DIY roach bridge feeder

[44937]

I notice my cham will strike and eat feeders when they are on sticks or leaves much faster than when the feeders are running around the bottom of a cup. So I thought about making a feeder cup where the roaches can climb up onto a branch and if it were to fall off it would fall back into the cup. Looking forward to see how this works out tmrw. I made it around his bed time so I'll try it out in the morning.

 

[Longhorn1234]

I like your idea, hopefully it works out! The only thing that I would worry (if you don't want roaches/crickets getting out) is that some feeders could go to the end of the branch, the one that sticks out of the plastic container, and then jump out. Great idea though!

 

[todd2010]

I love new ideas. Following

 

[jamest0o0]

My chams do this as well. To the point I don't even cup feed anything but worms. Another member awhile back mentioned doing something like this and said it worked well. I've never tried though. Let us know how it goes.

 

[44937]

Okay so far the roaches are not climbing onto the stick as much as I want them to but some of them do climb up and are eaten fairly quickly thereafter. However I have noticed a significant increase in the chameleon's stalking and striking for the black fly larvae and the roaches walking around under the stick while in the container. I do not know if this is because of the presence of the stick, the length of the container allowing more horizontal movement of the feeders, or the combination of the two factors. Regardless I have definitely seen a significant increase in the chameleon's interest stalking and striking for the feeders.
I should also note that this is the first time I have used a container that is semi transparent in which the movement of the feeders can be slightly observed by the chameleons when it is on the other side of the enclosure. I will provide a total tally of feeders eaten later this evening

 

[44937]

Of the approximate 12 roaches and 20 bsfl i had put in the container, there were 6 bsfl remaining at the end of the night.
It's incredible the amount of food this guys eating at 2.5 months old.
I'll do a more precise count tmrw. Not sure what caused the change in appetite though.

 

[Boygeorge27]

I've been looking for a tub like this where did you get it from if you don't mind me asking. Thank you

 

[44937]

I've been looking for a tub like this where did you get it from if you don't mind me asking. Thank you

There are many options at dollar stores under stationary or utensil or drawer organizers.
Ikea also sells whole tray inserts that can be cut to give you multiple containers that are similar.

 

[Boygeorge27]

Thank you I've just looked online and found some thank you

 

[44937]

So Climby has been eyeing this roach at the tip of the long branch. I took a series of photos to show how this bridging thing is working.

 

[waynek]

Looks pretty cool. I like the pictures of the chameleon eating. Enter them in the photo contest

 

[44937]

Yesterday I placed the following into the container:
- 30 BSFL that were about 1/2" each and weighing in total 2 grams
- 30 dubia that were about 1/4 to 3/8" each and weighing in total 2 grams

This morning, there are no BSFL and 8 dubias left.

In summary, my 16 gram chameleon ate about 3.3 grams of food yesterday.