help?!

[a.miller]

Okay so today I purchased a juvenile veiled chameleon and there are two things I'm concerned about because no one at all cared to explain no matter how much research I've done and trust me I've done a lot since I decided I wanted one late July and now it's March.

1. I don't know how to actually feed crickets to him. I was only told to feed him 7-10 small/med crickets daily because of his size

2. Is it normal for them to rattle their tail against the side of the enclosure? He's been doing it almost all day and I can't figure out why

 

[ChameleonClem]

Okay so today I purchased a juvenile veiled chameleon and there are two things I'm concerned about because no one at all cared to explain no matter how much research I've done and trust me I've done a lot since I decided I wanted one late July and now it's March.

1. I don't know how to actually feed crickets to him. I was only told to feed him 7-10 small/med crickets daily because of his size

2. Is it normal for them to rattle their tail against the side of the enclosure? He's been doing it almost all day and I can't figure out why

I like to feed with tongs, or you can just pick it up with your hands, either way hold the cricket by the very back legs ensuring your cham can essily hit it. Then just hold it with your arm out straight (makes the cham more comfortable if your body is father away) and hold it in between you and your cham, so that your cham can see you and then prey. How far away from your chameleon depends on his size( id suggest a finger length), a good way to do it is to hold the cricket over the same branch or vine your chameleon is on so that he can move closer. Hold the cricket loosly so the chameleon can grab it and not hurt himself, i like to try to let go right when he grabs it. Youll get the hang of it
Some people also do feeding cups and leave food available 24/7. And others just set a few loose in the cage and leave the chameleon to do his bussiness ( its good to this every now and then because its good for you cham to hunt it.)
But beware about leaving bugs in there, they can actually eat your cham so dont leave alot in all the time. Not to mention bugs might escape depending on your cage.
Hand feeding/tong feeding takes time to work up to sometimes so be patient.
But it also helps to make them for tolerant of you.

As for the rattling, im certain hes just trying to get his tail in the screen so he has something to hold onto. Its common behavior
If youre still worried about it you can post a video, im not sure if you can put videos on here but you can link to youtube
Sorry for the long reply, good luck!

Ps you can let growing chams eat as much as they please, some people even like to split the feeding between two sessions a day. And the rule of thumb is to feed them nothing larger than the part of their forehead between their eyes. (Not the crest).
If you have any questions let me know i have a knack for occasionally not writing clearly .
Best wishes!

 

[a.miller]

I like to feed with tongs, or you can just pick it up with your hands, either way hold the cricket by the very back legs ensuring your cham can essily hit it. Then just hold it with your arm out straight (makes the cham more comfortable if your body is father away) and hold it in between you and your cham, so that your cham can see you and then prey. How far away from your chameleon depends on his size( id suggest a finger length), a good way to do it is to hold the cricket over the same branch or vine your chameleon is on so that he can move closer. Hold the cricket loosly so the chameleon can grab it and not hurt himself, i like to try to let go right when he grabs it. Youll get the hang of it
Some people also do feeding cups and leave food available 24/7. And others just set a few loose in the cage and leave the chameleon to do his bussiness ( its good to this every now and then because its good for you cham to hunt it.)
But beware about leaving bugs in there, they can actually eat your cham so dont leave alot in all the time. Not to mention bugs might escape depending on your cage.
Hand feeding/tong feeding takes time to work up to sometimes so be patient.
But it also helps to make them for tolerant of you.

As for the rattling, im certain hes just trying to get his tail in the screen so he has something to hold onto. Its common behavior
If youre still worried about it you can post a video, im not sure if you can put videos on here but you can link to youtube
Sorry for the long reply, good luck!

Ps you can let growing chams eat as much as they please, some people even like to split the feeding between two sessions a day. And the rule of thumb is to feed them nothing larger than the part of their forehead between their eyes. (Not the crest).
If you have any questions let me know i have a knack for occasionally not writing clearly .
Best wishes!

Omg thank you so much I think that helped a lot! That's probably the best explanation I've got from anything so far.

 

[maryanne27]

I had just always let the crickets go in the cage. If it is the right size for their age (not too large for the size of the cham), they should be able to hunt the crickets. Usually I let the crickets go near the cham so he would see them and realize he has something to hunt. That is what they do on instinct.

As for the tail rattling, I can't say for sure. It is most likely (as previous poster said) that he is looking for something to hang on to. Make sure you have a bunch of branches, vines, and plants for him to climb on. However, mine and others I have heard of as little bitties tend to climb all over the screen no matter how much foliage you have! Either way, keep us posted.

 

[ChameleonClem]

Omg thank you so much I think that helped a lot! That's probably the best explanation I've got from anything so far.

Glad i could help i always liked being involed with my chamleons. And I definitely will in the future.

 

[a.miller]

I had just always let the crickets go in the cage. If it is the right size for their age (not too large for the size of the cham), they should be able to hunt the crickets. Usually I let the crickets go near the cham so he would see them and realize he has something to hunt. That is what they do on instinct.

As for the tail rattling, I can't say for sure. It is most likely (as previous poster said) that he is looking for something to hang on to. Make sure you have a bunch of branches, vines, and plants for him to climb on. However, mine and others I have heard of as little bitties tend to climb all over the screen no matter how much foliage you have! Either way, keep us posted.

As far as the crickets go he seems to be fine with the little free roamers in there and the rattling isn't as constant

 

[maryanne27]

As far as the crickets go he seems to be fine with the little free roamers in there and the rattling isn't as constant

Good! Glad it is going well.

 

[Remkon]

I like to feed with tongs

I hate tongs with chameleons. It's hard to time when to loosen the grip and it will likely scare them or piss them off when you time it wrong.

Personally I use a shallow cup for my panther, superworms and dubia will stay in, crickets will often escape eventually so it's a hybrid of free range and cupfeeding. When I hand feed him I use my hands or I place the food on a branch for him.
My jax does best on free range so I just free range all of his food and try to place treats on a branch.

 

[ChameleonClem]

I hate tongs with chameleons. It's hard to time when to loosen the grip and it will likely scare them or piss them off when you time it wrong.

Personally I use a shallow cup for my panther, superworms and dubia will stay in, crickets will often escape eventually so it's a hybrid of free range and cupfeeding. When I hand feed him I use my hands or I place the food on a branch for him.
My jax does best on free range so I just free range all of his food and try to place treats on a branch.

Placing them in a cup works well too, i never had any of those ishues when i used tongs. Just hold the food lightly.
As mean as it is id usually just crush the crickets knees so they couldnt jump, that way if they did escape the tongs and land outside of the cage its an easy catch. Sometimes id use a cup but i liked bein involved and my cham didnt seem to mind much so