Baby Veiled Only Goes for Crickets

[TheDOMINATOR]

Hello everyone. New poster here.

So, after doing extensive research, I recently got my first ever chameleon, a baby veiled from a breeder I named Karma. Everything's going great - he seems happy, healthy, and does a lot of moving around. However, he will only eat crickets which I let free range in his habitat (a 16x16x24 screen cage). I've tried free ranging dubia roaches and putting wax worms in a cup about half way up the cage near his favorite hangout area. But he won't touch anything but the crickets.

I've read around the forum to see if there are any tips or tricks to get him eating a varied diet, as doing so is very important from what I understand, but I haven't come across much. So I figured I'd create an account and ask directly: does anyone have any suggestions? I've had Karma for over a week and he's literally eaten only crickets. I'm a little concerned. I've tried hand feeding but he shys away from me, which makes me a little sad, but hopefully in time he'll come around. Which brings me to another question: how long should I wait until I try to hold him, or should I be trying to hold out my hand to him every day and just wait for him to come near it?

Thanks for your time reading.
-Keith

 

[xephyr17]

Welcome to the forums!!

How old is the little one?

Normally I'd suggest about a month before attempting to do much handling to give him enough time to settle it. Hand feeding is definitely the best way to get them used to you

I would say not giving him crickets for a day and putting in a roach or otherwise would potentially do it. It takes some work sometimes. They just have to move enough, without running away, if that makes sense...

 

[sharp229]

I am guessing the breeder only free ranged crickets. I would continue feeding him as many crickets as he wants, and you can put worms in a cup just to have available for when he wants to try something new. Just the fact that he is eating anything the first week is a good sign

If you are properly dusting and gutloading the crickets there shouldn't be any problem. Eventually he will come around to eating other food, even if it takes a month or two.

You can offer him food from your hand every day and if he runs away just try again the next day. If he stays there looking at it in your hand, hold it for a minute or two since it can sometimes take them a long time to actually go for it.

 

[Phimuhammad206]

For my little guy I offer him food in the morning only and the rest of the day i will just keep him misted. Next morning since he has in for a while I will offer him a new food item and he instantly went for it. My guy will now eat both crickets and reptiworms no problem. You could put the crickets in the cup. Yes some will escape but the majority will stay in the cup. His hunger for the crickets will show him that there's nothing to be scared of.

 

[TheDOMINATOR]

Hello all. Sorry for the late response. I have an update: my little guy (a now ~4 month old male veiled) is doing much better in the picky eating department. I've gotten him to eat waxworms and mealworms, and for the first time in the month--give or take--I've been checking coastal silkworms, they have them in stock, so I just placed an order for silks tonight. My fingers are crossed he likes them.

Despite my best efforts of cup feeding, Karma won't have any of it. He likes to hunt and eat waxworms from a branch that I place directly on, and he likes the mealworms to be hand-fed (err, well, tong-fed). It's so cool watching him eat the various types of pray; it's such a relief that he isn't just eating crickets anymore.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I really took what you had to say to heart and it worked.