I did it: I managed to bring myself to only feed Spike every other day

Steve A

Steve A

Chameleon Enthusiast
This has been something very difficult for me to deal with. While the information is clear (once Panther chameleons reach a certain age, everyone is feeding them just a few bugs, every other day), I struggled with this internally. I just felt wrong, and bad not providing him food. So, even after Spike turned 1 (early April...), I have been feeding Spike every day.

I probably shouldn't have, but he looks healthy. And I always monitor him (all day every day) and look for him to gain weight. From what I can tell there's no issues with his weight. And to be honest, he has seemed to really do the "food regulating" on his own. He often won't eat both silkworms I feed him, or all of the few crickets, or BSF (or larvae). He will eat a full "meal" one day, then won't eat the next. Or just eat some. This also greatly depends on if I have BSF flying around his enclosure. He LOVES the actual flies and eats those first. So he eats less of whatever else I am providing.

I may just be lucky because Spike has done a good job on his own of just not overeating. In any case, this past week, I have finally started only feeding him every other day. It has taken me this long to get myself into this mentality, despite the fact he typically wasn't eating every day anyway :ROFLMAO:

Just thought I'd share my experience with that. I am just not used to only feeding a pet every other day. Obviously, all species are different and I am well aware. It is just different for me as an individual when push comes to shove. The love in me for my pets is very strong and sometimes it is very hard for me to act logically, when emotionally I am feeling the opposite 🙃😂

And of course, now that I am doing it... I can't believe I really struggled with this for so long.

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Oh I admire your restraint. It's for their best that they not be over fed. Now I'm going to throw some controversy at you. They will probably chase me out of town with pitch forks and torches but I believe and practice feeding my chameleons almost every day. I feed them half of what I would if I skipped a day. I do a fasting day once a week.

My radical thinking is that in nature chameleons have the opportunity to hunt daily except in days where there is torrential rain all day long. I don't have data on how often that actually happens but I have been very successful with my feeding program with several species for well over 5 years. Clearly the every other day method has been in use far longer and a lot of old timers swear by it. It clearly works but is it necessary or more convenient? I think the most important part of either method is self restraint. Don't make your chameleon obese. Limit their intake and monitor their casque and tail base for proper body condition. The casque shouldn't be puffy or sunken. The tail base should have some definition and not be bloated nor should you see the pelvis clearly or any tail bones. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures handy to illustrate this better.

Neither is wrong do what works for you and your cham.:)
 
I think this is something every keeper goes through and a very important topic especially for new keepers. But honestly in the end you have to do what is best for the chameleon. Each have different needs you have to adjust for. Some may not require every other day feeding of 5 insects until they hit the 12 month mark. Some you do have to curb down farther as they have hit maturity as they just do not need as much as they are getting because it is converting to fat. Then there are other methods that arent talked about. Some will feed every day but reduced amounts so they still get the opportunity to eat every day but it may just be 1 or 2 insects. Again another method that still works.

For example I only feed Beman 2 times a week 3 insects each feeding. If I feed more than that he goes into weight gain. He is already considered overweight for his total length but to keep him at a stable weight of 149 grams I have to maintain the 2 days a week with 3 feeders. So in total he gets 6 a week and I have also tried the 6 days a week giving him 1 feeder. Unfortunately he is a pig and this just did not work for me with him. lol

I may not like having to have him on this schedule. But this is also why he is still healthy at six and a half years old. While he is declining due to old age it is not because I have compromised his renal function due to over feeding. We see obese chams quite often in the forum and this is something that can be totally controlled and prevented. From my observations in the forum for the last 6 years, most often these chams tend to start having major health issues around the 3-4 year mark. This can be everything from gout, falling, lack of grip etc. Their bodies simply can not handle the overwhelming fat pads that surround their organs and compromise the function of how well they work.

We see the same stressors with having females. To control egg production you have to reduce down to 3 feedings a week of 3-4 insects around the 9 month mark. With little girls you want to take them down slowly as they get closer to the 9-10 month mark. This again can be hard for people to convert to. They think they are starving their chams. Again it comes down to the health, longevity, and quality of life you want to provide. Obese females not only have the compromise to their organ function you end up with very large clutches that can then lead to egg binding and reproductive issues.

I think it is important to remember though that chameleons are individual. So look at the age, male/female, overall body condition which includes the casque and limbs then go from there. If they are starting to hold weight then this is your sure sign that you need to make an adjustment. How you choose to make the adjustment well there is flexibility in that as well. :)
 
Beman said:
I think this is something every keeper goes through and a very important topic especially for new keepers. But honestly in the end you have to do what is best for the chameleon. Each have different needs you have to adjust for. Some may not require every other day feeding of 5 insects until they hit the 12 month mark. Some you do have to curb down farther as they have hit maturity as they just do not need as much as they are getting because it is converting to fat. Then there are other methods that arent talked about. Some will feed every day but reduced amounts so they still get the opportunity to eat every day but it may just be 1 or 2 insects. Again another method that still works.

For example I only feed Beman 2 times a week 3 insects each feeding. If I feed more than that he goes into weight gain. He is already considered overweight for his total length but to keep him at a stable weight of 149 grams I have to maintain the 2 days a week with 3 feeders. So in total he gets 6 a week and I have also tried the 6 days a week giving him 1 feeder. Unfortunately he is a pig and this just did not work for me with him. lol

I may not like having to have him on this schedule. But this is also why he is still healthy at six and a half years old. While he is declining due to old age it is not because I have compromised his renal function due to over feeding. We see obese chams quite often in the forum and this is something that can be totally controlled and prevented. From my observations in the forum for the last 6 years, most often these chams tend to start having major health issues around the 3-4 year mark. This can be everything from gout, falling, lack of grip etc. Their bodies simply can not handle the overwhelming fat pads that surround their organs and compromise the function of how well they work.

We see the same stressors with having females. To control egg production you have to reduce down to 3 feedings a week of 3-4 insects around the 9 month mark. With little girls you want to take them down slowly as they get closer to the 9-10 month mark. This again can be hard for people to convert to. They think they are starving their chams. Again it comes down to the health, longevity, and quality of life you want to provide. Obese females not only have the compromise to their organ function you end up with very large clutches that can then lead to egg binding and reproductive issues.

I think it is important to remember though that chameleons are individual. So look at the age, male/female, overall body condition which includes the casque and limbs then go from there. If they are starting to hold weight then this is your sure sign that you need to make an adjustment. How you choose to make the adjustment well there is flexibility in that as well. :)
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Yeah, I knew what I had to do regarding this, even before Spike had arrived as a baby, and I STILL struggled with it lol. So, I basically did what @JacksJill does. I basically gave him "less" each day instead of what he should get every so often. To an extent. He seems to really enjoy bigger Silkworms now so technically he may have been OFFERED too much lol

Spike himself has helped me with this. Him showing me he doesn't touch his food half the time is what really helped me overcome this situation. It's just happened so much at this point that I can tell it doesn't even make sense to feed him on the off days. He really doesn't eat anyway.

I was just getting that feeling... like "He is trapped in this enclosure and I'm responsible for him. So.... if he's ever hungry and I didn't leave food for him...💔💔"

But as you have both mentioned, it's obviously best to keep him from becoming overweight. So I'm good with this now. It's also not like I'm not going to have food for him anyway.
 
elizaann2 said:
Right? I actually just got rid of my consistent Saturday treat day. I did that for the longest time because I was not comfortable with the lack of feeding days
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Aw. I love feeding Spike on saturdays, because all week his food is in his enclosure before he wakes up. On saturdays, I -try- to sleep in some. So he's up roaming around waiting for his food when I wake up. And he immediately attacks it when I feed him lol
 
Steve A said:
Aw. I love feeding Spike on saturdays, because all week his food is in his enclosure before he wakes up. On saturdays, I -try- to sleep in some. So he's up roaming around waiting for his food when I wake up. And he immediately attacks it when I feed him lol
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I love that! You are such a good cham-parent!
 
@JacksJill They're coming for you! 😂 😂😂
Angry Black Friday GIF by Buyout Footage


I’m finding this to be a rather important thread as it perfectly illustrates how not everything is one size fits all. We have the husbandry standards, or guidelines if you prefer and that is the basics that we need to know. But we all have different lifestyles, schedules, etc and most importantly, each of our chameleons is their own unique selves. While @Beman may get chunky if he’s fed more than 6 feeders a week, Spike is great at self-regulating his food intake and weight when fed daily and there’s everything in between. While it’s essential to learn the basics, it’s okay after to adjust to your situation and your individual animal’s needs.
 
MissSkittles said:
@JacksJill They're coming for you! 😂 😂😂
Angry Black Friday GIF by Buyout Footage


I’m finding this to be a rather important thread as it perfectly illustrates how not everything is one size fits all. We have the husbandry standards, or guidelines if you prefer and that is the basics that we need to know. But we all have different lifestyles, schedules, etc and most importantly, each of our chameleons is their own unique selves. While @Beman may get chunky if he’s fed more than 6 feeders a week, Spike is great at self-regulating his food intake and weight when fed daily and there’s everything in between. While it’s essential to learn the basics, it’s okay after to adjust to your situation and your individual animal’s needs.
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Beman said that it is not ok to call him fat... :hilarious:
 
Steve A said:
Thank you! He's not gonna agree with you tomorrow night when we move him to my in-laws for the night, and then move him to our new home the next day lol But he will be fine. It's only like a 5-10 min drive to get there. Then our new house is only a few houses down.
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Yes he will be mad but he will be fine! Best of luck moving! What a fun adventure!
 
Spike hates me and won't look at me now 🤣🤣🤣 but he survived move #1. He's at my in laws for the night and tomorrow we will move him into our new home. So far so good.

It's been a rough day. It was a lot of work moving his setup (I use a whole bakers rack for his 48"×38"x24" enclosure), and my mother passed away 😢 but Spike was a big help by being pretty cooperative getting him out of the enclosure. He didn't wanna go in the carrier lol but eventually he went in.


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MissSkittles said:
What? Your mom passed away? OMG! I’m so very very sorry.
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Yeah 😢 she was really sick and needed 3 valves in her heart replaced. Unfortunately she was unresponsive after the surgery and she had a lot of masses and stuff going on. She would have only suffered going forward. So I'm beyond heartbroken for her and my 7 year old son. But at the same time I have to push on and try to stay strong for my family to get us into the new home. Thank you so much 🫂
 
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