How Much Food?

How many baby crickets will my new veiled chameleon eat daily? He's about 3.5 inches minus his tail and I was told he's about 3 months old. I've only had him for about a day and a half. I already put 6 crickets in the cage this morning, but I think he's still adjusting to his new home so he hasn't eaten any yet.

Here he is:

It depends on the size of his food and on him. But I can say that calyptratuses eat a lot- so he may need more that 6 baby crickets very soon.

Make sure they are small enough to fit in his mouth.... be sure to dust and provide as many as he will eat.... a young veiled will eat 15-20 crickets a day. And at a young age should be fed almost as much as they are willing to eat. Be sure to supplement so he grows up strong.

Site link.

The crickets are definitely small enough. They're inbetween 3/8"-1/2" long and pretty thin. I've kept a LOT of reptiles before, but this is my fist chameleon. I'm supplementing with herptivite and rep-cal with vitamin d. Right now the only problem i'm having now is he isn't drinking, at least not in front of me. I just got him though, so I figure he's still acclimating.

BHillendahl said:

The crickets are definitely small enough. They're inbetween 3/8"-1/2" long and pretty thin. I've kept a LOT of reptiles before, but this is my fist chameleon. I'm supplementing with herptivite and rep-cal with vitamin d. Right now the only problem i'm having now is he isn't drinking, at least not in front of me. I just got him though, so I figure he's still acclimating.

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Veileds can be closet drinkers. I saw your cage setup-I would go buy a Ficus or Schefflera and put it in the middle of the cage. That will help with humidity and give him more drinking surfaces.

To help get him drinking use hot water in the mister... Mist for a couple of minutes.... I don't see my veileds drink.... but one of them does shower each morning. He climbs up to the misting nozzle and just sits in front of it... almost stands LOL.

Do you have calcium without D3? Read throught that link I sent you. It explains the schedule you should follow for supplements. You won't to use the D3 only so much. Calcium without the D3 should be almost every feeding.

I know my local home depot will have ficus and schefflera on hand. They don't carry the fig tree, which is what I had previously heard about. Are there any pros or cons to either of the forementioned plants? And can I prune both to stay under 4 feet?

I bookmarked the site that you recommended. I don't have calcium without D3, but I can pick some up tomorrow. I need to get a different misting bottle, mine has too fine of a mist and its single spray instead of a pressurized bottle with a pump. Takes me forever to mist properly. I'll try the hot water in the morning. I had heard earlier today on another thread that the hot water may work better, one guy even said his chameleon stands up and does a little dance as he showers. I'll let you guys know how it works out.

BHillendahl said:

I just got him though, so I figure he's still acclimating.

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I think this is probably correct