I mean, I have a tall but somewhat narrow cage. It is thick with foliage (ficus). So thick that I can't find my lizard sometimes. I throw crickets in (6/day) and I only see him eat one or two a day. I can't find the rest. Will he actively hunt out crickets if they are hiding under fallen leaves or in the dirt at the bottom of the plant? Do they sense insects, smell insects??? Thanx, T

once eric spots movement from a cricket, it only has 60 seconds or less to live! i see him munch 6 or so of the 15 i throw in each morning (about 30mins from waking to me leaving for work) and there will be only a few lucky ones left when i get home.

so is it better to throw more in for visual stimuli or less. T

im certainly no expert, but if its a female over 6months? then you will get a cluch of infertile eggs which you can (sort of) and should avoid if possible.
same for a male once its 1 year/adult as they are not growing and just need food to survive. if i remember correctly its roughly 6-8 a day...best do a search for more solid info or wait for one of the expereinced keepers to chime in

yeah, he's a male and he's over six months old. He's about the size of my hand from past my wrist to my middle finger tip (nose to end of tail about 6-8 inches). T

Crickets will actively dig holes into the potting soil and hide out in there
they can start at either the top or the bottom of the pot.

YES, chameleons (veiled and panthers) are active hunters (it's most likely all are)
Mine will look around for something to eat in their cages when hungry.
Gorge themselves in a shared cage (competition), try to steal food out of other mouths.
But when hunting , they'll will go about on the bottom of their cages looking around
under the leaves and in the corners of the cages.
If they spot something in another's cage...
the search begins as to how to get over there and get that bug!

Primary sense for these animals is sight and sight alone
unless a fly lands on them they're not going to know it's flying
around until they see it.

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"In Target earlier today I learned there is really no good way to answer a 5-year-old asking you why you are looking at his mother's butt so much..."

They are hunters for sure. They would starve in the wild if they just sat around waiting for a snack to appear. They learn, over time, to look at the base of plants for hiding crickets. I would put more than six crickets per day in the cage for that size male. Increase the number each day until you actually see left over crickets each day in the cage. Then ease back.

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Catherine Adams - Currently breeding most of the Pardalis locales, Veileds, K. Uthmoelleri, C. Laterispinis, B. Thamnobates and C. Melleri.

how many would you feed/day. I found a little trick. My cage opens from the top, not the front. So when I drop crickets in they fall 3 feet to the bottom. Frank stays the majority of the time at the top foot of the cage. I found a trick to putting 6 or so crickets on the screen top and then putting it on the cage. They pretty much stay there upside down. It's like shooting fish in a barrel for him. I saw him eat 5 in 15 minutes this morning before work. How many could I fee a 6 inch (minus the tail) veiled male. I've only had him for 6 days. The first couple days I only put 3 or so in cause that's what the pet store said he eats. I got him on 6 the last 2 days. He left one yesterday that I couldn't find this morning and ate 5 more before I left for work. T

How many you feed a day would depend on male/female, the age of the cham and the size of the crix.

I've been feeding my 4-5 month old male about 8-12 every day. I put them in the cage in the morning (in a feeder cup) and they are gone by the time I get home. I sometimes through another 3-5 in at night if he is wondering around the cage actively as well because it looks like he is hunting.

I think it's healthy to let them hunt. Every other feeding I either drop all the crickets into the bottom of the cage, and let them find their way up the corners (they always do), or hand pick them out of a bag and place them half way up the screen for easy access.

I have a very low death rate of crickets in the cage. I'm not sure why.