SOOO I cleaned my cage today and................

[Litldevlbmx666]

Hey everyone hows it going. I have a 5 month old Panther and well I had a very nice set up for him. Plants "fake" and logs and what not. But I had to take about 90% of all the plants and logs out because all the crickets that where in his cage where hiding....And he couldnt find them. Now the cage looks stupid. Any idea's on what I can do. Also I have posted before about how he will only eat crickets. I tried Horned worms and roaches and both are a no go hes a little picky bastard haha. I really wanna put all the logs and plants back in his cage but I want him to eat and not have problems finding his food please any ideas?

 

[kaylie]

Cup feeding...

 

[lilwish]

Have you tried cup feeding him?? mine eat out of the cup som crickets do get out and they 'hunt' them but pretty much they stay in the cup. I just mist it and its hard for them to jump out

 

[firefishbrain]

Have you tried cup feeding? My carpet took to it right away. basically I had an unused plastic plant pot saucer, and then clipped it through the screen with a thumb tack and a clip, works pretty well. I just wish things were a little deeper so the crickets don't jump out so easily.

 

[Litldevlbmx666]

thats the thing i would love to try to cup feed him but the little bastard is a picky eater he only eats crickets and if i try to cup feed him the crickets will just jump out

 

[lilwish]

my crickets for the most part stay in the cup. I mist the cup and it makes it a little harder for them to jump out I do find one or two crawling around but those go up for water and they always get ate as soon as they get to a certain point. the cup I use is about 1.5-2in deep and its white dont know if color makes a difference but just in case i put crickets in there in the morning and what ever is left at night i dump back into my bucket

 

[jojackson]

I really wanna put all the logs and plants back in his cage but I want him to eat and not have problems finding his food please any ideas?

If your determined to have all that crap in the cage, crickets loose, will hide, no two ways about it, sorry. Either be inventive with cup feeding (design something they cant jump out of, or pull their bloody legs off) or hand feed only

 

[Ekaj13]

I use heavily planted enclosures. My crickets always seem to gravitate to the warmest part of the cage (basking area). Just make sure this is clear and you will be fine.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I didn't have a cup with tall enough sides to prevent crickets jumping out so I pulled off their back legs and put them in there. Did that for over a year and then got sick of it (since it's kind of gross) so I got a tall cup like one of those take home containers and they can't jump out of it. My veiled knows exactly where the cup is and runs to it when I feed. Get creative with your "cup", it can be anything you want, even a big bowl at the bottom. Just experiment with things until you find one they can't escape!

 

[Maurer3D]

I use a 3" deli cup and it works great for crickets that are up to about 1/2in.. If the chameleon is smaller (below about 6 in.) I make sure to have a stick positioned partially into the cup so he/she can get a bit closer.

 

[DeviousMike]

Try something like this-

 

[JCDenton]

Try something like this-

THIS.

I was having the hardest time with my young panther girl until I made one of those.

My boy is a beast and doesn't need a cup. If you're gonna free range feeders the best advice is to make sure there isn't a bunch of stuff on the bottom of the cage. Put your main plant's pot on top of an upside down garbage can. Then when you dump in the crickets they won't have anywhere to hide and will all start climbing the sides of the cage.

 

[SweetObsolete]

Syd usually eats all the crickets before they get a chance to jump out of the cup he he. Anyways, like everyone else is saying, just get a tall enough cup. I tried letting the crickets roam around the cage, and lemme just say, cup feeding has made my life so much easier.

 

[Midnighthwk]

like others said, cup feed or let the crickets roam.

ima have to try that milkjug thingy.
in my old cage my guy wouldnt eat from any kind of dish/cup but my new cage is so big only 1 or 2 crickets climb the screen. maybe its the way i have the bottom set up.
i have to change some things in my cage anyways.

when i put the plants from the old cage into the new cage so many baby crickets came running out from eggs being laid in the drain for the plant pots

 

[Jammonlee]

I've got the same problem, one or two will hand out on a vine in the basking area and they disappear very quickly, right into waldo's mouth. but the others really enjoy the UV light and a few leaves right under it, they hide high and well there and are living a pretty safe life right now.

Also, a few crickets keep to the low lying area of the enclosure, I havent seen waldo go passed the halfway mark of his cage, doesnt get to low. I think cup feeding is going to be my only way to get him to eat an adequate amount. I witness once or twice a day and notice about 6 total gone, but I know its not nearly enough.

 

[Dawniegirl]

Cup feeding is a good choice but didn't work out for me... Diego liked to hunt & pulling crick legs off wasn't my cup of tea. When Diego stopped eating there were a good amount of crickets in his cage before I realize they were not eaten and hiding in the cage plant . I didn't remove the plant but instead to get them out I would wait until daytime when the lights were on, the crickets were drawn like a magnet to the UVB bulb, and put the cricket cup up to the cage top & gather them up. Good luck!

 

[krknieriem]

I use a half gallon milk jug container and caulked a screen on the back so the crickets would have something to climb on and so he could see them, now he waits by it in the morning waiting for me to fill it up, here is a pic

http://s1137.photobucket.com/albums/n519/Korey_Knieriem/?action=view&current=003-1.jpg

 

[Dmcugy]

What is the point of the mesh?

 

[Dez]

What is the point of the mesh?

so the crickets can climb up the back so the chameleon can see them better. If they try to jump they will usually fall back into the bottom of the container.