I adopted a Veiled, help with a few questions!

[JonRich]

You have to gutload your crickets though. Buy them in the morning, leave them in a bin with plenty of fruits and veggies (check Sandrachameleon's blog for gutloading).. Otherwise the cham will not get the nutrients it needs.

Here's the link to the blog:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

Good point. So buy only female crickets in the evening of the "skip" day, gutload them over night , and he eats them first thing in the morning.

 

[JonRich]

Here's the link to the blog:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

Holy smokes, these crickets will be eating better than i do!

 

[VeiledChams]

Holy smokes, these crickets will be eating better than i do!

That's what we all say hahaha

But you gotta remember that whatever you give the crickets and other feeders, is what your chameleon will eat.

 

[cooper9934]

Ice Cubes

Don't know if someone already answered this but I use Ice cubes to water my Veiled and they work great.

I put three ice cubes on top of his cage and spray them and the leaves under them with a water bottle. The water drips down the leaves and into a water bowl.

In fact, I've seen him react to the dropping of the water from the leave to the dish by striking the sitting water with his tounge. It was pretty cool.... now if I can only train him to do that I won't have to put ice cubes up.

Besides the rust issue, (which I didn't think of and will watch) I'm only concerned with the cold water but he dosn't seem to mind.

Cheers!

 

[JonRich]

So i woke up this morning just in time to find this, lol!!

Mind you i left no Dubias in there with him the day b4! Guess this one was slow to get back behind the wall.

It looked like too big of a roach for him at first. I was standing by with a pair of tweezers incase he had trouble. Funny thing was , he just held it in his mouth for about 30 seconds before actually eating it!

 

[camimom]

So i woke up this morning just in time to find this, lol!!

Mind you i left no Dubias in there with him the day b4! Guess this one was slow to get back behind the wall.

It looked like too big of a roach for him at first. I was standing by with a pair of tweezers incase he had trouble. Funny thing was , he just held it in his mouth for about 30 seconds before actually eating it!

I think they like to play with their food.
I fed my guy a moth and he just held it there for like 2 minutes before chewing it and swallowing.

 

[JonRich]

I think they like to play with their food.
I fed my guy a moth and he just held it there for like 2 minutes before chewing it and swallowing.

Yea, he held it for about 30 seconds with me viewing , but god knows how long he was holding it before i caught him.

 

[JonRich]

How often per day/per week should a Cham be going to the bathroom?

I just recently cleaned the whole enclosure on Friday 10-14-11. Between then and now Monday 10-17-11 he has only gone to the bathroom once (it's the regular color of mainly brown with a tip of white)

*Friday feeding : 4 large crickets and one .5'' Dubia roach (dusted with Calcium without D3)

*Saturday feeding : 6 freshly molted mealworms (dusted with Calcium with D3)

*Sunday feeding : four 1" Dubia roaches (no dusting, he seems to not take the roaches with Calcium as much. Seems to get dry mouth and doesn't like it). So 2 times a week i give him Dubias gutloaded with juiced apples, carrots and squash.

*Today Monday feeding: 4 large crickets and 3 freshly molted mealworms (dusted with Calcium without D3).

I believe he pooped on Sat morning.

 

[camimom]

How often per day/per week should a Cham be going to the bathroom?

I just recently cleaned the whole enclosure on Friday 10-14-11. Between then and now Monday 10-17-11 he has only gone to the bathroom once (it's the regular color of mainly brown with a tip of white)

*Friday feeding : 4 large crickets and one .5'' Dubia roach (dusted with Calcium without D3)

*Saturday feeding : 6 freshly molted mealworms (dusted with Calcium with D3)

*Sunday feeding : four 1" Dubia roaches (no dusting, he seems to not take the roaches with Calcium as much. Seems to get dry mouth and doesn't like it). So 2 times a week i give him Dubias gutloaded with juiced apples, carrots and squash.

*Today Monday feeding: 4 large crickets and 3 freshly molted mealworms (dusted with Calcium without D3).

I believe he pooped on Sat morning.

my guy goes about once a day I think. But dont worry if yu dont see it, it doesnt mean it isnt there, even when cleaning the cage and plants.
If he doesnt like the dusting, reduce how much you use. they should be lightly dusted, not coated.
You should also be gutloading your feeders every day. not just a couple times a week.

 

[JonRich]

i gutload everyday with cut up fruits and veggies (items on the list). But i juice it for the roaches and put it in the the lid of a container for them to drink. I find that the Dubias only nibble when i give them solids, but they get very plump on the juice.

I was told that the mealworms are high i fat and hard to digest. I don't mind him putting on some weight. But would the freshly molted mealies help with digestion? (i have a bin of 100 or so, and i get about 15-20 pale white freshly molted worms a week)

Also , i lightly dust. But it's just that they are a larger feeder that they tend to be a lil "dry" once in his mouth. l

 

[camimom]

i gutload everyday with cut up fruits and veggies (items on the list). But i juice it for the roaches and put it in the the lid of a container for them to drink. I find that the Dubias only nibble when i give them solids, but they get very plump on the juice.

I was told that the mealworms are high i fat and hard to digest. I don't mind him putting on some weight. But would the freshly molted mealies help with digestion? (i have a bin of 100 or so, and i get about 15-20 pale white freshly molted worms a week)

OK just making sure. I read it like you were only gutloading afwe times a week.
As for the mealworms, you are correct, they arent very nutrituous, and most of us dont feed them regularly becuase of the nutrition and bc of the hard exo skeleton, which can cause impaction.
However, if they are molted, I guess that means they are nice and soft, in which case, it shouldnt be too bad, Just be wary, some chams get addicted to worms and go on cricket.roach hunger strikes.

 

[JonRich]

OK just making sure. I read it like you were only gutloading afwe times a week.
As for the mealworms, you are correct, they arent very nutrituous, and most of us dont feed them regularly becuase of the nutrition and bc of the hard exo skeleton, which can cause impaction.
However, if they are molted, I guess that means they are nice and soft, in which case, it shouldnt be too bad, Just be wary, some chams get addicted to worms and go on cricket.roach hunger strikes.

Thanks for the warning . Right now i feed him a little of everything(2 or more at a time). He loves Crickets and will usually eat them first.

And these are the molted mealworms i feed him.

 

[camimom]

Thanks for the warning . Right now i feed him a little of everything. He loves Crickets.

And these are the molted mealworms i feed him.

Variety is good.
Have you fed calci worms yet?
ANd I gues those mealworms are soft, cant really tell.

 

[JonRich]

Variety is good.
Have you fed calci worms yet?
ANd I gues those mealworms are soft, cant really tell.

No. What are calci worms? (i goolged, but the results were too broad )

And the mealworms are soft, i use a tweezers to pluck them from the container and chopped 2 of them in 1/2 already. With the unmolted ones you can feel the harder exoskeleton on them when using the tweezers. I'll get a side by side pic of a molted one vs unmolted.

 

[camimom]

No. What are calci worms? (i goolged, but the results were too broad )

And the mealworms are soft, i use a tweezers to pluck them from the container and chopped 2 of them in 1/2 already. With the unmolted ones you can feel the harder exoskeleton on them when using the tweezers.

they are also called pheonix worms. you can get them at petco. or online at mulberryfarms.com
they are high in calcium, and can be fed daily. when left alone, they turn into soldier flies, which, when loosed in a cham cage, keeps them entertained and active.

Glad they are soft and squishy then, feeding a few of those then shouldnt cause a problem of digestion then.

 

[JonRich]

they are also called pheonix worms. you can get them at petco. or online at mulberryfarms.com
they are high in calcium, and can be fed daily. when left alone, they turn into soldier flies, which, when loosed in a cham cage, keeps them entertained and active.

Glad they are soft and squishy then, feeding a few of those then shouldnt cause a problem of digestion then.

Ahhh! i'll take a trip to Petco today and see if they have any. I was going to get crickets today anyway. I also like the idea of him hunting something thats not crawling around on the ground.

 

[camimom]

Ahhh! i'll take a trip to Petco today and see if they have any. I was going to get crickets today anyway. I also like the idea of him hunting something thats not crawling around on the ground.

I know they are called calciworms at petco. Its like 3-4 bucks for a container.
I loved making my guy work for his food. Its funny to watch him stalk it.
now, I cup feed him bc he is free ranged.
FYI_ its actually cheaper to buy crickets in bulk online than from petco, and i find that they tend to die faster from pet stores.

 

[JonRich]

I know they are called calciworms at petco. Its like 3-4 bucks for a container.
I loved making my guy work for his food. Its funny to watch him stalk it.
now, I cup feed him bc he is free ranged.
FYI_ its actually cheaper to buy crickets in bulk online than from petco, and i find that they tend to die faster from pet stores.

i called my local Petco. They were all out of "calciworms". But they do have Superworms. But you are rite about buying online. It's just that i have 1 Cham and most orders are 100+ feeders.(granted i have read that superworms can last for up to a year when kept together).

This will be my first time ordering online. And good sites? Rite now i'm leaning more towards GreatLakesHornworm or MulberryFarms.

 

[camimom]

i called my local Petco. They were all out of "calciworms". But they do have Superworms. But you are rite about buying online. It's just that i have 1 Cham and most orders are 100+ feeders.(granted i have read that superworms can last for up to a year when kept together).

This will be my first time ordering online. And good sites? Rite now i'm leaning more towards GreatLakesHornworm or MulberryFarms.

I know buying in bulk for one cham seems crazy (waste of money) but trust me its not.
I have one veiled. male, 9 months old.
I have had him since he was 2 weeks old. I have bought bulk cricket orders twice. Each oder lasted me over a month, had no die off (which i get alot from petco and petsmart) had none dead on arrival, and i ordered 1000.
I use mulberryfarms.com
good shipping, good customer service, they once called meto say they didnt want to ship cuz of the weather (crickets had to be held at fedex for pick upm but the closest one was 20+ miles away, they didnt want mt omake me drive that far).
As for petco superworms, think mealworms, but bigger.

 

[JonRich]

First Shed with me!

Well today Kamo had his first shed with me. What can/should i do to help with the shed. Or just leave him be?