My veiled wont eat crickets

[kobe24]

I have a 6 month old veiled chameleon for about a week now and i have been giving him crickets everyday. But it seems like the last couple days he really isnt eating as much as he used to. He will eat mealy worms right away when i put them in front of him but i dont know why he wont eat the crickets. Thanks

 

[camimom]

hes probably bored of crickets.

try silkworms, hornworms, dubia roaches.

 

[kobe24]

I cant find anykind of those worms or roaches around here, only mealy worms. Is that ok. Thanks for the reply

 

[kobe24]

I put a cricket in front of him and i kept it there for awhile in front of him, it was squirming around so I know he could see it but he just wouldnt eat it. As soon as i got a mealy worm out he ate 5 of them.
Where can i find some horned worms, roaches and silkworms because my local petshop doesnt have them. Can I find them at a petco.
Is it ok for him to keep eating mealy worms and if i can get silk worms or horned worms? Thanks

 

[camimom]

no you cant find them at petco.

You have to order all those bugs from online.

Mulberryfarms.com sells them.

reptilefood.com sells some.

several site sponsors sell bugs.

and he cant eat mealies forever.

 

[kobe24]

Ok thanks a lot i really appreciate all the help youve been giving me, my name is joe whats your name and what kind of reptiles do you have.

 

[camimom]

Jessica.

2 veileds- 1 male, 1 female, 38 eggs.

1 panther- male

1 hoehnelli- male.

1 crested gecko- remale (one more on the way)

 

[kobe24]

Hi Jessica, you have a lot of reptiles there. I wish i had that many. Good luck with the babies and thank you again for your help.

 

[Kmw]

My veiled is picky too! I had to hunt down other sources of food just for him. But if you can get a roach colony going, you'll love it.

 

[ZPavDesign]

My Jackson has been blowing off crickets too ever since I gave her a couple superworms hah. Stubborn little witch. I've been giving her crickets in the morning that way of she's hungry enough she'll eat them and then 2 gutloaded dusted superworms later in the afternoon.

 

[kobe24]

Thanks for the reply. My mom would never let me get roaches lol. Thanks

 

[kobe24]

Ya that's what I'm gonna do, wait till the morning when she's hungry and if he doesn't eat them I'm gonna have to get something else. Thanks

 

[kobe24]

Hey Jess would you recommend the silk worms or horned worms. My Chameleon isn't that big so what would you do.

 

[Elizadolots]

If it were my chameleon, here's what I would do:

Stop all food for 3 days. Give NOTHING....then offer crickets only.

I'm quite sure he would eat.

 

[kobe24]

Thanks for the reply. That's what I'll do but he still eats the hibiscus plant but we we will see what happens over the next couple days. Thanks

 

[lilbug]

I cant find anykind of those worms or roaches around here, only mealy worms. Is that ok. Thanks for the reply

my veiled has not only refused to eat anything but meal worms and super worms but gets really mad if I try feeding her anything else. she hisses and the bugs and hisses at me. she is over a yr old now and is healthy. so from my experience it isn't a problem for them to live off of them.

 

[Neverland]

my veiled has not only refused to eat anything but meal worms and super worms but gets really mad if I try feeding her anything else. she hisses and the bugs and hisses at me. she is over a yr old now and is healthy. so from my experience it isn't a problem for them to live off of them.

Variety is key.. The more feeders the merrier!

 

[lilbug]

Variety is key.. The more feeders the merrier!

yes thats true but I have an extremely stubborn veiled and she will go days upon days without eating. She just hisses at the other bugs and then ignores them and they eventually die or I take them out. i would rather let her eat the worms then let her starve cause she probably would. There was a few weeks when no store had worms and she didn't eat that whole time, id say it was about 3 weeks. I ended up giving her raspberries to eat cause she likes those.

 

[AngieL]

*sings to the tune of 10cc dreadlock holiday"

"I don't like crickets.....oh no.....I hate them...."

Are they black or brown crickets? My girl didn't like the black ones but will eat the brown ones.

I agree with the other members that variety is the key. I really don't like mealworms as they seem to just cause a lot of hunger strikes. I really dont think a chameleon would starve itself, if we didn't give in to them they would crack and eat properly IMO.

Also meal worms are not good for your chameleon, it's like eating fast food all the time, not a good vitamin value and not easy on the digestive system if over fed.

 

[kobe24]

Well thats good news cuz i thought feeding him mealy worms all the time would be bad for him but maybe not. I will try and not give him any worms for a couple days and see if he will go back to crickets though. Thanks