cup feeding vs. freerange
- Thread starter Sodbuster
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mbondy
New Member
I personally prefer cup feeding for a few reasons.
1. I know exactly how much my baby is eating
2. If he doesn't eat everything I don't have to hunt for crickets
3. The crickets are so little that I happen to find some escapees around my room, instead of in my guys cage
4. Especially for babies I think its good as they are still a little clumsy and don't have such an easy time hunting around the cage
And lastly I don't have to guess where those crickets ended up. My mom would kill me if she found a full size cricket in her bed lol. I guess cup feeding takes away the natural hunting instinct but thats about it.
For my older guy I do both, cup feed and free range so he can hunt but I also know he's at least eaten a little bit.
1. I know exactly how much my baby is eating
2. If he doesn't eat everything I don't have to hunt for crickets
3. The crickets are so little that I happen to find some escapees around my room, instead of in my guys cage
4. Especially for babies I think its good as they are still a little clumsy and don't have such an easy time hunting around the cage
And lastly I don't have to guess where those crickets ended up. My mom would kill me if she found a full size cricket in her bed lol. I guess cup feeding takes away the natural hunting instinct but thats about it.
For my older guy I do both, cup feed and free range so he can hunt but I also know he's at least eaten a little bit.
Alexl
Avid Member
cup feeding
+ you can control eating
- less activity (and most chameleons are overfed and too fat anyway!)
freerange
+ environmental enrichment and natural hunting behaviour (chameleon has to "work" for food)
+ chameleon will not eat all crickets in some minutes
- eating control is somewhat more difficult
I only use cup feeding in those chameleons I really want to control, e.g. ill ones. Just think about... we house our animals in very small cages compared to nature, they seldom have any change in cage setup - I don't want to restrain them in hunting as well. And if our little chameleons haven't been able to catch their food in nature in much, much bigger space, those species would have died out for years.
And for control freaks: You can feed them one half each, too.
+ you can control eating
- less activity (and most chameleons are overfed and too fat anyway!)
freerange
+ environmental enrichment and natural hunting behaviour (chameleon has to "work" for food)
+ chameleon will not eat all crickets in some minutes
- eating control is somewhat more difficult
I only use cup feeding in those chameleons I really want to control, e.g. ill ones. Just think about... we house our animals in very small cages compared to nature, they seldom have any change in cage setup - I don't want to restrain them in hunting as well. And if our little chameleons haven't been able to catch their food in nature in much, much bigger space, those species would have died out for years.
And for control freaks: You can feed them one half each, too.
nonnatus
New Member
I do a bit of both.
Budgie gets the locusts free range in her cage at all times, and I enjoy watching her whizz around hunting them but with all the misting I do, I can't guarantee that the locusts will retain their vitamin coating so in the morning, after her shower she gets a small cup of vitamin covered worms of some sort (less than 4, don't want her getting too fat or constipated) and in the evening, after her shower, she gets a cup of vitamin coated baby roaches.
She is already used to this routine and waits patiently for my fumbling fingers to attach cup to vine.
They are such clever little creatures, I don't know what I did with my days before she arrived!!
Budgie gets the locusts free range in her cage at all times, and I enjoy watching her whizz around hunting them but with all the misting I do, I can't guarantee that the locusts will retain their vitamin coating so in the morning, after her shower she gets a small cup of vitamin covered worms of some sort (less than 4, don't want her getting too fat or constipated) and in the evening, after her shower, she gets a cup of vitamin coated baby roaches.
She is already used to this routine and waits patiently for my fumbling fingers to attach cup to vine
. They are such clever little creatures, I don't know what I did with my days before she arrived!!
javsto
New Member
Ive tried to get my little guy to use the bird feeder he has for cup feeding but all he ever seems to do is poop on it as he's walking buy. He seems to prefer to natually hunt for his breakfast/dinner and I always put a dozen or so crix into his cup in the morning when i wake up and just before I lave for work, i take a peek and the cup is empty and crix are all over the cage and hanging out of his mouth as he's chomping on them. Im not sure how he will eat dubias when and if I decide to switch over to them in the futrure.
clarkrw3
New Member
I do both. I free range items like hornworms, FF, silkworms, solder flies etc. For items like superworms, butterworms, and Phoenix worms I usually hand feed. Superworms are the easiest to get them to hand feed for the first time in my experience. I usually put crickets and Dubia's in his dish. Sometimes I will place a phoenix or butterworm in there. I am still experimenting with feeding Dubia's I find that they just sit in his dish or hide under a piece of orange or carrot or just sit and look like brown lumps. If I hand or (monitor) free range them they will get gobbled up. I just know that once the dubia nymphs get under a plant etc we will never see them again so I am quick at grabbing them once they fall or aren't eaten. I have to figure out a way to get them eaten out of a cup better.
I always have some in the cup when I go to work so that if he wants to revisit and eat more he can.
I always have some in the cup when I go to work so that if he wants to revisit and eat more he can.
mickeyratfink
New Member
cup feeding
+ you can control eating
- less activity (and most chameleons are overfed and too fat anyway!)
freerange
+ environmental enrichment and natural hunting behaviour (chameleon has to "work" for food)
+ chameleon will not eat all crickets in some minutes
- eating control is somewhat more difficult
I only use cup feeding in those chameleons I really want to control, e.g. ill ones. Just think about... we house our animals in very small cages compared to nature, they seldom have any change in cage setup - I don't want to restrain them in hunting as well. And if our little chameleons haven't been able to catch their food in nature in much, much bigger space, those species would have died out for years.
And for control freaks: You can feed them one half each, too.
Ha Ha!! Very good Alexl!!! Cut them in half!!
If they're hungry, they hunt.
I prefer free range as it must help to mentally stimulate them. It is a pretty sedentary lifestyle being a chameleon, without having your food handed to you on a plate, so to speak!
The ONLY drawback I can see when I freerange is the dusting of vits and calcium. If they don't catch the prey before the misting is done, some must get washed off the food.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
I think its best not to restrict yourself to just one method.
Free-range when you have time to do so (to watch and ensure the prey is eaten) and/or when the feeder is slow-moving and non-infesting like a silkworm or butterworm.
Cup feed things like Roaches and crickets when you dont have time to watch and ensure they are eaten, and cup feed things that dont easily free-range like mealworms.
Cup feeding at least half the time will help you introduce new foods, in that the animal will associate the bowl / cup with food.
Free-ranging provides more hunting interest for the chameleon (although using a very large feeding bowl is nearly as good).
