Variety for a Young Veiled

[RiftPoint]

I have a ~5 month old veiled and so far all I've been feeding him are small, gut-loaded and dusted crickets. I've tried offering him the occasional mealworm as a treat, but he seems to have no interest. What do you guys recommend for feeders, especially by size, for younger chams? I'd love to start getting him some other things like phoenix worms and whatnot, but I'm slightly confused as to what I can get at the right size for him (won't do him any good if he chokes on it!).

I was searching around a little for any previous posts about this and didn't come across anything, so I apologize if this has already been addressed. Thanks!

 

[Adman]

Due to the lack of variety of feeders available to me I've found myself in rather the same situation, I only started offering small mealworms to my male veiled about a week ago, he's only 3.5 months old, before then his diet consisted of crickets too, much to my annoyance. It's odd but my chameleon never takes mealworms if I offer them to him in a bowl or any other receptacle, he only seems to take them when I offer them to him in my hand, so maybe that might work for you.

With my old chameleons I fed them locusts as well as crickets, they're a good change from crickets I found, one week crickets and the next locusts or some other rhythm. I haven't had any luck in finding any here in France, but I've read that silk worms are quite nutritious, and I'm pretty sure their size will be adequate for your chameleon.

 

[NCrosby7]

I tend to mix it up a bit.. My Cham has crickets as well as locusts daily.. And a waxworm as a treat.. I've found he loves the locusts

 

[RiftPoint]

I tend to mix it up a bit.. My Cham has crickets as well as locusts daily.. And a waxworm as a treat.. I've found he loves the locusts

How small can you get locusts? Where do you get them from?

 

[Adman]

How small can you get locusts? Where do you get them from?

Depending on your vendor you can get them in about the same variety of sizes as crickets, from about centimetre or less in length all the way to adult size.

 

[NCrosby7]

I've got them from size small to medium now and the place I get them from have them up to large.. I live in the UK and most local pet shops supply them

 

[maya2]

Silkworms are pretty small and kind of fun if you ask me.
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

 

[ccreag]

How have you been keeping the mealworms before you feed him? I keep mine in the refigderator but let them thaw in a dish for a day before feeding my veiled and he gobbles them right up. He just turned 1 though so I don't know if that makes a difference, just thought I'd share my experience.

PS- the "thawing" dish for the mealworms has calcium and some carrots in it for the mealworms to munch on #lastmeal

 

[RiftPoint]

How have you been keeping the mealworms before you feed him? I keep mine in the refigderator but let them thaw in a dish for a day before feeding my veiled and he gobbles them right up. He just turned 1 though so I don't know if that makes a difference, just thought I'd share my experience.

PS- the "thawing" dish for the mealworms has calcium and some carrots in it for the mealworms to munch on #lastmeal

I tried feeding them to him in his feeding cup, then I tried them in the lid of a peanut butter jar at the bottom of his cage. He just ignored them, and they were out (in both situations) for a while.

I've just ordered some silkworms for him. And considering he's gone on somewhat of a hunger strike at the moment (he's got a vet appt scheduled for saturday) I hope he goes for them...