Cup feeding vs free ranging
- Thread starter EarlMT
- Start date
To encourage cup feeding of Dubia and Super Worms, add crickets into the feeding cup to attract the chameleon; crickets move more and climb more. If you only use the cup for feeding, your cham will go to the cup and feed.
That being said, there is the value of the hunt, so after your cham is using the cup regularly (many will wait at the cup for food), I would continue to place Super Worms, Silkworms, and Hornworms on the screen and branches near the cham, so he can feed with a hunt involved.
CHEERS!
Nick
That being said, there is the value of the hunt, so after your cham is using the cup regularly (many will wait at the cup for food), I would continue to place Super Worms, Silkworms, and Hornworms on the screen and branches near the cham, so he can feed with a hunt involved.
CHEERS!
Nick
Cheekyreagan
Member
I can take a picture when I get home but my husband took a single pocket of an egg carton and tied it with some metal garden wire (what I use for everything in my Cham cage) and it works great. I use it for worms but I hand feed all the crickets. As far as getting him to do it. Well I stuck them in there and about an hour later they were gone. I love it!
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
Did anyone tell you where to buy cheaper hornworms? Not sure where you live, but if you are in the US you can get 50 hornworm eggs (which you may want to get rid of some as they get older, trust me I never go through them all but I have a huge amount of survivors and I have 6 reptiles that love them) for I think like 12 dollars plus some shipping? Buy extra chow though. They'll be ready to feed off after hatching in 4-5 days and I usually can keep going with my adult panther until around the last week. Go to great lakes hornworms Google search it their website will pop up.
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
I don't free range jack S---!
- I like to know if my animals are eating, experience has told me the first sign of a real health issue is if they don't eat after a few days of trying.
- Bugs dying in the cage is an issue, causes problems, take your pick from attracting ants to smelling up the cage
- I have seen it happen, your cham goes for a moon shot and ends up hurting its tongue. Remember, nature is an indifferent bitch and in the wild she doesn't care if a chameleon or two dies due to an accident (anymore than any other type of animal).
- I don't have to worry about the feeder losing the dusted on supplement I may be using. Since my animals are on a set schedule for dustings, I damn well make sure they get it on my schedule. Haphazard supplementation causes problems for new keepers.
- I like to know if my animals are eating, experience has told me the first sign of a real health issue is if they don't eat after a few days of trying.
- Bugs dying in the cage is an issue, causes problems, take your pick from attracting ants to smelling up the cage
- I have seen it happen, your cham goes for a moon shot and ends up hurting its tongue. Remember, nature is an indifferent bitch and in the wild she doesn't care if a chameleon or two dies due to an accident (anymore than any other type of animal).
- I don't have to worry about the feeder losing the dusted on supplement I may be using. Since my animals are on a set schedule for dustings, I damn well make sure they get it on my schedule. Haphazard supplementation causes problems for new keepers.
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
oh, and as for "the value of the hunt" to which I've rarely seen a use............. just put the feeder cup in different spots if you just have to have that.
In my case, my fat Parson's would just look at me like "WTF dude! Don't be making me move my butt over there. Bring my food cup back. Jerk!"
In my case, my fat Parson's would just look at me like "WTF dude! Don't be making me move my butt over there. Bring my food cup back. Jerk!"
EarlMT
Member
Do they sell the chow in their website too? I've been waiting out buying hornworms just because they grow so fast and my Chams so tiny lol
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
They do sell chow. I would buy powdered. I hate the smell of hornworm chow, and would prefer silkworm chow any day, but I have found freshly hatched hornworms do the absolute best on the specific chow for them. Then switching them over to silkworm chow is easier later on. Powdered stuff you get more of for less and usually makes enough for several hundred down the road. Some people don't hate the smell of the chow though
EarlMT
Member
Do t
Do those eggs require any sort of special treatment to be hatched?
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
Umm not from my experience. The ones that hatch are really pretty much impossible to kill too as long as you feed them every day and clean when need it. Unless you accidentally squish them... This has happened to me XD but I often have a few hatched on the ride over and they are crawling around.
Furciferocious
Member
I guess I've been lucky in that my chams have gone after everything. With dubia I will sometimes shake the cup to get them moving. A roach on its back with its legs flailing seems to be especially stimulating. Some people have tried putting new bugs in with old favorites in an attempt to get a two-fer tongue strike. Once the cham gets a taste he may decide he likes it. I will cup feed anything that would hide or burrow, so dubia, supers and calcis all go in the cup. Hornworms and silkworms I will put in various places in the cage for them to find, but usually when they see the caterpillars coming they are pouncing on my hand before I can place any. When I fed crickets I did a mix of cup and free range. Obviously you just let flies go in the cage.
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
Generally I have had this experience with all the chameleons I have cared for too, that I don't have any who are picky. None of mine have issues with addiction either. I regularly feed wax worms and superworms more than most people. Though I always feed them with two other feeders. Usually feedings are three different feeders per feeding. Considering I only have adults at the moment and only one who can feed herself that is every other day. My male when he was feeding himself was fed every other day to every day depending on his weight at the time (he lost weight easily during sheds) and he got three feeders every time too. Usually I change at least one feeder up since the last feed.
Matt Vanilla Gorilla
Chameleon Enthusiast
I handle all my babies so much that they have absolutely no fear of me! To them I am the one bringing food! They see me, especially my hands and they are ready to eat! Being held, handled and fed by my hands is all they know! Look what @Kristen Wilkins have to say about te baby she got from me last week! Ate right out of her hand mere minutes after her unpacking him!
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/hes-here.155661/
EarlMT
Member
My lil guy cup feeds I just can't get him to eat from my hand. Last time I tried giving him hornworms from my hand(seems to be his fav) and he hissed at me
Matt Vanilla Gorilla
Chameleon Enthusiast
In your case, you need to win your chameleons trust! Time, patience and yummy food! Hang in there!
