A couple questions about feeding!

[frannybobanny]

Hello im a new chameleon owner with a female veiled chameleon! (Im pretty positive it is female lol) i have a few questions! First, what do veiled chameleons like more cup/hand feeding or hunting for them? I usually feed my chameleon in the morning but sometimes shes grumpy and doesnt want to eat so i put aroumd 6 crickets in there to eat and then when i come back home i feed her and shes usually prettu hungry and liked to eat from the cup. Is it normal for chameleons not to eat in the mornings? How many crickets should i give her a day? I usually give her around 6-8 shes around 4-5 months old. Also is there any sort of treat chemelons like to build trust? She doesn’t fully trust me right now and i haven’t handled her since i got her around a month and a half ago. Thank you!!!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. I do a little bit of every way when feeding my chameleons. However, each has their own feeding station and they always know where to find their food. Often I see them peeking inside just in case some bugs magically appeared. I like and use the shooting gallery style feeding station. https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032 Some like the full throttle style. https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/ Variations of both can be found in many places, but this is a solid place to buy from. https://framschams.com/collections/screen-feeders
For building and maintaining trust, I hand feed when I have silkworms and hornworms. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ While veileds have a well-earned reputation for not being friendly or even close, it’s still important to work on trust. Both of my veileds have problems eating and I have to hand feed them. While my girl is fierce and I don’t even know how many times she’s bitten me, all the years of working on trust have paid off and she easily adjusted and accepted hand feeding of all of her bugs. My male hasn’t been with me as long, and being wild-caught and having impaired vision, he’s slower to accept hand feeding only. He does love all worms though, so I try to start by feeding him one to kind of break the ice. My favorite to hand feed is silkworms and then since their feet are so very sticky, I only hand feed hornworms when I get them.
For hunting and enrichment, I let some bsfl pupate into flies and release them for my chameleons who are able to hunt them. While I don’t do it every year, I get mantis ooths to hatch out in my enclosures (helps control the soil gnats) which my chameleons have enjoyed hunting down. This is the time of year the ooths are available if that is something you might want to do. I get them off eBay. Here’s just one listing to give you an idea. https://www.ebay.com/itm/3655047740...qhW6rfw5DsV6u7ZFWAROvSDg==|tkp:Bk9SR9KTkqGGZw I don’t advise just releasing crickets into the enclosure as they are good at hiding and at night when they get hungry, they will bite your chameleon.
Now let’s see about determining the gender of your little cutie. By 4-5 months old, the boys will have started to develop their markings and colors. Their casque will be getting quite tall too. But even before their colors come in, the boys will have a pronounced nub (tarsal spur) on the back heels of their back feet. Adding pics of one of mine below to demonstrate. He was about 3-4 months old here.
If you indeed do have a little girl, you’ll need to read this. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/ It goes over how much to feed. I think what you’re giving now is a decent amount. It is best to feed earlier in the day so that they have the rest of the day to bask and properly digest their food.



I’m just wondering if you’d perhaps like a full husbandry review? Just let me know.