Food only every other day?

[Mesnik]

After searching and reading different threads, and yes, I read your blog too Brad (very nice by the way), I get more and more confused ...

Do I feed my 8/9 month old veiled only every other day? And I thougth I got a consensus on how much supplement, but I see a lot of people do not qualify the age of their chams versus their schedule.

Uh .. please, help !?

Thanks!!

 

[JoshCrane1]

is it male or female? cuz your supposed to keep females on diets i believe(eggbinging and other risks), but i dont know what age you start, maybe 6months.

 

[Mesnik]

It is a male. I am surprised the gurus on the subject have not commented yet... I understand that there are more important threads like this misting system or that, should that cham be killed in the name of science or not...

Oh well. Some nice sould will help out.

Thanks for the time, Josh!

 

[JoshCrane1]

yeah im with you, im looking for the same info. anything would be great.

 

[tryme]

i pm'd brad ramsey at one point because i needed a fast reply and he said that 8 crix or equivelent every other day should be fine but suppliment as normal i.e one feed calcium without d3 next feed calcium with d3 ...i think this is correct.

 

[Justin Carl]

Well, if you would like to minimize the chances of you male Veiled going on a hunger strike, they you would want to feed 5-6 crickets every other day.
The exact same dusting schedule would apply if he was 6 months old or 3 years old.
Phosphorous free calcium without D3 at most feedings.
Herptivite and phosphorous free calcium with D3 twice a month.

 

[Mesnik]

Hey, thanks for adding to this!!

So, it seems like we all agree that the "supplement" system should be the same no matter how old your male veiled is: More Calcium without D3; Calcium+D3 2 to 4 times per months, and vitamin 1 to 2 times per month.

(Hope the above IS a consensus amongst our group)

Now we just need to narrow down how many crickets per day...

 

[JoshCrane1]

i use reptivite from zoomed, is that ok?

 

[bucky]

What would be recommended for a adult panther? I feed my almost 2 year old panther 8-13 crickets every other day, dust them with calcium/d3 twice a week and vit a once a week. Is this ok?

 

[Mesnik]

Would someone point us in the right direction on how to feed/supplement our older chameleons?

Please?!

 

[Eric Adrignola]

feed them as much as they need - that will be clear when you've been feeding them for several months after they mature. An adult male for instance, could be fed 5 insects every other day as a start. If he gets thin, increase it. If he gets fatter, decrease it. Vary it, especially if he's showing a lack of interest in normal food items. Let them go hungry for a while, and they'll show interest again.

A healthy adult male veiled in good condition can go for weeks without showing much significant body weight loss - and for longer than that, before they died. Being "hungry" for a reptile is different than it is for mammals. They might be programmed to eat a lot, but as ectotherms, they don't have to eat like mammals do.

My adults eat about 5 insects every other day. It varies so much, I can't actually give a good number!

 

[bucky]

Very helpful! Thank you.

 

[Tygerr]

My adults eat about 5 insects every other day. It varies so much, I can't actually give a good number!

Eric is spot-on with that comment. It is impossible to provide a set-formula.

There are so many variables: what type of feeder insect is used (some contain more calories than others); the age, size and activity of the cham; the ambient temps (my chams definitely eat less during winter) and the basking temps (basking influences digestion); the level of hydration of the animal. The list goes on.

The only thing you can really do is to pay good attention to your cham. Over the time you keep the cham, you will gain a lot of experience and eventually you'll be able to tell when the cham is gaining too much weight, or losing a bit too much. Then you can adjust it's diet accordingly.

But there is no magic formula. Kinyonga often says that she only feeds her chams as many insects as they can eat in a minute. But not even that is foolproof. In the case of a shy cham of mine, she won't eat if I'm near her cage, so I don't know how long it takes her to eat the insects. All I know is that sometimes they're all gone when I come back, sometimes there are still some left.

As humans, we don't always eat exactly the same amount of food each day. Neither do chams. Eventually you'll get a feel for it.

The same applies to supplements. There are good guidelines for those, but not even those guidelines can amount to a precise formula that should be religiously followed. The requirement for supplementation also depends on a lot of variables: the type of feeder insects used, the quality and amout of gutload delivered to the cham, the amount of exposure to natural sunlight vs UV from a bulb, etc.

Be patient, and learn from your cham.

Have a read through all the articles under the 'Nutrition' section on the Chameleons! Online E-Zine. There are some valuable lessons there regarding how to approach cham nutrition.

 

[Mesnik]

Eric and Tyron,

THANKS SOOO much for the help. I am not sure why others have not answered but you guys have done it for me.

I have read many articles infact, that was probably why I was so confused.

I feel much better, thanks again for the time and for sharing your experiences.

I handle my cham no more than once a week and when I open his cage to feed he comes faster than my fish towards me!! It is so funny!!! I hand feed him silkies and hold the cup with crickets so he can get 3 or 4 before dumping in the rest (maybe 10 to 15 1/2" to 3/4"). He knows I don't "bug" him so he lets me tickle his beard and belly... I have lots of fun.

Anyway, just started rumbling so it is time to go...


For the third time: Thanks!

Roberto.

 

[Billyjack187]

I dust once a week for my young adult jackson...he feeds every day but not it large quantities, 2 worms 2 crickets. Is that odd, No. If Im not hungry I dont eat, same applies to animals. I do notice if he is outdoors he will feed more and drink waaaay more, for obvious reasons. Chams dont have set rules as to exactly how many they should eat, use them as guidelines.Supplement at least once a week no less for adults, thats your best bet.

 

[Mesnik]

Thanks Billy.

So you would say one week (one day only)use Ca, on the next Ca+D3, the following Vitamine, perhaps Miner-All the next, and then start over?

Thanks for adding to this informative thread!!

 

[BIGGUN]

What would be recommended for a adult panther? I feed my almost 2 year old panther 8-13 crickets every other day, dust them with calcium/d3 twice a week and vit a once a week. Is this ok?

Calcium w/o D3 2-3 times a week....herptivite once a week when under 6 monthes, once or twice a month when adult....Calcium w D3 once or twice a month (this will be less if given natural sunlight)....Vit A is a whole other monster that I'm not knowledgable enough to speak of.

Hope that helps,
Kevin

 

[Mesnik]

So based on the responses, how does this schedule looks? (Again, it is for a 9 months and older Veiled male!!)

 

[dodolah]

I usually wait until he's 1 year old to feed every other day (although 9 months old seems to be sufficient).
I feed 5 crix a day for 9 mo - 12 mo
starting a year, i feed him 10 crix every other day.

the supplementation regime:
Reptivite MTh
Repcal TF
MinerAll0 WSat
No Supplementing Sun

If feed every other day, based on the regiment schedule, you'll see that he will get each Reptivite, Repcal, MinerAll once per week.
Don't go crazy on the dosage though.

That schedule works for me.
Feel free to adjust based ion your chameleon's need.
I agree with Eric comments.

 

[chamlover]

Bucky,
You said:
What would be recommended for a adult panther? I feed my almost 2 year old panther 8-13 crickets every other day, dust them with calcium/d3 twice a week and vit a once a week. Is this ok?

Personally i think you are feeding him too much. But i also think it depends on each cham (male only) and his size and activity, just like people. I also think you are using too much calcium w/d3 and vit. I believe the consensus in calcium w/d3 only 2 x month as with vitamins. Do you ever use calcium w/o calcium d3? That is what you should be using 2-3 x week.

If anyone thinks i am wrong on this, please chime in.


Debby