Hunger strike for worms

[jamest0o0]

So my guy is in between 6-7 months old and he's been going from eating a lot of everything to being fussy and standoffish(firing up at me) off and on. I know that age is where they start being grouchy and i think he is also due for a shed, it's been over a month since his last. I feed him roaches or crickets as a staple daily followed by some kind of worms (1-2 max) each day.

my feeding might look like roaches/crickets+ 1 hornworm one day then same thing, but a butterworm the next day, superworm the third, and so on... I probably give hornworms the most, probably one a day or every other to help hydration.

I think i created a problem, but i just wanted to give him variety. He goes nuts for the worms, but ignores crickets, and roaches. He seems to want me away from him a lot which at this age is understandable, so maybe that contributes because i would always hand feed him roaches. Now he just wants to crawl on me out of his cage so he can explore his free range or give me attitude. He also does not like being cup fed. He rarely eats out of it.

Otherwise he seems healthy, i have no reason for worry, i think he is just demanding worms. So do i limit him to 1 worm a day at least until he cracks or not feed worms at all for a little? Any suggestions on how to correct this would be appreciated. Also anyway to get him cup feeding again, though i guess if he's hungry enough he'll eat from it?

Thanks all

 

[Andee]

Hey hun XD
You could try offering the other feeders first for the majority of the day and if he doesn't eat them give him a small and single worm. He should (I say this with hope) one day get hungry enough and eat the other feeders (always offer the other feeders first) if he eats the others feeders, give him a bigger worm or multiples. I got my guys to learn this way. Trust me they are much more intelligent than we give them credit for XD

 

[jamest0o0]

Youre great andee thanks for replying. Sounds like a good idea. i caved and gave him 2 large hornworms today before i read your post. Starting tomorrow i'll only offer him roaches first. By the end of the day if he hasn't eaten i'll give him a small worm of some sort. Probably butter, bsfl, or horn. I'd imagine a super or wax would only make things worse atm lol.

 

[Andee]

Yeah, fatty worms like supers and waxies won't help much at the moment. He should come around. And they are easy to train as far has certain behaviors than a lot of us realize. My favorite other pet to compare them to are cats. You can train them behaviorally but usually if you try anything that is against nature (such as some sort of trick etc) you have to have something far worth doing said trick XD.

 

[jamest0o0]

Just saw this post now, but that makes a lot of sense lol. My only other pets atm are 2 house cats and i know how they can be. Very smart when it comes to getting what they want.

So update: i gave him a Few rocahes in his feeder cup. Saw they weren't there later, for 2 days in a row. So i gave him a silk, butterworm, bsfl, and a couple horns over the last 2 days only to realize the roaches were escaping and hiding in his cage! Back to square one i guess. I'm being outsmarted by a chameleon.

A little off topic question about feeders, when waxworms or bsfl turn into moth/flys, do they retain the same nutritional value or does it change? Like would the wax worms be healthier as moths?

 

[Andee]

I know wax worms are less fatty but they have less nutritional value over all. Bsfl when they turn into flies their nutritional value does go down a bit but if he eats them really quick then it's not too much. What does your feeder cup look like?

 

[jamest0o0]

It's the one from nick barta. I can find a picture for you if you haven't seen it.

And cool i might have to let some turn to flyers for variety down the road.

 

[Andee]

hmmm usually roaches don't climb out of those that's odd.

 

[jamest0o0]

I actually didn't realize they could until i put one in, came back, saw the roach on the screen. Put the roach back in the cup, immediately it climbed. At the corner and had just enough room to grab onto the side and get out. Clever little bugs. Then i saw like 4 roaches behind the plants :/

 

[Andee]

I swear they learn from each other. Supposedly roaches are one of the more intelligent species of insects. Is there a way you can safely block them from getting out, or use just a slightly smaller roach where it wouldn't be a proble.?

 

[Andee]

I swear they learn from each other. Supposedly roaches are one of the more intelligent species of insects. Is there a way you can safely block them from getting out, or use just a slightly smaller roach where it wouldn't be a problem?

 

[Andee]

Stupid double post .___.

 

[kelly_girl199]

So my guy is in between 6-7 months old and he's been going from eating a lot of everything to being fussy and standoffish(firing up at me) off and on. I know that age is where they start being grouchy and i think he is also due for a shed, it's been over a month since his last. I feed him roaches or crickets as a staple daily followed by some kind of worms (1-2 max) each day.

my feeding might look like roaches/crickets+ 1 hornworm one day then same thing, but a butterworm the next day, superworm the third, and so on... I probably give hornworms the most, probably one a day or every other to help hydration.

I think i created a problem, but i just wanted to give him variety. He goes nuts for the worms, but ignores crickets, and roaches. He seems to want me away from him a lot which at this age is understandable, so maybe that contributes because i would always hand feed him roaches. Now he just wants to crawl on me out of his cage so he can explore his free range or give me attitude. He also does not like being cup fed. He rarely eats out of it.

Otherwise he seems healthy, i have no reason for worry, i think he is just demanding worms. So do i limit him to 1 worm a day at least until he cracks or not feed worms at all for a little? Any suggestions on how to correct this would be appreciated. Also anyway to get him cup feeding again, though i guess if he's hungry enough he'll eat from it?

Thanks all

This sounds EXACTLY like my Chamelon now. Starve him. 5 days,
nothing. Will not kill him at all. Mine craves supers. It's the only thing he will consistently eat. Absolutely will not touch roaches or crickets right now. We spoil these guys and they are smart enough to learn they can pick what they wnat because THEY ARE NOT HUNGRY.....so they say hmmmm, yeah not that today. If he is hungry, he will eat whatever you offer. I got mine into a bad habit of eating everyday when his old owner only fed every 2-3 days. They throw a crap ton of bugs in for them.

 

[kelly_girl199]

I am currently fixing the problem.

 

[kelly_girl199]

Also I have found that "new bugs" give him great interest. Let some calciworms turn to flies, or superworms pupate to beetles, silks to cocoon and turn to moths. There are lots of bugs that have other stages they go crazy for. Mine loves the silk moths, hawk moths , and the super worm beetles. I also caught a wild grasshopper the other day and fed that to him. He took it pretty quick.

 

[Andee]

I laugh so much from your post @kelly_girl199 XD Buddy is giving you the run around lmao. It's so easy for them to just decide not to eat when they know they can make us break. I have never had to worry about starving my two permanent residents. But I think it's because they have always had a regular huge amount of variety. When I got Ryker, I got into roaches very quickly and then insects in general. I have always wanted to study insects XD but now I just want to raise them.

 

[kelly_girl199]

I laugh so much from your post @kelly_girl199 XD Buddy is giving you the run around lmao. It's so easy for them to just decide not to eat when they know they can make us break. I have never had to worry about starving my two permanent residents. But I think it's because they have always had a regular huge amount of variety. When I got Ryker, I got into roaches very quickly and then insects in general. I have always wanted to study insects XD but now I just want to raise them.

Yeah, buddy has been giving me the run around for a long time. I went three days without feeding him and he still wouldn't touch the roaches. The silks were getting big so I started offering those and some to Luna. And then the other day He ate the grasshopper. Hasn't ate since. I offered him silks and a few other things today and nothing. So he will go everyday without until he eats those roaches. Stubborn as crap. He isn't getting superworms for a while. I will reward him when he eats his roaches.

 

[kelly_girl199]

I laugh so much from your post @kelly_girl199 XD Buddy is giving you the run around lmao. It's so easy for them to just decide not to eat when they know they can make us break. I have never had to worry about starving my two permanent residents. But I think it's because they have always had a regular huge amount of variety. When I got Ryker, I got into roaches very quickly and then insects in general. I have always wanted to study insects XD but now I just want to raise them.

I also finished his outdoor enclosure tonight. He will taste sweet sunlight tomorrow morning

 

[Andee]

XD little brat <3

 

[kelly_girl199]

He is driving me insane. 4 sperm plugs this week, constantly wnats out of his cage, keeps getting off his tree to escape to the grass ....boy wnats him a woman!! And on top of it all I think he is getting ready to shed again. Moody as I don't know what.