Are bowls better?
- Thread starter GIN
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ChameleonRave
Avid Member
I agree with Thompson!
my male doesn't get the concept of cup feeding crickets yet, but he will catch on. my female will eat anything thats in her cage that moves even goes after the feeding tongs i have but i just made a milk jug feed today which she already loves! especially for crickets.! I couldn't find a cup big enough with out them escaping! D:
my male doesn't get the concept of cup feeding crickets yet, but he will catch on. my female will eat anything thats in her cage that moves even goes after the feeding tongs i have but i just made a milk jug feed today which she already loves! especially for crickets.! I couldn't find a cup big enough with out them escaping! D:
PedroANDAshley
New Member
I love love love to cup feed.
I can moniter how much they eat and I dont worry about the crickets biting them.
I use feeding tweezers and hold crickets out from various lengths so he can shoot his tounge and "exercise it" I also place a couple silk worms around his cage (on branches and vines, they dont tend to move around much) so he can "hunt" them thru out the day.
I can moniter how much they eat and I dont worry about the crickets biting them.
I use feeding tweezers and hold crickets out from various lengths so he can shoot his tounge and "exercise it" I also place a couple silk worms around his cage (on branches and vines, they dont tend to move around much) so he can "hunt" them thru out the day.
buzz
New Member
there are a couple things yoy can do. if you are going to use a cup get one that is deep enough so that the chameleon would be able to extend his tongue. The best thing i found was making a feeder out of gallon carton. cut it all out so that there is still a lip on the bottom and a curve all the way around. then take screen and glue it to the botom and up the inside of the carton leave space aound the edges so they cnt climb out. mount it some where so that the chameleon will have to extend his tongue to eat. it will allow him to still hunt some what
Jsiddens
New Member
When I give mine superworms as a treat I put a few in a cleaned out sour cream container. They both will come down from there basking spots when they see that container enter their enclosure. Mine are pretty fast hunters but when they were smaller I used a sour cream container then so I could monitor that they were eating.
buzz
New Member
that is good the only reason that i wld say that that might not be great is beacause that cup allows them to get to close to the prey. when they do that for a period of time they get what is called "lazy tongue" and they will get to the point where they will no longer be able to shot their tongue
Leedslad88
New Member
Bowls are definatley good for monitoring the food intake but i prefer free roaming stimulates their netural environment
radstusky
Avid Member
I use a feeding cup, but it's shallow and allows the crickets to disperse quickly into the cage. So for the most part the crickets are free-ranged. Insects like dubia and superworms however have a harder time escaping.
If you go to my live feed on ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cham-cam and then click on the video that I recorded earlier today, you can see exactly how I add the crickets, which he ignored at first, then I threw in a superworm which he ate right away.
If you go to my live feed on ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cham-cam and then click on the video that I recorded earlier today, you can see exactly how I add the crickets, which he ignored at first, then I threw in a superworm which he ate right away.
Cainschams
New Member
In my opinion free ranging most insects is much better than cup feeding. It simulates more natural feeding habits. It also makes them move around much more searching for food even if its not there. When there is a cup in the cage more than likely your chameleon will hover over it all day after it knows what appears in it from time to time. It is very possible it will make a lazy and fat lizard. I can see feeding roaches or worms without any grip in a cup.
I really do not see what is so hard about monitoring food intake or finding crickets left over in a cage?
I really do not see what is so hard about monitoring food intake or finding crickets left over in a cage?
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Im not convinced this is a proven fact. In over ten years primarily cup feeding, not a single chameleon has had a "lazy" tongue. Regardless, Occassionally putting a silkworm or whatever on a branch to "fee-range" should dispel and worries in this regard.
Just because something is in a feeding cup doesnt mean a chameleon wouldnt use its tongue to shoot at the prey from distance. Mine certainly do. having more than one feeding cup/bowl, and moving one of them around also keeps the chameleon moving.
If a chameleon gets fat, its becuase the owner gave it too much to eat, not because of a feeding cup.
fluxlizard
Avid Member
It's probably best to use a combination of feeding techniques.
Bowl or cup feeding provides the opportunity of offering some shredded veggies along with the feeders (just finely chop/shred a variety of veggies to the consistency of coleslaw, put a half inch or so in the cup/bowl and then toss the feeders on top. At first the cham will pick up the veggies on accident from time to time along with the insects, later it will often select them on purpose). This lets you offer a little more nutritional variety in the diet and gutload the chameleon directly.
Hand feeding allows the chameleon to overcome the natural fear of the keeper. A chameleon who rushes to the front of the enclosure looking for a handout instead of retreating to the rear in fear when the owner approaches has to be good for stress reduction/quality of life.
And free range feeding (I do this by offering one insect at a time on a branch or wall or ceiling of the enclosure) provides life enrichment for the captive chameleon- something interesting and exciting for the lizard to do.
I feel that getting the lizard hand feeding first of all so fear is overcome and stress reduced, and then providing the cup/bowl for variety and finally offering some occasionally free range fed along with occasional hand feeding to re-enforce the lack of fear is much better than picking only one method.
Bowl or cup feeding provides the opportunity of offering some shredded veggies along with the feeders (just finely chop/shred a variety of veggies to the consistency of coleslaw, put a half inch or so in the cup/bowl and then toss the feeders on top. At first the cham will pick up the veggies on accident from time to time along with the insects, later it will often select them on purpose). This lets you offer a little more nutritional variety in the diet and gutload the chameleon directly.
Hand feeding allows the chameleon to overcome the natural fear of the keeper. A chameleon who rushes to the front of the enclosure looking for a handout instead of retreating to the rear in fear when the owner approaches has to be good for stress reduction/quality of life.
And free range feeding (I do this by offering one insect at a time on a branch or wall or ceiling of the enclosure) provides life enrichment for the captive chameleon- something interesting and exciting for the lizard to do.
I feel that getting the lizard hand feeding first of all so fear is overcome and stress reduced, and then providing the cup/bowl for variety and finally offering some occasionally free range fed along with occasional hand feeding to re-enforce the lack of fear is much better than picking only one method.
GIN
New Member
That's my plan, he is small and needs to be monitered though. I plan to hand feed fruits and superworms or whatever I find is his favorite and use other methods for insects.
Ok so let me ask this, I know for sure now that he is about 1 1/2 months old, I have offered him about 10 crickets a day of which he eats half or less, is that about right? (Veiled for those of you who aren't already familiar) I have found it hard to find a specific answer for this in both books I have read and on the net. Maybe I haven't been looking in the right place?
Ok so let me ask this, I know for sure now that he is about 1 1/2 months old, I have offered him about 10 crickets a day of which he eats half or less, is that about right? (Veiled for those of you who aren't already familiar) I have found it hard to find a specific answer for this in both books I have read and on the net. Maybe I haven't been looking in the right place?
Pufferpuggirl
New Member
When I first got my Veiled, he wasn't very big, but his vivarium was quite large. I figured if I just put the crickets into the viv, he probably would not find them. So I started putting the crickets into a plastic container, approximately 6" x 3", big enough for the crickets to move around, but high enough that they don't jump out. It works perfectly. I also can monitor how many crickets he's taking.
I find him sitting on the lip of the container when there's nothing in there and he looks at me as if to say "well I'm here and I'm hungry, where's my food?"
I find him sitting on the lip of the container when there's nothing in there and he looks at me as if to say "well I'm here and I'm hungry, where's my food?"
AReptile
New Member
I have a similiar problem because my enclosure is pretty big for such a small chameleon and the crickets do get lost in there. I just show her the cricket bucket ( which she does recognize very well) and show her that she's about to eat. She then starts coming down to the bucket but i drop the crickets in anyway and she just hunts them down in her enclosure. If you let them know that food is going in there they will look for them if they're hungry.
