Buying dog food, cat food or bird food is a pretty straightforward process. Looking for food for pet reptiles though can be a bit more challenging. One reason for this is that reptile food don’t usually come in bags and cans as other types of animal feed. But worry not, because this guide should help you when it comes to choosing what food to give your scaly friend.

Insects and Worms

In the wild, a chameleon’s diet consist of a variety of insects like bugs, crickets and grasshoppers. Aside from these, larger chameleons also feed on smaller lizards. Unfortunately, not all stores or pet shops sell these types of reptile food. Instead, you are more likely to find meal worms or roaches, which should be good enough for most pet chameleons. These are readily available in any pet shop in Mt. Druitt and are relatively affordable.Some pet shops also sell silk worms and wax worms which chameleons seems to love a lot. However, these are more expensive than the other types of worms mentioned earlier. Still, these worms make for a nice treat for chameleons or as a way to vary their diet. Along this line, before giving insects and worms to your chameleons, consider gut loading the feeds first. Gut loading will be discussed in more detail later in this blog post.

Mice Aside from small lizards, larger chameleons also feed on mice in their natural habitat. These should actually be included in their diet since mice is a good source of vitamins and nutrients for large chameleons. You can find both live and pre-killed mice in some shops that sell pet supplies in Mt. Druitt. However, not all of them may be selling such feeds.

When feeding live mice to your chameleons, avoid giving them adult or fuzzy ones. If you don’t like the idea of feeding live animals to you chameleon, then frozen pre-killed mice is a good option. Just be sure that you thaw them first in warm water until they reach close to room temperature. As mentioned earlier, frozen mice can be found in shops that sell reptile food. Again though, keep in mind that not all of them have these in their inventory.

Plants, Fruits and VegetablesThere are also species of chameleons that feed on plants in addition to their diet of insects and worms. Collards, kale, and other leafy greens are good options, so are berries and certain fruits and vegetables. These are not usually sold in stores that sell pet supplies in Mt. Druitt, but you should easily find them in your local markets. Before giving such feed to your pet chameleon, do keep the following in mind.

First, be sure to wash plants, fruits and vegetables with clean water before giving them as reptile food to your chameleon. This is because plants, fruits and vegetables sold commercially are often grown using fertilizers and pesticides. These chemicals can be extremely harmful to your chameleon, and ingesting them may lead to the demise of your beloved pet.Second, slice and chop the fruits and vegetables into small bits before feeding them to your chameleon. This should make them easier to chew and swallow. Just how small the cuts should be is a matter of preferences, though there’s a general rule that they shouldn’t be any bigger than the gap between your chameleon’s eyes. Failing to do this may cause your chameleon to choke on their food and die. It can be pretty hard to find pre-cut fruits and vegetables for chameleons in shops that sell reptile food, so you will have to do the shopping and cutting manually.