What Do Chameleons Eat? Complete Feeding Guide And Details

If you are willing to have a fancy pet that appears new every time you look at it, then getting a chameleon is the right choice for you!

It is convenient to have a reptile at your home, provided you take care of all their dietary requirements. Chameleons are an exciting choice of pet and are considered to be a friendly reptile.

We usually have a particular diet requirement for pets, but a chameleon can be easily fed even within captivity. We can build a little nature-friendly cage with a tiny ecosystem of worms and other insects where the chameleon can find a friendly habitat and not an artificial one.

Like every pet, the early stages of a growing chameleon need to be given attention.

Animals naturally possess the knowledge of what is nutritious and healthy for them and have adapted to similar eating habits. But a pet chameleon may find it difficult and hence needs to be fed responsibly.  Most adult chameleons like the veiled chameleons like feeding on chameleons, crickets, mealworms, and more.

Adult chameleons or the larger chameleons and other lizards of the reptile world eat feeder insects. Feeder insects may include crickets; they eat fruit and even eat small birds along with fresh insects, irrespective of large or small insects.

Most chameleons depend on leafy greens since the leafy greens and any other plant material of the same type are readily available for their natural diet. The chameleon's diet prefers the living food type, and they prey on the insects using the sticky tip of the tongue.

Another insect that is food for chameleons is a black soldier fly. The flies have high calcium content and are thus are a part of the chameleon's diet.

After understanding all about feeding your pet chameleons, also check out are chameleons good pets and chameleon changing color.

Do chameleons eat every day?

Every species that lives on this planet needs to eat food to survive. Some animals or birds require eating daily, while some may require a heavy appetite like a lion. Nature has a complex yet amazing food chain where every species is either food or a predator.

Especially insects demonstrate a different kind of interdependency among each other. When we talk about what do chameleons eat daily, we learn there is so much interconnection within the biological systems.

There is no mainstream diet or a hardcore choice of a particular food. Still, usually, a chameleon eats different types of insects, various types of plants, a variety of vegetables, and also some fruits. The daily diet of chameleons should consist of insects, especially tiny crickets.

To fulfill their nutrition requirement, they need vegetables and fruits daily. They are neither completely dependent on plant-based food nor entirely on insects. Such types of species are also called omnivores.

The amount of food a chameleon needs depends a lot upon the age and size of the creature. When born, a baby chameleon is around 4 in (10 cm) long. As an adult, a male chameleon measures around 15-20 in (38.1-50.8 cm) while female measures 10-18 in (25.4-45.72 cm)

When it is a baby chameleon of three months, you need to feed it two to three times a day for five minutes. At age 6-12 months, feed your chameleon once a day for five minutes. Feed your chameleon need more nutritious food during the early stage for healthy growth to become adult chameleons.

As they grow, feeding chameleons becomes easy. They require less food as the demand for nutrition decreases. You can feed adult chameleons every other day.

Do chameleons eat earthworms?

Another diet option for chameleons is worms. These worms are very nutritional for the chameleons as it contains essential nutrients like protein, fat, carbohydrates, and minerals. Amongst the many vitamins, niacin is also present in worms. They like to have all kinds of worms like mealworms, silkworms, wax worms, etc.

They are available in the surrounding areas or natural habitats. It can also be purchased at a local pet shop.

Earthworms are great for chameleons because they are packed with nutrition. Earthworms also consist of essential amino acids like lysine and methionine.  Hence they are a crucial diet requirement for chameleons while they are still growing, primarily for juvenile chameleons or baby chameleons.

Mealworms are considered to be a great source of both protein and fat for juvenile chameleons. They can be fed live or dry. Preferably, a chameleon must be given live food like living mealworms as it is a better source of nutrition.

Silkworms are also an excellent option as a diet choice since they are naturally high in calcium, iron, magnesium, protein, sodium, and vitamins B1, B2, and B3. Silkworms are low in fat and phosphorus.

Silkworms are an essential feeder for female chameleons. When a  female chameleon lays her eggs, the eggs will be more healthy and strong since the eggs will have more calcium content. Hence silkworms appear to be the most nutritious, most nourishing, and natural food.

Waxworms are also another diet option for chameleons. They are rich in high fat and protein.

However, wax worms need to be fed at their larvae stage. They can be stored in a refrigerator to keep them in their larvae stage and then fed to a chameleon. But if they become a pupa, then they cannot be fed to a chameleon.

There is only one thing that needs to be taken care of: feeding the chameleon a healthy diet of worms. The worms should be free of infections and diseases. Since they occur in a natural habitat, they are prone to many conditions and can cause the chameleon to be sick.

Why does my chameleon eat dirt?

A chameleon eating dirt by itself is not dangerous, but we need to check if there are pathogens or artificial fertilizers. Then there is a risk of sickness and death. But this behavior must not be discouraged. Instead, the aim should be to solve the reason for this behavior.

If some essential nutrients are absent from the diet of a chameleon, then it may resort to eating dirt. You can read this as a sign of making some changes in the diet to provide all the essential nutrients.

You may also consult a vet to understand the nutrients that must be added to the diet. But before anything else, you must prevent the chameleon from consuming dirt which can be achieved by covering the surface with a cover or some rocks and plants.

Do chameleons eat dead crickets?

Chameleons have a hard time recognizing food if it's freeze-dried. Usually, if chameleons belong to a natural habitat, there are higher chances of identifying the food since they will quickly notice living and moving insects.

But a chameleon in captivity might find it challenging to recognize food. Keeping live earthworms and insects inside the house and maintaining a tiny little ecosystem can be tedious.

Here freeze-dried food comes in handy since it can be purchased from a local pet shop or collected from within the natural habitat. So, you may feed them live crickets as per the availability.

The preference for frozen crickets varies across individual pets as some like eating dead crickets and others do not. So, it is better to stick with live crickets for their diet.

What do panther chameleon lizards eat?

The panther chameleon is a species of chameleon that is brightly colored. They are indigenous and commonly found in the tropical forest areas of the Republic of Madagascar. They are rainbow-colored lizards.

They are popular because of their dappled and bright-colored skin and therefore are common in the pet trade. No doubt chameleons change color, but it is very distinctive to see every chameleon species' hues and tones. It depends on the geographical conditions that differ. This makes panther chameleons a preferred pet choice by many people.

The most suitable foods for them are brown crickets, locusts, black crickets, cockroaches, mealworms, waxworms, calciworms, Morio worms, and beetle grubs. As the mealworms and grubs are rich in fats, so provide them in moderation only.

Likewise, cockroaches and other worms can be difficult to digest, so offer them only to mature animals. A chameleon should be given water through misting or drip system.

If you want to feed them some veggies, then collard greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens will be a good choice.

Do chameleons eat lettuce?

Usually, lettuce is not the most beloved vegetable by humans, but it needs to be consumed to be healthy. All species of chameleons do not eat fruits and veggies, but if they do, they can be fed with all sorts of delicious and fresh fruits and vegetables.

We need to make sure that the veggies are fresh and not stale. Vegetables like carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, sweet red peppers, and zucchini can be fed to a chameleon, while the following vegetables should be avoided: cabbage, figs, apricots, iceberg lettuce, and spinach. Among fruits, the safe options are pears, apples, melon, berries, kiwi, and bananas.

Banana is a mushy and sweet fruit, and hence it is liked by most animals and even reptiles. It can be a typical snack between the pet owner and the chameleon. Bananas are nutritious and easy to digest; this one fruit always makes its place in the list of safe and suitable fruits for various reptiles.

Banana is soft and thus does not require to be chewed. When observed closely, lizards, snakes, and any other reptiles often consume their food wholly. They do not bite or chew it. Chameleons take a sticky tongue that makes it easy to swallow the food completely without chewing them into tiny portions.  Chameleons will enjoy small pieces of banana.

Among all the vegetables, lettuce is one liked and safe vegetable for panther chameleons. As some sources suggest, lettuce is not considered the aromatic category, but many chameleons still love it.

They prefer to have fresh lettuce even though their first choice is not greens. Chameleons do like eating vegetables with aroma or fragrance. This will ensure the hydration content in their system.

Chameleons have a strong appetite for vegetables. Lettuce is an excellent choice of diet. This is a great plant to grow within our house or even inside the cage of the chameleon.

Lettuce is a nutritious vegetable because it has a high amount of minerals and vitamins. As for minerals, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium are found in lettuce. Vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate are also found in lettuce.

Lettuce is among those plants that can grow quickly. You'll always have fresh and healthy green leafy food for your chameleons to eat.

Do chameleons eat live crickets?

Like earthworms, another healthy and nutritious diet option is crickets. They naturally contain all the essential amino acids, Omega-3s, Omega-6s, B12.  In addition, crickets are 65% protein by weight which means they are great for baby and juvenile crickets.

Live crickets are the best option to be fed to the chameleons because they contain the highest nutrition. Indeed some crickets can be freeze-dried and fed to the chameleon, but eventually, the crickets might lose their nutrition from their body.

However, these freeze-dried crickets can be preserved for a more extended period of time. So, they may be fed crickets in any form.

It is interesting to observe the diet plan of reptiles and other animals. Everyone has a specific requirement. Like any other pet, a chameleon also needs a healthy and nutritious diet.

To take care of a chameleon, make sure that a chameleon diet has versatile food choices and an efficient gut load to become a strong adult chameleon. It is our responsibility to make these reptiles feel at home in an artificial habitat, and hence giving them appropriate food is crucial.

There are local pet shops or veterinary clinics that can guide you with the daily dietary requirements.

The only important thing is to keep the chameleon happy with some fresh food. Proper housing space must be provided in an area with optimal temperature with adequate provision for a basking area.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for what do chameleons eat, then why not take a look at the chameleon diet or chameleon habitat.