baby veiled not eating crickets

[StarlaAndCaroline]

she's probably 6 weeks old mostly bright green some times half green half brown too
housed in 3 sided glass tank (planning on getting all screened)
hibiscus, fern, and wheatgrass plants in tank dirt on plants rocks on dirt
exo terra uvb 150 on top (with mesh net to prevent climbing on top screen)
57w heat lamp off to the side
tank temp 82-84 in day on cool side
humidity 50-70
exo terra calcium + D3 (recommended by the shop keeper/small amount on all feadings)
was eating 4-6 crickets a day. There were some nats in the cage seams she liked those better, I think cause she stopped eating the crickets for 2 days. Thin she started eating again 6-8 crickets, so I thought I would get small super worms she LOVES them, like runs to the cup and eats 3 at a time (all the time there's 4+ crickets roaming the cage) won't look at the crickets but she will eat a wax worm while I hold her and flies off the wall.
I read super worms shouldn't be given all the time, but now she gets 6 a day and seams fine droppings look fine no yellow or undigested food

 

[Ahtee]

Hi there! I don't quite get the part about the plants and tank where u mention dirt/soil. But if that means u have substrate in your viv I suggest u remove it and have no substrate at all especially when u free range a few of the crickets. Calcium with d3 isn't recommended everyday, plain calcium every feeding with calcium w d3 and multivitamin twice a month. And regarding your temps I'm thinking 82-84 on the cool side is a little high for a female 6week old Cham. Just my 2 cents worth hope it helps!

 

[Andee]

Calcium + d3 should only be used twice a month. A multivitamin is also needed twice a month. But for everyday use it should be just plain calcium without d3.

Anyways back to the question at hand, superworms are an addicting food and hard to get a cham off of once started in my opinion as I have heard all sorts of problems with them. I have never fed them myself. I feed hornworms, dubia roaches, and crickets. The only way I know to get them off of it is to starve them. Offer only crickets, absolutely NO super worms anymore. I would suggest hornworms raised from eggs as another feeder for her. At this young of age she will most likely eat crickets within a day, though I might be wrong. Watch her carefully for weight loss. Anyone else with more experience might be more helpful. Having dirt with the plants is fine as long as you have rocks too big for her to eat over it so she can't get at it.

 

[StarlaAndCaroline]

thanks.. I very new to owning a chameleon didn't know what matters to list ...half the tank has dirt and plants. is the dirt bad or just to stop the crickets from hiding

 

[Andee]

You don't want any substrate on the ground, she can get impacted from eating it. I would put the plants in a pot and put stones on the dirt that shows through. And since she is so young impaction is really easy to have happen.

 

[StarlaAndCaroline]

Calcium + d3 should only be used twice a month. A multivitamin is also needed twice a month. But for everyday use it should be just plain calcium without d3.

Anyways back to the question at hand, superworms are an addicting food and hard to get a cham off of once started in my opinion as I have heard all sorts of problems with them. I have never fed them myself. I feed hornworms, dubia roaches, and crickets. The only way I know to get them off of it is to starve them. Offer only crickets, absolutely NO super worms anymore. I would suggest hornworms raised from eggs as another feeder for her. At this young of age she will most likely eat crickets within a day, though I might be wrong. Watch her carefully for weight loss. Anyone else with more experience might be more helpful. Having dirt with the plants is fine as long as you have rocks too big for her to eat over it so she can't get at it.

I'll get plain calcium in the morning and hornworms too ..... can the superworms hurt her to eat every day

 

[StarlaAndCaroline]

You don't want any substrate on the ground, she can get impacted from eating it. I would put the plants in a pot and put stones on the dirt that shows through. And since she is so young impaction is really easy to have happen.

that's why I covered it with rocks but probably to take it out anyway

 

[Andee]

They are really hard to digest and so they can have problems gaining any sort of nutrition from them. Crickets are a much better feeder insect and no one insect should make up a cham's diet completely. Only one feeder should make up 40% of their diet and that's something like dubia roaches or crickets. Not something like super worms. Horn worms are great but have to be fed in small amounts or else they will have runny fecals. No more than two a day in my opinion. And no cham should get addicted to one source of food that is bad for them. Supers I stay away from because they are mostly fat and hard to digest, and my boy Ryker loves worms so I'm sure he'd love them so much he'd be addicted within a day.

 

[StarlaAndCaroline]

I have tried to put them in the same cup but the crickets hop out. is it really best to let it starve if it won't eat the crickets, and how ling is too long this young

 

[Andee]

I would say no more than two days without food at this age. But offer the crickets on a constant basis or at least all the time as long as its 4 hours before the lights go out. There is a cup that is easy to make https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleons-canada/405-diy-feeding-cups.html

I have never tried it myself as I freerange crickets, but hopefully it will help keep the crickets in the container.

 

[StarlaAndCaroline]

that looks like that will work thanks a lot

 

[pssh]

At a young age like this, I wouldn't starve her. Have you tried feeding fruit flies? I she likes gnats, she will probably eat fruit flies and house flies (not wild caught ones, but ones you need to buy online so that they are clean and free of parasites and pesticides.) I would try and get her to eat other foods besides supers (and only waxworms as a treat every now and then, like a couple of times a month.) If you can get her to eat roaches, silkworms, hornworms, baby mantids, fruit flies, and/or house flies in addition to the superworms, then that would be better than only superworms.

How big are the crickets? They might be too intimidating for her to want to eat them if they are kind of big. The general rule of thumb is that the insect should be no wider (from left to right, not head to butt) than the space between her eyes.

What is the longest time she went without food? You could try only offering crickets in the morning and see if she eats any by mid afternoon. If she doesn't by then, I would go ahead and give her some supers.

 

[Andee]

I would defer to Pssh at this moment, they have more experience with little ones than me.

 

[StarlaAndCaroline]

the crickets are pinheads smallest I could find, she'll eat a bigger superworm the longest she went was two days, but she was eating the gnats to there just in the cage I don't know how many she would get a day. I'll do crickets in the morning and the superworm in the after noon if there still in there I'll get some other bugs too. thanks

 

[Andee]

I would definitely get hornworms if she likes worms, their easier to keep than silkies in my opinion and you can get smaller numbers pretty easily if you are just starting out. They tend to love the green colors. Never tried mantids, and for dubia roaches I would only feed freshly molted and small ones to her. Just cause she is so young.

 

[pssh]

Maybe the pinheads are too small for her? Some chameleons wont bother eating food that they think is too small. You could try offering some that are a little bigger and see what happens.