Feeding tips

[rpreston1211]

Hello community,

I am new to the forums and new to having a chameleon as a pet and have a few concerns. I received my little guy in the mail yesterday and placed him into his environment which is a all screen cage that is 18 x 18 x 36 recommended by the breeder. I have place six medium size crickets into the cage with him. Two of the crickets died on the bottom of the cage and four are still alive the next day. From my research conduct chameleons will eat between 6 and 8 crickets a day.

I'm worried that he is not eating and would like feedback on tips how to get him to eat.

The other issue is that when I bring my hand into the cage he wants nothing to do with me. I would like so tips on how to get him to be friendlier with me so I can handle him.

Any feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[JaxyGirl]

Hello community,

I am new to the forums and new to having a chameleon as a pet and have a few concerns. I received my little guy in the mail yesterday and placed him into his environment which is a all screen cage that is 18 x 18 x 36 recommended by the breeder. I have place six medium size crickets into the cage with him. Two of the crickets died on the bottom of the cage and four are still alive the next day. From my research conduct chameleons will eat between 6 and 8 crickets a day.

I'm worried that he is not eating and would like feedback on tips how to get him to eat.

The other issue is that when I bring my hand into the cage he wants nothing to do with me. I would like so tips on how to get him to be friendlier with me so I can handle him.

Any feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Welcome to the forums!
First of all we need a little more information about your Cham and his setup to better help you can you answer these questions and post some pics?
Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information, you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

 

[rpreston1211]

Chameleon Info:
Panther ambilobe – Male – 6 month old – purchased from FLcham – received yesterday.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Haven’t been able to handle yet.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
I gave him 6 crickets yesterday in the morning. I am using a product Fluker’s Orange cube Complete Cricket Diet
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Zoo Med – Repti Calcium with D3 – Mon Wed Friday. I have not yet dusted crickets yet though
Zoo Med – Reptivite with D3 – Mon & Wed – have not used this to dust them yet either.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
I am using a spray bottle currently 3 times a day. I placed an order for the mistking with three nozzles. I will be receiving that on 8/28.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
I haven’t seen any other then what he was shipped in and it look dark green.


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
The cage is Screen, and is 18 x 18 x 36
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Light starts at 8 am when I start work in my office lights are turned off around 7 pm. I have a 75W heat bulb, and a UVB 18” bulb.Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
I have a digital tempature gage- the basking spot is 85 to 87. The bottom of the cage is 77.

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
My humidity is between 50 to 70. When the cage has dried out 50 when I mist I see around 65% to 70%.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
I have artificial plants and vines. I have a pothos plant on the bottom.

Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?
The cage is located in my office by the window.
At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
The cage is around 2 ½ feet from the ground.
Location - Where are you geographically located?
I live in sunny SWFL in a town Punta Gorda
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
I am concerned that he is too stressed and not eating.
I feel that either two things are happening the crickets are to larger or he is stressed.

The other concern I have is I can't even get close to him while I am in the cage.

 

[Andee]

It is normal for them to not eat the first few days. I wouldn't try to handle him for about a week, though you can try and hand feed him if you want. At 6 months he can eat waaay more than 6-8 crickets, my panther ate around 24 a day.

You should only dust with a Multivitamin, reptivite with d3, twice a month. Otherwise use plain calcium without d3 every day you don't dust with the vitamin. You need to get a much better gutload, the orange cubes are not nearly nutritional enough. I would feed fresh fruits and veggies and then some other dry gutload such as cricket crack or a repashy product.

He may never be a handleable chameleon. Or you might have a really "friendly" one. It depends on his personality. Chams are reptiles though, don't expect him to warm up right away.

 

[rpreston1211]

It is normal for them to not eat the first few days. I wouldn't try to handle him for about a week, though you can try and hand feed him if you want. At 6 months he can eat waaay more than 6-8 crickets, my panther ate around 24 a day.

You should only dust with a Multivitamin, reptivite with d3, twice a month. Otherwise use plain calcium without d3 every day you don't dust with the vitamin. You need to get a much better gutload, the orange cubes are not nearly nutritional enough. I would feed fresh fruits and veggies and then some other dry gutload such as cricket crack or a repashy product.

He may never be a handleable chameleon. Or you might have a really "friendly" one. It depends on his personality. Chams are reptiles though, don't expect him to warm up right away.

Andee,

I just dumped 12 crickets into his cage I will report back if he eats them all see how it goes.

So I am also concern that he is located in my office and I work from home should I work outside of my office for a few days or will he just get used to me being here?..

 

[JaxyGirl]

Your setup looks pretty good. It looks like you are feeding medium to large crickets so your Cham being 6 mos old will only eat 5-8 large crickets. If they were smaller crickets he would eat more which would prob only equal 5-8 large crickets. What I do when feeding my Cham is to cup feed. Find a container that is deep enough so crickets can't jump,out of it and wide enough so your Cham can reach them and add a branch across the cup so the cam can get to them. Then hang the cup/container in the cage in a place where the Cham can see his food. Usually a little lower then her he likes to hang out. I soak a (small) piece of unprinted paper towel with water (not dripping) and put it in the cup with the crickets/ supper worms so they stay hydrated. I also add a little Rapashy Supperload in there to feed crickets and a little bit of calcium without D3 so the crickets have a bit of dust on them from walking around on it. You'll find this keeps your crickets alive so your guy can get to them. Have patience. It will talk a little while for your Cham to get used to his no enclosure, you and the routine of feeding, misting and cleaning

 

[JaxyGirl]

Andee,

I just dumped 12 crickets into his cage I will report back if he eats them all see how it goes.

So I am also concern that he is located in my office and I work from home should I work outside of my office for a few days or will he just get used to me being here?..

Sometimes having that many crickets around can stress a Cham out because they end up crawling all over him and it can be really annoying to your Cham. Also hungry crickets can nibble on your Cham and they have a good bite.
Also don't leave crickets in the cage at night for the same reasons as above.

 

[rpreston1211]

Sometimes having that many crickets around can stress a Cham out because they end up crawling all over him and it can be really annoying to your Cham. Also hungry crickets can nibble on your Cham and they have a good bite.
Also don't leave crickets in the cage at night for the same reasons as above.

JaxyGirl,

I just put a few extra crickets in and he is going to town or well trying to he just grabbed one but as it came into his mouth it jumped out. I think the crickets may be to big.

 

[JaxyGirl]

JaxyGirl,

I just put a few extra crickets in and he is going to town or well trying to he just grabbed one but as it came into his mouth it jumped out. I think the crickets may be to big.

Lol! It happens. Try 1/4" crickets. I order 500 at a time online. They will overnight them and Sooo much cheaper then buying them from a pet store.

 

[Andee]

It's possible they may be too big, sometimes mediums are too big when bought from pet stores because a lot of them don't sort their crickets really all that well. I was feeding my 6 month old... 1/4 of an inch to 1/3 of an inch. Though you have to feed more it's worth it because too big and your cham can choke unless you have a really good chewer.

 

[rpreston1211]

Lol! It happens. Try 1/4" crickets. I order 500 at a time online. They will overnight them and Sooo much cheaper then buying them from a pet store.

Where do you store the crickets of that volume the garage?

 

[JoCarp]

Amount to feed

My breeder told me it's easier to put in 125% of the volume of your chameleons head rather than get hung up on numbers of feeders put in. So basically picture your guys head as an empty cup and put in that much plus 1/4 more everyday (unless they aren't eating, don't leave them in as mentioned above). My breeder suggested that as it's easier to do with different sizes/types of food as well as keep track of how much they should eat as the chameleon grows up.
Hope that helps some, seems like everyone covered the other details, just throwing out a tip that helped me out.
Make it a great day,

 

[rpreston1211]

Correction he is only 3 months old.

 

[JaxyGirl]

Correction he is only 3 months old.

Ok that makes sense why the crickets are too big for him. 3 mos and 6 mos are a big difference. He's still a little guy so you need 1/8" to 1/4" crickets.

 

[Andee]

Usually you store crickets in a large, well-vented rubbermaid container. Egg crates and food/water sources added. When I was keeping crickets in large volumes I would cut one hole in the side and and one in the top, hot glue some bug screening in and they'd stay in.

 

[Wasabii]

I am also new to the chameleon world. I have two now (viels) one is about 5 month(female) and the other one is about 3 months(male)
My female from day one would come to the opening of her cage to be fed and the male has been a little more difficult. From day one I have hand fed them almost all of their food some is cup fed and I may throw in a cricket or 2 for them to hunt.
I have noticed the hand feeding has helped them be familiar with my hands and my female actually will come out when I offer my hand all on her own.