bitting crickets

[rosetta]

Thanks for the responses!!! here is my "help info"

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Jackson Chameleon , male named Jack
Handling - as little as possible, (was told it was not good for him)
Feeding - I am feeding him crickets, mealworms, (tried some snap peas, bean sprouts but so far he hasnt touched them, So far he eats about 3 to five crickets and about 2 to 4 meal worms . I have been feeding him everyday. I was told to feed everyother but he seems to be hungry and eats so I feed him. Still working on the gut loading?? they gave me something in the pet shop in their container.
Supplements - zoo med's reptivite on all the crickets
Watering - i have the little dripper going all day and mist the cage 2 to 4 times. he drank when I was misting 1 time but I havnt seen him drink other then that.
Fecal Description -
. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
History - He is a wild chameleon (it's a long story, but he seems to be doing really well) not that I am an expert

Cage Info: zoo med's glass terrarium.
Cage Type - it has a screen top and screen air vents in the front bottom. What are the dimensions? not sure, but its on the smaller side.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? zoo meds uv What is your daily lighting schedule? uv light for about 10 - 12 hours and then at night a red light.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? 73 - 80
Lowest overnight temp? 65.. but when I got this temp he would climb to the closest point of the red light. when I have it at about 68 - 70 he seems most comfy and sleeps under a group of leaves.
How do you measure these temps? zoo med's temp and humidity gauge
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? about 80(lowest ) 93 (highest)
How are you creating and maintaining these levels? so far
What do you use to measure humidity? zoo med's humidity gauge
Plants - Are you using live plants? had guava cuttings but looking at getting some plant for the cage but was looking at kinds.. ???If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? in my bedroom. Is it near any fans,no air vents,no or high traffic areas? semi med traffic but only getting on and off the bed so just for a little bit in the am and then at night. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? its at about 5'10" so well above my BF"S and my head when we do have to pass by.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Kaneohe HI

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

The couple of loose crickets - I dont think they are gut feed right, a better water and dranage system.. Id like it to be recycling so it's less disterbance in the cage but most I looked at a very expensive here.. also a feeder container idea so the crickets stop jumping out. The milk jug I did has a bottom wall height of about 3 inches and the medium ones both jumped out..


Thanks for the feed back!!!!
Aloha..

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Jackson Chameleon , male named Jack
How old is he?
Handling - as little as possible, (was told it was not good for him)
Feeding - I am feeding him crickets, mealworms, (tried some snap peas, bean sprouts but so far he hasnt touched them, So far he eats about 3 to five crickets and about 2 to 4 meal worms . I have been feeding him everyday. I was told to feed everyother but he seems to be hungry and eats so I feed him. Still working on the gut loading?? they gave me something in the pet shop in their container.
Try finding other feeders like silk worms and hornworms. Mealworms have alot of chitin and it can cause impaction which will lead to death but theyre okay every other week to feed. You want to gut load with collard, dandlion greens, potatoes, apples, ect,ect.
Supplements - zoo med's reptivite on all the crickets
Your gonna want to find a calcium supplement with NO d3 or phosphorus, one calcium supplement WITH D3, and a multi vitamin. Dust about every day with calcium with NO d3 or phosphorus, every two weeks with calcium WITH d3 and ONCE a month with the multivitamin. You might not be able to find all of these at your pet store but you can find them online.
Watering - i have the little dripper going all day and mist the cage 2 to 4 times. he drank when I was misting 1 time but I havnt seen him drink other then that.
Thats not a problem as long as his urates (white part of poop) is white and NOT orange and that hes pooping which means hes eating.
Fecal Description -
This should be white at the tip and not runny brown or too dry but moist.
. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
History - He is a wild chameleon (it's a long story, but he seems to be doing really well) not that I am an expert
Since he is wild caught he should be tested for parasites as soon as possible.

Cage Info: zoo med's glass terrarium.
Glass isnt okay because it can cause them to over heat and also chams are solitary animals, they like to be alone, the reflection of him self on the glass can stress him out and cause him to attack the glass and hurt him self.
Cage Type - it has a screen top and screen air vents in the front bottom. What are the dimensions? not sure, but its on the smaller side.
A adult should be housed in a ALL screen cage atleast 4 foot tall, 2ft deep, and 2 ft wide.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? zoo meds uv What is your daily lighting schedule? uv light for about 10 - 12 hours and then at night a red light.
You need a liner flouresnt tube, a 5.0 reptisun. The coiled lights WILL cause eye damage.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? 73 - 80
Lowest overnight temp? 65.. but when I got this temp he would climb to the closest point of the red light. when I have it at about 68 - 70 he seems most comfy and sleeps under a group of leaves.
If it doesnt drop below 65 degrees a red light at night is not recommened because it caused cause over heating/eye problems.
How do you measure these temps? zoo med's temp and humidity gauge
when you can get a digital thermometer and humidity gauge
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? about 80(lowest ) 93 (highest)
How are you creating and maintaining these levels? so far
What do you use to measure humidity? zoo med's humidity gauge
Plants - Are you using live plants? had guava cuttings but looking at getting some plant for the cage but was looking at kinds.. ???If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? in my bedroom. Is it near any fans,no air vents,no or high traffic areas? semi med traffic but only getting on and off the bed so just for a little bit in the am and then at night. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? its at about 5'10" so well above my BF"S and my head when we do have to pass by.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Kaneohe HI

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

The couple of loose crickets - I dont think they are gut feed right, a better water and dranage system.. Id like it to be recycling so it's less disterbance in the cage but most I looked at a very expensive here.. also a feeder container idea so the crickets stop jumping out. The milk jug I did has a bottom wall height of about 3 inches and the medium ones both jumped out..

I cant help with the drainage system because I dont have one BUT i can tell you unless you plan to boil the used water you cant reuse it due to bacteria issues. As for the crickets if you take them out at night and feed them so their not hungery you shouldnt have to worry about them biting your cham. As for the feeding container and container should work like if you still want to use your milk jug just pull one of the crickets legs off so it cant jump out. (this is how most do it)

 

[rosetta]

Thanks so much about the leg tip..
Ummm IDK how old he is, and for the parasites I would just take him to the vet?

as far as the glass terrarium I guess I messed up with that.. I got it after reading an article in the Chameleon! E-Online magazine.. I had preffered a glass one because I was going to have him as a classroom guest once every so often. Not to be handled but to observe for a short period of time to educate them on how to be kind to reptiles and to see how awesome the are. . I wanted it to be lockable and glass to be the safest for him. I guess I will be upgrading as soon as I get the money together for a bigger screen cage ; )

Do i need to prepare the gutload in anyway, like the leafs or anything or just put it in the crickets cage?

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Lol you dont need to take him you can just get some of his fresh poo and put in a zip lock bag and take it to a reptile vet.
And the screen cages locks, well the popular brands like LLLreptile cages and Reptibreeze cages.
And the screens pretty firm it doesnt break too easy.
And as for the crickets you can just go out buy some collards, dandilion greens, potatoes (for moisture) and wash them real good and throw them in. You wanna cut chunks from the potatoe to put in there but yea then your all set
I also buy fluckers calcium diet. It looks like saw dust kinda and I put it in a little container for them to eat.

 

[rosetta]

Awesome.. thank you so much!