hi i have a beautiful female bearded pygmy cham that i just got and was wondering how i should go about feeding her? i originally had her in a small critter keeper ( i found a problem with the tank i was going to have her in so i had her in that for 2 days till i fixed it and could transfer) and she ate pinhead crickets like it was going out of style..now she is in her premanemt cage and its 10gallons.i was wondering how people feed theres? do they have free range feeders? i was thinking of going that route to create a more natural theme but am really worried that the crickets will do more hiding than being eaten and that would be no good..so i came up with an idea i found on youtube of creating a feeder cup out of a small little milk carton (plastic) i cut it way down so its almost like a cup and throw the crickets in there. at first she didnt look into the cup at all and since the crickets were dusted and had a whitesh appearance i dont believe she saw them..so i then put some substarte in there so the colors would contrast making them more visible and she did eat one or two..but now i am worrying that she isnt looking there and not seeing the food and will starve..am i just worrying and not giving her enough credit or should i maybe cut the milk feeder down more so its level with the substrate floor so she can see it better? as now its sticking about an inch or two off the floor..also what color should i put in the bottom of the cup so she can better see the crickets? now that the feeders arent dusted they blend into the substrate in the bottom of the cup better, i dont know iam just all over the place..i really want the cage to look more natural but worry so much as you can see ..any help? thanks in advance
feeding my pygmy any ideas? alittle help
- Thread starter katon
- Start date
what type of substrate do you have on the bottom? iam afraid that the little crickets will do alot of hiding and not alot of being digested by my pygmy...the little cup is buried (not super deep) in the substrate and the pygmy can look down from one of her plants into it to eat and she has done it, she just isnt eating as much as she was..maybe she cant see them all so she only eats the one and loses interest...
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Free range, she will find them.
How big/old is she? An adult is going to starve to death on pinheads. I feed mine 1/4" crickets.
One R. brevicaudatus? I am actually of the belief that this could mean her demise as well. This species needs to be in a group.
-Brad
How big/old is she? An adult is going to starve to death on pinheads. I feed mine 1/4" crickets.
One R. brevicaudatus? I am actually of the belief that this could mean her demise as well. This species needs to be in a group.
-Brad
PNsSP
New Member
I disagree with this. I find that they actually do better alone. I currently have a WC thats been alone for about 6 months and i have yet to have any problems at all with her. This single female has even produced the most fertile clutches I've ever had from retained sperm. I've kept them in groups longer than I've kept them separate, never more than 1 per 10 gal (except with a pair in a 10 gal), and I strongly believe that less per cage is better for people who do not know when to recognize signs of problems.
Anyway, to answer the original question, pinheads are really meant for hatchlings. For starters try to feed crickets that are no bigger than the length between the eyes of the pygmy in question. They can surely eat bigger but you dont want to risk them choking to death.
If your pygmy IS in fact very young (therefore small) where it can only really eat pin head crickets, then i would take out the substrate all together and just lay paper towels on the bottom of the cage and just throw crickets in there. They will attempt to hide under the paper towels so make sure to to throw in a good amount. You could even take out the pygmy and put it into a small cricket keeper, with the only substrate being your dusting supplementation, along with some branches. This is so that you wont kill the tiny crickets, and as they walk around some supplementation will get stuck to them and the tongue of the chameleon as he/she eats. This container would be for strictly feeding pinhead sized crickets. If you can feed crickets bigger than pinheads then you shouldnt need to use this method. The two methods listed above is strictly something I do with hatchlings. Fruit flies are also a good option for feeding smaller pygmys, even adults as the occasional treat.
All other sizes of crickets you shouldnt have to worry about. Just throw them in and your cham should have no problem finding them if it's really hungry. If you're going to cup feed the way you describe it, I would recommend taking out the substrate in the cup all together and just put in your supplementation powder of your choosing as the substrate and just throw the crickets in undusted, but you shouldnt need to cup feed at all. I've found cup feeding is more of a hassle and my pygmies never seem to really go to the cup. They just sit on a branch facing the substrate for a bug to come by. Ive had more luck hand feeding than using a cup.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
I am currently working in the opposite direction, keeping 3 or 4 adults per 10 gallons of space (8 in a 20 gallon). In the larger enclosures they tend to hang out together and definitely sleep in groups. I have experienced them communicating with each other and believe this species depends on communal living.
I keep neonates together in a heavily planted enclosure from day one. The springtails, tiny snails and other micro fauna are great supplements to the pin heads and fruit flies I dump in. I currently have eleven together in a 10 gallon, they are between 2 and 3 weeks old (maybe a bit older) and all doing great!
PNsSP
New Member
With neonates I can understand, I do this as well, but for adults?! LOL I would never even think of putting so many together! But hey what can I say if it works then it works. I applaud you for doing this too. The most Ive ever had in the same enclosure was probably a 1.4 group in a 29 gal and it went down to a 1.2 very quick.
With my latest batch of hatchlings, Ive noticed alot of the time 3 of 4 tend to stay on the same half of the 10 gal tank and the one alone tends to be very shy, to the point where I dont think hes doing to well. So maybe you DO have something there. Perhaps the ones i keep more isolated tend to do better because i give them so much attention?
I still tend to go with roo's recommendations in the Rieppeleon brevicaudatus - Husbandry Techniques (http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=46) since I'm sure you're much more experienced, and since that article is intended to guide beginners
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Tom and I were recently talking about some of my observations.
I certainly haven't proven anything, but I am not having bad luck and I do observe these animals being very comfortable with one another.
Even males together ... I think we are sometimes too quick to separate them before they can work out territories for themselves.
I know Heika had a community of 17+ males, females and neonates living peacefully together in a 100 gallon tank when we communicated about this species earlier in the year.
I can only imagine that the group is bigger now.
-Brad
I certainly haven't proven anything, but I am not having bad luck and I do observe these animals being very comfortable with one another.
Even males together ... I think we are sometimes too quick to separate them before they can work out territories for themselves.
I know Heika had a community of 17+ males, females and neonates living peacefully together in a 100 gallon tank when we communicated about this species earlier in the year.
I can only imagine that the group is bigger now.
-Brad
im sorry i provided some misinformation she is an adult and eating 1/4 crickets, it was late LOL..i may just throw some in free range but i do worry about them hiding..i threw in several to try it out and watched the crickets run around for a few before settling under the plants well hidden to the point the only way for me to grab them was to move the plants themselves..she does eat out of the cup..i just fed her some dusted crickets and she gobbled them up..if i try the free range method how many do you think i should put in at one time?
laurie
Retired Moderator
Brad should I ever get my group going I hope to model them after yours. Butttttttttt I am not sure that is really fair. I think you could grow them in a toilet with complete success, don't know how the rest of us will ever keep up.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
I try to feed 3 or 4 per adult (4 adults = 16 crickets) every other day.
Since yours has no competition, I wouldn't give her more than 3 every other day.
Don't forget .. she has nothing to do all day but find and eat those crickets.
Crickets are not too smart and eventually expose themselves. She will find them.
-Brad
very true LOL thanks for the info..next feeding session i will do the free range method..should i throw in some type of food for the crickets to ensure there survival incase they arent gobbled up right away? i have a type of orange cube feed that they feed from in there little cage that provides tons of vitiams and nutrients (calcium in particular) but am unsure of whether that would be safe for my girl..maybe some type of veggies for them to pick at or something? thanks again
I have leaf litter, and a lot of plants (live and fake) and lots of sticks, twigs and branches. I'm not always able to find my pygmies lol. Anyways, I shake in 10 crickets every other day. They would have to find them in the wild, so I'm sure they do alright in their little habitat here.
I'm certainly no expert, but my pygmies seem healthy (and dare I say happy), and my girl layed eggs about a month ago. I was giving them crickets everyday, but found some strays before every feeding, so I cut them back.
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