How often do you feed your chameleon

[Littlejen74]

I am very new to all this and have promised myself I am going to learn as much as I can before I get a chameleon. I have been reading on the chameleon academy and it talks about how often to feed your chameleon. It says one they are over six months you want to feed them every other day. However I have seen a few post and videos where people are giving their chameleon supplementations every day. What would be a good feeding schedule?

 

[Prince of Duval]

It depends on a number of factors. Type of cham, age, sex, etc. Here’s the Chameleon Academy caresheet recommendation for Panther chameleons

 

[nightanole]

"what ever works"

Once they are adult (9-12 months) they will not eat every other day, unless you are feeding them a very small amount.

I feed my adults their fill(fill up the feeder, and have a few left overs after an hour) on the weekends, and they get a snack or 2 during the week. This has worked great with no hunger strikes, for 25 years.


For home work, check out some users food logs

 

[Littlejen74]

"what ever works"

Once they are adult (9-12 months) they will not eat every other day, unless you are feeding them a very small amount.

I feed my adults their fill(fill up the feeder, and have a few left overs after an hour) on the weekends, and they get a snack or 2 during the week. This has worked great with no hunger strikes, for 25 years.


For home work, check out some users food logs

Thanks I will have to do that. Not to sound too uneducated what do you mean exactly when you say users food logs? Where can I find them?

 

[Littlejen74]

It depends on a number of factors. Type of cham, age, sex, etc. Here’s the Chameleon Academy caresheet recommendation for Panther chameleons

Thanks a lot I haven’t seen that one yet. Been reading on the chameleon academy. Been going through their course on Chameleon care. I am up to nutrition and supplementation. I will definitely save this with all my other charts and info I have saved up on my phone.

 

[nightanole]

Thanks I will have to do that. Not to sound too uneducated what do you mean exactly when you say users food logs? Where can I find them?

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/january-2015-food-log.902/

 

[kinyonga]

@nightanole said..."Once they are adult (9-12 months) they will not eat every other day, unless you are feeding them a very small amount."...not eat every other day???

 

[nightanole]

@nightanole said..."Once they are adult (9-12 months) they will not eat every other day, unless you are feeding them a very small amount."...not eat every other day???

You can get yours to eat 7 times over 2 weeks, as adults, most of the time? Im happy if they eat 5 times over 2 weeks. Most of the time they just like 2 big meals a week, and will turn their nose up at snacks. In winter its 1 big meal a week, and they might eat a snack/escapee during the week. Now growing they are cricket vacuums.

 

[kinyonga]

@Littlejen74 said.."one they are over six months you want to feed them every other day"... That's right, and if you have a female you have to be careful not to get over feed her. It will make her produce big clutches and cause health issues.

 

[Bush baby]

Once they are older than 9 months, I find feeding them 2 - 3 times per week prevents hunger strikes. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays works for me, anything more and they start getting nitpicky. This replicates how they feed in the wild more closely, as in the wild they can often go days - weeks before coming across food.

I once had a Jacksons that went on a hunger strike, and went 3 weeks without eating, and was just fine when he decided to eat again.

 

[JacksJill]

Just to be difficult I feed almost everyday but I may only feed one feeder if the bugs are large or maybe two if they run small. My chameleons especially the females are always ready to eat. I do monitor their weight monthly and try to keep them from getting too fat.

 

[jannb]

I feed my adults 3 times a week.

 

[MissSkittles]

I can’t even begin to imagine a chameleon that doesn’t want to eat! Lol My ladies are always eager for a meal, rushing down from their basking spot every time I open their door.

 

[KittyB]

I can’t even begin to imagine a chameleon that doesn’t want to eat! Lol My ladies are always eager for a meal, rushing down from their basking spot every time I open their door.

This thread has me spooked! LOL I have no idea how old my Chameleon is (my vet though he was 6 months old .. impossible I'd owned him longer) The owner at Tails and Scales guesstimated 2 years ha ha ha

I know in December he was maybe 4-5 inches head to tail (not including tail)
However this was my first Cham and I fed him as much as he wanted! LOL (Don't ask)

I have still been feeding him daily!.. he just went back onto live feed (self feeding ) and if I don't feed him to his preference he will sit on the bottom of his enclosure where he can see the cricket keeper and the other bugs... Yikes I may have created a piglet ...I was always told feed them until they don't seem hungry!

Damn... always learning

 

[kinyonga]

For males just keep them so they don't look fat but rather look to be not thin but not fat. (Such an exact description eh?)

 

[KittyB]

For males just keep them so they don't look fat but rather look to be not thin but not fat. (Such an exact description eh?)

I can work with this.. perhaps he has a "quick metabolism" LOL he's still got his high cheekbones and super model legs

 

[jamest0o0]

I can work with this.. perhaps he has a "quick metabolism" LOL he's still got his high cheekbones and super model legs

Chameleons will show obesity around the tail and Crest. It can be pretty subtle too. Overfeeding is a huge issue in many species of reptile because they don't often hold it like most of us would imagine and it wrecks their organs.

 

[jamest0o0]

I can’t even begin to imagine a chameleon that doesn’t want to eat! Lol My ladies are always eager for a meal, rushing down from their basking spot every time I open their door.

Yeah that seems to be the case with veileds. Makes me jealous. All my Panthers were pretty finicky and then I got a Parsons lol... several week/month hunger strikes drive you crazy! I just want an animal that eats without putting up a fight. I think I found his weakness in red runners though.

 

[nightanole]

For males just keep them so they don't look fat but rather look to be not thin but not fat. (Such an exact description eh?)

I go by "i can see tail ridge lines, but i cant see bones" So i dont want a hot dog for a tail, i want to see the few lines going down the length.

 

[JacksJill]

^^I go by the tail as well.