REALLY need help re: neonate feeding !
- Thread starter paigesc
- Start date
paigesc
New Member
Done. Pray for fruit flies. She's in a 12x18x20 small mesh enclosure. We also purchased a 10 gal aquarium today per the seller's suggestion and we have the xsmall exoterra rainforest. What do you suggest we place her in ? I have ordered from Joshs but the soonest we will get any food will be Tues.
I bought my last ff cultures&kit from flygrowers supply co.almost 3 weeks ago and still dont have them.grrr should of bought them from joshsfrogs.
I agree about not force feeding! Try putting a want ad on craigslist under pets. I bet you'll find them with in a couple of hours!!
I agree about not force feeding! Try putting a want ad on craigslist under pets. I bet you'll find them with in a couple of hours!!
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
You'd have to "force feed" the bug juice, which you don't want to do at her size because you run the risk of really injuring her. I agree with Curt, post adds on local sites to see if anyone will sell you a few insects for the weekend. Although, it really will be super easy to just catch them yourself (hell, they manage to get into my kitchen all the time and I'm not even trying lol).
Keep trying but - and this is my opinion, I don't know how justified it is or not - I don't think 2-3 days of not eating are going to kill her. If she's drinking, I think she'll do fine. It's obviously better if she eats, but don't rip your hair out either. These guys are a little sturdier than we give them credit for.
Keep trying but - and this is my opinion, I don't know how justified it is or not - I don't think 2-3 days of not eating are going to kill her. If she's drinking, I think she'll do fine. It's obviously better if she eats, but don't rip your hair out either. These guys are a little sturdier than we give them credit for.
paigesc
New Member
Thank you! I just spent $100 at Josh's on overnight food but I bet it won't be here til Tues. I currently have a piece of mango in her cage that is half rotten. Someone on Fauna said I could try feeding her "Spikes" from the local bait store? Comparable to maggots? Is this safe? Does anyone know?
Granted, I asked for a small cham but I had no idea it would be 1.5 inches total. FAR TOO YOUNG to ship / sell !
Kerrek
Member
She will be fine in the screen cage the main thing is to make her food easy to find. You need to get some of these they are $5 for 250 of them Solo 2oz Souffle cup. You can get them at Party City put a map link in for you.
http://www.partycitystores.com/jobs_php/map.php?site=PC&storenum=PC215
Put your prey items in the cup and put the cup where the cham likes to hang out. Make sure there is a branch or leaf close enough for her to be able to get the prey. I also will put a leaf in the cup so that the prey can crawl up it and they can pick them off as they do. After a few feedings that cup becomes there best friend they come right to it. Here is a tip for the fruit flies. They are a pain to put in the cage I throw mine in the fridge for a few minutes to make them go dormant then put them in the cups. Put the cup close to the baby then she will see them crawl out of the cup as they warm up and she will feed.
http://www.partycitystores.com/jobs_php/map.php?site=PC&storenum=PC215
Put your prey items in the cup and put the cup where the cham likes to hang out. Make sure there is a branch or leaf close enough for her to be able to get the prey. I also will put a leaf in the cup so that the prey can crawl up it and they can pick them off as they do. After a few feedings that cup becomes there best friend they come right to it. Here is a tip for the fruit flies. They are a pain to put in the cage I throw mine in the fridge for a few minutes to make them go dormant then put them in the cups. Put the cup close to the baby then she will see them crawl out of the cup as they warm up and she will feed.
Dennis Hultman
New Member
That's so strange. You told us on Fauna that you didn't have any 1/8th and can't find them anywhere. That the seller told you that they were eating 1/8th and fruit flies before you purchased and now that you can't find them you have decided to start a chargeback against the seller and keep her funds and animal.
So Strange that you told a different story here about assuming they would eat 1/8th when you don't even have any. Per your own words...
fluxlizard
Avid Member
Depends on the size of the mealworms. I feed baby mealworms to newly hatched chams all the time no problem. I breed my own so I can get very tiny mealworms, but you can order them tiny too. By all the time I don't mean I feed them every day - about 1x per week for babies, maybe 2x (I rotate baby lobster roaches, baby crickets, baby mealworms, fruit flies)- I mean I feed them to baby chameleons every time I have baby chameleons for 20 years now no problems. Breaking down and digesting exoskeleton is what lizards do for a living. If they cannot do that, they are sick or malnurished or too cold or suffer from parasites. If they are healthy, they are good at it.
I'll second the suggestion to go out and try and find a field to collect tiny insects with a net. You can get a net at most dollar stores. Just brush it along the grass and in SC you should have plenty of tiny insects in no time. You can also leave your porch light on and go out with a jar and collect lots of tiny insects this time of year.
whatnowcustoms
New Member
^^^ i agree with dennis
Texas Panther Man
New Member
Totally agree with Dennis. And on top of that this poster had no business buying a chameleon this young. She has limited exp and is asking for a small baby per her own words in the fauna post. Now she has buyers remorse and is taking HER lack of knowledge and common sense out on the seller.
You just bought an adult wc about 2 weeks ago that you were freaking out about. Per your own title on here. You should have gotten that cham settled and acclimated before even considering buying another. It takes more than 2 weeks to acclimate a wc cham. And to state its thriving in your care on fauna was just absurd. Just because he's still alive doesnt mean he's thriving. You've had him less than 3 weeks.
I understand your new to the hobby and your excited and see new locales that look so tempting. But resposible owners/keepers go slowly learn the basics and then move forward after the animals currently in their collection are stable and healthy. Your moving way to fast and getting in over your head.
You just bought an adult wc about 2 weeks ago that you were freaking out about. Per your own title on here. You should have gotten that cham settled and acclimated before even considering buying another. It takes more than 2 weeks to acclimate a wc cham. And to state its thriving in your care on fauna was just absurd. Just because he's still alive doesnt mean he's thriving. You've had him less than 3 weeks.
I understand your new to the hobby and your excited and see new locales that look so tempting. But resposible owners/keepers go slowly learn the basics and then move forward after the animals currently in their collection are stable and healthy. Your moving way to fast and getting in over your head.
sdheli420
Avid Member
Totally agree with Dennis. And on top of that this poster had no business buying a chameleon this young. She has limited exp and is asking for a small baby per her own words in the fauna post. Now she has buyers remorse and is taking HER lack of knowledge and common sense out on the seller.
You just bought an adult wc about 2 weeks ago that you were freaking out about. Per your own title on here. You should have gotten that cham settled and acclimated before even considering buying another. It takes more than 2 weeks to acclimate a wc cham. And to state its thriving in your care on fauna was just absurd. Just because he's still alive doesnt mean he's thriving. You've had him less than 3 weeks.
I understand your new to the hobby and your excited and see new locales that look so tempting. But resposible owners/keepers go slowly learn the basics and then move forward after the animals currently in their collection are stable and healthy. Your moving way to fast and getting in over your head.
for instance, ive forced myself to stick with a single breeding pair of panthers as they are all i have time for (breeding crickets, supplements schedule, watering, feeding, cleaning, cleaning feeders even!, incubating, monitoring those temps, hatching, feeding babies ect ect ect) all taken into consideration..can i afford a pair of jacksonii, yes, do i have room, yes..do i have the time for them so they are perfectly taken care of..no, i dont......reminds me of when i was 14..bought everything i saw, and liked..then realized there was sooo much more to "just one more"
paigesc
New Member
Totally agree with Dennis. And on top of that this poster had no business buying a chameleon this young. She has limited exp and is asking for a small baby per her own words in the fauna post. Now she has buyers remorse and is taking HER lack of knowledge and common sense out on the seller.
You just bought an adult wc about 2 weeks ago that you were freaking out about. Per your own title on here. You should have gotten that cham settled and acclimated before even considering buying another. It takes more than 2 weeks to acclimate a wc cham. And to state its thriving in your care on fauna was just absurd. Just because he's still alive doesnt mean he's thriving. You've had him less than 3 weeks.
I understand your new to the hobby and your excited and see new locales that look so tempting. But resposible owners/keepers go slowly learn the basics and then move forward after the animals currently in their collection are stable and healthy. Your moving way to fast and getting in over your head.
I was "freaking out" because the seller sent a cham from west coast to east coast using USPS without icepacks. It took two full days to get here and he was stuck in a box in over 100 degree temps. Had he arrived in 24 hours I wouldn't have freaked out. How does that have anything to do with MY experience level?? And the cham was a LT wild caught and had been in the sellers care for over a year. He is doing fine.
As for new posters, I suspect fauna folks - if not the seller herself. I thought 2 inches meant 2 inches in body and never imagined I would have received something that looked like it hatched straight out the egg. After reading posts here for over a year I can't imagine anyone selling their babies so young regardless WHAT a prospective buyer asks for. I wanted young, yes and I thought two inches meant half the size of our cham from screameleons (which was 4 inches) but I didn't take in to account width, gram weight, etc. My fault for assuming sellers wouldn't sell babies so young. If this cham is 8 weeks old, newborns must be the size of a fruit fly.
I will undoubtedly stick with Screameleons or of the like from now on as it pays to pay full retail, IMHO - True, I've not had the best luck picking out independent sellers as this last one accused me of witholding food from this baby on purpose. THAT was the main reason for the neg on Fauna. Stupidest thing I've ever heard of.
paigesc
New Member
for instance, ive forced myself to stick with a single breeding pair of panthers as they are all i have time for (breeding crickets, supplements schedule, watering, feeding, cleaning, cleaning feeders even!, incubating, monitoring those temps, hatching, feeding babies ect ect ect) all taken into consideration..can i afford a pair of jacksonii, yes, do i have room, yes..do i have the time for them so they are perfectly taken care of..no, i dont......reminds me of when i was 14..bought everything i saw, and liked..then realized there was sooo much more to "just one more"
I would never attempt to own more than one if this wasn't a 'family' adventure. Myself, my husband, my son and my daughter all rotate schedules for gutload, cage cleaning, general maintenance, etc. We would never order anything we didn't feel we were prepared for and the only reason we weren't prepared for this one was due to the size of the food this baby needs to survive right now.
sdheli420
Avid Member
sweet..so you have it easy then..im stuck as the "slave" to my chameleons..no other humans to slave but me..
p.s. what the eff...withholding food from a cham..quite possibley the most bs thing ive ever heard...one of the best parts about chams is watching them eat..doubt you under fed one on purpose, thats just rediculous!!
p.p.s. i LOL'd @ a baby must be the size of a fruit fly..
pretty damn close i tell ya..haha
and for the record when i have some available..they will def. be larger than 2 inches (just body) before i would ever consider shipping them!!!!...
paigesc
New Member
I actually wanted to SEND THE ANIMAL BACK provided I could stabilize her prior to shipment. The seller doesn't want the animal back and I know it's not in this chams best interest to be sent back, anyway. I can't imagine shipping one this small to begin with. I just find it appalling to be accused of starving the animal. It's beyond unacceptable. Who would do that? So damn stupid and it speaks volumes about the seller, IMHO.
For those interested, the cham is still alive. $100 later, overnight from Joshs should be here tomorrow. With a tiny bit of luck she will take to the food immediately.
paigesc
New Member
sweet..so you have it easy then..im stuck as the "slave" to my chameleons..no other humans to slave but me..
p.s. what the eff...withholding food from a cham..quite possibley the most bs thing ive ever heard...one of the best parts about chams is watching them eat..doubt you under fed one on purpose, thats just rediculous!!
p.p.s. i LOL'd @ a baby must be the size of a fruit fly..
pretty damn close i tell ya..haha
and for the record when i have some available..they will def. be larger than 2 inches (just body) before i would ever consider shipping them!!!!...
Thank you! I appreciate that very much !! And I can tell you this, we had thought of breeding one day in the far away future but after seeing this one, we have decided to hang up that idea ASAP! LOL !
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
Family adventures, involving your children by owning more than one cham or not has nothing to do with this situation. The fact is, you and family are at best inexperienced and I would have thought the previous panic over the dehydrated wc panther would have suggested being conservative, double checking your expectations and preparations before taking on yet another relatively tricky pet (I mean first choosing a wc adult cham, and now a small baby both of whom required shipping during this blazingly hot summer). Bottom line: you were caught unprepared for this cham regardless who's definition of "hatchling" it met. Any juvenile at those sizes can be tricky to acclimate or feed if you don't know what it's used to. You can NOT assume anything about a cham unseen even from the most highly regarded seller and must clarify what you expect before buying it! Taking the seller to task was not appropriate this time (yes I did read the thread on Fauna).
Of course we were glad to commiserate and support you in the earlier situation but I must be honest...blaming another seller for your anxiety and unrealistic expectations is going to bite you back.
Off soapbox. I hope the little one is OK.
BTW, I have NO connections to the Fauna classifieds and can't even participate there. I just listened in to educate myself.
paigesc
New Member
As stated, I assume responsibility for MY actions and I'm not blaming her for MY ignorance. However, she accused me of lying about petsmart having the appropriate size food as well as starving the animal on purpose. It's unacceptable. Sellers are the ones ultimately responsible for their animals and I don't think ANY seller who ships a chameleon 1.25 inches in length gives a rats ass about them. Especially to unscreened buyers. IMHO. This was a hard lesson learned, granted, and while she may be a reputable breeder she's unprofessional and totally ridiculous. I have two other chams, both that are doing very well and while owning chameleons isn't as easy as owning a housecat, it's not rocket science either - and with these forums as a guide, I think both myself and my family are up to the task. We have invested several thousands of dollars into owning them and didn't RUSH INTO buying them on impulse. The only thing that's changed is who I will purchase from in the future.
Thanks for your concern. She's still alive and her micro food will be here tomorrow.
PS.. my "children" are in college. They aren't in preschool.
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