do chams feed at night

[jeff martin]

Hello, I posted a pic of my new cham under "newbie question again" if anyone wants to comment, Anyways i am a little worried about him, I have had him for three days and i have not seen him feed, Saw him drink but no food. I put in a plastic container and put eight crickets in it, next day still eight crickets. but the ones in the cage are gone, About 15. The crickets seem to also like the heat from the basking lamp, so thats where they hang out, was about 10 there, then overnight, there was only one. And his little belly looks fat. Didnt know they eat at night ? He is about 5 1/2 months old.

24x24x48 cage
10.0 rep light
40 watt basking light
mistking system 4 times a day

 

[Dunnigan]

He shouldent be eating at night. You should also remove any uneaten feeders a few hours before lights off.

Chameleons need heat to digest food, and wih out that heat source the cannot digest the crickets. You may notice, full, or partially digest crickets in his poop if he has been eating at night.

 

[jannb]

I agree with Dunnigan. I never feed my chams late in the day. I would not make a habit of feeding after 3pm. Also, I have seen pictures on here where the feeders eat on the chams (not a nice picture) when left in the cage over night. Jann

 

[jeff martin]

I have all the correct items in cage and a 85f basking area, I will remove the crickets if there is any left for night time. Thanks ! Never thought of a cricket biting the cham. I am going to keep a close eye on him for the next couple days. How long can they go without eating ? He looks very healthy and might be feeding in secret. Thanks for your help !!!

 

[Dunnigan]

How old is the chameleon. Adults can go quite a long time with out food.

 

[jeff martin]

Hatched dec 25th 2008,

 

[cushcameleon]

Lights out=cham out. Chameleons are very deep sleepers and typically sleep through the entire night. You'll notice that your chameleon will also pick a designated sleeping spot/position. Since chameleons sleep throughout the night, it is not a good idea to leave feeders in your cage (especially crickets), because they will most likely not be eaten and if they are eaten, they won't be properly digested (I once had my chameleon pass a full exterior of a butterworm because I feed him to late). Crickets will gnaw on anything, including your chameleon . You instead might want to try individually free ranging, which is what I do. I place one feeder in at a time and then after my chameleon eats it, I place another one in. This process works well, because once my chameleon is done eating I only have to pull out one feeder rather than a whole bunch (it's a good way to avoid frustration from chasing feeders in a cage ).

 

[jeff martin]

I am going to try the cup feeding technique first, My cage is 2'x2'x4' kind-of big for a 5 month old to find one cricket. Funny thing is he loves the ficus tree and hangs very little in the sheffler, The ficus is about 75f and the sheffler is a tree inside the cage, so its his way to climb up to basking. Its about 85f-88f for his basking area. I just think he is still just settling in.

 

[dodolah]

use cup feeding.
Here is what I did in my chameleon's cage.
It simulates free ranging without actually free ranging the cricket.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/feeding-cup-problems-26103/#post236136

 

[Ferdinand]

What about fruit flies, should one take those out at night as well? They are soo tiny and they hide so well that McLovin doesnt find them before lights out. Can they hurt him while he is sleeping?

 

[dodolah]

What about fruit flies, should one take those out at night as well? They are soo tiny and they hide so well that McLovin doesnt find them before lights out. Can they hurt him while he is sleeping?

I imagine a 6 months old chameleon will no longer be interested in fruitflies.
So, save the money for some other type of feeder.
But, to answer your Question. No. they don't bite.

 

[Ferdinand]

McLovin is 4 months old and he still likes to eat a few fruit flies but since they hide he has a hard time finding them. I just noticed a couple sitting on the walls a few minutes ago after lights out so I was a little worried. Also, when can I start feeding him other things other than fruit flies and crickets and what do you recommend? Thanks for the info so far dodolah!
Cheers!
-Fern

 

[jeff martin]

use cup feeding.
Here is what I did in my chameleon's cage.
It simulates free ranging without actually free ranging the cricket.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/feeding-cup-problems-26103/#post236136

Excellent !!!!! I will make one of these tonight, But first i gotta drink some milk. LOL !! Great idea !!
I also have dubia roach feeders and i will try those soon.

 

[eisentrauti]

I imagine a 6 months old chameleon will no longer be interested in fruitflies.
So, save the money for some other type of feeder.
But, to answer your Question. No. they don't bite.

I've heard from adult pardalis males which are eating fruit flies too It just depends on how much you feed. When he becomes hungry, the little feeders will be interesting again

Back to your question: Chameleons don't eat at night. They drink but they will never eat. Their eyes aren't made to find feeders at night. They are complete diurnal.
Some geckos for example are active at night and day but chameleons never

 

[dodolah]

McLovin is 4 months old and he still likes to eat a few fruit flies but since they hide he has a hard time finding them. I just noticed a couple sitting on the walls a few minutes ago after lights out so I was a little worried. Also, when can I start feeding him other things other than fruit flies and crickets and what do you recommend? Thanks for the info so far dodolah!
Cheers!
-Fern

O goodness I mistake your cham with Jeff's chameleon.
Sorry about that. But, as other feeder goes, you can feed him:
house flies, blue bottle flies, silkworms, hornworms, butter worms, phoenix worms, dubia nymphs, etc etc (follow the size rule -not to feed your cham any insects that are bigger than the width of his forehead. Exception applies to soft bodied feeder such as silkworms and hornworms).

 

[Pure]

Back to your question: Chameleons don't eat at night. They drink but they will never eat. Their eyes aren't made to find feeders at night. They are complete diurnal.
Some geckos for example are active at night and day but chameleons never

This is what I thought too. Until for the past month, once a week I've had 20+ full sized crickets go MIA from the Melleri cage. Most instances I can say for sure they were there until at least 2am, then gone before Lights on the next day.

I cup feed, well it's more of a tub. So there is no where they could have gone. I've search the plants for any possible hidden critters. But there aren't many critters that can eat that much food in one sitting.

One of my guys isn't a big eater. I've only seen him eat 1-2 hornworms a week. I just assumed he is the likely perp as his weight is slowly going up. He was 230 grams when I got him and he is now 247. So he's the only one I can figure is doing this.