am I over feeding??

[leolover]

Ok well I have a 18 week old panther chameleon. I have had him for about a month and a half. He has been doing really well, but I wonder if I am feeding him to much. This morning I put about 10-15 crickets in cage... by this evening, they were all gone. I put another 15 or so crickets in the cage.... about an hour later I put 2 wax worms in a cup and hung it on the tree. I just looked and there is not a single cricket in the cage and he ate all the wax worms!!!!! Is he going through a growth spurt? I have read and have been told that you cant overfeed a baby. But is he a baby anymore? And if not then how much should I be feeding him?? I have him on a supplement schedule and feed him the smallest crickets I can buy... one size up from pin head. Any suggestions??

 

[Kevin1873]

The crickets you are feeding him are probably a little too small. At 4 months, he is at the Juvenile state, passed the baby state and you should probably be feeding 1/2 to 3/4 inch sized crickets and give him as much as he wants and slow the rate down at about 6-8 months, probably even longer. I have more knowledge on Veileds and not so much on panthers so don't quote me on it but definitely upgrade to some bigger crickets.

 

[summoner12]

I second the notion that you need larger crickets. They should eat bugs that are about as long as their mouth is wide. Don't worry about over feeding. What kind of supplements are you using and how often? If you step him up to larger food and dust them with calcium every couple of days he will start to grow very nicely.

 

[leolover]

well I have been told that with panther chams they have a very high risk for Metabolic bone disease and that it is very important not to over feed them. That is my only concern. I dont want him to be hungry, but if it is going to hurt him in the long run, then that is more important. Anyone expierenced in Panthers?? My profile pic is recent, so you get an idea of how big he is.

 

[leolover]

Over feeding?? Pictures

I tried to go to the next size up in crickets about 2 weeks ago and he wouldnt have anything to do with them. But he eats the wax worms whole and they are about 2 to 3 times the size of the crickets.. so maybe I will try again with larger crickets. I am dusting with 3 supplements: Miner-all, Herbivite, and repcal. I only use one a day and switch off everyday.... so i use them each twice a week with no supplementing on sundays it is the kammerflage kreations schedule... that is where I bought my Cham and all my set up and supplies... thanks again for any responses!!!

 

[summoner12]

over feeding will not cause MBD if you are feedin the right food.

 

[Kevin1873]

Just be careful not to over-supplement. At a younger age you definitely want to give ur pet the best but I think that Miner-All, Repcal with D3 and Herptivite twice a week might be a little too much. You also want Repcal Calcium with no D3 in it. Its important to keep a 2:1 Phosphorous to Calcium ratio and u don't want to screw that up too much. Over supplementing can lead to a very sick Chameleon. At a young age, Repcal with D3 two times a week, Repcal Calcium with no D3, two maybe three times a week and Herptivite once a week, 2 at the very very most. As they get older you want to cut back. The supplements are just there as an added bonus to make sure the cham is getting the nutrients he/she needs that she may not be getting enough of so you don't have to go way overboard on it.

Check out this link, u can get a lot of information out of Brad through it pay close attention to the Supplements tab
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[chamlover]

I agree with kevin1873. Also are you supplementing your crickets and doing proper gutloading? What are you feeding them? You are what you eat, even for chams. I think most of on the forum have the best fed and gutloaded insects around!

Debby