Feeding Your Chameleon Too Much??

[MCSEB]

Morning guys,
So I was just wondering if it's possible to feed your chameleon too much? My chameleon just started eating a couple days ago. I'm feeding him 1/4 crickets. Yesterday he had two meals. In the morning and in the afternoon. He ate 11 crickets and 2 small dubias in the morning and then he ate 5 more crickets in the afternoon but he was still hungry. Right now, I've fed him 12 1/4 crickets and I think he is still hungry. Do I keep feeding him until he doesn't want or should I stop? Reptar is a 5 month old male veiled chameleon. I just got him this Wednesday that passed by. Any help would be great and much appreciated. Thank you

 

[Ferrah88]

Morning guys,
So I was just wondering if it's possible to feed your chameleon too much? My chameleon just started eating a couple days ago. I'm feeding him 1/4 crickets. Yesterday he had two meals. In the morning and in the afternoon. He ate 11 crickets and 2 small dubias in the morning and then he ate 5 more crickets in the afternoon but he was still hungry. Right now, I've fed him 12 1/4 crickets and I think he is still hungry. Do I keep feeding him until he doesn't want or should I stop? Reptar is a 5 month old male veiled chameleon. I just got him this Wednesday that passed by. Any help would be great and much appreciated. Thank you

It is indeed possible to over-feed a chameleon, so you need to be careful! I am by no means an expert when it comes to age, species, gender and amount, so i will let someone with more knowledge answer that part!

Feeding as much as they can will make them fat and then lead to health problems!

 

[MCSEB]

It is indeed possible to over-feed a chameleon, so you need to be careful! I am by no means an expert when it comes to age, species, gender and amount, so i will let someone with more knowledge answer that part!

Feeding as much as they can will make them fat and then lead to health problems!

I knew it. Thanks for the tip. I don't want him to get fat. It's just I don't know exactly how many crickets to feed him because the crickets are 1/4 sized. I feel like those three days that he didn't eat when I got him, he was starving and he is probably trying to get full but I don't want to take any chances.

 

[dlegare]

I wouldn't withhold food from baby Chams. And I really wouldn't be concerned if a baby seems fat. I've noticed my babies get a bit chunky just before putting on an incredible growth spurt. Most Cham babies grow at astonishing rates and they really need the nutrition.

Its a different story as adult.

Just My opinion.

 

[LitldevlblueBar]

Seb my cham is about 5 months old as well what I do is I give him a superworm in the am and then I put about 10 crickets in his cage in the morning then around 4-5 at night I put 5 crickets in the cage and that is is. Sometimes he eats them all sometimes not but try to stay aound 10-12 crickets a day and when he gets older you can do less every other day or so. But you don't want your cham to get Kancles now do you haha

 

[fluxlizard]

I wouldn't withhold food from baby Chams. And I really wouldn't be concerned if a baby seems fat. I've noticed my babies get a bit chunky just before putting on an incredible growth spurt. Most Cham babies grow at astonishing rates and they really need the nutrition.

Its a different story as adult.

Just My opinion.
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I agree with this poster.

A couple of extra thoughts of my own though.

First- my veileds are young adult size by 5 months, though still growing at a fair pace.

Second I allow my babies access to adult temperatures from day one and am not someone who is afraid of supplementation to meet the demands of baby veileds that will grow from tiny to over a foot in 3-4 months time.

Frankly- my veileds are capable of eating full grown crickets within 2-3 months of hatching, don't know how a 5 month old would manage with a handful of 1/4" crickets every day. But then again I grow mine like nature grows theirs- at a pretty good rate.

If someone is using cool temps it could slow growth down and cause more weight gain on young veileds than my situation. It would probably be desirable at cooler temps to feed less.

Also if someone is using absolute minimal supplementation (say d3 1x or 2x per month and vit a 1x per month), fast growth is probably a bad idea because the nutrients won't be there to support the growth, resulting in weak bones, etc. So limiting the food intake in that situation might be desirable then as well.

 

[Decadancin]

At that age, Zaphod was eating a lot more than when he was younger. I would, on occasion, feed him 10 - 12 in the early morning and then more (6-8) a few hours later. (Not every day, but at least once a week.) I started feeding the large crickets soon after that, and he will only eat about 6 most days. Once in a while he will not eat any for a day. I've started giving him an occasional hornworm, too. I have noticed a slight decline in his eating recently, but he has just started a shed today, so this could have something to do with it! Not sure the exact age that I will cut back to every other day or so, but as for now, I still feed him every day.

 

[pssh]

Can you post a picture? Usually by 5 months they can handle pretty big crickets. If you are only able to offer 1/4" crickets, and he is a decent size, I would give him as much as he wants. As he becomes an adult/sub-adult it will be more important to control his feeding, but as babies they should be allowed to eat as much as they want.

 

[Decadancin]

Can you post a picture? Usually by 5 months they can handle pretty big crickets. If you are only able to offer 1/4" crickets, and he is a decent size, I would give him as much as he wants. As he becomes an adult/sub-adult it will be more important to control his feeding, but as babies they should be allowed to eat as much as they want.

He He, I knew my boy would be able to handle full sized cricks at that age, but was trying to avoid the chirping ! Right now I am hearing chirps from two spots, the feeder bin AND his enclosure .

 

[stalincat]

My chams won't even look at crickets anymore
They all want locusts, silkworms and calciworms. SO picky they are!

 

[MCSEB]

I wouldn't withhold food from baby Chams. And I really wouldn't be concerned if a baby seems fat. I've noticed my babies get a bit chunky just before putting on an incredible growth spurt. Most Cham babies grow at astonishing rates and they really need the nutrition.

Its a different story as adult.

Just My opinion.

Ok cool I got you thanks!

 

[MCSEB]

Seb my cham is about 5 months old as well what I do is I give him a superworm in the am and then I put about 10 crickets in his cage in the morning then around 4-5 at night I put 5 crickets in the cage and that is is. Sometimes he eats them all sometimes not but try to stay aound 10-12 crickets a day and when he gets older you can do less every other day or so. But you don't want your cham to get Kancles now do you haha

Perfect! Yeah that's what I was doing but I don't want to feed him too much you know? I'll keep that mind though

 

[MCSEB]

I agree with this poster.

A couple of extra thoughts of my own though.

First- my veileds are young adult size by 5 months, though still growing at a fair pace.

Second I allow my babies access to adult temperatures from day one and am not someone who is afraid of supplementation to meet the demands of baby veileds that will grow from tiny to over a foot in 3-4 months time.

Frankly- my veileds are capable of eating full grown crickets within 2-3 months of hatching, don't know how a 5 month old would manage with a handful of 1/4" crickets every day. But then again I grow mine like nature grows theirs- at a pretty good rate.

If someone is using cool temps it could slow growth down and cause more weight gain on young veileds than my situation. It would probably be desirable at cooler temps to feed less.

Also if someone is using absolute minimal supplementation (say d3 1x or 2x per month and vit a 1x per month), fast growth is probably a bad idea because the nutrients won't be there to support the growth, resulting in weak bones, etc. So limiting the food intake in that situation might be desirable then as well.

I'm actually thinking about getting him adult crickets. I gave him 16 yesterday and today he has had 12 so far. I'm getting ready to give him his second meal today which is just a few more crickets dusted with calcium without d3. I gave him his d3 yesterday.

 

[MCSEB]

At that age, Zaphod was eating a lot more than when he was younger. I would, on occasion, feed him 10 - 12 in the early morning and then more (6-8) a few hours later. (Not every day, but at least once a week.) I started feeding the large crickets soon after that, and he will only eat about 6 most days. Once in a while he will not eat any for a day. I've started giving him an occasional hornworm, too. I have noticed a slight decline in his eating recently, but he has just started a shed today, so this could have something to do with it! Not sure the exact age that I will cut back to every other day or so, but as for now, I still feed him every day.

I see. Ok thank you for the advice. I appreciate it. Since they're 1/4 sized crickets, I'm giving him about 16 a day. 10-12 in the morning and 4-6 in the afternoon. I don't think I'll do that everyday though.

 

[MCSEB]

Can you post a picture? Usually by 5 months they can handle pretty big crickets. If you are only able to offer 1/4" crickets, and he is a decent size, I would give him as much as he wants. As he becomes an adult/sub-adult it will be more important to control his feeding, but as babies they should be allowed to eat as much as they want.

Here is a thread I posted last night. There's a picture of him and I on it from yesterday https://www.chameleonforums.com/handling-reptar-101459/
You could also see the videos on http://www.youtube.com/sebschameleons

 

[MCSEB]

He He, I knew my boy would be able to handle full sized cricks at that age, but was trying to avoid the chirping ! Right now I am hearing chirps from two spots, the feeder bin AND his enclosure .

I heard that is the most annoying part... I have to get my little guy some adult crickets.

 

[MCSEB]

My chams won't even look at crickets anymore
They all want locusts, silkworms and calciworms. SO picky they are!

Oh man... Mine doesn't even want his butter worms. It's either dubias or crickets for now haha

 

[Jaycesickchild]

I heard that is the most annoying part... I have to get my little guy some adult crickets.

Deff annoying but here's how I got around it with a few things I had laying around the house.

1st I hand feed Soc at least 3 large crickets a day and then place a few more in his Cricket cup so he can eat whenever he wants for the rest of the day. The crickets in his Cricket cup usually don't chirp but if they do and if they get annoying you can always empty them out.

Emptying Cricket Cup

Now as for keeping the majority of the crickets. I Keep them in a 30sumthing gallon container with a hole cut in the top with screen for ventilation. I Keep this container in a coat closet downstairs and I never have to deal with the annoying chirp crickets again! Not to mention the smell!

Cricket Keeper

 

[MCSEB]

Deff annoying but here's how I got around it with a few things I had laying around the house.

1st I hand feed Soc at least 3 large crickets a day and then place a few more in his Cricket cup so he can eat whenever he wants for the rest of the day. The crickets in his Cricket cup usually don't chirp but if they do and if they get annoying you can always empty them out.

Emptying Cricket Cup

Now as for keeping the majority of the crickets. I Keep them in a 30sumthing gallon container with a hole cut in the top with screen for ventilation. I Keep this container in a coat closet downstairs and I never have to deal with the annoying chirp crickets again! Not to mention the smell!

Cricket Keeper

Very nice my friend! This is really good.