Lizardguy1
Member
I feed the greens to the dubias and crickets and then feed the insects to my chameleons- that's how they get the greens. I have tried to feed veggies to Veileds, but with limited success (although a few years ago I had one that loved cherry tomatoes). I would check Craigslist in your area for someone selling dubias. They are more expensive than crickets, but my adult chams are usually satisfied with 2-4 large dubias, plus a couple of super worms. When I feed them crickets, they need 15-20 or more for a decent meal. I also notice individual preferences- for example my female Oustalet's loves super worms, to the point that she will ignore crickets, so I have to be careful not to over feed her the worms as they tend to be high in fat but low in other nutrients.
I am working on establishing my own dubia colony- they breed slower than crickets so it is taking time to get going, but they don't smell like crickets do- a big advantage.
As far as a schedule, I feed them 3-6 times a week. If I'm going out of town for a few days I feed them heavily for a few days in a row before I go. That can buy me a 3-4 day period out of town if I need it. Because crickets are so ubiquitous in pet stores, any time I can feed them an alternate diet for 4-6 days without crickets I will. It prevents them from getting too bored with them.
I water at least once a day this time of year, but between waterings their enclosures dry out and humidity drops to between 20-40%. Unlike lizards that seek shelter underground when environmental conditions aren't suitable, chameleons live in bushes and trees during good weather and bad, 24/7. One day the temp could be 100, the next day 70. One day the humidity could be 80%, the next day 20%. Chameleons have evolved over millions of years to not just tolerate, but thrive in this variability. I believe it is essential to their psychological and physical well-being in the long-term. We already limit them to a cage what is much smaller than their natural environment; to keep them at a constant 50-60% humidity and 85 high/75 low every day is too limiting in the long term. It may keep them ok for a few weeks, but over months they need more variation than that. Just my opinion, but in my experience with chameleons the ones that stay outside part of the year do best-
I am working on establishing my own dubia colony- they breed slower than crickets so it is taking time to get going, but they don't smell like crickets do- a big advantage.
As far as a schedule, I feed them 3-6 times a week. If I'm going out of town for a few days I feed them heavily for a few days in a row before I go. That can buy me a 3-4 day period out of town if I need it. Because crickets are so ubiquitous in pet stores, any time I can feed them an alternate diet for 4-6 days without crickets I will. It prevents them from getting too bored with them.
I water at least once a day this time of year, but between waterings their enclosures dry out and humidity drops to between 20-40%. Unlike lizards that seek shelter underground when environmental conditions aren't suitable, chameleons live in bushes and trees during good weather and bad, 24/7. One day the temp could be 100, the next day 70. One day the humidity could be 80%, the next day 20%. Chameleons have evolved over millions of years to not just tolerate, but thrive in this variability. I believe it is essential to their psychological and physical well-being in the long-term. We already limit them to a cage what is much smaller than their natural environment; to keep them at a constant 50-60% humidity and 85 high/75 low every day is too limiting in the long term. It may keep them ok for a few weeks, but over months they need more variation than that. Just my opinion, but in my experience with chameleons the ones that stay outside part of the year do best-
