Feeding Veiled Hatchlings/Babies

[MaGmIsS]

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum, although, I've been aware and read through it for a long time. I wanted to see if I could get some advice on feeding babies.

This is my first experience raising baby Veiled Chameleons so we are still working out what methods of doing things work best. I wanted to know if anyone with experience with these guys could give me some advice on the best/simplest ways to feed these guys. I have the fruit flies and pin heads for them and I know about proper supplementation, but as far as "presenting" them food, I'm experimenting. I don't want to release a bunch of insects into the enclosure with them for fear of the uneaten bugs injuring the babies. I was toying with the idea of a deep plastic tub with a few sticks to transfer the little ones into and put the food in there with them to eat.

Has anyone done this and have feedback, or any help with the best way to go about this would be appreciated. So far I have 10 babies, but my female (Creature) laid 99, and they are still producing live hatchlings so I expect to have a good deal more over the next few days. Thank you in advance!

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on your baby veileds. I use plastic tubs for baby bins. You can see them here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/babies-one-month-old-40584/
Normally the babies want eat until they are one to two days old but if you want to put just a couple in the enclosure ahead of time, once in a while they start eating earlier. I just sprinkle or shake a few feeders in. I don't over feed, just give them all they will eat in about 5 minutes with a few extra for snacks. I feed young babies 3 times a day and after 4 to 6 weeks go to twice a day. When I had 27 babies they were eating 4000 crickets a week plus all the other feeders.

I hope you have cut back on feeding and heat for Creature. That is an enormous amount of eggs and very unhealthy for her. Here's a blog by Lynda Horgan for how I keep females. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

Enjoy your babies!

 

[MaGmIsS]

Thank you very much for the advice, it's a big help to get first hand knowledge. There's so much information out there, but a lot of it is either very dated or somewhat vague. I have taken measures to ensure that Creature is not over fed anymore. My boyfriend and I buy them a variety of feeders, and he over fed a lot. I also am guilty of giving her too much food. I know he just saw it as she enjoys the food, and he loves her and wants her to be happy, but in the end it's just not good for her.

The next clutch she had after this monster one was much smaller, however she injured a front leg digging her tunnel, and I know it is a result of metabolic bone disease, and I feel that it was brought on by not compensating enough for the calcium that was used to form nearly 100 eggs. We both felt terrible, and he no longer lets her gorge.

Thank you again for your help all across the board. I am so excited and proud of Creature, and her beau, Grim's little babies. I want to be sure that I am doing everything I can to ensure that they grow up big and strong to have the best possible life. I'm really enjoying the experience, plus the little guys are utterly adorable and their miniature world is fun to observe

 

[Psychobunny]

Jann has raised lots of baby veiled, follow her advise and you cant go wrong.

 

[Lloyd Heilbrunn]

I also have baby Veileds hatching today. I am normally a snake breeder and you do not feed right away.

So how long can/do I wait to start feeding these??

Thanks

 

[MaGmIsS]

I also have baby Veileds hatching today. I am normally a snake breeder and you do not feed right away.

So how long can/do I wait to start feeding these??

Thanks

First off.. congrats on the babies. I began offering them food about 24-48 hours after hatching. Typically they absorb the remainder of the yolk sack that supplied them nutrition while in the egg. Most times you will notice that they still have a bit of the sack still attached to their belly. Because of this final ingestion of the yolk sack, they usually wont eat the first one or two days after emerging from the egg, so don't panic. Many suggest to let them eat as much as they can in a 5 minute span. I have about 85 babies and I have them split up into several enclosures. I usually give them a fair number of pin heads and some fruit flies. Once they have finished those off, I can usually tell if they are still hungry, as they will be hanging @ the bottom in mini hunter mode, and then I give them a bit more. I feed twice a day, and these guys eat a lot, so be sure to have plenty of pinheads and fruit flies handy. You can get the flightless ones, of the regular ones with wings.
An easier way to do this would be to have a separate "feeding bin" with some sticks for them to perch on, and you can offer them a greater number of pinheads and let them eat as much as they can in 5 minutes. Most people say to do this twice a day, as the little guys do eat a lot. Once they are finished, you can move them back to their enclosures. If you put the food in their normal enclosure, and they don't eat it all, there is a chance that the crickets can harm the babies. They will also need vitamin supplements. The info I found said to dust crickets with calcium every day, and use a multivitamin and D3 supplement 2 times a week. I have been doing this and so far, all 85 babies seem to be healthy.
Hope this helps and enjoy the babies!