baby veiled

[karmacham]

hi there..just wondering...I have a baby veiled girl that we built a huge enclosure for...I had a smaller one but she seemed stressed in it and seems much happier in the big one. She is eating pin head crickets, but they seem to hide in the enclosure. She loves to hunt, and will not eat in a smaller environment.
how many crickets should I put in the enclosure to ensure she can get her fill? I worry about too many (biting her), but also about her not finding enough to fill her needs...the enclosure is roughly 2 ft wide x2.5 ft long x 5 ft high. 20 pin heads hide very easily in there, so I'm left wondering what I can do. Also she will not eat from a bowl or my hand, or go to the bottom of the cage...so I am also wondering how I can get her to spot worms and other veiled food types? sorry for the long post, but this has been on my mind for the last few days...

 

[jannb]

How old is she? I would take out any uneatten crickets at night just to make sur ethey don't nibble on her.

 

[karmacham]

I'm not sure how old she is, I posted a few picson the photo forum...1 guess was 3 or 4 months I think...

 

[karmacham]

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[gentlejamo]

if you have not tried it, you could always move her to a smaller enclosure during feeding. If you have like a 5 gallon enclosure or something. you could put her is something that size so she can locate the crickets quicker and still hunt them. there are still some things that you have to consider if doing this, but i don't think this is a bad option if she is one that does not get stressed when moved or handled.

 

[BocaJan]

WOW, I have my two babies in large cricket keepers until they grow a little. When they are hungry they eat! Also, I feed them the 1/4" sized crickets. Sometimes the pet store gets them larger....they have no control what comes. Let me tell you, when I open the top they look up licking their lips knowing what is coming. They each get about 8 and I dust them. They roam around until they are all gone. I then spray their cage well. Feeding time is in the morning. I also spray them well in the afternoon. There is plenty of white stuff in the bottom of the cage so I figure they are getting enough. My adult male will actually open his mouth when I am spraying. When his thirst is quenched he doesn't open his mouth any more! LOL What personalities they all have. I am getting screened cages for them next week.

 

[bucky]

WOW, I have my two babies in large cricket keepers until they grow a little. When they are hungry they eat! Also, I feed them the 1/4" sized crickets. Sometimes the pet store gets them larger....they have no control what comes. Let me tell you, when I open the top they look up licking their lips knowing what is coming. They each get about 8 and I dust them. They roam around until they are all gone. I then spray their cage well. Feeding time is in the morning. I also spray them well in the afternoon. There is plenty of white stuff in the bottom of the cage so I figure they are getting enough. My adult male will actually open his mouth when I am spraying. When his thirst is quenched he doesn't open his mouth any more! LOL What personalities they all have. I am getting screened cages for them next week.

Do you keep your chams together? And i think a screened enclosure would be better than a cricket keep for keeping your chameleons in. Or do you put your chams in the cricket keep when you feed them

 

[BocaJan]

Oops, I guess I didn't make myself clear. My babies are all in separate keeps. It is easier for me to keep my eye on them for about a month until I move them into a screened enclosure. I do not keep them together. I know some folks say it is ok to put females in the same enclosure if they have plenty of room so they can fine their own space, but the info I have read said chams like to live solitary. Heck, if they need company they can visit with me. I take each one out of their enclosure every day and let them crawl around with me for about 15 minutes or so. I want each of them, even the big male Arnold, to be comfortable with being held. Can't say they will let anybody else touch them without a big snarl and gape.