doesnt anybody care?
- Thread starter trippers
- Start date
Check this link for excellent nutritional info on fruits and veggies to use in gutloading. You want to work through the food chain to give your feeders all the nutrients your cham needs since he won't be eating them directly. Aim for veggies that are higher in calcium than phosphorus and avoid things high in oxalates and goitrogens as those can interfere with calcium absorption and contribute to gout.
For example, I get a head of either collard, mustard or turnip greens when I go to the store for groceries. I get a different one each time for variety and throw some in with the crickets every day or so. Or I get dandelions from my yard where I know there aren't any pesticides or chemicals used and throw those in. I also save a little of my fruits and veggies that I eat in my meals and give them to the crickets. Like grapes, sweet potato, carrots, apples, etc. That link I gave you will tell what's good or not. It was made for iguana keepers but the same concepts apply.
Some other people can chime in for dry mix, I can't seem to find the link I usually refer to right now...
For example, I get a head of either collard, mustard or turnip greens when I go to the store for groceries. I get a different one each time for variety and throw some in with the crickets every day or so. Or I get dandelions from my yard where I know there aren't any pesticides or chemicals used and throw those in. I also save a little of my fruits and veggies that I eat in my meals and give them to the crickets. Like grapes, sweet potato, carrots, apples, etc. That link I gave you will tell what's good or not. It was made for iguana keepers but the same concepts apply.
Some other people can chime in for dry mix, I can't seem to find the link I usually refer to right now...
Aim for greens that are higher in calcium than phosphorus and avoid things high in oxalates and goitrogens. That link had that info on the most common greens. I keep my crickets in a box like this:
I sprinkle the dry mix in a thin layer on the bottom and I put pieces on the greens on the bottom, between the egg crates, basically anywhere they can get to them. They'll find them if they can reach them! You don't want to dump a ton of stuff in there, only give them what they can eat in 2 days, which will take some trial and error, because once it starts going bad (too squishy, changes color, smells bad) you need to remove it so you don't start growing bacteria or fungus. Bad for the crickets, bad for the cham. Higher temperatures make things go bad faster and bad stuff grows quicker than in cooler temps.
Fruits go bad a lot faster than greens and basically any uneaten pieces of fruit need to be taken out within 24 hours of you putting them in. The sugar in fruits makes it easy for fungus to grow on them quickly. If you have a lot of crickets they may eat everything so there's nothing left to remove, but if you just have a handful or so make sure you take out anything that's going bad asap. Let the crickets eat as much as they can while keeping it clean.
I sprinkle the dry mix in a thin layer on the bottom and I put pieces on the greens on the bottom, between the egg crates, basically anywhere they can get to them. They'll find them if they can reach them! You don't want to dump a ton of stuff in there, only give them what they can eat in 2 days, which will take some trial and error, because once it starts going bad (too squishy, changes color, smells bad) you need to remove it so you don't start growing bacteria or fungus. Bad for the crickets, bad for the cham. Higher temperatures make things go bad faster and bad stuff grows quicker than in cooler temps.
Fruits go bad a lot faster than greens and basically any uneaten pieces of fruit need to be taken out within 24 hours of you putting them in. The sugar in fruits makes it easy for fungus to grow on them quickly. If you have a lot of crickets they may eat everything so there's nothing left to remove, but if you just have a handful or so make sure you take out anything that's going bad asap. Let the crickets eat as much as they can while keeping it clean.
Last edited by a moderator:
Dawniegirl
New Member
I've been reading your tread & didn't have anything else to offer because you've been given great advise by the experience cham owners on here. They are awesome
. First off hope your guy is doing better & you can get everything resolved for him! I have one cham as well, my first, & found what my breeder suggested for the crickets to work fantastically. I bought a 10 gallon fish tank w/ a screen top. I put cheese cloth over the top of the tank & then put the screen lid on top. To be honest I really don't need the cheese cloth but it makes me feel more secure that I won't have escapees. It's super easily to clean & I usually don't have die offs. I have actually put 500 small 1/4 inch crickets in there w/ success. 500 hundred was WAY too much & now I get no more then 120-150 at a time. Also it was only (I think) $30 or $40 tops for both the tank & lid. That Cricket Keeper I originally had was the worst!Elizadolots
New Member
trippers, to use your pictures yourself: save them to your computer. Click "POST REPLY" (not, Post Quick Reply). That will give you a toolbar that includes the opportunity to attach a file (it looks like a paperclip). Click that, find your pictures on your computer and voila.
I've given you a site to look at with greens to use 3 different times and I even told you what greens I use regularly. What good are the answers you get if you're not actually looking at them? Please go back and read what I wrote on that. The link is still in my signature for you to click on also.
This blog has an excellent dry gutload formula and other gutloading information that you need to look at. The dry recipe is extensive and I can't find all of those things usually but using at least as many of them that you can will help your guy.
I get my crickets 500 at a time so my box is about 8"x12" but like dawniegirl said, you can keep them in other things as well. It's just whatever works for you. The more ventilation you have the less stinky the crickets will be in my experience.
Maurer3D
New Member
I buy chickets by the thousands (that lasts like 3 to 4 weeks),but then again I basically live in a zoo.
about 10 large Tarantulas and 40 dime to quarter sized Tarantulas (representing 5 species)
10 Scorpions
2 Vieled Chameleons
2 Bearded Dragons
4 Sacata Tortises
2 Russian Tortises
5 Parats
2 Waxy Frogs
1 Crested Gecko
1 Lorykete
1 Red-tailed Boa
4 Dogs
3 Cats
several hundred Dubie Cockroaches
a salt water fish tank
I am just starting to get back into Chameleons now that I have room for them. I'll be picking up a few Pygmys if they have them at the Expo this weekend and plan to get a couple panthers in spring or early summer (when I can take them outside for some natural sunlight (darn winter and its cold ness).
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Trippers after scanning through your thread it looks like ALLOT of people care. You just need to take their advice and take the time to read the links provided and make these changes for your chameleon. I provided my blog for new keepers to you on your thread the other day about how to tell if my chameleon is well. I'll link it again below. It answers allot the question that you are asking here. It will have links to pictures of the items you need to keep your cham healthy and where you can buy these items. Chameleons are not cheap animals to keep. I would recommend a vet visit along with all the changes mentioned.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
Hoj
Friendly Grasshopper
wow id like so pics of your zoo crazzzzzy
freeflymedina
New Member
Fecal description means that what his poop looks like, lol, what does the urea (the white part should look white not yellow or orange) look like? Is it runny? Digested? etc... etc...
It's time for a vet visit. That does not look good, won't heal with polysporin and could potentially spread to the rest of the body if not controlled which quickly leads to septicemia and death, especially considering the husbandry isn't quite top notch at this point so this cham probably doesn't have a great immune system. The fact that he's been more lethargic could mean this infection is already spreading. Vet asap.
Hoj
Friendly Grasshopper
where is he located?
i have a good vet about 45min north of toronto canada if that helps
