Different Ways of Feeding?

[CamrynTheCham22]

Just wondering what other people do to feed their chameleons. I am currently in the process of getting my cham used to hand-feeding, but she also eats from a cup that sits in her Golden Pothos. What does everybody else do for their chameleons? I am worried that the more I hand feed my chameleon, the more she will dislike eating from the cup. I need her to be able to eat from the cup because otherwise I don't have any other way to feed her when I am not at home. Just looking for some new ideas.

 

[Goose502]

I use both, the cup mostly because I hate free roaming crickets. But I like to free range certain feeders. I’ll place silkworms and hornworms around the enclosure. Those will get snapped up, and as a bonus, if a hornworm survives, a few months later, a giant moth snack will crawl out of the substrate. He really likes those. I also dump a few hundred BSFL into the substrate (bioactive), they emerge as flies and my chameleon goes nuts chasing those around.

 

[NickTide]

My chams prefer the cup to my hand. 1 (of 2) wont eat out of my hands at all.

 

[JacksJill]

I believe chameleons are inherently lazy. I'm not criticizing it is a valid survival technique, conservation of energy. Obviously this varies from species to species, juvenile to adult and individual to individual. My avatar gets hand fed primarily and now waits to be fed even when he is directly above the cup of identical feeders I am hand feeding. I've created a monster. He will cup feed eventually but prefers the food to come to him. This is a mistake I do not repeat with the rest of my chameleons.
I still prefer cup feeding so I can keep an eye on their appetite and to prevent feeders from encountering poop and making any parasite problems worse. I do make the same exceptions of free ranging hornworms and flies for enrichment. I hand feed my others now only enough to give them special treats that give them a positive association with me.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

I use both, the cup mostly because I hate free roaming crickets. But I like to free range certain feeders. I’ll place silkworms and hornworms around the enclosure. Those will get snapped up, and as a bonus, if a hornworm survives, a few months later, a giant moth snack will crawl out of the substrate. He really likes those. I also dump a few hundred BSFL into the substrate (bioactive), they emerge as flies and my chameleon goes nuts chasing those around.

That is the exact thing I want to avoid, feeders roaming around the cage. I can't really track how many my cham is eating that way because the roaches that I use always find a way to escape. I think I want to try the BSFL because that could sustain my cham if I ever went on a trip. I have been looking for more feeders any way and could use maybe hornworms and BSFL.
I also do not want her to become too reliant on the handfeeding, since the cup can be used for when I am not home or something like that. I think I might just have to balance it out. Right now, I feed her every other day. I give her about 3 roaches on a plate since the she doesn't see the roaches wen they are in my hand, so that is basically how I hand feed her. Then I give her about 4-6 small roaches in the cup on the same day so she has adequate balance. Sometimes on the in between days I give her a single roach just so she has something to fill her belly. Plus it helps with her learning about hand-feeding.
Thank you all for the input.