Eating Problem

I have the same problem with my 7 month old Male Veiled. I try to use crickets as the main feeders, or rather as the feeder I dust, but every so often he just spits them out. I found catching a grasshopper, specificly a green one (I would like to know why he prefers green ones), puts him right back on the hunt and he eventually finishes the crickets.
 
Spanky's owner,

How heavy are you dusting the feeders?
It could be the taste of calcium blasted crickets.
Have you tried other feeders?
How about worms like: supers, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms?
Supers are thought to be very tasty, but can be a bit addictive.

Can you fill out this information with as much deatail as you can.
ie. brand names, days, time, etc.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.


Thanks
Justin
 
Info

Cage Info:
Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
I am in the process of getting her a new cage, but the one I have now is glass with a screen top from Exo Terra. It is 12"x12"x18".
Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
I am using a mercury vapor bulb. The lights are on from 8:30am to 8:00pm.
Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
The temperature ranges from 95 to 85 during the day and 75 to 80 at night.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
I keep the humidity at around 50%. I mist his cage three times a day with a spray bottle.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
I am growing pothos for her, but they are not in the cage.
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?
The cage is in my room. I have a ceiling fan that is never on and an air vent six feet away. Very low traffic.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
She is a veiled chameleon and the guy I got her from said that she is under one year.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
I feed her 5-6 crickets a day. A couple in the morning and afternoon and if there is no crickets left one a couple hours before she goes to sleep. I get 3 dozen from the pet store every week and feed them the gut load gel.
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
I use only repcal calcium dust once a week.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
I mist her cage and yes I see her drink.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
Black and good consistency.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
 
your gonna need to get a mesh enclosure thats at leat 3 feet tall by a few feet wide...glass is awful for chameleons...i have heard good things about the mercury vapour...u should have the temp in her basking spot around 85 and the ambiant temp like 80ish i believe...if its always really hot they can produce infertile eggs....also if you feed them too much they will produce infertile eggs....i feed mine about 25-30 cricks a week with a mixture of some different worms to spice it up.....you should feed the crickets lettuce one day, carrots the next, and than potatoe the next day alternating so the chameleon gets a variety of nutrients.....you should be dusting a few times a week with a phosphorus free calcium suppliment....twice a month i dust in vit a with beta carontene and calcium with d3......2 of my panther chams wont eat crickets....they refuse i have caught my male spitting out when he realized it was a crick......there just really picky i guess...they feed well on any other kind of worm....i have heard other people on here who have picky chams as well........what size cricks are you feeding her....how long is she snot to vent?
 
Can I make a suggestion? I don't know whether your chameleon is partial to crickets or not. But if you want to unsure that your pet is getting a substancial about of calcium in his diet, you might want to try some Phoenix Worms. I own a Panther Chameleon and he is about as picky as they come but he loves them. It's said that they have a good amount of calcium for a feeder(better than most). They show the nutritional facts of the Phoenix on MulberryFarms.com...
 
It's very strange to me that a female veiled would have any issues with eating.
I would experiment with a different gut load and maybe try a new source for my crickets.
Something tastes bad to her.

I also think you are feeding her too much.
5 to 7 crickets (or the equivalent) every other day is plenty for maintenance.
More if she's cycling eggs, but that's a different thread.

-Brad
 
Size of my chameleon

Spanky is 2" from snout to vent. I feed her crickets that are smaller than the width of her mouth. I don't know what else to feed her because she is so small.
 
Okay so she is smaller than I thought.
She should eat every day at this age and crickets are a fine staple food for her.
Again, try getting them from another source and gut loading with greens, sweet potato, carrots and squash instead of the gel.
Take a look at your supplement schedule as well.
There is an article on supplements here:

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad
 
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