Appetite of young chameleons?

[desultadox]

As some of you might know, I recently acquired 2 baby Panther chameleons. My female will pretty much eat as much as I give her (she was snatching waxworms out of my hand the other day, so cute!) and she's 4 months old. But the male, at 3 months old, hasn't eaten a whole lot since I got him. I spied on him eating once and even then it was just a couple of crickets. I cup feed both of them and have offered crickets and waxworms (silkworms are on the way).

Is there anything I can/should do to get him to eat more? I may be having unusually high expectations of him considering he may just be settling in. He has a much worse temper than his girlfriend and definitely won't be hand-fed like her. Also, I might be bothering him too much just because I'm so eager to see him eating right.

They both live in Reptariums (his is a 260 gal and hers is a 65 gal) with live plants on my balcony. They have drippers and get misted a couple times a day.

 

[Justin Carl]

I think it may be a combination of two things.
1) You males cage is a little on the large side.(from what I know they are still very young)
It takes time for them to settle in their enclosure, and even longer for them to remember where the cup is located inside of the cage.
I know you are on a college budget, but you may consider getting him a smaller cage.
2) like you have already said, he may just be getting use to his new cage.
I would let him be for a while, and get him a smaller cage.

-good luck

 

[Tatooineboy]

I'm in the same boat. Just got mine a few days ago and recently added a "feeder" to the cage. Mine is very shy, so I doubt I'll be able to watch him eat.

 

[desultadox]

I considered the cage being too big, but realistically he doesn't use much of it. There's one nice tree with prime climbing branches and leaves that I can never find him in! So he rarely leaves the tree/canopy level of it. That's why I hang the feeder cup from one of that tree's branches. I did see him eat from it once, so I thought he'd have it figured out. A couple of times I've relocated him to that very branch and I've seen him eye the crickets with one eye, but I may have stressed him out by moving him. I might try putting a cup further inside the cage, but that would be hard to remove all the time and I'm sure I'd bother him by shaking his tree a lot in doing so. He still has a pretty firm grip, good colors, and is definitely very responsive if I try to intrude on his territory, so I'm assuming he's alright for now. I'm hoping he just needs time to adjust, I just don't want it to get out of hand.

 

[Justin Carl]

Why dont you try several feeding cups?
I have suggested this before with other chameleons not wanting to eat.
One at the bottom, one mid level, and one near his basking spot.
The one near his basking spot shouldnt be in the direct heat of the bulb either.
You dont want to have BBQ crickets.
Eventually like all chameleons hewill pick his favorite, and feed out of that one.
Once he does choose his favorite remove the rest.
Chameleons are creatures of habit, and will go to the bathroom in the same spot, sleep in the same spot, and feed out of the same bowl.

 

[desultadox]

I think that is a good idea... just hopefully have to put the cups in areas where I have easy access to them. I just think it's weird that he DID eat out of his cup once before... and then he pooped in it lol. Sometimes these guys are tough to figure out. Why can't he be as easy-going as his his girlfriend?? Oh well, I love them for their unique personalities!

 

[Dean Pulcini]

In my experience females always eat better then the males after all they do all the work . I think its a survival thing thats why you have to make sure you don't over feed the females. If you do they will have large unfertile clutches, also I would stay away from the wax worms they are a poor feeder choice.

 

[borris]

hey all, just wondering how big are the feeding cups for these young chamelions. And, any chance of a picture of your feeding cups???

 

[Tatooineboy]

Here ya go Borris. Explains how to make it and shows the size. I use this size for my youngling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2ngn0uAeLM

 

[sharkey]

i think that expecting your little boy to recognize and go to a feeder cup after one success may be too optimistic. multiple feeder cups is a good idea - but, here's my story, i have a little boy who always seems surprised to see the feeder cup (even tho it resides in his cage). i always use the same cup (the same color) and put it in the same spot... maybe mine is just on the low end of the iq scale for chams.

 

[desultadox]

also I would stay away from the wax worms they are a poor feeder choice.

Yeah I know ... I just wanted to offer them some snacks to make them love me and stop hating me! Their main food is crickets that are supplemented regularly, I also have silkworms on the way.

 

[Cainschams]

I have the same deal. My female will come out and crawl around on me and hand feed with no problems. I do not usually take her out only for showers, to go outside, or if there is a new face around so she can boast her awesomness haha. My male both panthers is very uptight. He hides behind what ever branch he is on when I am around. He is a pain to get to the shower and he will only eat hornworms from my hand. This really doesnt bother me because they arent supposed to be say messed with unless necessary. He may warm up he may not mine didnt.

All my chams cup feed and I never had a problem from day 1. Justin is right though. Let him acclimate dont be around unless necessary and try placing the cups/containers in different spots. Do what you need then leave him alone. My male wont eat till after I am gone for quite a while and little tiny frequent check ups dont help. I know you want to hang with your dude but give it time and misting time is a good time to bond. Give them something they like when you are around and they will be less leary of you.

 

[Dankmeleon]

my male ambilobe is always hungry, kinda like your female snatch job

 

[desultadox]

It looks like I was probably just worrying too much. When I got home from work today, he licked his cup clean! ... and then he pooped in it... again! He also seemed friendlier during misting, letting his guard down a bit and drinking in front of me. It seems like he might warm up to me soon enough, but for now I'm gonna try to annoy him as little as possible. He apparently knows where to get food when he needs it, so I shouldn't have to worry about him.

 

[borris]

Thanks heaps tatooineboy, it all looks pretty straight forward.
I am just learning all I can at the moment, these little fellows are fascinating.
Well, thanks again, catch you soon.
Cheers