Staple Foods?

[carbyville]

Well, it seems that Claudia has finally tired of her daily dose of crickets. They were her staple food since I got her in June and suddenly, about two days ago, she really wasn't too thrilled with eating them. She had some, but not all (and she usually inhales them), and has really wanted little to do with them. She's eating her hornworms with the same fervor she always has, so I'm guessing it's not a lack of appetite, just a lack of interest in the crickets.

What are other good staple foods for her that I can try?

I'd certainly like to get her back on crickets as well since I just bought a bulk of 500 for her that are now just sitting here, but in the mean time I've got to figure something else out. Would the gutload make a difference? When I bought the 500, I made my own gutload for her and had been feeding her those crickets daily, just before she stopped eating them. Maybe if I change back to what I've been using to gutload it would change her appetite for them? Just grasping at straws here.

 

[jcarlsen]

Well, it seems that Claudia has finally tired of her daily dose of crickets. They were her staple food since I got her in June and suddenly, about two days ago, she really wasn't too thrilled with eating them. She had some, but not all (and she usually inhales them), and has really wanted little to do with them. She's eating her hornworms with the same fervor she always has, so I'm guessing it's not a lack of appetite, just a lack of interest in the crickets.

What are other good staple foods for her that I can try?

I'd certainly like to get her back on crickets as well since I just bought a bulk of 500 for her that are now just sitting here, but in the mean time I've got to figure something else out. Would the gutload make a difference? When I bought the 500, I made my own gutload for her and had been feeding her those crickets daily, just before she stopped eating them. Maybe if I change back to what I've been using to gutload it would change her appetite for them? Just grasping at straws here.

I've switched from crickets to dubia roaches and haven't looked back. They don't smell, they don't chirp, they don't jump and they're better, nutritionally, for your chameleon.

 

[AESara]

Have you tried dubias? I prefer using those to crickets and maybe having a bug with similar texture but a different shape would help.

Otherwise I would personally use superworms and calciworms/phoenix worms, mixing in a few crickets until she hopefully starts eating them again. I suggest these because they are typically readily available and are easy to gutload. Good luck!

 

[MamatoElvis]

My guy boycotts anything I give him everyday. Crickets, blue bottle flies, silks or hornworms. It doesn't matter, he eventually gets bored. When that happens I just stop feeding whatever it is and then reintroduce it a week later. That seems to work.

 

[jannb]

If a female veiled doesn't eat something is wrong. I have never had a girl turn down food except a day or two before laying eggs or when they were sick. I don't use any one staple. I keep a variety of at least 5 or 6 feeders at all times. Roaches would be good and silkworms, butter worms and Phoenix worms are all high in calcium and excellent feeders.

 

[carbyville]

If a female veiled doesn't eat something is wrong. I have never had a girl turn down food except a day or two before laying eggs or when they were sick. I don't use any one staple. I keep a variety of at least 5 or 6 feeders at all times. Roaches would be good and silkworms, butter worms and Phoenix worms are all high in calcium and excellent feeders.

I'm definitely worried something is wrong. I've got her cage covered again, wondering if she's getting ready to lay but there's no evidence of her having been in her laying bin at all.

That said, she did just chow down on a superworm before I covered up her cage. It really just seems to be the crickets she doesn't want for some reason.