Feeding amounts

E

EMBO2021

Member
Evening all.
we’ve got a baby girl, about 5.5 months old.
we were feeding crickets plus 1 locust until she hit 4ths.
now we’ve switched to locust only, and rather than 7-8 crickets plus a locust, we’re now doing 5-6 3rd/4th hoppers.
anyhow, she’s eating all we put in and not leaving anything.
my question is about meal worms (I know they’re not nutritionally great but neither is cake!)
We give her mealworms as a bribe and treat for coming out and socialising.
If she’s out of the Viv in literally 30 seconds chasing a worm, does that mean we aren’t feeding her enough staple food?
thanks in advance.
 
What type of chameleon is she? And is this everyday or every other day? Not sure what you meant by 3rd/4th. Giving a treat is ok but don’t be too alarmed at her appetite, sometimes they can be bottomless pits.☺️ If she’s a veiled it’s recommended to cut down on feedings to prevent problems with egg laying.
 
Shanar808 said:
What type of chameleon is she? And is this everyday or every other day? Not sure what you meant by 3rd/4th. Giving a treat is ok but don’t be too alarmed at her appetite, sometimes they can be bottomless pits.☺️ If she’s a veiled it’s recommended to cut down on feedings to prevent problems with egg laying.
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She’s a veiled chameleon.
we’re still feeding everyday but have cut down from 3 times to twice a day.
Are you not U.K.? If so I don’t know how to size the locusts she’s having 😑
I don’t have the box anymore cos we transferred them to a pen.
we totally aren’t sure she’s ready to lay eggs. One day she looked chunky the next she was skinny again.
 
Oh wow, ok well if your feeders are the length of the space between your chameleons eyes it is recommended to cut back to 5 every other day fed before the evening and down to 2-3 every other day at 9 months (back to 5 while she’s gravid). Of course you can feed a couple more if they are smaller feeders. It might seem low compared to their appetite but she’s programmed to eat as much as possible to have the largest clutch she can before she dies. We try to help them live longer by reducing clutch size thru this limited diet and slightly lower temps.
 
EMBO2021 said:
She’s a veiled chameleon.
we’re still feeding everyday but have cut down from 3 times to twice a day.
Are you not U.K.? If so I don’t know how to size the locusts she’s having 😑
I don’t have the box anymore cos we transferred them to a pen.
we totally aren’t sure she’s ready to lay eggs. One day she looked chunky the next she was skinny again.
Click to expand...
You may want a lay bin in there soon. I’ve noticed many forum posts on veiled chameleons needing lay bins much sooner than their owners expected. 😊
 
Shanar808 said:
You may want a lay bin in there soon. I’ve noticed many forum posts on veiled chameleons needing lay bins much sooner than their owners expected. 😊
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Yup it’s best to have them in once they reach 4 months of age. Even if she doesn’t look like she will use it, it should be a permanent part of her enclosure now that’s she’s this age. Veileds usually start egg laying between 4-6 months it can be later but I recommend getting one set up :)
 

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Shanar808 said:
Oh wow, ok well if your feeders are the length of the space between your chameleons eyes it is recommended to cut back to 5 every other day fed before the evening and down to 2-3 every other day at 9 months (back to 5 while she’s gravid). Of course you can feed a couple more if they are smaller feeders. It might seem low compared to their appetite but she’s programmed to eat as much as possible to have the largest clutch she can before she dies. We try to help them live longer by reducing clutch size thru this limited diet and slightly lower temps.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this my hubby is a feeder and he is struggling with reducing feeds cos he feeds the cats 3x a day. I think we should reduce feeds in stages though? Not go from 2x feeds a day to once every other day? Think I’d prefer to reduce to 1x a day then reduce back to every other day
 
EMBO2021 said:
Thank you for this my hubby is a feeder and he is struggling with reducing feeds cos he feeds the cats 3x a day. I think we should reduce feeds in stages though? Not go from 2x feeds a day to once every other day? Think I’d prefer to reduce to 1x a day then reduce back to every other day
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I recommend reducing to feeding 5 food items every other day so that your cham can adjust. Also feeding more and providing higher basking levels will cause your cham to produce more eggs which isn’t good so I’d cut back to 5 food items every other day. :)
 
EMBO2021 said:
Thank you for this my hubby is a feeder and he is struggling with reducing feeds cos he feeds the cats 3x a day. I think we should reduce feeds in stages though? Not go from 2x feeds a day to once every other day? Think I’d prefer to reduce to 1x a day then reduce back to every other day
Click to expand...
That’s fine, they are built to survive times of scarcity but I understand not wanting to suddenly limit the food items. We love our pets and are used to showing this in food, but there’s much risk in over feeding so it’ll be good to get that lowered.
 
cruz.m said:
Yup it’s best to have them in once they reach 4 months of age. Even if she doesn’t look like she will use it, it should be a permanent part of her enclosure now that’s she’s this age. Veileds usually start egg laying between 4-6 months it can be later but I recommend getting one set up :)
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With the bin - how often is that cleaned out / replaced, please?
 
cruz.m said:
I recommend reducing to feeding 5 food items every other day so that your cham can adjust. Also feeding more and providing higher basking levels will cause your cham to produce more eggs which isn’t good so I’d cut back to 5 food items every other day. :)
Click to expand...
Thanks. Struggling with the basking light atm. It seems got but she does go on the cage and spend plenty of time basking. But it’s up at 90•c 39 for those in old money
 
EMBO2021 said:
With the bin - how often is that cleaned out / replaced, please?
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Oops sorry but I don’t think it needs to be replaced. Once she lays in it the eggs should be taken out and the process should be done again. Add more dirt if needed, make sure it’s moist enough to hold a tunnel etc...
 
EMBO2021 said:
Thanks. Struggling with the basking light atm. It seems got but she does go on the cage and spend plenty of time basking. But it’s up at 90•c 39 for those in old money
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On the cage ceiling? Be sure to check the temps there and be sure your heat light isn’t too close to burn her, they don’t have the burn pain receptors on their skin and can cook herself.
 
Max 78-80*F/25-26*C at her basking spot at the MAX (measured where her casque/top of her back is when she’s on her basking branch)! Make sure the bulb is at minimum 7” away, but preferably 8-9” or more! You would add more sand and soil in equal amounts (if not just sand), not soil, if needed. Just make sure the mix has enough water (and sand) to hold a tunnel without collapsing. Make sure it doesn’t get waterlogged, either! Obviously if the soil molds or she poops in the mix or something like that, then you’d replace it.
 
Also, once she’s old enough, you’d go down from 5 crickets to 2-3 large crickets (or the equivalent of) either every other day or three times a week

Edit: for when she isn’t gravid
 
Last edited:
ERKleRose said:
Also, once she’s old enough, you’d go down from 5 crickets to 2-3 large crickets (or the equivalent of) either every other day or three times a week

Edit: for when she isn’t gravid
Click to expand...
I’ve seen talk of feeding for an amount of time rather that in size / weight of food.
can someone please explain to me how that works?
 
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