Help With Feeding

k8shm8

k8shm8

Member
Hello All!
My veiled chameleon is about 4 months old and I have owned her for about a week now. I am having a hard time monitoring her eating and would appreciate some advice.

I am offering her small crickets, superworms/mealworms, hornworms, and silkworms (I aim for variety). I have been gutloading the crickets with leftover fresh produce.

I have been offering her the insects in a feeding cup (dusted with calcium). I have seen her eat a few crickets and worms but not a lot. She is very fearful of me and becomes stressed when I open her cage which makes me hestitant to hand/use a tong to feed her. She doesnt eat the insects out of the cup. I have tried adjusting the cup to higher on branches for her to see & on the floor of the cage. She doesnt eat any of the insects in the cup. Im not sure what else I can try / do but I am worried about her not eating and becoming sickly.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, my last chameleon prefered tong feeding but he would eat out of the food cup as well.
 
i would advise to never use tongs because we’ve had so many horror stories on here where chams have had tongue injuries or even lost their tongue altogether from using tongs. If your Cham won’t eat out of a cup, how about trying a feeder run. full Throttle feeders makes one as well as other places. You can also make one out of a water or milk jug but make sure to do something to the edges of the plastic so it’s not too sharp so as to injure their tongue. The movement of the bugs climbing the run is what will attract the Cham to eat.
 
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In my own experience as long as your cage is bug secure and if your chameleon is a little afraid of your appearance. Go ahead and let the crickets run around there and leave the area where they are in. if the chameleons are in a common area maybe try sectioning that off with the sheet somehow just for the time being. them only being 4 months in your possession they are still in the acclimation period. I have a male and a female a veiled chameleon right next to each other sectioned off with a sheet and they both go through periods of eating more / less. Best thing you can do is keep account of the crickets. put them in there and as long as you're sure they're not escaping you can count and know for sure if chameleon is eating hope this helps
 
Also PS any crickets you're chameleon has not Eaton within 24 hours make sure you remove. any bugs that maybe running around in there, may cause injury to your chameleon being left in there for the long term
 
Mikechorba1 said:
Also PS any crickets you're chameleon has not Eaton within 24 hours make sure you remove. any bugs that maybe running around in there, may cause injury to your chameleon being left in there for the long term
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P.s.s. sometimes it's the things we don't do for our reptiles / amphibians and fish that help them out the most
 
Mikechorba1 said:
P.s.s. sometimes it's the things we don't do for our reptiles / amphibians and fish that help them out the most
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I hate to keep attaching stuff but this is all assuming you have a proper UVB and basking light setup for them and screen enclosures for air flow as a basis. They will not survive without the proper lighting
 
Again sorry.. but are you missing at least once a day it's really easy to make a dripper by cutting a water bottle in half and just putting a couple pin holes in the bottom
 
Mikechorba1 said:
*Misting
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No need to apologize- I appreciate any and all advice and just want her to be as healthy & happy as possible. I have the proper lights (following the guidelines on this website) reptisun 10.0, basking lamp, night heat lamp (doesnt emit light but my house gets cold, I live up north). The basking temp is about 80-85F. I also propped the heat lamp above the cage and not directly on the screen because she has a habit of occasionally climbing on the top of the screen in her cage. Humidity is about 50%. I hand mist 2-3x daily, screen enclosure, and have a water dripper (not waterfall). I also have 2 live plants in there to help maintain humidity.

I think my main fear with her is crickets biting her if theyre free or potentional risk of impaction if a cricket is near the plant. I tried to cover the soil of the plants with rocks to reduce the risk but I worry about her.
 
Lindasjackson said:
https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/product-page/magnetic-camo-feeder-cup here is a link to one.
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k8shm8 said:
No need to apologize- I appreciate any and all advice and just want her to be as healthy & happy as possible. I have the proper lights (following the guidelines on this website) reptisun 10.0, basking lamp, night heat lamp (doesnt emit light but my house gets cold, I live up north). The basking temp is about 80-85F. I also propped the heat lamp above the cage and not directly on the screen because she has a habit of occasionally climbing on the top of the screen in her cage. Humidity is about 50%. I hand mist 2-3x daily, screen enclosure, and have a water dripper (not waterfall). I also have 2 live plants in there to help maintain humidity.

I think my main fear with her is crickets biting her if theyre free or potentional risk of impaction if a cricket is near the plant. I tried to cover the soil of the plants with rocks to reduce the risk but I worry about her.
Click to expand...
I also only use spring water from gallons… I dont know if tap water makes a difference but I dont even drink the tap water where I live so I dont want her to drink it haha.
 
If you can fill out this form in full we can get one of our experienced veils keepers to go over it for you to see if there are things maybe you can improve on.
Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
k8shm8 said:
No need to apologize- I appreciate any and all advice and just want her to be as healthy & happy as possible. I have the proper lights (following the guidelines on this website) reptisun 10.0, basking lamp, night heat lamp (doesnt emit light but my house gets cold, I live up north). The basking temp is about 80-85F. I also propped the heat lamp above the cage and not directly on the screen because she has a habit of occasionally climbing on the top of the screen in her cage. Humidity is about 50%. I hand mist 2-3x daily, screen enclosure, and have a water dripper (not waterfall). I also have 2 live plants in there to help maintain humidity.

I think my main fear with her is crickets biting her if theyre free or potentional risk of impaction if a cricket is near the plant. I tried to cover the soil of the plants with rocks to reduce the risk but I worry about her.
Click to expand...
Okay well I know you live up north like you said I live in Florida that being said if your house is climate controlled as long as it doesn't get below 70° at night you don't need any night time heat actually a night time drop and temperature is beneficial sometimes this can be the cause of the problem altogether I found this out the hard way until this day I have upteen infrared bulbs in my closet collecting dust. PS I keep my temperature at 69 when we go to sleep at night raise it to 75 during the day that's pretty much my temperature gradient
 
Mikechorba1 said:
Okay well I know you live up north like you said I live in Florida that being said if your house is climate controlled as long as it doesn't get below 70° at night you don't need any night time heat actually a night time drop and temperature is beneficial sometimes this can be the cause of the problem altogether I found this out the hard way until this day I have upteen infrared bulbs in my closet collecting dust. PS I keep my temperature at 69 when we go to sleep at night raise it to 75 during the day that's pretty much my temperature gradient
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Think about sleeping in your backyard it'll be warmer in the day than it is at night chameleons feel it should be the same way
 
Hi. The first question I have is are your feeders the appropriate size for your chameleon? Anything larger than the space between the eyes is too big. It’s ok to have the feeders be a bit too small, but too big and they can’t eat them. At 4 months old, I’d think 1/4” feeders would be good, but go by your girl’s size.
Tong feeding, as has already been said, is not good for chams as they strike with their tongues faster than we can release the tongs. This can result in a tongue injury or loss.
There are a few different types of feeding stations on the market and many come up with their own. I use and like the shooting gallery. https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032 Full Throttle is another popular style. https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/
Your basking temps are a bit high. Ideal for a young cham and a female is 80F. You definitely have it right to raise the lights off the screen top.
You do have too strong of a uvb bulb though. The standard is a T5HO with either ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%. Then basking area should be about 8-9” below the light. If you are using a 10.0 (or Arcadia 12%), the distance between the light and basking area should be about 10-11”.
Unless your house gets colder than around 60F, no need for the heat bulb at night. A substantial temp drop at night is ideal. No lights at night, no red or colored lights ever (harms sensitive chameleon eyes).
If you’d like to answer the above questions, we can go thru all of your husbandry and make sure all is as perfect as possible for your little girl. While having everything correct is important for all chams, it’s even more so for our girls to prevent egg laying problems. :)
 
I agree with everything above! I know you said you got her a week ago and we have many customers nervous about this same thing in the first weeks of receiving their cham.

When chams get to their new home they are getting used to a new cage, people, sights, activity, other pets, etc. Giving them some time to settle in is key. Eating makes them vulnerable and some are going to hide that as much as possible after a transition to their new home. We always suggest minimal interaction and activity around their enclosure in the first weeks. You only want to go in to feed, spot clean etc. Try to resist the urge to hold right away unless they don’t seem bothered by you. After a couple weeks of realizing the hands coming in are only dropping food off and cleaning, they will relax some.

Asking the breeder what foods they were eating prior to being shipped is a good idea. That way their food is familiar. Crickets also get their attention the best so are a great option.

Don’t be afraid if you don’t “see” them eating. Monitor their poop. That is your evidence they are and will make you feel less worried. If all looks good in that department, you can rest assured they are eating… just not in front of you. ☺️

Hope this helps!

And yes- temp drops are good at night! No heat is necessary unless it gets REALLY cold in your house.
 
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