Food and plants for my veiled?

[Bergie21]

I've got a 4 month old veiled chameleon, and so far his diet has been only crickets. I talked to a guy at the pet store where i got my chameleon (Enzo) and he said that crickets should be about all he eats until he's around 6 months old, by then he should be big enough for different types of foods. Does anyone have any thoughts on this, and suggestions of what different varieties of food to feed him?

I was also wondering about live plants in Enzo's cage. Right now all thats in there are plastic plants and some fake vines. Does anyone have any suggestions on what types of plants are ok in his cage and where to get them from. I dont think any of the local pet stores in my area carry live plants.

 

[jannb]

I disagree with the pet store employee. I believe they need a large variety of feeders of appropriate size. He could easily eat small worms and roaches. He'd probably love flies. Veileds also eat fruits and veggies. You can hand or cup feed him slivers of all foods that it's safe to gut load with.

I have some plant suggestions in my blog for new keepers below.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

More great info here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/

 

[Andee]

For plants I would do plants that are safe to be eaten. As veileds have an appetite for veggies. If you have luck with them (I am lucky with them) try hibiscus their flowers are completely edible and I would assume most veileds would like them. Umbrella trees are safe, schefflera I use them and honeysuckle supposedly is too, but it's not nearly strong enough for a cham unless you put it on a trelice.

 

[Jelloman]

I have a veiled jeuvenile and recently put a pothos in. He has eaten quite a bit of the leaf and went right after it the same day I put it in. The pothos should not be confused with the Phiodendron, which from what I have read is not approved. Pothos are everywhere and are vigorous growers and climbers.

 

[Brandonmh]

I can 2nd the pothos, I did feed it and it is growing fast. Since I bought small plants before I got my cham, I have been growing them. I recently re potted the small ficus, and fertilized both the ficus and pothos (not in the cage yet). Pothos I keep turning the hanging basket every few days because it grows towards the window. I was trying to figure a way to hang it in the cage, was thinking of two dowel rods on top forming a brace and something like strong wire going thru mesh of the cage and holding the plant, but it would block the lights, unless I move them front, and hang the plant in back. Would need to reconfigure the perches tho.

 

[Andee]

http://www.cleanlinechameleons.com/safe-plant-list/

Here is quite a large list of chameleon safe plants, though I would always make a post asking about the plants you decide on to make sure they are safe. I just bought a camellia for Ryker's big cage. As for other insect feeders, I would definitely try hornworms as they tend to be a favorite with chams and are a great way to keep them hydrated. I would buy them as eggs if I were you and then you could grow them to the size you wanted to feed off. Remember you might have to get rid of some as they grow fast and you will probably have left overs that are too big. Dubia roaches can be good but they are always a toss up on whether a cham likes them or not, so if you can only order a few until you know whether he likes them. I am trying green banana roaches soon, they fly and stay small so I think that my cham will love them. They turn green when adults and that's always a plus though their care is a little more detailed. There's also wax worms though they should really be used very sparingly as they are very fattening. Mealworms and supers are the same but the problem with them is they are hard to digest and can be addicting very quickly for chams. I do not suggest them. Phoenix worms/calci worms are great, awesome source of calcium and don't need to be dusted. Good for growing babies. ^^Hope this helped.

 

[lanaya]

i have a Ficus, and my cham eats the leaves all the time! however she eats the leaves so much that some of the branches stop growing because there are no leaves left and then they break off when she climbs on them... but as long as shes happy, the plant is still in fair shape too.