Am I feeding enough??

[kpritch17]

Kamish is a panther chameleon and is now 7.5 months old. I got him about a month and a half ago and he is an eating machine! I think I was feeding him a little too much, so I have been cutting him back, but he seems to wander around the cage looking for food all day. I'm glad he is getting exercise, and I was just wondering how much you feed a 7.5 month old.

I know you can start feeding them every other day around 8 months, it just seems that he is always hungry, I just don't want him to be at an unhealthy weight or growth rate.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

I know most around here say they only feed adults 8-10 feedrs every other day. But don't know the exact age they start that feedng schedule.

 

[reptoman]

I was told by the breeder I got my panthers from to start the every other day feeding at 1 year old. It has worked out for both of mine. They have never gone on a hunger strike since I try to keep a variety of gutload and insects. That is the key to keeping their interest in feeding. I did notice that closer to the 1 year mark, the male did not want to eat as much everyday. You may just wait until you see him slowing down on his feeding as a sign to wait a day in between.

 

[kpritch17]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll just see when he starts slowing down and in the mean time just make sure I don't over feed him

 

[canzoman]

Do you all pull out your extra crickets at night? And then offer them again in the AM?

 

[kpritch17]

There are never any extra crickets...they are all gone before they are even in the cage!! However, I know crickets can bite/eat chameleon skin and cause wounds that can get infected and be very serious problems that can even lead to death. Usually this happens to babies, but it could happen to any cham when its sleeping..i wouldn't leave them in.

 

[draetish]

This is my opinion on feeder bowl feeding: all chams should be fed as much as they can eat in one sitting except juvi. This could be a feeder bowl with 6-8 crickets and if they gobble those down in the first 30 sec then give them a few more or none at all. Juvi on the other hand, need food to grow but not too much or they will grow way to fast. Think about being a cham out in the wild and how many bugs you could catch in one day. Or on the other hand, how little bugs you may catch in one day. Most of the day is laying and basking, not hunting.

 

[kpritch17]

That's my only concern. When I first got him he was still a little young so I gave him all he wanted, but he is getting a little older now and I just don't want to cause any problems by making him grow too fast or get too fat.

 

[draetish]

That's my only concern. When I first got him he was still a little young so I gave him all he wanted, but he is getting a little older now and I just don't want to cause any problems by making him grow too fast or get too fat.

You don't have to worry about that as long as you feed him once in the morning as much as he wants, then he's done.

 

[kpritch17]

Thats what I've been doing, so all is good. Thanks for the info!!