feeding cup of free range?

is there anyway i can get some pics posted of peoples different styles and what they use for feeding cups and is it better than free range insects?

With cup feeding atleast you can count the insects and know what your cham has eaten, as with free ranging they can hide and you might think that your cham has eaten them. Also like with crickets they can come out at night and might take a nip out of your chameleon. If you set your feeding cup up right, they should not be able to get out and you can disable your feeders such as crickets by pulling off their legs which I never could do though.

crossbone said:

is there anyway i can get some pics posted of peoples different styles and what they use for feeding cups and is it better than free range insects?

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That depends on the chameleon attitude and species. If they eat everything that's around I normally let them free range to allow them hunt a bit. If they are particular about what they eat I would go with hand and cup feeding to monitor how much the chameleon is actually eating.

Jeremy

I like to do a combination of methods. When feed dubias and superworms I put them in a small tupperware container instead of a plastic cup. This way the feeders have a chance to move around a little more and grab Yoshi's attention. When I feed horn and silkworms I just let them free roam since they never really seem to move far from where you place them. This gives Yoshi a chance to hunt around and get a little exercise.

I use the feeding jug technique. The crickets climb up and down the screen so it's almost like they're free ranged but they don't go anywhere!

Here's a few of my feeder cups and bowls. I free range my chams so I either cup feed or hand feed all the time.

Ive always done a little of both. Ill throw 4 or 5 free range and watching the hunting process then throw another 10ish in the feeding cup so i can make SURE he is eating. Its also nice to see when you do the feeding cup meathod you come to the cage and the cham goes looking for food/recognizes you are responsible for food and i swear (this is independant unprofessional testing) that it makes them friendlier. They come running to the front of the cage looking for you and excited to see you

i know he is eating but i was just wondering which is better.. think i will try what you try luck.. shouldn't go wrong there...

both have their upsides & down sides. With cup feeding it is much easier to monitor what exactly what your cham is eating. On the other hand, cup feeding in some cases, causes a cham to develope a lazy tounge.

I perfer to freerange my feeders. It is still relatively easy to know if your cham is eating by scowering the cage for left over feeders & seeing a healthy poop or lack there of.

Depending on the type of enclosure you have, free ranging may not be possible. In this case, i would suggest to set your feeding cup in a way that your cham must shoot its tounge at the feeder as opposed to being able to get basically in the cup & yamming the feeder like a beardie would.

DeviousMike said:

I use the feeding jug technique. The crickets climb up and down the screen so it's almost like they're free ranged but they don't go anywhere!

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this feeding cup is awesome.

If you have a problem with crickets jumping out, just pinch their back legs off.