Abe's first time eating from my hand!

jshaffer740

New Member
Well, I've had my little guy Abe for 11 days now. I've been diligently and patiently building up trust with him, never rushing. This morning I decided I would try again with some hand feeding. I got a superworm out (because those are somewhat of a treat for him) and placed it in the palm of my hand. I slowly brought my hand into the enclosure. For a couple seconds he wasn't sure, then he bolted straight for the worm, with both eyes focused like a laser. He opened up, and then BAM! His tongue shot out and grabbed the worm. He started to eat, but dropped the worm! So I quickly picked it back up and placed it back into my hand. He came back again, hit it, and this time gobbled the whole thing down. I was so pleased :)

So I got another worm to try again, and he ate that one as well. :D I decided to try a cricket as well. I brought it slowly into the cage, but for some reason he was no longer focused on the food (probably full for the moment - those supers are pretty big for him) and instead decided to ignore the cricket and go bask. I'm guessing he was satisfied for the time being. So I dumped his remaining crickets into his cup feeder, and left him to enjoy his post-meal relaxation.

All in all it was a wonderful start to the day. I'm so happy and pleased with my little guy :)
 
Dude that's awesome. I'm so jealous. I've had my veiled for a week today and he's still uneasy around me. I'm gonna try to hand feed by the end of the week.
 
Dude that's awesome. I'm so jealous. I've had my veiled for a week today and he's still uneasy around me. I'm gonna try to hand feed by the end of the week.

Thanks! Patience is the key. I know all I wanted was for him to do it (and some never do!), but you have to resist the urge to try too much. It can make them fear you. So as soon as you see a slight hint of him being "done" (walking away, puffing up, hissing, etc.), give up for that day and try again the next day. Most likely he will get it sooner or later. And the fact it took so much perseverance makes it all the more rewarding when he finally does!

I'm planning on setting up my camera on the tripod tomorrow morning to hopefully capture some video of it.
 
So jealous of all these stories I am reading. I know my time will come to post my own amazing stories like this once I get my panther in hopefully the July timeframe. Working on the cage and setup of everything right now. Making sure I have it all in place the way I want before I get my little one.
 
So jealous of all these stories I am reading. I know my time will come to post my own amazing stories like this once I get my panther in hopefully the July timeframe. Working on the cage and setup of everything right now. Making sure I have it all in place the way I want before I get my little one.

That's the way to do it. Do the research, and make sure the setup is all good to go BEFORE you bring him/her home. I'm glad you're going about it this way! Thanks for reading my little story :)
 
Congratulations indeed! It is probably one of the greatest experiences (aside from seeing them eat for the first time) that you can have. It makes you a true part of the feeding, as well as showing the bond and trust you have built with your cham!
 
Congratulations indeed! It is probably one of the greatest experiences (aside from seeing them eat for the first time) that you can have. It makes you a true part of the feeding, as well as showing the bond and trust you have built with your cham!

You're exactly right. The first exciting step is simply seeing them eat. Then when they do it from you're hand it's great. Now I just need to get him to take a few crickets or roaches from my hands!
 
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