Dangling hand feeding? Is this normal or force feeding?

[kwengkynator]

Today a situation happened. I was trying to hand feed my Cham named Diego, a veiled male some hornworms. He usually doenst hand feed UNLESS I treat him with some hornworns. Today he was just refusing the hornworms and would just gape his mouth open. Then I would just back up and try again from a different angle. Five mins in still no bite. At this point though he has already eaten 4 supers before this.

It went on for a few more mins then when I had it in my hand I thought of holding the hornworn's head and slowly descend it to his mouth while he had his mouth open. IT WORKED! Hornworn goes in and chomchom he goes! He is such a picky eater and havent seen him eat more than 1 hornworn at a time. I tried doing it again and he just wont bite this time. A second hornworm goes into his mouth but he just shakes his head in disapproval. I'm guessing he is full by now.

Not that he has tongue issues I've seen him get a worm from his basking spot to his food bowl. I'm guessing about 7 inches away just yesterday and I saw him eat his supers with his tongue. So that isn't the issue.

I'm just wondering if I should keep doing this to him. It seems fun to watch him do it. He is very healthy and active. Is it okay to do this to him? Am I harming him in any way by doing so?

THANKS!

 

[laurie]

First I need some info. Kind of cham, age of Cham and how long have you had him.

I would never try to get a Cham to eat more than it wants unless it is underweight.

Based on age and size of the Cham, I don't feed my chams every day. If you give us more info we can offer some help.

 

[jannb]

I would never recommend feeding your chameleon like that. If you want to hand feed then try doing that first before offering any other feeders. If he doesn't take it from your hand then just leave it on a branch or in the food bowl for him and try hand feeding another day. Depending on his age and size he may not need to eat everyday. Hornworms always put weight on my guys and I feed them very sparingly.

 

[kwengkynator]

I got him a month ago he is a male veiled cham. I got him from a friend who could no longer keep him. He is my second cham. I dont actually know his exact age and neither did his previous owner. I've been trying to fatten him up a bit. He was a bit of on a hunger strike when he first came over. His previous diet was very poor and supplementation was lacking and he was ONLY supplemented with D3 enriched Calcium dust! They weren't informed so that's understandable. I also had an incident of him running lose for a couple days.

He loves free ranging and he eat better in this scenario so I free ranged him during my finals week and everything was set up even made a barricade of cardboard boxes (smooth surface) around the free range (temporary setting up his final free range soon, will post pictures). He escaped and didnt have food for about 3 days.

He still loves free ranging, his final cage is still in the works. Should be done in a day or 2. I still free range him but only when I'm around. After getting home from work he would scratch his cage and I would open the door after putting a fake bamboo plant. He would climb to the plant and I would transport him over the temporary free range. He loves it
That is why I've been incorporating hornworns and wax worms in his diet along side with supers and dubia as staple. He is getting his weight back and being back to his lively self again.

I wont approach his feeding sessions this way again. Good to know, its comforting to know a forum like this exist When in doubt ask!

Mind if I post pictures and ask you folks what his approximate age is?

 

[jannb]

Veileds hate being caged and often become territorial and cage aggressive. Free ranging them is best if you have a safe area for them.

I recommend getting a fecal if he hasn't had one lately. Parasites are a common thing that chameleons get form their feeders. Parasites can affect their appetite and weight and eventually kill them.

Sure post some photos and we'll be happy to take a guess at his age.

 

[kwengkynator]

Here are some pictures of him. He looks skinnier here than in real life. Thats a thing veiled do too I heard

Or maybe I should give him more hornworms....

Hes happy with his supers right now. Not really into the dubias lately. Ill feed my dubias to my female and my blossoming mantis colony instead