Can Chameleons Eat Mealworms

While mealworms aren’t one of the foods that would be found in their natural habitat, mealworms make an excellent food supplement.

Like people, pet chameleons need the right balance of vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, and carbohydrates to thrive.

In the wild, they get an ample amount of vitamins and minerals through the insects they eat. These insects, such as crickets and grasshoppers, will feed on fruits and vegetables before they get eaten by the chameleons.

On the other hand, in captivity, the insects they eat are usually bought at stores that sell feeder insects. This means the insects aren’t fed the proper food to get all the nutrition. The insects are bred just to be sold as feeders. When it’s fed to the chameleons, the cricket will not have enough vitamins and minerals to meet the chameleons’ daily supplement intake.

Therefore, you’ll either have to sprinkle them with vitamin supplements or feed them other foods like mealworms.

A Chameleon

Health Benefits of Chameleons Eating Mealworms

Omega-3 fatty acids:

Help improve bone and joint health, keep the eyes healthy, and help keep the skin healthy.

B vitamins:

For a chameleon, vitamin B helps with the breakdown of fats and proteins, which is important for metabolizing and energy production. B vitamins also keep the muscles, skin, hair, and eyes healthy.

Mealworms also have vitamins B5 and B12 which help aid in growth and development.

Proteins:

The proteins found in mealworms help chameleons regulate their blood, build and repair muscles, and keep their skin healthy.

Fiber

Fiber in mealworms will help chameleons with the digestion of food and prevent constipation.

Can Baby Chameleons Eat Mealworms

Baby chameleons can and should have mealworms as part of their daily diet. Since baby chameleons grow quickly, they need plenty of nutrition, especially protein,, to help them grow. Mealworms are loaded with proteins and other nutrients that can help support their growth. When mealworms are combined with crickets and green leafy vegetables fed to them daily, the baby chameleons will be healthy and strong when they grow up.

When feeding baby chameleons, always feed them live and healthy mealworms. Dead mealworms have fewer proteins and other nutrients than live mealworms. In addition, dead mealworms could contain parasites and dangerous bacteria.

Freeze-dried or dried mealworms should be avoided when feeding baby chameleons. These types of mealworms don’t have the necessary nutrition that baby chameleons need. When the mealworms are freeze-dried, they lose nearly half of their nutrition. Therefore, freeze-dried mealworms should not be fed to them unless you really need to. The only time you should feed them is when there are absolutely no other foods to feed them.

Baby chameleons should only be fed small mealworms that they can easily fit into their mouths. Medium- and large-sized mealworms could choke the baby chameleons.

Can Chameleons Eat Dead Mealworms?

All chameleons, regardless of their age, will need part of their diet to live. Baby and juvenile chameleons will need about 80% live protein in their diet, while adults require just 20% live protein in their diet.

Dead mealworms do not have as much nutritional value as live mealworms would. While they are alive, their body holds a large percentage of water. That water is would hold the vast majority of the nutrients in their bodies.

Dried Mealworms

When the mealworms die, they will start to lose water, along with the nutrients that are in them.

Chameleons can be fed dead mealworms, but you’ll need to be careful about it. It’s important to find out how they died in the first place. If the mealworms died due to sickness or had parasites, these could be passed down to the chameleons.

Therefore, if you’re unsure how the mealworms died, it’s best to throw them away.

The safer way to feed dead mealworms is to purchase properly prepared dried ones. However, you should only feed these types of food as an emergency supplement. Feeding them dried mealworms regularly could cause them to become ill or not get enough nutrients each day.

Can Chameleons Eat Freeze-dried Mealworms

Chameleons can be fed freeze-dried mealworms, but only as emergency food. This means you have no live foods to feed them.

Freeze-dried mealworms usually don’t have high protein, and freeze-dried mealworms can be found at most local pet stores or online stores like Amazon or CBReptiles.

Always make sure they are of the highest quality. Feeding dried mealworms to your pet chameleons could expose them to parasites and other dangerous pathogens. These can cause your chameleon to become sick and even die. Chameleons are good at hiding their illness, and some owners will not notice anything wrong until it’s too late.

How Many Mealworms To Feed A Chameleon

Baby chameleons should be fed as many mealworms as they can eat. They need all the proteins and other nutrients they can get to help them grow. Baby chameleons grow very quickly, and most species will reach their adult size by 8 months.

The size of the mealworms to feed baby chameleons should be the smallest size possible. As a general rule, the mealworms should never be larger than their eyes. Any size larger could cause the baby chameleons to choke.

Juvenile chameleons, they too should be fed as many mealworms as they can eat. At this age, they are still growing and need all the nutrition they can get.

Unlike baby chameleons, which you can feed without any limits, juvenile chameleons should be fed 3-4 small mealworms at a time. After they have eaten all the worms, you can add more to the cage for them to eat. When juvenile chameleons are full, they will not consume any more.

For adult chameleons, they should be fed medium- or large-sized mealworms. At this age, they can be fed 5-6 mealworms at a time. After they have finished eating all of the worms, you can add a couple more mealworms to their dish.

How To Feed Mealworms To Chameleons

Chameleons should never be fed mealworms strictly as their diet. When feeding mealworms to chameleons, they should be fed crickets and dark leafy greens as well. Also, make sure the mealworms are healthy and free of diseases and parasites.

When feeding chameleons, they should be fed mealworms according to their age. Baby and juvenile chameleons should be fed small-sized mealworms, while adult chameleons are fed with large-sized mealworms. In addition, the mealworms should be coated with multivitamins. Multivitamins help provide the additional nutrition that the mealworm alone can’t provide.

Along with mealworms, crickets should also be added when feeding them. Crickets, too, should be sprinkled with calcium. The calcium will help strengthen their bones as they grow.

On the second feeding, add a couple more mealworms and crickets along with dark green leafy plants to their dish. Make sure to mist the vegetables a bit to prevent the chameleons from being dehydrated.

For baby and juvenile chameleons, you should feed them as much as they can eat. You should continue to feed them until they are eating ¾ of their food in the first 30 minutes. At this time, any mealworms, crickets, vegetables, or any other foods should be removed from the cage.

For adult chameleons, they should only be fed 5-6 insects per feeding. After they have finished it, you can add a couple more to their dish. Feeding adult chameleons twice daily, combining mealworms, crickets, and green leafy vegetables, should be sufficient.

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