Ultimate Beginner Please Help

[AmandaS]

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/josh-s-frogs-gutloaded-banded-crickets.html
There is this.

And crickets at my local shop are $1 for 12 crickets. It is pretty cheap to just got buy them. In my tiny little town I have 2 reptile shops in a close distance. There's probably one close that you havent noticed before. Do a quick google in your area. Live is always better and I would recommend feeding canned insects to anyone. I'd go outside and find bugs before I used canned bugs.

 

[KIWI@1104]

Hi, all! I have never owned a reptile, and I stupidly fell in love with a tiny little cham at PetSmart. I have had her for about three months now. However, I am a very anxious pet momma and I need to know what I'm doing wrong. Her name is melon and I will list her details and add pics of her and enclosure below.
Sex: Female?
Age: around 4-6 months
Diet: mealworms, some fruit, and some dark leafy greens
Supplements: repticalcium and reptivite or something like that
Handling: once or twice a week
Mood: usually grumpy but mostly green unless she's blending into her moss sticks.
The pictures of her are from November 28. Thank you for reading and hopefully replying!!

Hello Britney I hope you are having an amazing day, Melon seams very well, but if you are only feeding her mealworms that might become a problem, try feeding her crickets. Otherwise Melon looks fairly well, good job!

 

[Britney]

For all of you,
I see no bump so she's a girl thank God I would've felt so bad for calling her a girl this entire time. I am uploading a picture of her house and her as of two minutes ago. I hope you are able to get a better sizing from these pictures I believe she is 4-5 inches long. I do not have a dripper but I got a misting system for Christmas but didn't get a reservoir so I have to wait to set that up. I will clear the substrate out and change the sticks very soon. But to all of you be honest, am I the worst you've seen yet? lol

 

[Britney]

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/josh-s-frogs-gutloaded-banded-crickets.html
There is this.

And crickets at my local shop are $1 for 12 crickets. It is pretty cheap to just got buy them. In my tiny little town I have 2 reptile shops in a close distance. There's probably one close that you havent noticed before. Do a quick google in your area. Live is always better and I would recommend feeding canned insects to anyone. I'd go outside and find bugs before I used canned bugs.

I live in a tiny town too. The closest thing I have is the store two hours away and fishing worms at walmart lol. After I graduate (this may) I hope to move soon to somewhere that has a pet shop in town filled with live feeders and wonderful pet supply options!

 

[kinyonga]

A dripper costs you nothing...use a deli cup or Dixie cup and poke a tiny tiny hole in the bottom of it so it drips at the rate of one or two drops per second and set it on top of the cage so it drips onto a leaf.

 

[AmandaS]

I live in a tiny town too. The closest thing I have is the store two hours away and fishing worms at walmart lol. After I graduate (this may) I hope to move soon to somewhere that has a pet shop in town filled with live feeders and wonderful pet supply options!

You will definitely need to be feeding live feeders before May. Congratulations on graduating!

 

[Britney]

You will definitely need to be feeding live feeders before May. Congratulations on graduating!

I am getting some live superworms in the mail that I will be breeding and gutloading. I hope to get some live crickets soon too.

 

[Britney]

A dripper costs you nothing...use a deli cup or Dixie cup and poke a tiny tiny hole in the bottom of it so it drips at the rate of one or two drops per second and set it onto of the cage so it drips onto a leaf.

So smart where have you been all my life lol

 

[AmandaS]

For all of you,
I see no bump so she's a girl thank God I would've felt so bad for calling her a girl this entire time. I am uploading a picture of her house and her as of two minutes ago. I hope you are able to get a better sizing from these pictures I believe she is 4-5 inches long. I do not have a dripper but I got a misting system for Christmas but didn't get a reservoir so I have to wait to set that up. I will clear the substrate out and change the sticks very soon. But to all of you be honest, am I the worst you've seen yet? lol

While you do need improvements, you are certainly not the worst...not even that I have seen this year, and it's only January.

 

[AmandaS]

I am getting some live superworms in the mail that I will be breeding and gutloading. I hope to get some live crickets soon too.

Superworms should only be a treat food.
Crickets, roaches, or silkworms, and bsfl are good staples. Maybe you could look into silkworms! But "staples" should even be rotated. Variety is key when feeding your new friend.

 

[kinyonga]

So smart where have you been all my life lol

I've been keeping chameleons and a lot of other reptiles for over 30 years...so I've learned a thing or two! Still learning after all that time too.

 

[ERKleRose]

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/josh-s-frogs-gutloaded-banded-crickets.html
There is this.

And crickets at my local shop are $1 for 12 crickets. It is pretty cheap to just got buy them. In my tiny little town I have 2 reptile shops in a close distance. There's probably one close that you havent noticed before. Do a quick google in your area. Live is always better and I would recommend feeding canned insects to anyone. I'd go outside and find bugs before I used canned bugs.

But by the time they arrive in the mail, there won’t be any/enough gutload left

 

[AmandaS]

But by the time they arrive in the mail, there either won’t be any/enough gutload left

Oh I absolutely agree. They will still need a gutload. I was just trying to find an alternative to canned.
OP, crickets arent hard to keep, all you need is a tote and some egg crates.

 

[ERKleRose]

Just make sure the crickets are healthy and from a quality and reputable source, as the risk of parasites increases when you use a bad feeder company. Also, “pre-gutloaded” crickets usually cost more

 

[Britney]

Just make sure the crickets are healthy and from a quality and reputable source, as the risk of parasites increases when you use a bad feeder company. Also, “pre-gutloaded” crickets usually cost more

I will definitely make sure I try to do the best for my animals even if I am still learning about them haha. Thank you all for helping me so much I really appreciate it.

 

[ERKleRose]

I will definitely make sure I try to do the best for my animals even if I am still learning about them haha. Thank you all for helping me so much I really appreciate it.

No problem, we’re all happy to help! Don’t hesitate to ask any more questions, either!

 

[Britney]

Just make sure the crickets are healthy and from a quality and reputable source, as the risk of parasites increases when you use a bad feeder company. Also, “pre-gutloaded” crickets usually cost more

I will definitely make sure I try to do the best for my animals even if I am still learning about them haha. Thank you all for helping me so much I really appreciate it.

No problem, we’re all happy to help! Don’t hesitate to ask any more questions, either!

Oh I definitely will be asking more lol!

 

[ERKleRose]

Also, once it gets warmer out, if you decide to take her outside then, make sure to get a multivitamin without D3 (once every two weeks) and a calcium with D3 (usage depends on how long and often she’s outside) to use instead of just the multivitamin with D3, depending on how much natural sun she gets per week/each time. That way you can make sure you aren’t giving her too much D3 if you do that.

 

[Britney]

Also, once it gets warmer out, if you decide to take her outside then, make sure to get a multivitamin without D3 (once every two weeks) and a calcium with D3 (usage depends on how long and often she’s outside) to use instead of just the multivitamin with D3, depending on how much natural sun she gets per week/each time. That way you can make sure you aren’t giving her too much D3 if you do that.

I'm so excited to take her outside last time I did she was in one of those awful cups pet stores give you had to take a potty break back home hah

 

[Beman]

Okay you and @AmandaS for your replies lol. I'm a struggling college student, and I'm unable to pay for housing and the crickets. Is it okay to feed the canned crickets until I'm able to rake up enough money.

For all of you,
I see no bump so she's a girl thank God I would've felt so bad for calling her a girl this entire time. I am uploading a picture of her house and her as of two minutes ago. I hope you are able to get a better sizing from these pictures I believe she is 4-5 inches long. I do not have a dripper but I got a misting system for Christmas but didn't get a reservoir so I have to wait to set that up. I will clear the substrate out and change the sticks very soon. But to all of you be honest, am I the worst you've seen yet? lol

So females have different husbandry requirements as they age... temps are kept lower 78-80MAX. and as she ages you will be reducing feeder amounts. They lay infertile eggs roughly every 120 days like chickens do.


Only live feeders and review the gutload image for feeding the bugs and the feeder options image.

Keep reading the husbandry program. We are pouring out a ton of info and the key to understanding what we teach and tell you is reading through that program.

You can order basically anything you need online so your good there.

Your supplements that came with the kit are calcium without D3. THis one you use every single day lightly dusted on all feeders given. Then the Reptivite has D3 and Vit A. This one you will only give two times a month say the 1st and the 15th lightly dusted on all feeders given that feeding.