Feeders left in enclosure

[skittles1234]

Is it ok to leave the feeder insects inside the cage over night? I can't catch the crickets. At least not all of them

 

[DavidBuchan]

Not recommended, they will lose calcium powder, lose gutload, and they can bite the cham while it's sleeping. What type and size are the crickets? little brown crickets won't likely do any harm, but big black ones might.

 

[Olimpia]

Hey, you live not too far from me!

I have to admit that every so often one or two hide in the plants and there's no way I can get them out. I don't feed very many crickets each time so they're usually gone pretty quickly. But I may hear chirping from one of the cages during the night and I know that one of them got away. At that point I won't do anything - there's no way I'm going to find it at night without freaking out my chameleon in the process, by digging through the plants and in every nook and cranny. So I will just leave them be. One or two shouldn't be a problem, in my opinion, to a healthy chameleon. I've had chameleons a few years now and so far no insect bites that I've ever been able to see, so I don't think it's a huge risk I'm taking.

 

[Ruganut]

I have read that a good tip is to leave a small dish of gutload out on the floor of the enclosure for the chirpy little fella's to come feast on a) it gives you a fighting chance to catch them. b) if you cant catch them, it can keep them occupied whilst your Cham is sleeping

 

[skittles1234]

awesome thank you guys. i'm just more annoyed by their noise but i was very worried for skittles so it should be alright. and they are the small brown ones....not black never seen black ones ?? my guy is a baby so i can't feed him big crickets....its actually rare for me to even get the ones that sing cause they are so small.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

I just wouldn't leave a whole meal roaming around uneaten.
I've had a hoard of crickets attack my tegus before and thats no fun.
Don't stress it too too much, however, i wouldn't leave any if you can help it. If not, don't worry too much.

 

[Midnighthwk]

awesome thank you guys. i'm just more annoyed by their noise .

i have a hard time getting to sleep without the chirping or hearing the water from my turtle pond or frogs croaking.

it only annoys me when its just 1 being as loud as possible.
or when its 1 in my beardie cage cuz it echos.

to me they seem quiet when there are around 50 of them in the same tank.
i been trying to halfass breed them that i mean i just put them all in 1 cage instead of putting the females in 1 to ley eggs then taking them out.

went from buying 100 a week to 150 a month. takes too long for them to get big and forgetting to check thier food everyday leads to them eating the babys

that was a bit off topic

ur guy should be fine if its just 1 or 2 loes at night

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

i have a hard time getting to sleep without the chirping or hearing the water from my turtle pond or frogs croaking.

Haha, i hear you there. i need my country backdrop to sleep.

it only annoys me when its just 1 being as loud as possible.

Muwhaha Crickets are evil little buggers, i have a huge one thats became the reptile room mascot lol. it will sit just out of reach in a corner or crack and chirp with a ferocity unmatched by lightning strikes. haha little devil.