Are Butterworms Good For Chameleons? 7 Important Facts

One question that tends to come up in chameleon owner forums is as to whether butterworms are good for chameleons. Normally, this question comes from chameleon owners who are considering starting to feed their chameleons with butterworms.

Are butterworms good for chameleons? The answer is yes. Butterworms can be great for chameleons. They are particularly ideal when given once in a while. Admittedly, they are high in fat. Butterworms may be especially good for chameleons that are underweight as well as those that are sick or recuperating.

So they seek to know whether the chameleons are capable of eating the butterworms, whether the butterworms are safe for chameleons and whether they have any nutritional benefit. This article answers all those questions.

Can Chameleons Eat Butterworms?

Before proceeding to answer the question on are butterworms good for chameleons, it is important to find out whether chameleons can eat butterworms in the first place. So, can a chameleon eat butterworms? The answer is yes.

In fact, for a typical chameleon worms (like the butterworms in question here) are treats. Therefore chameleons can eat butterworms. Many chameleon owners feed their chameleons with butterworms once in a while. And the chameleons do seem to enjoy eating these worms.

Are Butterworms Safe For Chameleons?

In answering the question on are butterworms good for chameleons, it is important to consider the safety. Indeed, many of the people who hesitate feeding chameleons butterworms do so on account of safety concerns.

So, is butterworms good for chameleons – with regard to safety? The answer is yes – but only as long as the chameleons only eat the butterworms once in a while.

Butterworms are high in fat and protein. If chameleons eat too much fat and protein, it can cause them kidney and liver problems. Too much fat can also make them overweight or obese. Therefore feeding your chameleon too many butterworms too frequently can be unsafe. But if you only give your chameleon a few butterworms once in a while, then they should be safe.

Most chameleons are able to digest butterworms without problems. So with regard to digestion, butterworms are safe for chameleons. Moreover, butterworms are not among the sorts of foods that can hurt a chameleon while ingesting.

Thus, the only aspect of butterworms that is cause for concern is their high fat and protein value. And this is why a chameleon should only eat them once in a while. In other words, you should view them as chameleon treats, rather than chameleon staples.

Can You Feed Butterworms To Chameleons?

This is basically another way of posing the question on are butterworms good for chameleons? And the answer is yes, you can feed butterworms to chameleons. There are three key reasons why it makes sense to feed butterworms to chameleons:

Butterworms can be nutritionally beneficial to chameleons: From the butterworms, the chameleons can get the protein they need to grow and repair their body cells. Moreover, the butterworms have the fat that the chameleons may need to keep warm (and look healthy). At yet another level, there are those who say that the butterworms are quite rich in calcium.

Butterworms are safe for chameleons: As long as you give the chameleons butterworms once in a while, they have a good safety profile. They don’t have compounds that are toxic to chameleons in them. And they are so smooth that a chameleon is unlikely to get hurt in the process of ingesting them.

The chameleons are likely to enjoy eating the butterworms: This therefore means that the butterworms are food you can give to your chameleon to cheer it up.

Are Butterworms Good For Chameleons?

This is likely to be the question at the top of the mind for every chameleon owner who is considering starting to feed his chameleon with butterworms. So, indeed, are butterworms good for chameleons? The answer is yes. Chameleons that are fed butterworms (and other types of worms) once in a while seem to thrive for it.

The butterworms are packed with nutrients that chameleons need: especially proteins and fats. They are also among the few things that most chameleons really seem to enjoy eating. And they are mostly safe.

The only caveat to give while answering this question (on are butterworms good for chameleons) is that the butterworms are only good when given once in a while. So if you get into a routine of giving your chameleon many butterworms on a daily basis, then they will no longer be good.

This is because giving the chameleon butterworms this often may cause it to end up with too much fat and protein. This may cause obesity, kidney problems, liver problems and a whole lot of other issues.

The high protein content in butterworms can be particularly good for obviously underweight chameleons. And because they are things that chameleons seem to enjoy eating, the worms can be used as appetite boosters. So if you have a chameleon that is refusing to eat, you just give it a few butterworms, to get it back into an eating mood.

All in all, with the right level of moderation, butterworms are good for chameleons.

Butterworms Nutritional Value

Any attempt to answer the question on are butterworms good for chameleons will fall short if it doesn’t address the issue of the worms’ nutritional value. Indeed, most of the people who pose that question (are butterworms good for chameleons) tend to be motivated by nutritional concerns.

So they want to know whether the butterworms are of any nutritional value to chameleons. Only then can they figure out whether or not the butterworms are good for the chameleons.

So, what is the butterworms nutritional profile like? Well, in butterworms, you mainly get proteins, moisture and fat. The protein level in butterworms is remarkably high: at around 16%. This makes them most ideal for chameleons that are underweight or recuperating after sickness. Turning to the fat level, this is at around 5%. So contrary to what most people think, butterworms actually have less fat content than superworms. In superworms, the fat is at around 17%.

In butterworms, the moisture is 59%. They also have some minerals like calcium, alongside quite a bit of fiber.

So, considering their nutritional value, are butterworms good for chameleons? The answer is yes. They have a level of protein that may be hard to find in other foods. They also have a level of fat that is relatively low for worms. And they have a lot of moisture content. So these are certainly among the best worms for chameleons.

Are Butterworms High In Fat?

Like all other worms, butterworms are quite high in fat. We are looking at around 5% fat content. This is high, but not exceptionally high by worm standards. In fact, with regard to fat content, they may be amongst the better worms for chameleons.

That is because other worms tend to have much higher fat content. Superworms, for instance, have as much as 17% fat content.

One may then ask: are butterworms good for chameleons, given their fat content level? And the answer would be mostly yes. This is because when you consider the fat levels in other worms that chameleons often eat, butterworms are among those with lesser fat.

Can Panther Chameleons Eat Butterworms?

Some of the people who pose the question on are butterworms good for chameleons turn out to be individuals who own panther chameleons. So they specifically want to know whether their panthers can eat these worms. And the answer, as it turns out, is yes. Panther chameleons do eat butterworms. Most panther chameleons actually seem to enjoy eating butterworms.

Some panther chameleons will eat butterworms equally well whether they are cup fed or hung on the vines of the plants in the chameleon enclosures. But there are some panther chameleons that will not eat the worms when cup fed. Yet they will devour them when hung on the vines.

All in all, panther chameleons can and do eat these worms.

Can Veiled Chameleons Eat Butterworms?

Among the folks who pose the question on are butterworms good for chameleons are people who own veiled chameleons. Now as we all know, these particular chameleons can be fussy/choosy feeders. This is what leads to the question as to whether they can eat the butterworms. And the answer is yes. Veiled chameleons do eat butterworms. These worms are actually among the treats they enjoy.

The most important thing is to ensure that you give your veiled chameleon the worms just once in a while. Remember, the butterworms chameleons eat are rather rich in protein and fat. Therefore butterworms for veiled chameleon can turn into a hazard: if the chameleon eats them too often.

All in all, a veiled chameleon can eat these worms. In fact, if you undertake research on what can I feed butterworms to, the chameleon (including the veiled chameleon in question here) is likely to come somewhere near the top.

What Worms Can Chameleons Eat?

Often, alongside the question on are butterworms good for chameleons comes this one: on what worms chameleons can eat. And the truth of the matter is that there is a wide variety of worms that chameleons can eat. Those include the butterworms in question here, as well as superworms, mealworms and earthworms. Horn worms are suitable for chameleons too, as are tomato worms and grub worms. The chameleons may also eat wax worms and bamboo worms.

The most important thing is to ensure that you give the worms to the chameleon sparingly. So you give the worms only once in a while. This is because the worms tend to have a great deal of fat and protein content. And an excess of these nutrients can be harmful to the chameleon at many levels.

You can buy the worms with which to feed your chameleon. For instance, there are many sites offering butterworms for sale online. So you can buy those for your chameleon. The other option is that of breeding your own worms for your chameleon. For instance, breeding butterworms with which to feed your chameleon is a possibility, if you have the patience it requires.

How To Feed Worms To Chameleons?

The first step is to unthaw the worms (if you had frozen them). By the way, you may have been wondering, do chameleons eat butterworms that are frozen. And now you have the answer: yes they do, but you need to unthaw the worms first. So anyway, you first unthaw the worms, if they were in a freezer.

The second step is to present the worms to the chameleon. There are several ways in which you can do this. One is through the cup feeding method. Another method is by hanging the worms on a vine, and having the chameleon grab them by itself.

You will need to give the chameleon some time to notice the warms, and actually start eating them.

My Chameleon Won’t Eat Worms – What To Do?

Firstly, you may consider changing how you give the chameleon the worms. For instance, if you have been cup feeding, you can consider switching to hanging the warms on vines. These are the vines of the plant inside the chameleon enclosure. This may entice it into eating worms it would otherwise ignore.

Secondly, if you have been giving dead worms, consider switching to live ones. Some chameleons will show a preference for live worms.

Thirdly, if you use frozen worms, ensure that you unthaw them properly, before presenting them to the chameleon.

Fourthly, you can consider switching to another type of worms. For instance, if you have been using wax worms, consider switching to butter worms for chameleons.

Final Verdict – Are Butterworms Good For Chameleons?

Are butterworms good for Chameleons? Butterworms are good for chameleons. They are nutritionally beneficial to the chameleons. They are safe for the chameleon to eat. And the chameleons really seem to enjoy eating the butterworms in most cases. The most important thing is to ensure that you only give the chameleon the butterworms once in a while, as treats.

If you give the butterworms to the chameleon too often, they may cause problems. As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet chameleons a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️