Feeding Roaches...

[camothechameleon]

Hi everyone,

Since I have gotten my chameleon, about a month ago, I have been feeding him mainly crickets with some wax worms here and there. However, he is a glutton, eating almost 100 crickets a week. I have already decided that I will be feeding him Dubia roaches, as soon as I get a colony going and he is big enough to eat them. Now I have been just trowing the crickets in there, and he hunts them down. He seems to like it this way, and he is definately good at catching them. It's rather easy because they like to hang out on top near the light, so he just picks them off the screen. Now I know that the roaches don't climb. So I guess I will have to teach him to cup feed. Is this hard for them to learn? and also, what type up cups does everyone use, that the roaches won't be able to get out of, and the Chameleon will be able to get them? THanks everyone.

 

[royden]

The roaches will climb the screen. 'Non climber' means a non climber of smooth surfaces. Your problem however is not their ability to climb but their ability to hide. Where crix like to hang out up in the corners or out in the open, roaches go straight for the bottom of the cage and they will hide there until they die. Probably under or in one of your plants.

I use a cd stack cup, turned upside down and held against the screen side with a fishing line tied through the screen. I can slip the cup out to take to the roach tub and fill up, and then bring it back and slip it back into the loop so hangs securely.

I hang mine at the front of the cage about a 2 feet below his basking spot. You may need to hang higher up at first while he's being trained. Either way, it just needs to be super visible. Mine is incredibly visible from his basking spot, and he goes down to eat regularly.

How old and what species do you have?

My veiled was incredibly hard to train. The younger you start the better.

 

[budthecham]

royden, i have been using a milk jug cut open with a "crawl screen" in it. i dont seem to understand your cd stack, but it sounds interesting, do you have a pic


camo, my cham was easy. i read on a thread somewhere that if you want to cupfeed them from your hand then use the same color cup to offer to them everytime that way they will associate the color to know they are about to eat. and they see that when i dump it into their cupfeeder, and my cham usually goes right for it till its clean. it is also nice for trips as you can just load your cup up with plenty

 

[sandrachameleon]

Hi everyone,
... I guess I will have to teach him to cup feed. Is this hard for them to learn? and also, what type up cups does everyone use, that the roaches won't be able to get out of, and the Chameleon will be able to get them? THanks everyone.

Mine get both free-hunting and cup feeding. they learned without any difficulty. I use soup bowls, coffee mugs, etc. Anything that is opaque, smooth sided, deep enough to keep things in but not so deep that cham wont notice the bugs. Place cup under a favourite branch, start with a favourite feeder food treat, and bobs your uncle.

 

[camothechameleon]

He is maybe 3 months old, Veiled. He is growing very fast. I will probably start to train him with some wax worms and maybe a few small crickets in the cup. He is very frightened all of the time. I try to handle him daily, just to get him comfortable with me, but he just tries to run away. Will he warm up to me?

 

[royden]

I don't have a pic budthecham - but basically when you buy a stack of 20 or more cd's they come lying flat on a spool with a half cylinder, translucent cover that clips into the spool base. I use that cover turned upside down. Works great.

The milk jug screen thing is also a very good choice.