Baby veiled feeding amount?

[l.eve04]

Hey! I recently adopted a very young chameleon from a local shelter (estimated to be about a month to two months old?) and I was wondering how much I should feed the little guy? When I put more than one cricket in there at a time they seem to end up biting him and while I know they should have a constant supply to food, I want to ensure that he is safe as well (he isn’t a huge fan of the smaller worms available near me which doesn’t help). I’ll attach an image of him for scale as well

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

If you put a small amount of greens/veggies in the cage for the insects, they shouldn't bite the chameleon.

How big are the insects you're feeding it?

You can feed a hatchling as many crickets (or other appropriate sized insects we use as feeders) as it will eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding and leave a couple of crickets in the cage for a sick. Make sure the insects are well fed and dusted appropriately.

Recommended dusting...use a phos free calcium powder lightly at all feedings but two a month. At those two feedings, use a vitamin powder with D3 and prEformed vitamin A in it, lightly dusted on the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon.

Is it a male or female?

If you answer the questions as specifically as possible, we can do a husbandry check for you...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[l.eve04]

Thank you so much!
I had some food in there for the crickets but for whatever reason they seemed far more interested in eating poor Ghibli’s shed right off of him
The crickets I would say are around a half inch but they still are about half the size of his body despite them being the smallest crickets available to me. I have been using a calcium powder on his bugs though!
As for sex, I’ve just been calling him a guy but I can check for tarsal spurs as soon as I get home I’ve been trying not to handle him too much since he’s newer

 

[MissSkittles]

If the crickets are too big, he won’t be able to eat them. If you can’t get smaller crickets, can you get fruit flies? Small bsfl may be small enough if you can find them. The rule is feeders need to be smaller than the space between the eyes. I would suggest ordering the right size on line from somewhere like Rainbow mealworms or Josh’s Frogs.

 

[l.eve04]

I’ve seen him eat a couple of the larger ones but I went out of town and purchased some really little ones that I’ll be giving him from now on definitely will be trying some other feeders from Josh’s frogs once he’s older though! There’s not enough variety locally
Thank you!

 

[MissSkittles]

You’ll want to put a piece of something for stray crickets to eat so they don’t bite your little one. A piece of lettuce, carrot or something like that. Your baby should be getting as much as he can eat in about 15-20 minutes, twice a day. You’ll want to dust at least daily with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. Then one feeding every other week you’ll dust with something like ReptiVite with D3 or Repashy calcium plus LoD.
We don’t know what you know or don’t know, and it would be best to ensure all is perfect from now than possibly if/when a problem arises. Let’s make sure baby is getting all he needs. Just answer the following to the best of your ability (cut & paste with your answers). It would be a huge help if you also include pics of your enclosure, including lights and floor.
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.