Can you overfeed chams?

[Shia]

Just a general question. I know you can over-supplement chams, but can you overfeed them or will they just not eat when not hungry?

Usually I feed mine crickets daily with worms (various kinds) in the evening. Sometimes there are crickets left over, which has given me the impression that they'll stop eating when not hungry. Both are healthy sizes, but if they can become overweight or get health problems from overeating then I want to avoid it.

 

[reptilover]

Just a general question. I know you can over-supplement chams, but can you overfeed them or will they just not eat when not hungry?

Usually I feed mine crickets daily with worms (various kinds) in the evening. Sometimes there are crickets left over, which has given me the impression that they'll stop eating when not hungry. Both are healthy sizes, but if they can become overweight or get health problems from overeating then I want to avoid it.

How old is ur cham and what type of cham? As they get older they'll automatically cut down on food. As well as u should adjust to it with how much u feed.
Generally I dont think over feeding is common they tend to not eat when not hungry. I'm sure theres some cases of fat chams which could lead to health issues I'm sure. Maybe an expert will roll by and elaborate a little more on the possibilities and possible hazards

 

[Olimpia]

Yes, you could. Most of mine won't eat more than they need to be full, but I have one (2 years old) who eats and eats and has a tendency to get really chubby. It must be the way his metabolism is or something but it's always a issue keeping his weight within OK ranges.

The problem with having a fat chameleon is that they can get fatty liver and die from it, so it's prudent (like with people or anything else) to keep a moderate diet and maintain a healthy weight. That way the better they will be in the long run. I know it's tough when you have a really hungry chameleon that could eat 50 crickets if you let them, but it's for their own good to keep them in check

 

[Shia]

How old is ur cham and what type of cham? As they get older they'll automatically cut down on food. As well as u should adjust to it with how much u feed.
Generally I dont think over feeding is common they tend to not eat when not hungry. I'm sure theres some cases of fat chams which could lead to health issues I'm sure. Maybe an expert will roll by and elaborate a little more on the possibilities and possible hazards

I have a 2 year old female Jackson's and a 10 month old male panther. They eat different amounts, of course.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

I believe you can have chameleons over eat. I'm working with a species that only in theory may have a hard time laying eggs due to lack of exercise. If your hand fed and don't have to hunt and work to get your food, you might see a little more fat in the pads. This is only theory. Some animals actively hunt, while others are wait and ambush predators. In wild a animal might have a long wait in between meals and roam, where in captivity they can for he most part rely on a daily dose of food, in small quarters.

 

[reptilover]

I have a 2 year old female Jackson's and a 10 month old male panther. They eat different amounts, of course.

Ive always kept up on male veileds cause thats wat i have. So I cont say forsure was right for them.. someone will for sure though!

 

[only1leroy]

Over feeding

From all of the research that I have done on Veiled chams I would have to say that 90% of people say no you cannot overfeed a Veiled cham. As far as them not eating as much in the wild, and getting fat while in a cage. This is not so. In the wild when they go long periods without food it is harmful to their body, and that is why some animals get sick. Part of being healthy is having enough food to eat. With that being said I do not think you can over feed a VEILED chams. I have not done a lot of research on other chams.

 

[laurie]

Welcome to the forum, nice to have you on board. Please don't take this personal, but I disagree with you. Guess I am one of the 10%. I had a male veiled who would eat as long as I fed him. Pickle just liked to eat!
I also believe they are genetically designed to be able to go long periods without food. Can some go longer than they are able to go with out food? Yes they can like so any other animal can, us included, any of those will die. Starvation is not selective. But chameleons in nature don't eat everyday, and some remain healthier that a lot in captivity. I am just not sure our feeding the way we do, is better for the chams. JMO

From all of the research that I have done on Veiled chams I would have to say that 90% of people say no you cannot overfeed a Veiled cham. As far as them not eating as much in the wild, and getting fat while in a cage. This is not so. In the wild when they go long periods without food it is harmful to their body, and that is why some animals get sick. Part of being healthy is having enough food to eat. With that being said I do not think you can over feed a VEILED chams. I have not done a lot of research on other chams.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. I have attached my blog for new keepers below.

I believe that you can overfeed and a fat cham is not a healthy one. I only feed my adults three times a week and in the wild they probably want eat 3 times a week. You have to be extra careful not to over feed females because of the egg laying.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[shaboogie]

Well I feed my veild 20-30 crickets a week and give him hornworms sometime wax n meal at the same time

 

[Dr O]

I am going to chime in here and say I really think it's going to differ greatly between species. Particularly those that are or arboreal versus those that are terrestrial. Calories in minus calories out from exercise will of course lead to the final line body mass, but all of that gets pretty screwy when you take a normally free ranging animal and put them in a 2 x 2' cage for seven years of their life. I have seen a few pygmies that looked pretty darn chunky for their size, and I would have thought that they would be burning more calories since they "seem" to be walking more.

I personally think the defining factor for why most Chameleons do not become overweight is because they are insectivores. I think if something like a veiled chameleon were fed pinkies continuously throughout life he would start to chunk up pretty quickly, even if he ate relatively little. So in that case, we are taking what should be a free ranging animal, isolating them from moving as much as they normally would, and feeding a very high-fat high-protein meal. And I do think that would lead towards more obesity situations. Like if I stuck Lance Armstrong in the closet and Just shoved a Twinkie under the door every day or so, his body mass would change from muscle towards fat, even though he wasn't eating a lot.

Okay-when I start rambling like this it means I'm hungry. I'm off to eat dinner, I'll see y'all later.

 

[Olimpia]

You certainly do see quite a few chunky chameleons though, I wouldn't want to be rude but I could link to at least 5 recent threads where the chameleon has bulging heads and faces and chubby limbs. So it is possible to give too much food! I've seen it more recently with veileds than with panthers, but I have seen both species just as chunky. And my panther definitely gets rotund if I feed him a little more than 1-2 feeders a couple times a week.

But it's as easy as re-evaluating how much your animal is eating if you start to see that they have a round waist-line, chubby cheeks and head pads, and thick limbs.

 

[Rodger]

Hi , I have a 6 month old veiled . i was feeding as many store bought crickets & cave crickets caught in the basement as she wanted ( all of them ) . I recently bought some dubias & don't know how many i should be feeding her .. any suggestions ? Also is there any foods that are bad for dubias ? I added some regular sugar a couple days ago & have had 3 large dubias die . Thanks

 

[jsikes88]

Veiled

I have two veiled aprx. 4 months old... and they can seriously down the crickets.
One day I bought 65 medium cricktets finding myself driving back to the pet store the next night to buy 65xl crickets.
Mine stop after they eat about half thier body weight lol
Cant wait to feed them super worms! maybe at this rate by the end of the month