Only eating mealworms - not crickets

[SueAndHerZoo]

I've set up a feeding dish for my new chammy (feeder from Etsy arriving this week) and I've kept small, coated crickets in there for two days but he/she won't touch them even though he/she sees them. Out of desperation and fear of starvation I threw some mealworms in the dish this morning and she is pigging out on them. Selectively grabbing the mealworms and ignoring the crickets. No idea why - maybe because she was fed mealworms at the pet store? Do I have to do tough love and let her get hungry enough to eat crickets or do I keep offering both in the hopes she'll take to them? When I first got her I didn't have a feeder so put the crickets loose in the enclosure and she ate a few, but she doesn't seem to care enough about them to hunt them down and the enclosure is so large (compared to her) that the crickets stay far away from her.
Sue

 

[Brad]

Hello Sue

What chameleon species do you have and how old is she? Check out the care images linked below for some food and nutrition advice. Chameleons do seem to love mealworms and superworms. Keep in mind that mealworms are not recommended and superworms are only suggested as an occasional treat.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/images/

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Hello Sue

What chameleon species do you have and how old is she? Check out the care images linked below for some food and nutrition advice. Chameleons do seem to love mealworms and superworms. Keep in mind that mealworms are not recommended and superworms are only suggested as an occasional treat.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/images/

Hi Brad.
Veiled chameleon.... 2-3 months old. I realize mealworms are only to be used occasionally so that's why I'm concerned. Do I stop offering them and hope she takes to the crickets soon? How long do I let her go without eating?
Sue

 

[Beman]

Hi Brad.
Veiled chameleon.... 2-3 months old. I realize mealworms are only to be used occasionally so that's why I'm concerned. Do I stop offering them and hope she takes to the crickets soon? How long do I let her go without eating?
Sue

Hi Sue... It is more then likely a two fold issue. Chain stores feed them mealworms even though they are not the best feeder. Or your crickets are just too large for baby so it is going for what is small. Ensure your crickets are no larger then 1/4 inch. You do not want baby going without food at this age. We do not practice tough love when it comes to feeders until they are typically at least 8-9 months old.

Here is the feeder image... Keep in mind every feeder you give baby should be small.

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Hi Sue... It is more then likely a two fold issue. Chain stores feed them mealworms even though they are not the best feeder. Or your crickets are just too large for baby so it is going for what is small. Ensure your crickets are no larger then 1/4 inch. You do not want baby going without food at this age. We do not practice tough love when it comes to feeders until they are typically at least 8-9 months old.

Here is the feeder image... Keep in mind every feeder you give baby should be small.

View attachment 319982

Thanks. There probably are some in my batch that might be too large so I'll just pick out the very small crickets that I received in the mail yesterday.
Sue

 

[Mendez]

Free-ranging crickets in the cage could be an option for the first few times. The chameleon will be triggered by the natural movement of the crickets, and then once they establish a taste for crickets, they can be dropped in a feeder cup no problem. If you have a screen cage, you can try getting the crickets to climb around on the screen sides. This is probably your best bet. And as Beman said, you don't want the feeders to be too big.

Also, a diversity of feeders is great. The occasional gaggle of fruit flies would also get a natural feeding response from your chameleon. Black soldier fly larvae and flies would be even better. Some of my adult chameleons go wild for fruit flies.

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Free-ranging crickets in the cage could be an option for the first few times. The chameleon will be triggered by the natural movement of the crickets, and then once they establish a taste for crickets, they can be dropped in a feeder cup no problem. If you have a screen cage, you can try getting the crickets to climb around on the screen sides. This is probably your best bet. And as Beman said, you don't want the feeders to be too big.

Also, a diversity of feeders is great. The occasional gaggle of fruit flies would also get a natural feeding response from your chameleon. Black soldier fly larvae and flies would be even better. Some of my adult chameleons go wild for fruit flies.

This guy/gal is rather young and small.... I think most foods would be too big for it. I did see some wingless fruitflies at the store.... do you put those in a dish, too?
Sue

 

[Mendez]

Be careful of the species of fruit fly they sell. There is melanogaster and hydei. You want Hydei which is the larger of the two drosophila species. Melanogaster is too small. Hydei are small but not small enough to go undetected. I free range them.

You want to hit/tap the top of the container so the fruit flies get knocked off the top of the lid. Do that a couple times and then open up the container fast and flip the fruit fly container upside down over a separate cup. Hit the bottom gently until fruit flies start falling out of the container into a cup. When you have enough, quickly flip the fruit fly container right-side up and put on the lid. You will still need to dust them in calcium.

If your pet store has a very limited supply of feeders, you should try ordering online. I have nothing but great things to say about rainbowmealworms.com. You can buy quarter inch crickets (which would be perfect for your cham) as well as hydei fruitflies and black soldier fly larvae. Ordering online is the way to go in my opinion. With rainbow mealworms, you know the bugs you are getting are extremely healthy unlike some questionable local pet stores.

 

[Mendez]

You could put the fruit flies in a dish if you wanted, but free ranging them on branch would entice your cham to eat. You could get a shallow plastic cup and hot glue a dowel for insects to climb up which may also get your cham excited. You could also look into feeder runs which allow for more feeder movement than a regular cup

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

You could put the fruit flies in a dish if you wanted, but free ranging them on branch would entice your cham to eat. You could get a shallow plastic cup and hot glue a dowel for insects to climb up which may also get your cham excited. You could also look into feeder runs which allow for more feeder movement than a regular cup

Thanks for the suggestion of an online supplier... heading there now. Already ordered a feeder - should be arriving in a few days.
Sue

 

[Veiled Lady]

I was having a similar issue with my veiled (approx 4 months old now). I ordered some 1/4" silkworms and 1/4" red runner roaches (they move faster than the dubia roaches) and Lady ate them out of the feeder bowl quicker than I could put them in there. I got a feeder runner from Full Throttle Feeders and she almost climbed inside the feeder cup to get the crickets I put in there. You can try those feeders, and also discoid roaches. A lot of members here say how they like the discoids better than dubias (I just can't find discoids where I am).

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

I was having a similar issue with my veiled (approx 4 months old now). I ordered some 1/4" silkworms and 1/4" red runner roaches (they move faster than the dubia roaches) and Lady ate them out of the feeder bowl quicker than I could put them in there. I got a feeder runner from Full Throttle Feeders and she almost climbed inside the feeder cup to get the crickets I put in there. You can try those feeders, and also discoid roaches. A lot of members here say how they like the discoids better than dubias (I just can't find discoids where I am).

Will find some and order now - thanks!
Sue

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Here's what I have in my cart but I won't finalize it until I hear feedback.

Phoenix worms? Haven't heard anyone mention those but they sound GREAT for a young chameleon!
The spikes are Blue bottle fly larvae - are those safe / beneficial?

Sue

 

[Mendez]

I think your cart looks great! I'm assuming that you already ordered crickets somewhere else? You can always order a small amount like 50 crickets (+$3.00) from rainbow mealworms as a backup in case your other crickets arrive in subpar condition. I've ordered crickets from other suppliers but none of them impressed me as much as rainbow mealworms. I'm sure you will be fine tho. But an extra $3.00 for crickets as a back up plan seems to be very cheap when considering the health of your cham. Spend $4.00 for 100 (like 10 days worth of food for a young cham) or $4.50 for 200 crickets (Two weeks worth of food). It's very affordable. I would rather be in a spot of having too many feeders than not enough, especially with a growing baby.

Your cham will go nuts for the blue bottle flies once they pupate. Not sure about feeding them as larvae. @kinyonga or @Beman might know. As for the phoenix worms, they go by many other names such as black soldier fly larvae. These are great feeders as both larvae and pupated flies. You will need to gutload them like any other feeder but you won't need to dust the phoenix worms in their larval state as they have a good phosphorus to calcium ratio.

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

I think your cart looks great! I'm assuming that you already ordered crickets somewhere else? You can always order a small amount like 50 crickets (+$3.00) from rainbow mealworms as a backup in case your other crickets arrive in subpar condition. I've ordered crickets from other suppliers but none of them impressed me as much as rainbow mealworms. I'm sure you will be fine tho. But an extra $3.00 for crickets as a back up plan seems to be very cheap when considering the health of your cham. Spend $4.00 for 100 (like 10 days worth of food for a young cham) or $4.50 for 200 crickets (Two weeks worth of food). It's very affordable. I would rather be in a spot of having too many feeders than not enough, especially with a growing baby.

Your cham will go nuts for the blue bottle flies once they pupate. Not sure about feeding them as larvae. @kinyonga or @Beman might know. As for the phoenix worms, they go by many other names such as black soldier fly larvae. These are great feeders as both larvae and pupated flies. You will need to gutload them like any other feeder but you won't need to dust the phoenix worms in their larval state as they have a good phosphorus to calcium ratio.

Thank you! I'll pull the trigger on the order now and the only reason I didn't add crickets is because I currently have about 175 in my cricket keeper. Granted a lot of those might be too big and may die but I don't think my cricket keeper is big enough to support many more. But as you said, for a few dollars more, might as well! Thanks for the feed back.

So wait, I was thinking I feed the cham the blue bottle flies as larvae.... if not, what do I do with them when I get them????
Sue

 

[Mendez]

The blue bottle fly larvae will pupate (metamorphosize) into flies which your cham will go wild for. Let them fly around the cage and you and your cham will have a good bit of entertainment watching them shoot flies. You can do the same for the Phoenix worms or feed them off as larvae.

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

The blue bottle fly larvae will pupate (metamorphosize) into flies which your cham will go wild for. Let them fly around the cage and you and your cham will have a good bit of entertainment watching them shoot flies. You can do the same for the Phoenix worms or feed them off as larvae.

But what do I do with them while I'm waiting for them to pupate? Put them in the bottom of the enclosure as larvae?
Sue

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Ugh, kept adding more and more stuff to my cart - he's got a lot of great stuff! Then got to check out.... $20 for shipping. His prices are great, though... wish he were closer.
Sue

 

[Beman]

Ugh, kept adding more and more stuff to my cart - he's got a lot of great stuff! Then got to check out.... $20 for shipping. His prices are great, though... wish he were closer.
Sue

Shipping is always expensive... It is the one thing these companies can't control. We can not have the feeders in the shipping process for too long or they all die.

The BBF spikes can be taken from the pouch they come in and put into a plastic container in the fridge they last about a month or so. Take out the pupated ones as you need them to let them turn into flies in the cage. I do not feed them as maggots. I let them pupate.

Keep in mind if your crickets are too large baby is not going to eat them. 175 in a cricket keeper is a lot. They will start killing each other off.

 

[Veiled Lady]

Thank you! I'll pull the trigger on the order now and the only reason I didn't add crickets is because I currently have about 175 in my cricket keeper. Granted a lot of those might be too big and may die but I don't think my cricket keeper is big enough to support many more. But as you said, for a few dollars more, might as well! Thanks for the feed back.

So wait, I was thinking I feed the cham the blue bottle flies as larvae.... if not, what do I do with them when I get them????
Sue

What does your cricket keeper look like? Is it a standard keeper from Petco/Petsmart?