need to feed minerals to your panther chameleon you should do that by gut loading the insects. You can feed the insects with the powdered form of calcium or other minerals. Also, you can cover them with the particular powder but these should be done 12 hours before you will feed them to the chameleon.
If you are not sure about how to feed the insects with the minerals then you can simply follow this method. Keep the insects in a bowl or bottle filled with powdered mineral. Also, you need to put a piece of potato inside the bowl or bottle which will keep the hydration level intact. This way the minerals and vitamins can be fed to the panther chameleon.
When you need to dust the insects with the mineral, you can use a bag. A can will also become much handy. You can keep the insects inside and then sprinkle some powdered mineral on them. You can shake the bag to mix the powder with the insects before offering them to the panther chameleon.
Why Dubia roaches are counted as a superfood for panther chameleon?
Among the insects that panther chameleon can eat and digest, there are options like hornworms, fruit flies, bean beetles, Dubia roaches, silkworms and super worms. But as per the Herp vet or reptile specialists, Dubia roaches are most nutritious and helpful for panther chameleon.
Panther chameleons love to eat worms of various kinds. But offering them too many worms or only worms for alternate meals is not good for their health. So you can offer them Dubia roaches which have many benefits for the pet as well as for the pet owners.
These roaches have a long life span. So you can keep them at home for a long time and feed the panther chameleons. They are easy to keep as food for your pet. You can buy a bunch of this insect and store them for future use.
They do not make noise, and thus you can keep them peacefully at home. If you try to keep crickets, which are another good choice for feeding the panther chameleon, there will be much noise. Even if you keep them in a closed bottle, then also the noise will be alarming. But when you try to keep roaches, you will find much less hazard.
The most important aspect of the roaches is that they are much meaty and thus will be fulfilling for the panther chameleon. You can offer five roaches and then you can be sure that the panther chameleon will be satisfied for two days.
Can panther chameleon eat a banana?
Banana is a sweet and mushy fruit that is much liked by most reptiles. Not only because it is nutritious but also it is easy to digest, this one fruit always makes its place in the list of fruits safe and suitable for various reptiles and also panther chameleon.
Banana is soft and thus that does not need to be chewed. Reptiles often consume their food wholly and do not buy or chew it. So when you give them small pieces of banana they can easily devour them.
Any fruit and that includes banana too, should not be fed to panther chameleon daily. This is not a safe option to be included in the daily diet of the panther chameleon due to several minerals and vitamins present in that fruit. Too much of those ingredients may cause toxicity which is common among chameleons.
Can panther chameleon eat an orange?
Orange is a fruit that is rich in vitamin C. so this fruit, along with apple is a good choice for feeding the panther chameleon. You can make them eat this fruit but do not overfeed them or provide them with this fruit on a daily basis.
How can you make the panther chameleon eat fruits?
Offering food in a bowl is always advised when it comes to feeding the pet. When you wish to feed the chameleon with some apple, orange, banana or even the greens like broccoli or mustard green then you must cut them into small pieces and offer them in a bowl. Also, you can offer them these foods by hand which is a nice way to keep the bonding strong with the pet.
What precaution should be taken when offering fruits or greens to the panther chameleon?
The fruits that you offer to the panther chameleon should be free from any toxicity. They should be organic to get the best result. You should not try to feed those fruits that can have pesticides in them.
When you give the panther chameleon fruits that are available in your backyard garden, you cannot be sure if there are pesticides induced in those fruits. So it is better to have the fruits and greens from organic sources and wash them properly before offering them to the chameleon.
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