Handfeeding question

[fortunata]

Hello,

We have a female baby veiled prob around 8-10 weeks and she was always cup fed. We have had her about a week and have continued to cup feed. We love it because no loose food, and we know how much she is eating.

She likes my husband so much that she will actually eat from his hand as well!

So my questions are...
1. Is there any need to not cup or hand feed?
2. Do You still need live food if she will hand feed?
3. She is a piggy, do I limit the amount of crickets she eats per day or as many as she takes within a couple minutes?

for example she took all nine yesterday.
we feed daily,

thanks!

 

[AngieL]

Hi! You will always need to feed live insects as chameleons will not eat dead/dried/frozen ones. You can feed a variety of fruit and veg like kale, leafy greens, strawberries, and melon. Our veled likes to graze so we have a little bowl hanging in her enclosure that always has something in it!

 

[Miss Lily]

At that age, feed as many as she can eat in 5 minutes or so, in the morning and again in early afternoon. Remember to only feed items that are no wider than the gap between her eyes to eliminate choking. Once mine got to the stage where she was eating 30 or so small crickets a day I moved her up onto the next size so she didn't need so many to feel full.

 

[fortunata]

I guess you cant really hand feed the fruit and veg unless it is diced super small?

If she were to actually eat freeze dried crickets though from his hand, would there be a problem with that?

thanks again,

 

[Miss Lily]

Fresh ones are always better as you can gut load them to make them more nutritious for her. As far as insects go they don't usually take any notice of things that don't move. Not all will eat fruit and veg either. I have had 3 Veileds and only one of them would eat anything that wasn't moving. Amy would love think slivers of apple or carrot and also 'wild rocket' salad leaves that I use to gutload her food with. I would hang them from a plastic clip in her cage but the carrot and apple I would hold out and she would walk up to it and bite bits off. It's funny watching them work out how they can eat it when they can't use their tongues to zap something!

 

[AngieL]

I guess you cant really hand feed the fruit and veg unless it is diced super small?

If she were to actually eat freeze dried crickets though from his hand, would there be a problem with that?

thanks again,

They do have to be cut into small peices yes, then you could hand feed them or put them in a bowl for her.