new guy

[tzap13]

Hello everyone! after months of research, I have decided I would really love to get a panther chameleon. I plan to have the cage completely set up and growing some live plants in with the mister and foggers all making for a balanced enclosure. I'm not at all concerned with cost (although my girlfriend is a bit worried haha), I want to have as close to real setting as possible.

Here's my hangup.

I hate touching worms, crickets, beetles, basically anything that moves and squirms. Hell I wont even bait a fishing hook. Yea, I'm a 40 year old hetrosexual male, I know, I am not normal.

Can I hand feed with a non powder, nitrile rubber glove? Or am I doomed to a feeder cup.

I know there are lots of canned food items available, but I kind of think of that like a person living off canned goods 100% over fresh food. It's possible but man that would be boring.

My girlfriend was giggling at me cause I went to get the tongs when a worm dropped on the floor.

I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with holding any reptile and in the early 90s raised chinese water dragons (where my hatred for crickets developed), just bugs creep me right out.

My sister in law could tell you a very hilarious story about me trying to "shoo" a praying mantis off the ceiling in my room. (275lb dude jumping on a bed screaming like a girl is apparently funny to some people!)

Anyway, I am still researching like a maniac, i think ive watched every chameleon video on youtube hehe. Thanks for entertaining my question.

Computer wizard here that does facebook consults free if any need computer help 8)

Thanks for inviting me to the forums, I look forward to soaking up the wealth of information this site offers.

~Cheers... crap look out there's a bug!

 

[Rottsko]

I lol'd. Welcome to the forum and bugs aren't that bad. You'll get used to them eventually.

 

[carol5208]

Hello and welcome to the forums. I cannot stand the sight of roaches and refuse to keep them to feed to my chameleons. I have overcome just about every other bug and I am a 53 year old woman! You can do it! You do get used to it after awhile. Consider this though: it is not just handling the bugs to feed, all the bug containers need to be cleaned on a regular basis so there is even more contact when doing so!!!. Canned is a big no no and is not the healthiest for your chameleon so live bugs are unfortunately a must.

 

[tzap13]

rescue

yea, my sister in law has this beardie I am lizard sitting for at the moment. She gave me the meal worm tanks and I went the next day to a reptile expo in st louis and spent $300 on stuff for his tank.
She was using a person heating pad for his tank.. yea, a normal person heater pad. I am not going to give him back. It was the most absurd thing I ever saw, poor thing was living on sand and feces almost entirely. He was skinny and seemed lethargic. His tank was only equipped with a regular white light bulb, no heat lamp, no uvb. I wont even get into why she had to give him to me to lizard-sit, or the reason there is only 1 when there used to be 3. I had to clean the worm cages out as well, they were nasty.

Lets just say I rescued the poor little guy, who still doesnt like me to put my hand in the tank, much less hold him.

There is a guy at work who breeds them and he is going to find him a good home. I would consider keeping him but beardies are kind of "meh" (modern day 1990s iguana) to me. After I inspect the house I will help deliver him to his new home.

I guess my point is, I am serious about taking good care of animals, I dont play and I spare no expense, I just want to make sure all my hang ups are covered before I make that final decision to get this ball rolling.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I guess my point is, I am serious about taking good care of animals, I dont play and I spare no expense, I just want to make sure all my hang ups are covered before I make that final decision to get this ball rolling.

Good for you!! I love to see that kind of attitude before getting a new pet. Welcome to the forums, and the chameleon addiction.

You can use gloves for feeders definitely. I put toilet paper rolls in the cricket bin and when it's time to feed the lizards I can just pick up the toilet paper roll with crickets inside of it and then shake it into the cage or dusting cup. Then you don't have to touch them at all!

While you're researching, the links below are full of good info!

 

[Ab093]

I actually have this same problem. The one thing I can't stand is bugs and unfortunately I had to suck it up a little. The worms are all much easier to deal with for me. I still haven't brought myself to the roaches yet though...

 

[tzap13]

thanks

Thanks for the responses. I'm off reading muchadoaboutchameleons blog. The cricket tube sounds awesome! I saw a plastic cup on the back of reptile magazine that has a section at the bottom that holds suplements and allows you to shake the vitamins on the crickets and the excess falls back into the lower section. It also has a tube allowing the crickets to climb out on their own.
I cant, however, find it for sale any longer.

I love the feeder cup thing, but really want to interact with him through hand feeding, also concerned about those plastic jugs that are cut out, the edges seem like they would be too sharp and could potentially cut a cham's tongue. I really am only speculating though, of course.

 

[SaintJimmy]

Ahahaah! Shoo mantis, shoo!



I wish you luck with your bug endeavors, because it's gonna be almost impossible to not touch them if they escape! Unless.. tongs.. Yeah.

I hope you do end up caring for a cham though.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Cats are excellent stray cricket catchers.

 

[SMCNARY]

Everyone had said about everything but 1 thing!!! I made a mistake and got black gloves and had to catch my male Rambo in mid air trying to get away from the big black thing trying to eat him!!! I now have white gloves and I only use them to handle silks when hand feeding and they don't bother my chams at all.
I use them on silks as they ( silks ) are very sensitive to bacteria and if they don't get eaten then I can put them back with the others with no worries about having any problems

 

[dom1959]

+1 #Catsareexcellentstraycricketcatchers

and i think u will get over the bug thing,
because your cham will mean that much to you!

that was what happened to me

btw i have half a box of gloves

 

[tzap13]

gloves

yea, I love me some rubber gloves so thats looking like the winner. blue nitrile.

Cant wait till cage building begins and I can get the plants thriving off the mist / fog.

Son is going to be staying with me next week and were going to build the cage if I can find a suitable plan hehe.

 

[laurie]

I think if you love your cham and take good care of it, using gloves are just like any other tool. We all use misters and stuff, they are just as foreign to chams as gloves are. And when I put a cricket order into a cricket order a few may get out, I stomp them and problem is solved. You are going to be an excellent cham parent, so jump in and make the adjustments that work for you. You are not talking about any thing that will hurt your cham in any way, so there should not be any reason to worry.

 

[joeandsoph]

I used a feeding cup for crickets because they are nasty and so are roaches. I feed wax worms from the palm of my hand and we have locusts in the UK which I'm not sure you can get in the states. The locusts are so easy to feed by hand because you just hold their back legs! And they don't do much or feel nasty.

 

[Chameleons09]

I hate bugs as well. However, I have gotten used to most of the bugs we keep for our chameleons. I wear gloves when I have to touch them however, I usually let my husband do the touching of the bugs and he will put them in the dusting cup and then I from there will let the bugs into the chameleons cage so I dont actually touch the bugs.