15 crickets and a couple Dubia roaches too much a day?

[happiness]

I've been feeding my veiled chameleon about 10-15 1/4 size- 1/2 dusted crickets daily. She is over 7 months old. (not sure exactl how old).I recently bought Dubia roaches and will be switching back and forth between the two. I started using a plastic storage container that I use to cup feed my chameleon. She's has gotten very used to it. She even crawled into it today! I was shocked. I put about 13 crickets (1/4-1/2 size.. some maybe even smaller) and 2 Dubia roaches (small babies) in the cup for her and she tore them up!!! So I figured since she ate so quickly, that meant she needed more? I decided to give her 5 more crickets .. She did the same. Is it possible I am over feeding??

I keep reading how people are feeding 8-10 "medium-large" crickets once every other day.. and my crickets I'm feeding my chameleon are fairly small.. so how many should I be feeding her? She's also been tearing up the pothos plant I placed in her cage a little less than a month ago. At this rate there won't be any leaves left!

 

[sandrachameleon]

are you gutloading the prey? is she well hydrated?

feed her as much as she can eat within about 5 minutes, twice daily, and monitor her weight and body condition. There is no set number to go by. Each chameleon grows at a different rate. And the size and type of prey obviously impacts quantity. As does activity level, temperature, etc

Provide a wide range (not just roaches and crickets) of well gutloaded prey. Towards one year old, cut back according to body condition.

You may find this blog entry useful:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...s-day-required-maintain-chameleon-weight.html

also: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.ca/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
and: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[happiness]

are you gutloading the prey? is she well hydrated?

feed her as much as she can eat within about 5 minutes, twice daily, and monitor her weight and body condition. There is no set number to go by. Each chameleon grows at a different rate. And the size and type of prey obviously impacts quantity. As does activity level, temperature, etc

Provide a wide range (not just roaches and crickets) of well gutloaded prey. Towards one year old, cut back according to body condition.

You may find this blog entry useful:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...s-day-required-maintain-chameleon-weight.html

also: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.ca/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
and: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

I'm not sure how hydrated she is. The only few times i've seen her drink, she licked the same leaf over and over that didn't seem to have much water on it. I read another person said that their chameleon drank from a dripper for a while! Which would be a lot more water than she is drinking. I spray the leaves over 5 times a day (when the leaves are dry) and I have the dripper always going. I always see new bite marks on the pothos leaves in her cage. Yesterday I put some Kale down and she took a few bites out of that as well. I do gutload my crickets and dubia roaches with bug burger, flukers quencher (with calcium in it) and different vegs and fruit. (Kale, green beans, apples, sweet potato) and of course supplement with vitamin (without d) daily and with d & multivitamins twice a month.

The only 2 other things I have available are mealworms and wax worms. I just ordered some snails though.

She seems pretty healthy though, active and always ready to eat when I bring the cup over.


How long should I wait to try to feed her a second time?

 

[sandrachameleon]

how fast does the dripper drip? Do the drops land on pothos leaves near her favourite perchs? How long do you spray for each time? Do you spray sort of broadside into the cage or top down like rain?

what colour is her urate? if white (not yellow or orange) shes likely drinking when you're not around

what country are you in? maybe you could try ordering silkworms and butterworms online?

females do like to eat - but if you don't want overly large clutches of eggs wearing her out, you are right to think about the amount of food offered. Do you weigh her?
check out the link above to the raising kitty blog page about female chameleons - its quite good.

 

[happiness]

how fast does the dripper drip? Do the drops land on pothos leaves near her favourite perchs? How long do you spray for each time? Do you spray sort of broadside into the cage or top down like rain?

what colour is her urate? if white (not yellow or orange) shes likely drinking when you're not around

what country are you in? maybe you could try ordering silkworms and butterworms online?

females do like to eat - but if you don't want overly large clutches of eggs wearing her out, you are right to think about the amount of food offered. Do you weigh her?
check out the link above to the raising kitty blog page about female chameleons - its quite good.

I actually have a pretty small dripper, the flukers one.. and she tried to drink sometime around when I first got her and it was dropping every second and she'd reach for it and it would drop before she'd get to it so I made it drop really slow. There was a hole made for the dripper and it is pretty far from where she basks. I had the dripper dropping on leaves but the drops would end up all over the bottom and water would end up pouring out on all sides all over the table! So now I have it dripping all the way down .. it hits one leaf at the bottom and then hits the container that holds the water (most of it at least).. Is this bad?

I spray for about a minute, it gets pretty wet in there. I try to avoid hitting my chameleon so I don't spray where she is standing.. she hides behind a leaf when I start spraying. I spray straight in from where the cage opens, up and down.

I should take a picture of her urate.. It's white or brown but lately I've noticed a little yellowish on the end of the white. Not sure if that is normal or maybe the beginning of dehydration? It reminds of me a boiled egg with the whites next to the yolk.

I'm from the US East coast, maryland. Pretty cold here right now. I haven't tried Silk or butterworms yet.

I haven't weighed her and I've only had her in my hands once when I first got her.. she's a gaper (*spell check*) and a hisser when my hands go near her.. so I have no idea how much she weighs.. I do have a scale that measures in grams though! Any ideas on how to get her on it??

When I feed her like I said uptop.. she'll climb into the feeding cup I have (it's pretty long and big). Would you suggest getting her to climb in and after shes done eating.. put her right on the scale? I don't want her to see the cup and be forever scared of it though.. I find it really nice that she is comfortable climbing in and eating away and its fun to watch.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I actually have a pretty small dripper, the flukers one.. and she tried to drink sometime around when I first got her and it was dropping every second and she'd reach for it and it would drop before she'd get to it so I made it drop really slow. There was a hole made for the dripper and it is pretty far from where she basks. I had the dripper dropping on leaves but the drops would end up all over the bottom and water would end up pouring out on all sides all over the table! So now I have it dripping all the way down .. it hits one leaf at the bottom and then hits the container that holds the water (most of it at least).. Is this bad?

Try having the drips more frequent - a couple a second - and have them splash onto a leaf or two near the top of the cage and where she can easily get at them. maybe have two drippers (you can make one easily by just putting a pin hole in the bottom of a plastic container) so the drops fall in multiple places. Yes, this will mean there is extra water at the bottom - you will need to find a way to deal with that. I have a collection pan strategically located at the bottom of each cage that catches much of the extra water. I also have a lot of towels LOL

I spray for about a minute, it gets pretty wet in there. I try to avoid hitting my chameleon so I don't spray where she is standing.. she hides behind a leaf when I start spraying. I spray straight in from where the cage opens, up and down.

one minute is quite possibly not long enough. try spraying more downwards than sideways - like how rain normally falls.

the yellowish on the urate suggests she isn't getting enough water.

I'm from the US East coast, maryland. Pretty cold here right now. I haven't tried Silk or butterworms yet.

you should be able to get butterworms any time of year - may need a heat pack in any silkworm shipment.
other options include blue bottle flies, terrestrial isopods, ... check out these links:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/171-where-buy-feeders-online.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

perhaps if you use a stick, and SLOWLY put the stick infront of her, and SLOWLY move a hand behind her, she will go onto the stick, which you can then remove and put on the scale (tar first to remove the stick weight). use the forum search for how to handle chameleon and you should get some more ideas .

having her climb into a feeding bowl isn't a bad idea either. worth a try.

or maybe its not necessary - does she look fat? can you post a couple pictures, with something near her that gives perspective like a ballpoint pen or whatever

 

[happiness]

Try having the drips more frequent - a couple a second - and have them splash onto a leaf or two near the top of the cage and where she can easily get at them. maybe have two drippers (you can make one easily by just putting a pin hole in the bottom of a plastic container) so the drops fall in multiple places. Yes, this will mean there is extra water at the bottom - you will need to find a way to deal with that. I have a collection pan strategically located at the bottom of each cage that catches much of the extra water. I also have a lot of towels LOL



one minute is quite possibly not long enough. try spraying more downwards than sideways - like how rain normally falls.

the yellowish on the urate suggests she isn't getting enough water.


you should be able to get butterworms any time of year - may need a heat pack in any silkworm shipment.
other options include blue bottle flies, terrestrial isopods, ... check out these links:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/171-where-buy-feeders-online.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

perhaps if you use a stick, and SLOWLY put the stick infront of her, and SLOWLY move a hand behind her, she will go onto the stick, which you can then remove and put on the scale (tar first to remove the stick weight). use the forum search for how to handle chameleon and you should get some more ideas .

having her climb into a feeding bowl isn't a bad idea either. worth a try.

or maybe its not necessary - does she look fat? can you post a couple pictures, with something near her that gives perspective like a ballpoint pen or whatever

Sure! I'll take a picture of her tomorrow. I need new towels anyways! I'll just have to stock up
The table I have her on right now isn't a type that I can drill a hole in the bottom and have water leak out in a big plastic tub. A nice shelf is on my to get list. I'll take a look at the butters and silks. Would these be part of her daily diet ? Or treats?

 

[sandrachameleon]

I'll take a look at the butters and silks. Would these be part of her daily diet ? Or treats?

You might rotate prey. meaning, day one its crickets, day two its roaches, day three its butterworms and crickets, day four its superworms and silkworms, day five its crickets and a roach, day six its a snail and a silkworm, day seven its a roach and a mealworm, day eight crickets, day nine something different ....

 

[ridgebax1]

If you are using the big dripper or little dripper by zoo med, the 1/4 in hose for irrigation systems or the clear 1/4 inch air line tubing for aquarium filters fits over the little black nozzle that comes out of the bottom of the dripper. I have an extended length of tubing that I use to drip water over a bigger area of the enclosure. I used a piece of tubing about 18 inches in length, one end I put hot glue in so it acts like a stopper, the other end is over the dripper nozzle and I poked a lot of holes in the tubing so water drips out in several areas. This gives them more of a chance of finding water. I rarely see Omar drink but his urates are white and Clouseau will wait by his drippy leaf and snag the drops of water as they come off.