New T. Hoehnelii! How much should he be eating?

[KaylaD]

Hello all! I just purchased my first Chameleon in nearly 6 years, a 3 month old T. Hoehnelii! I got him from West Coast Chameleon Brothers last week. He has been doing pretty good so far. My question is how much should he be eating daily? I want to be sure to give him enough but I also don’t want to feed him too much, and he is looking a little plump at the moment! He has been defecating regularly, though today I only noticed a good amount of urates in his stool and very little feces. He has been eating Phoenix worms, extra small Dubias, and Silkworms. Also, Yesterday one of the Dubias was slightly bigger than I thought once he started chewing and flattening it, and he had some trouble swallowing it but eventually managed to get it down. This morning he turned down his Dubias, and has been sunning himself all day, but he did just accept an offered Silkworm. I’ve never had babies before so i’m extra worried about him, he’s so tiny! He had a dark patch of skin around his lower belly and sides by his back legs for a couple of minutes just a few minutes ago, but it’s gone now and he’s back to a lighter uniform brown. Last picture is from yesterday. Also the basking light turned off just before I took these pictures, but it’s up in the top right.


Your Chameleon - T. Hoehnelii, 3 month old sold as male
Handling - About once a week
Feeding - Dubias, Phoenix worms, Silkworms. Dubias gutloaded with Repashy Superload and any veggies I have around.
Supplements - I’ve only just got him, but I have Zoo Med Repti-Calcium w/o D3, Exo-Terra Calcium + D3, Exo-Terra Multivitamin, and Reptivite w/o D3. I’m planning on using the plain calcium every 3 days , calcium + D3 once a month, and multivitamin once a month, alternating every two weeks between the calcium + D3 and a multivitamin, and alternating the multivitamins each time because the exo-terra multivitamin contains D3.
Watering - I hand mist in the morning right after the lights come on, and about an hour before they go out. I’ve only really seen him drink twice but I try to leave him alone.
Fecal Description - Most have been solid with 2/3rds fecal matter and 1/3 urates, brown and white. Most recent was only white urates.
History - none
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass with screen top and front opening door with ventilation holes. Currently in a 10 gallon conversion being so small. Small ventilation fan on top.
Lighting - 40 watt ecosmart incandescent bulb for heat, 12” ZooMed 5.0 T5HO UVB
Temperature - Basking spot on a thermostat set for 80F, currently 78.4F, top of cage away from basking spot is currently 73F and is usually 69-73F, and bottom of cage is 64.7F. All digital thermometers. Night time temps down to at least 60F
Humidity - Nighttime humidity is 80-100%, during the day it goes from 100% at misting time to 39-43% mid day, and back up to 100% at afternoon misting time. Checked with digital hygrometers.
Plants - Live plants in a bioactive setup; Spider plant, Bonsai Ficus, Pothos, Boston Fern and Club Moss.
Placement - in my sons room, there is an AC to keep temps cool. Low traffic unless I’m checking on him.
Location - New England, USA

 

[Pearl Fields]

When they are that small, i do not feel that they can really be overfed... i could be wrong, but when mine (different kind though) was that small, i would always try to feed him at least 15-20 per day, sometimes that went up to like 30, or even a little more than 30. When they are that age, i think the general rule is no less than 15 appropriately sized feeders per day, but i am not totally sure what would be the max amount is. Or if there is really one.

 

[KaylaD]

When they are that small, i do not feel that they can really be overfed... i could be wrong, but when mine (different kind though) was that small, i would always try to feed him at least 15-20 per day, sometimes that went up to like 30, or even a little more than 30. When they are that age, i think the general rule is no less than 15 appropriately sized feeders per day, but i am not totally sure what would be the max amount is. Or if there is really one.

That is what i've heard, but that would be like his body weight in food with what I have =/ The Dubias are meatier than pinhead crickets and even though I ordered the smallest I could they are still just barely small enough for him to eat. The Phoenix worms are also a pretty good size but they are squishy so he can easily swallow them. The silkworms I could easily see him eating 15+ because they are super small.