How do I vary diet?

[Zilla23]

I have had my male panther for about two weeks, I got BSFL and hornworms to go along with his crickets but he won't touch either of them. I put them in a feeder cup and he totally ignores them, I tried hand feeding, same thing (he will snatch a cricket out of my hand in a second). I also put one on a leaf next to him but he completely ignored it. How do I get him to eat these? I want him to have more than just crickets in his diet but he just doesn't seem interested in anything else.

 

[Beman]

I have had my male panther for about two weeks, I got BSFL and hornworms to go along with his crickets but he won't touch either of them. I put them in a feeder cup and he totally ignores them, I tried hand feeding, same thing (he will snatch a cricket out of my hand in a second). I also put one on a leaf next to him but he completely ignored it. How do I get him to eat these? I want him to have more than just crickets in his diet but he just doesn't seem interested in anything else.

Sometimes it just takes time. I put all my feeders together in my guys feeding cup. He picks them off. But they are picky he now is over dubia roaches and only wants his crickets and BSFL. With the hornworm the first time I fed he had no idea what to do with it. Then I just held it in between my fingers so it was moving and he took it. Just make sure that it has not grown too large for him. Now with Hornworms if he sees me get one from across the room he knows what it is and comes to the front of his cage lol. With the BSFL I put a few in the palm of my hand the first time so he could see them moving and he went for them.
So don't be discouraged and keep trying

 

[Zilla23]

Sometimes it just takes time. I put all my feeders together in my guys feeding cup. He picks them off. But they are picky he now is over dubia roaches and only wants his crickets and BSFL. With the hornworm the first time I fed he had no idea what to do with it. Then I just held it in between my fingers so it was moving and he took it. Just make sure that it has not grown too large for him. Now with Hornworms if he sees me get one from across the room he knows what it is and comes to the front of his cage lol. With the BSFL I put a few in the palm of my hand the first time so he could see them moving and he went for them.
So don't be discouraged and keep trying

I put three horn worms and some BSFL in the feeder cup with 4 crickets. The little turd ate the crickets AROUND the worms!! LOL. I will keep trying, hopefully he will eat these horn worms before they outgrown him!!!

 

[Calypratus]

it mostly depend on what the breeder feed it while it was young. That's part of the reason you should always get to know your breeder. My veiled chameleon refuses to eat any thing but crickets and hornworms.

 

[Beman]

I put three horn worms and some BSFL in the feeder cup with 4 crickets. The little turd ate the crickets AROUND the worms!! LOL. I will keep trying, hopefully he will eat these horn worms before they outgrown him!!!

Try giving them first before you add the crickets. Give him an hour with them and see what happens LOL. They are little stinkers though! Always outsmarting us.

 

[Kiraral]

How old is he? That will determines how long he can go without food. I’d do the same as for a Cham on a superworm strike....stop offering the food he wants. He’ll get hungry and curious. My rescue had to learn to eat things other than super and wax worms. It didn’t take long when those weren’t an option. Now he takes them as treats but doesn’t refuse his other feeders

 

[CC's Baby]

I give my dubia and I do the same as Beeman does. I put them all in the feeder cup, but I also use super worms but I only give them to him as a treat in the afternoon to get him to come out on me and he will do that for them. Keep trying. I do put a few lose on the vines close to him one at a time and when he sees them moving he gets them immediately. They like the idea of "the hunt" to get them.

 

[Zilla23]

it mostly depend on what the breeder feed it while it was young. That's part of the reason you should always get to know your breeder. My veiled chameleon refuses to eat any thing but crickets and hornworms.

I tried getting info from the breeder, I posted in a thread about my experience with FLChams. I decided to go with them after all the great reviews, but I didn't have that great of an experience. My baby appears healthy and everything but I had a hard time getting any communication or information from FLChams, I sent multiple emails and texts to Mike asking for photos of the baby and information on what he was eating and what size crickets etc. Never received a response to any of it. Mike finally called me after he "forgot" to ship my cham the first time and said that he was just super busy. It was disappointing to say the least. But I have learned SO much from this forum, I really don't know what I would do without all of you!! I just really wanted to vary his diet. I did manage to get him to eat one horn worm off the tongs but that's it so far. I have only had him about two weeks so I think he is still just exploring and getting used to me and his cage. I will keep trying!! I will say that these dang crickets are eating better than me so I am ok right now with him eating just crickets because I am gutloading them with papaya, mango and watercress and they are SUPER fat and happy!!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

 

[CC's Baby]

I tried getting info from the breeder, I posted in a thread about my experience with FLChams. I decided to go with them after all the great reviews, but I didn't have that great of an experience. My baby appears healthy and everything but I had a hard time getting any communication or information from FLChams, I sent multiple emails and texts to Mike asking for photos of the baby and information on what he was eating and what size crickets etc. Never received a response to any of it. Mike finally called me after he "forgot" to ship my cham the first time and said that he was just super busy. It was disappointing to say the least. But I have learned SO much from this forum, I really don't know what I would do without all of you!! I just really wanted to vary his diet. I did manage to get him to eat one horn worm off the tongs but that's it so far. I have only had him about two weeks so I think he is still just exploring and getting used to me and his cage. I will keep trying!! I will say that these dang crickets are eating better than me so I am ok right now with him eating just crickets because I am gutloading them with papaya, mango and watercress and they are SUPER fat and happy!!

Well I hate you did not have a good experience but if he is healthy and eating well, then you should be all good. I would watch how many hornworms you give him. Those should be a treat just a few times a week. I have read how some chams get to where thy can refuse to eat anything else because that is all they want is the hornworms, so I would definitely stick with a variety of the staple feeders and use the horn worms when you are getting him out and associate that treat with that event. I use the superworms daily for getting Angus to walk out onto me and he knows now that he is going to get those when he comes out. Keep adding more veggies to your feeders such as the greens and sweet potato for example. That feeder sheet that Brody posted is really beneficial to use as a resource tool. Have fun!