How Many Crickets?

[shipwreck]

I have a 2 month male veild cham and was told to give him 5-6 3/8" crickets a day. After reading through a few posts I am wondering if that is really enough? I have given him more and they are gone within a few minutes. At night I have been dropping in a small meal worm or two and he snaps them right up as well.

How many should he be getting daily or is there really too many?

 

[krug1313]

I feed my almost 3 month old 1/4 inch crix. He will eat about 4-5. I guess it depends on your cham. Just watch him and if he doesn't eat all the crix within a few hours that should give you a better idea of his appetite. Also glad to see you on here. We used to talk fish on the fish forums. Do you still have your fish? Good to hear from you again.

PS. You don't want to over feed your cham. Some chams will eat and eat and eat but it could be detrimental to their health.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

At this age he could eat quite a bit more and be fine.
You don't want to grow him up too fast ... but 15 to 20 crickets is not too many.
I would not feed too close to lights out though. They require heat to raise the metabolism to a level that allows for proper digestion.
Feed in the morning.

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

 

[krug1313]

Wow..15-20 crix... I didn't know that.What size Brad?

 

[shipwreck]

I don't have to wait a few hours, he is done in a few minutes. The only thing that slows him down is a cricket that hides behind a plant but as soon as he catches site he will chase it down.

And yes I still have my 120 and 40g salt tanks, as well as my turtle tank and now my new cham, and I am already planning on a second cham. It is no harder to build a 48x48x24 cage with a divider then a 48x24x24 Selling it to the wife as a nice place to grow some plants is slowly winning her over.

 

[krug1313]

LOL... Well I guess my cham just has a poor appetite.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Wow..15-20 crix... I didn't know that.What size Brad?

distance between the chameleons eyes rule applies.

-Brad

 

[shipwreck]

That link looks great, I have more reading to do.

I usually feed in the morning before I head to work so that is not an issue. With 15-20 should I still feed him a worm or two after work as well?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I don't have to wait a few hours, he is done in a few minutes. The only thing that slows him down is a cricket that hides behind a plant but as soon as he catches site he will chase it down.

And yes I still have my 120 and 40g salt tanks, as well as my turtle tank and now my new cham, and I am already planning on a second cham. It is no harder to build a 48x48x24 cage with a divider then a 48x24x24 Selling it to the wife as a nice place to grow some plants is slowly winning her over.

It's an awesome place to grow (safe) plants.
I have a full spectrum fluorescent as well as the Repti-Sun 5.0 over the enclosures and my plants thrive.

-Brad

 

[krug1313]

I knew about the eye rule but it's just hard to believe such a small cham could pack back so many crix.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

That link looks great, I have more reading to do.

I usually feed in the morning before I head to work so that is not an issue. With 15-20 should I still feed him a worm or two after work as well?

You don't need to.
Just be sure he has at least a couple of hours of "daylight" left when you do it.

-Brad

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I knew about the eye rule but it's just hard to believe such a small cham could pack back so many crix.

Most of their growing happens in the first 6 months (at a very fast rate)*
These animals are fantastic at converting food into body mass with the right temps and lighting.

-Brad

*although they never stop growing. Like most reptiles, they will continue to grow their entire lives, but at a much slower rate.

 

[shipwreck]

It's an awesome place to grow (safe) plants.
I have a full spectrum fluorescent as well as the Repti-Sun 5.0 over the enclosures and my plants thrive.

-Brad

I have a small pothos and a small ivy and both have shot off new leaves already since I put them in. I will have to take some pics and post them (after I leave work )

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I have a small pothos and a small ivy and both have shot off new leaves already since I put them in. I will have to take some pics and post them (after I leave work )

Make sure the ivy is safe (some are quite toxic)

-Brad

 

[shipwreck]

It was just sold as ivy. The best I can find on the web is variegated-ivy, here is a wickepedia link to the pic I found

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Hmmmm.

I'm not sure. Helix would be the key word to research.
I know most varieties identified as english or boston are toxic.
I would play the safe card and not use it in the enclosure.
Bougainvilla is a great blooming "ivy like" plant that I use.

-Brad

 

[shipwreck]

Well I gave him 15-20 crickets yesterday and it defiantly slowed him down. This morning I put in about 6 and he did eat one right away that walked in front of him but he didn't immediately go running through the cage like it was the first and last cricket he was going to get. Now I just have to take a pic.

 

[tam4]

duh

not to sound dumb but what's the eye rule? never heard of it before?

 

[Tygerr]

not to sound dumb but what's the eye rule? never heard of it before?

The 'eye rule' is simply that you shouldn't feed insects to your cham that are larger than the space between its eyes. It's essentially a rough guide to working out what size of insect is appropriate for your cham's size.

The 'eye rule' doesn't really apply to soft-bodied insects (such as silkworms, superworms or waxworms) because they don't present the same choking threat that crickets, roaches or beetles might.

Also, the 'eye rule' can often be ignored for healthy, fully-grown adult chams (especially the larger species like Veileds, Parson's and even Panthers).

You should always be aware of what your cham is eating though, and make sure that they don't try to take on something that may pose a risk to them (besides choking, that also includes poisonous or stinging insects).

They're like children: they see food and they'll try to eat it...