Chameleon Diet

[ReptileRampage]

I am aware of how to feed chameleons, all different methods, dusting the food, gut loading crickets, the whole thing. My question is that my chameleon rarely eats crickets. I got Finnick last Friday. He has eaten maybe 5-7 crickets since he's been in my care ( a week ). I'm kind of wondering why, I read all the time that babies are feisty eaters, and go after anything that moves, but Finnick kind of shys away from crickets. I got the smallest the petstore sells and they are about the size of his head. I have not handled him because i figured maybe he was stressed from the shipping and being in a new cage. I put in about 5-10 crickets a day. At the end of the day id find the crickets either laying on the floor dead, or close to it. And it was always about the same number i put in. Now during mornings to make sure he is getting food. I find him waiting on a certain branch ( same one every morning ) and I hold out mealworms, ( i accidentally grabbed mini meal worms which are tiny) he eats about 2-3, and finishes with a wax worm and goes about his day, but if i offer a hand fed cricket he just stares at me or walks away. I know that these worms can be fatty and are not the healthiest but it seems to be all he will eat. Even with feeding him the worms in the morning i throw in crickets, so he can hunt during the day. I usually find most of them but some are usually gone, i'm not quite sure if they are escaping the cage or he is eating them seeming as there is a slight gap between the floor bottom the cage came with, and the actual bottom, i find crickets crawling through so i recently got a weather foam strip and laid it on the bottom edges to cover the holes. My question is how can i get my little guy to eat crickets? My main concern is that he isn't getting enough calcium because all the dusting happens with the crickets, and its hard to dust the tiny meal worms. I want him to eat mainly crickets with worms as a snack, and i definitely don't want him to starve. My pet stores here do not carry horn worms, silk worms, or butter worms. only meal worms, super worms, and wax worms, as well as crickets. I am thinking of ordering worms, but that still isn't solving my problem of him not finding interest in crickets. I sometimes wonder if he feels they are to big, but they are much smaller than the wax worms he eats. Im not really sure how to fix his diet at this point. Any suggestions?

 

[fluxlizard]

I usually feed one type of feeder per day. This discourages picking out favorites and ignoring others.

Crickets as the base is a good idea.

If I had only the insects you are offering, I'd probably go crickets every day, but mealworms 1 day per week instead of crickets, and waxworms 1 other day, every 2-3 weeks instead of crickets.

In other words, on waxworm week, 1 day mealworms, 1 day waxworms, the other days crickets. On non-waxworm weeks, 1 day mealworms, the other days crickets. waxworm week every other or every third week.

 

[spyder356]

Dubia roaches

I have a colony of Blaptica Dubia roaches. There easy to care for and in my opinion much more nutritious.
What Are Their Advantages Over Crickets?
1.) Dubia roaches do not bite.
2.) Dubia roaches have little smell.
3.) Dubia roaches do not jump.
4.) Dubia roaches do not fly away
5.) Dubia roaches can live for two years.
6.) Dubia roaches do not die-off regularly.
7.) Dubia roaches do not chirp or make noise.
8.) Dubia roaches cannot climb smooth surfaces.
9.) Dubia roaches reproduce easily and predictably.
10.) Dubia roaches have much less indigestible chitin.
11.) Dubia roaches have a much higher protein content.

Nutritional Facts
Species Moisture % Protein % Fat % Ash %
Dubia Roach 61 % 36 % 7 % 2 %
Trukistan Roach 64 % 37 % 5.5 % 2 %
Crickets 74% 18% 6% 1%
Meal-worms 59 % 10 % 13 % 1 %
Silkworm 76 % 64 % 10 % 7.5 %
Phoenix worm N/A 17 % 9.5% N/A
Super worm 59 % 20 % 16 % 1 %
Wax worm 61 % 16 % 11 % 1 %

something to think about the best part is I'm not buying feeders anymore.