Cup feeding for free range!

Toph00

Toph00

New Member
Hello all! I have seen a lot of senior members elaborate free range set ups. My cham is in a cage at the moment but I just bought a fake ficus for him to roam around on in my room. Problem being.... I cant get him off of the thing now! I was thinking of turning the cage and tree in to a 'beginners' free range. I was thinking of just opening his cage where the big dripper, uvb, and heat lamp are and leading some of the branches in to the cage. Would this be a good idea that I could do? The problem would be feeding. How do people feed in free ranges? I know its usually by cups, but how can I cup feed him with crickets because that is all my local pet store really has to offer when it comes to food.
 
Toph00 said:
Hello all! I have seen a lot of senior members elaborate free range set ups. My cham is in a cage at the moment but I just bought a fake ficus for him to roam around on in my room. Problem being.... I cant get him off of the thing now! I was thinking of turning the cage and tree in to a 'beginners' free range. I was thinking of just opening his cage where the big dripper, uvb, and heat lamp are and leading some of the branches in to the cage. Would this be a good idea that I could do? The problem would be feeding. How do people feed in free ranges? I know its usually by cups, but how can I cup feed him with crickets because that is all my local pet store really has to offer when it comes to food.
Click to expand...

Well first yes you can do that.
Second, for cup feeding when free ranging, I taped a cup to a branch that was low wnough for Kink (my cham) to sit above it and see into it to catch food.
I also hold a cup with crickets in it for him to eat from.
Third, as for feeders, you can order other bugs from site sponsors, like mulberryfarms.com
And buying crickets from them in bulk is cheaper, and I have found their crickets are healthier than pet stores.
 
awesome! I have crickets from my local petco. I just cant figure how I would be able to leave them in a cup without jumping out and going rampant all over my place hahaha
 
Toph00 said:
awesome! I have crickets from my local petco. I just cant figure how I would be able to leave them in a cup without jumping out and going rampant all over my place hahaha
Click to expand...

I use a blue dixie cup.. ya know the ones people use for beer pong and stuff?
Even large crickets cant seem to jump out of it.
 
thats a good idea. thanks! also, is there a little bit of adjustments for chams to make with day light savings? and one more question, when I put him in his tree, he was super bright and mobile but after 10-15 minutes, he settled down and turned from his normal red, yellow, green, etc to a dark green and dark red (6 month-ish panther)
 
Im sure there is a bit of an adjustment for chams with the lights. but I dont change anything, I just adjusted my timer to turn on at the same time.
As for the color changing yes, They wil change colors when stressed or when you do an environmental change, then once they are happy, they settle back into their normal color.s
 
I do change my lights to match what the sun is doing. If it comes up at 7:30 and goes down at 6:30, then my lights match that. And when the days get shorter so will the hours my lights are on. Not everyone does this, but my chams are awake or asleep depending on what the sun is doing outside, so no point in having the lights on more hours than the animals are using them.
 
Those are some really amazing ideas. a couple questions. How much does a good sized hibiscus tree like that cost? Do you use a UVB bulb or is it just the heat lamp + the open window with sunlight? Do crickets not jump out of your sunny D trap? (cause I have the little suckers running rampant in my place >.<.
 
Toph00 said:
Those are some really amazing ideas. a couple questions. How much does a good sized hibiscus tree like that cost? Do you use a UVB bulb or is it just the heat lamp + the open window with sunlight? Do crickets not jump out of your sunny D trap? (cause I have the little suckers running rampant in my place >.<.
Click to expand...

ive yet to have an escapee from the sunny-d trap, or maybe they have just hidden themselfs really well..as for the tree its a ficus benjamina and its is old as i am (it came from my mothers plant shop when i was born 1981)..as for price i have seen a few for around 150.00 or so..the bulb i use is the powersun uvb-uva bulb(ive been using them for free range set ups for years, they are a lil too strong for cages)and they also do have the open window for whenever they feel like basking in "real sun"..
 
awesome! do you have fake vines going throughout the tree? and could you get me the details of the powersun bulb? or is that just it? and would I need to have it next to an open window or is the open window more of an extra that they like to use?
 
Another big question is what keeps them from going to the floor and roaming around? I dont want him to get lost in or under all of my things in my room
 
Toph00 said:
awesome! do you have fake vines going throughout the tree? and could you get me the details of the powersun bulb? or is that just it? and would I need to have it next to an open window or is the open window more of an extra that they like to use?
Click to expand...

the powersun i use is the 100watt version (there are some online for real cheap right now....)

shhhhh.. dont tell anyone i found this : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zoo-Med-Pow...980?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b740a2cc

i use a like bout 4 of the large size bendy vines for their climbing trails, and having them near a window that opens is a really big plus, i have it set up so i can just swing a vine to it and bend it around a stick in the window, and it gives them the freedom to bask in real sunlight..i dont seem to have an issue about my chams wondering around, they pretty much do their thing in the tree, but if you get too close they WILL come out for a visit, they love beeing held for some odd reason(i figure you could just put a plastic ring around the base of the tree , like one of those dog funnel head things, so they dont chew at themselfs, well that could be put around the pot to make an unclimbable barrier ) the "no explore barrier"..ohh also i use clear packing tape for the wires, to make them unclimbable, just got my new parts for my mistking, so in a few days, i will show the "complete set up"..only last thing to do, is fabricate some type of drainage table (one that sits just high enough to fit one of those under-the-bed tupperware storage bins under it to catch excess water)




p.s. dont buy all those bulbs then re-sell them at full 43.99 cost.. that would be a no-no ...this twas a special find, i only allow cham owner eyes to see..
 
Last edited:
sdheli420 said:
the powersun i use is the 100watt version (there are some online for real cheap right now....)

shhhhh.. dont tell anyone i found this : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zoo-Med-Pow...980?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b740a2cc

i use a like bout 4 of the large size bendy vines for their climbing trails, and having them near a window that opens is a really big plus, i have it set up so i can just swing a vine to it and bend it around a stick in the window, and it gives them the freedom to bask in real sunlight..i dont seem to have an issue about my chams wondering around, they pretty much do their thing in the tree, but if you get too close they WILL come out for a visit, they love beeing held for some odd reason(i figure you could just put a plastic ring around the base of the tree , like one of those dog funnel head things, so they dont chew at themselfs, well that could be put around the pot to make an unclimbable barrier ) the "no explore barrier"..ohh also i use clear packing tape for the wires, to make them unclimbable, just got my new parts for my mistking, so in a few days, i will show the "complete set up"..only last thing to do, is fabricate some type of drainage table (one that sits just high enough to fit one of those under-the-bed tupperware storage bins under it to catch excess water)




p.s. dont buy all those bulbs then re-sell them at full 43.99 cost.. that would be a no-no ...this twas a special find, i only allow cham owner eyes to see..
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link! Just bought one, great deal
 
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