Chameleon Newbie (Cricket Question)

[JereCham]

Hey all!

I do not own a chameleon yet, but I do plan on buying one.
I want to feel confident when buying my chameleon so I need a couple questions answered.

I just signed up here so I could join in discussions and while I have been researching more I realized that "gut loading" is inevitable!

I am currently living with two roommates. Both have let me know that they are okay with me getting a chameleon, but I know for a fact that keeping my own crickets and gut loading them will not go down well with them. It's not that they don't like crickets though. It's just cause of the noise.

So is there a way to keep crickets and muffle their noise a bit, so my roommates can't hear them? Could I safely keep them outside or are they better off in the house?

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My other question would be is it better to let crickets roam free in the cage for your chameleon to find and catch or put them in a feeder? And do feeders even contain the crickets?
This feeder looks like all the rest of the feeders I've seen and it doesn't look like it would keep them in there...

I just worry that a chameleon won't be able to catch all of the crickets and some of them would be left in the cage for days.

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Thanks for any and all advice!
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[szpond]

Welcome to the forums! Glad to have you here.

Gutloading is indeed that, inevitable. From my experience, I was able to find a good average of wingless crickets to purchase and feed off (before they grew wings) at a time. Personally, noise was kept to a minimum. But I'm not sure how other forums deal with this issue. There is always the option of other feeders such as Dubia Roaches, which are not noisy (and in my experience, less smelly and easier!).

Sometimes I'd get a few noisy crickets. I kept the cricket bin in a separate room, always behind a closed door. Almost like the cricket was singing outdoors rather than inside the house. Other forum members may have other takes on cricket noise, though!

Letting crickets free-roam in a cage versus putting them in a feeder cup seems to be a choice per the owner. I have always just used cups instead of anything fancy. I have always wanted to try a feeder like the one in the link you provided.

However, it is very crucial that all uneaten crickets are taken out of the enclosure by the end of the day every day. Crickets like to much on chameleon flesh while the chameleon is sleeping, wouldn't want that!

 

[NitroRoo]

Good job doing some research BEFORE you buy the chameleon.

I have never had an issue with crickets being noisy, but I simply buy a week's worth of crickets at a time from the pet store. It's a bit more expensive than ordering a bunch of crickets online, but I am also not having to deal with crickets getting old enough to make noise or a bunch of dead crickets (which can stink).

I also just let the crickets free range in the cage and my chameleon always hunts them all down very quickly. I have never seen a cricket survive more than an hour in there hehe.

I would recommend getting everything setup before you buy your chameleon, as they can get a bit stressed when you first bring them home. So having it all setup so you don't have to mess with it (and having plenty of foliage to hide in) will help them to not be so stressed.

 

[JereCham]

Thanks for your input, both of you.

I really rather use crickets over Dubia Roaches as I cannot stand the sight of any roach.
My Google search on those just now did not help that feeling. Yuck! Then again, if they ARE quieter and a lot less smelly, I may HAVE to resort to them. My roommates would appreciate it as well.

So a chameleon can survive fine with other foods other than crickets?
I would hate to take crickets completely out of the diet. Somehow it seems wrong.

And yes, I agree; I will be setting up everything before buying my chameleon.​