how to feed crickets...im new

[danthony428]

ok, im not understanding exactly how im supposed to feed my veiled chameleon, should i just let the crickets go in his cage??? or what?? can somebody explain in detail how to do this please, ive only seen him eat a few because they're just jumping around his cage.. i want him to be healthy, so please help somebody

 

[JimNPHX]

Hello . . .

It depends on what type of cage you have. If the crickets can get out then you might not want to just toss them in the cage to scatter about. But, if your cage is cricket proof then in my opinion the chams love to chase them around.

Some things that might cause your Veiled not to eat all of them:

Your cham is too small
The cage is too big so the cham cannot find them
He's just not hungry

Also, if the crickets are very small you can cup feed them. If larger crickets you might have to take a leg off (sorry) to keep them in the cup. There are also feeder containers that some members have made that make it easier to cup feed the crickets.

I am sure others will comment with some different ideas

You state that you are new to owning chameleons. If you have not already, I suggest reading the posts here on "caring for" to help explain everything. It makes it a lot easier!

Hope this helps

Jim

 

[Nicodemayo]

Make sure your dusting them with reptile vitamins and calcium! DO RESEARCH, it sounds to me like you need to!

 

[AFH]

Well, it depends on a few things. How old is your veiled? How big is his cage? How big are the crickets you're giving him? How many at a time?

I generally let my crickets roam free. The chams will hunt them down. But if they're too big or too small, they probably won't try to eat them. A good rule of thumb is not much longer than the width of the cham's head. A baby will generally eat about 10-15 small crickets.

If you've got a baby cham in a huge cage, he may have trouble reaching them or finding them.

You may also try putting them in a plastic bowl. Make sure it's opaque, because a cham won't see a clear bowl and will strike the sides and wonder why he's not getting food.

AFH

 

[danthony428]

nah ive done my research to all the people who keep telling me to do research, but nowhere do i find how many crickets to give them a day or how to give them to him, they just say give them as many as he'll eat, i was just making sure it was okay to just let them run around the cage, thats all

 

[SuperRad]

nah ive done my research to all the people who keep telling me to do research, but nowhere do i find how many crickets to give them a day or how to give them to him, they just say give them as many as he'll eat, i was just making sure it was okay to just let them run around the cage, thats all

i personally put half in a cup, to make sure they are eating, and the other half i will let loose so they can have some fun hunting.

 

[danthony428]

and how do u get them to stay in the cup, tear some legs off????

 

[Justin Carl]

no use a slick cup that they cant climb.
Butter bowl/tupperware.....

 

[danthony428]

how tall should this cup be, and a plastic solo cup work???? ive noticed he likes to hunt the crickets, but it takes him a while to catch them fast enough, like how many crickets a day does he need to eat to survive, the ones i got were kind of big, like 1/2 an inch, he ate 3 yesterday

 

[dodolah]

how tall should this cup be, and a plastic solo cup work???? ive noticed he likes to hunt the crickets, but it takes him a while to catch them fast enough, like how many crickets a day does he need to eat to survive, the ones i got were kind of big, like 1/2 an inch, he ate 3 yesterday

I no longer feed him with crickets; but before, i used 4" tall cup for med and small crix. so far, they don't really get out (mostly because they don't jump).

don't underestimate your cham. he is a natural hunter. he probably hunts faster when you are not around. When you are there, his attention is divided.
one eye directed toward you (a giant predator) and the other toward his prey.

1. 2.5 to 6 months = roughly 12 to 18 small to med crix/ day (dusted with supplements)
2. 6 months to a year = roughly 6 to 7 med crix/ day (dusted)
3. 1 year or older = roughly 10 adult crickets/ every other day (dusted)

 

[tryme]

if you get a little tub cut a hole in the lid and pierce to wholes in the side of the tub you can put a zip tye threw the holes and strap it to your enclosure (if you have a flexarium or screen viv) this way crickets would have to stand directly in the middle of the tub to jump out.

 

[danthony428]

so if i use a cup around 4 inches tall, the crickets wont be able to jump out

 

[tarynb]

Idk what crickets everyone is using but mine freaking jump they jump all in his cage up in his trees at the pet store when the kid gets them they're jumping out on the floor all over him!!! It's a pain for me with my crickets I keep them in that cricket Keeper and put a potato or something crickets will eat they need water they start to eat each other . I wish they could only eat worms but mine has no interest in worms anymore. The calcium & d3 dusting is what I use it was like 5 bucks at pet store

 

[oneillchameleons]

You really have to start gutloading your crickets and other feeders and adjust your dusting schedule. Feed them apples, oranges, carrot, kale, collard greens, sweet potato, winter squash etc.

Adjust your dusting to the following:
Pure calcium WITHOUT d3 every feeding
Multivitamin every two weeks
Calcium WITH d3 every two weeks

Could you post a pic of your Cham/enclosure so we can help you further?

 

[gotwqqd]

when getting crickets from large bin give it a good kick or shake to knock the crickets down of perches.

when I did use crickets I would put 50 or so into a gut load enclosure that you buy....it has the black tubes they crawl up in to hide, which allow you to take them out without fear of escape. It actually worked great

 

[WAMBO]

and how do u get them to stay in the cup, tear some legs off????

While they are in a cup, or the dusting cup, you can cut a back leg with a small scissors. You only need to remove the skinny part.

 

[Cham_boomerang]

All I have been doing is reading all your comments but thank you cause you guys helped me a lot

 

[Big Gulp]

If you use a plastic cup in the cage, make sure it isn't clear. The cham will try shooting it's tongue from the outside, and it can hurt it's tongue.

To attach the cup, get some strong earth magnets (Home Depot).