Limiting diet?

[Dan]

Hey I was wondering why people limit the number of crickets they give there chameleon each day. I would think that they are smart enough to eat when they are hungry and stop eating when they are full. I keep a constant flow of crickets in my chams cage and let him eat as he pleases. Is there a downside to doing that? What are the benefits of limiting the number of crickets?

Thanks!

 

[Tygerr]

There are a number of problems with the method of feeding that you suggest:

1) Feeder insects (crickets in particular) lose their gutloading very quickly. So by letting them roam around the cage perpetually until the cham eats them, instead of returning the uneaten crickets back to a container for more gutloading, you are not ensuring that the cham gets the proper nutrition from his feeder insects.

2) Uneaten crickets left to roam the cham's cage will more than likely end up nibbling on your cham overnight while he sleeps. On younger chams, this can be devastating to their health. Also, the crickets might end up eating the cham's feces, now probably loaded with bacteria, which will in turn be re-digested by your cham when he eventually eats the cricket.

3) Your ability to monitor the cham's health is diminished. If you are simply providing a constant flow of crickets, how can you be sure how many crickets your cham is eating in any given period of time? Noticing changes in eating behaviour is vital to monitoring the health of a chameleon.

4) Overly plentiful feeding of female chams is thought to stimulate them into producing non-fertile clutches of eggs (i.e. becoming gravid even though they were not mated). Producing these extra clutches of eggs puts quite a strain on the female's body.

5) It is true that obesity in chameleons is quite rare, and that it would probably stem more from the quality of the diet (i.e. fatty worms) rather than the quantity consumed (since chams don't tend to overeat), but any overweight chameleon would probably be less agile and thus lead a lower quality of arboreal life...

Also, you mention only providing a constant stream of crickets to your chameleon. Are you making sure that you provide a varied diet to your cham? In the wild they would be exposed to hundreds of different species of insects. It is important to feed a cham as varied a diet as possible to make sure they are obtaining as many micronutrients as possible, not to mention the mental stimulation varied prey provides.

So in summary, it's not just about limiting the diet, it's about controlling it.

 

[Dan]

Thanks.....that makes alot of sense. And ya...dont worry, I feed them crickets, superworms and wax worms in there constant diet, and when I can find other feeders I get them for treats.

But I will definitely start limiting and monitoring their diets.

Thanks!

 

[Dan]

OK, so I was thinking...how much should I be feeding my chams?

I have a male and female ambilobe panthers...both around 9 months old. I feed them medium crickets, super worms and wax worms. I feel my female is a little small for the super worms, so she only gets wax worms and crickets...unless I find a small super worm.

So anyway...what would be a good combination of those to feed daily?

Thanks