Transition out of hand feeding?

Hi!

Long time lurker, first time poster :D My 18 month old female veiled recently had a double eye infection that she's thankfully recovered from. Unfortunately, when she was sick, she required hand feeding, after being a great eater her whole life. At first, when both eyes were infected and she couldn't see at all, she basically force feeding her when she was angry enough with me to open her mouth to hiss or attempt biting (this was super fun for both of us, as you can imagine.) Fortunately, now she's able to see (we don't think there was any permanent damage done, as she focuses on and accurately plucks off hand-fed worms), but she won't go to her mealworm feeder, bowl or hunt down crickets or roaches in her enclosure on her own, despite previously loving her feeders. (She'd wait next to it and nose it if I was late to feed time, clearly my cats taught her this!) Any recommendations for enticing her to go back to 'hunting?' Both for the ease for me but more importantly to ensure she's getting a well - rounded diet, as I really struggle to hold onto the crickets and roaches without squishing and killing them. Thanks in advance!
 
I would recomend patience and persistance. I think recovery to normal feeding after medical issues is just a mater of time. Chameleons are delicate meaning fingers crossed your chamleon makes that return to normal feeding.

You may want to talk to a vet too.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
The only option I have seen work is getting a feeder run so she can actively see them crawling around. I have the full throttle feeder and the shooting gallery feeder. I like both options very much.
 
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