Crickets in enclosure

[honeybee1985]

Hi,

This might be a silly question but when I'm feeding my cham crickets he won't hand feed.
I'm worried that when I leave the crickets to roam around the enclosure he's not finding them to eat them.

Another problem being there are so many places for them to hide in his viv, I can't really keep track of how many he's eating.

I've seen threads that suggest keeping the crickets in a dish for him to eat out of when he feels like it but don't they just climb out? Am I missing something?? Also he doesn't really ever venture to the floor of his enclosure. He mainly stays up high. So would he even realise they were there?

Sorry if it's a really obvious question lol.
Thanks, Amy

 

[Lizardlover]

get a cup (plastic) and poke a hole through it, then tie it to a branch or the screen near where he likes to hang out, but try to get him to handfeed everyday, he will eventually

 

[MutantHybrid]

If you are obvious about feeding time your juvenile chameleon will begin to react. I start off feeding time with a handful of vegetables on some of the pothos leaves. I then spray the entire cage well and drench the leaves. The chameleon moves down to hide from the misting and positions herself in the back, right corner farthest from the cage opening. This is the spot that crickets tend to run through when I release them into her cage. I only release 3-4 at a time. After daily preparations in that order, my chameleon begins to look for crickets and catch them within moments of release. I do not use a feeding cup with crickets. The chameleon will continue hunting them until they are all gone so long as you release them early enough in the day so that the chameleon will remain active until they are eaten. Late in the day I feed a few more crickets and offer some mealworms by hand in a cup along with more greens and fruit. This morning I released about 6 crickets into her cage and within 10 minutes she had captured and eaten all of them then went on to devour most of the fruit and vegetables. If you follow a specific routine with plenty of precursor events, it will tell the chameleon when feeding times are each day. When hand feeding, a small cup with slow moving prey items in it will get their attention. A chameleon will learn not to distrust you more easily if you present the cup of food items first. Over time, you might be able to remove the cup and just hold the items by hand after your chameleon gets used to the idea.