Second Opinion??

[AnnaSun1618]

Hello everyone, i am new at raising chameleons. I was given my female veild for free off craigslist, she is about 2 and a half years old. I did ALOT of research before accpting her, or at least i thought i did. Anyway, my issue is, a chameleon facebook group i am in, advises, only one cricket a day, the previous owners gave her about 8 a day. So i met in the middle and have been giving her 2-4 everyday because something doesnt sit right about only one cricket. They explained that most chameleon in captivity are overweight, vets arent reliable for feeding infomation because vets dont know how lean and thin a chameleon actually is in the wild. Should i only give her one a day? Also, the admin said, there shouldnt be any water on the bottom of the cage, if there is, im overmisting. Last question, should i only mist once in the morning and once before bed? Dry and airy during the day, but humid during the night? I see other people mist thier habitat 3 or more times a day. But i was told misting during the day will cause RI? Can someone please point me in the right direction?
Edit::I have a exo terra pump mister, my next purchase will be a automatic mister

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Petr is nuts.

 

[kinyonga]

Please post a recent photo or two of your female.

 

[AnnaSun1618]

Please post a recent photo or two of your female.

She is about to lay eggs, she has been digging in her lay bin for a few days. She is mostly green and blue but when she is out in the sun she gets much darker.

 

[AnnaSun1618]

She is about to lay eggs, she has been digging in her lay bin for a few days. She is mostly green and blue but when she is out in the sun she gets much darker. The stuff on her nose is sand from her laybin

 

[kinyonga]

I was hoping to see all of her from the side without leaves in the road...sorry I should have been more specific.

 

[AnnaSun1618]

Im sorry, i didnt realize most of her isnt visable.

 

[CasqueAbove]

As far as feeding amounts go, it can vary a little but,
For my female she gets about the amount of 1 to 1 1/2 crickets per day on average. She is fed every other day.
She has stayed at 75g since 4/21 after she laid her eggs.
Her basking and ambient temps have been to the higher range 78 ambient, 88 basking, warm just due to season here

My male has to be hand fed and ends up getting about the same on average. He is larger and more active I have noted a loss of about a gram a week for him, so I am working at getting more in him.

Mist in morning and evening is most proper, can vary depending on cage type and area. It is right for them to dry out some during the day.

At night you do want 80-100 with fog IMHO. I have my female set up like this, but my male just gets mist. The differences I see are 1 in shedding, she is always clean, he gets stuck shed. 2 He seems to visibly drink more, but both have normal urates, hers have less yellow though the are otherwise kept the same. Over all his environment is a steady 30% with bumps when I mist. Hers is 100 at night with a slow dry out running an average of about 45% humidity. This matches their natural biotope and I believe will contribute to long life.

The RI risk is real. It is specifically damp stagnant air. So if you have standard screen cage and you mist with the heat on it can create this condition. It would be doing it on a regular basis that would cause an issue. Once in a while to give a drink is fine. It is about air flow, and you want mist not steam from heat.


So those are some actual observations.

 

[Multivitamins]

If you only want to feed 1or two feeders daily id consider a more nutrient dense staple feeder like silk worms or if your Chameleon will eat them dubia roaches.... they don't make noise and smell far less than crickets. I phased crickets out a while back and it's been the best decision I've made in my feeding routine

The insect is simply a vessel to get the nutrients into your cham make sure that you are gutloading especially crickets as they are very low in nutrients on their own.
I've been trying to figure out the best means to avoid over feeding and now that my guys "fully grown" over 1.5 years I do feed less than when he was growing and have been told moving to every other day is safe as well. Or reduced feeder amount daily. Even at that 1 a day seems like bad advice and rather skimpy diet.

Some days my panther will eat 4 silk worms other days he will be on strike and not eat any. (I try other feeders be it supers or bsfl as well) I've read and experienced first hand "longer hunger strikes" lasting on my personal experience 4-6 days without taking food for one reason or another

I always offer food but am not surprised if he doesn't eat. One thing he always eats is hornworms simply cannot resist those juicy green thangs

 

[kinyonga]

Did she lay the eggs?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

The insect is simply a vessel to get the nutrients into your cham ....

Thanks! Now I have to clean the spray off my monitor! ?

That line just sent my brain straight here...

And... The cow is simply a vessel to get the cholesterol into your bloodstream.

 

[JacksJill]

Yes it is a good idea to cut back her feedings. I don't think only one cricket a day is right. I think you are on the right track and were wise to only cut back a little for now. You don't want to make abrupt and severe diet changes. Gradual is best. The person giving that advise has much larger crickets than we do here in the US. 2-3 crickets a day or other similar sized feeder seems reasonable. Wait and see what some of the more experienced veiled keepers feed their girls each day.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

The person giving that advise has much larger crickets than we do here in the US. 2-3 crickets a day or other similar sized feeder seems reasonable. Wait and see what some of the more experienced veiled keepers feed their girls each day.

Feeder size is a good point. We (generally) start by feeding small crickets, dubias, silk worms, what-have-you, and increase the size of the feeders as the chams grow.

 

[CrisBruns]

Thanks! Now I have to clean the spray off my monitor! ?

That line just sent my brain straight here...

View attachment 270043

And... The cow is simply a vessel to get the cholesterol into your bloodstream.

The eyes are always watching!