Feedback on a couple of things lol

summerseeking

Avid Member
I’m using @Beman ‘s blog post to working on trust with my pair but we are starting out a little unorthodox and I could use some feedback…I’ll explain

My Chams are 4 and 5 months, both were raised free range feeding, I’m adjusting them to bowl feeding along with free range. My girl is eating from the bowl. My boy is still adjusting. He is used to being handled by the breeder. I handle him semi-daily for 30 minutes to feed him. He eats from my hand…basically from anywhere I put the food lol…I just want to make sure he eating. My girl will also eat from my hand if I’m handling her. They only eat from my hand if I’m handling them.

Now that my girl is eating well from the bowl and free range, I’ve gone back to the slow approach with her with no handling until she is ready.

I know my feeding approach is unorthodox. Their main feeders are BSF larvae and they all fall to the bioactive bottom and easily hide without a cup. I don’t want them to have any encouragement to go for food in the substrate or to eat the substrate. Their other feeders are dubias and silkworms, these are fine free roaming.

I know this is a lot of info, I’ll get to my actual question(s) lol. I read a comment in another post about taming where someone said they tamed their Chams by handling them to bring them outside each day. Eventually they associated them with outside and started climbing on his hand willingly. I’m a nobbie so I can’t tell if he was joking or not 😂. My first instinct was to think he was joking but idk. Any thought on this?

I know with bearded dragons folks recommend handling them until they get used to it, and also Chams are NOT beardies lol.

Also, is it weird they will eat from my hand while I’m handling but not when I’m not? In a 30 min window they will eat at least 5 silkworms/BSF larvae/dubias.

Just curious for y’all thoughts. I know each Cham is different.
 
I prefer feeding methods that are using a bowl or feeder run vs free range. My main reason is if there is ever a parasite issue you lessen the exposure chance as the bugs are not walking through the fecal matter then being eating. This in turn starts the infection process again within the cham.

Now the issue with only hand feeding is that if you ever go on vacation the chances of them deciding to eat from a bowl, feeder, or even another person that is not you is slim.

Most that do not take well to a bowl do very well with a feeder run. Tkchameleons makes one that hooks to screen and then full throttle feeders makes one that will hook to a screen or solid surface with the solid surface mount you can buy.

Another concern here is that if they are only eating that small amount daily that is not much for a 4-5 month old cham. And if it takes them 30 minutes to hand feed then that shows that they are not as eager to feed. Really watch body language to make sure they are not stressed.

They are learning that they must be on you to eat. You have basically become the food bowl. lol
 
I prefer feeding methods that are using a bowl or feeder run vs free range. My main reason is if there is ever a parasite issue you lessen the exposure chance as the bugs are not walking through the fecal matter then being eating. This in turn starts the infection process again within the cham.

Now the issue with only hand feeding is that if you ever go on vacation the chances of them deciding to eat from a bowl, feeder, or even another person that is not you is slim.

Most that do not take well to a bowl do very well with a feeder run. Tkchameleons makes one that hooks to screen and then full throttle feeders makes one that will hook to a screen or solid surface with the solid surface mount you can buy.

Another concern here is that if they are only eating that small amount daily that is not much for a 4-5 month old cham. And if it takes them 30 minutes to hand feed then that shows that they are not as eager to feed. Really watch body language to make sure they are not stressed.

They are learning that they must be on you to eat. You have basically become the food bowl. lol
Thank you for your thoughts. I definitely don’t want them to be that dependent on me. I’m at the hardware store now to buy supplies to make them feeder runs. They seem pretty simple to make. I also noticed my boy is hunting down the isopods. I definitely want to curve that behavior.
 
Thank you for your thoughts. I definitely don’t want them to be that dependent on me. I’m at the hardware store now to buy supplies to make them feeder runs. They seem pretty simple to make. I also noticed my boy is hunting down the isopods. I definitely want to curve that behavior.
Make sure there are no sharp spots with whatever you are using to make the feeders from. Tongue injuries are not good. :)
 
Testing out the feeder run and it’s a success. The bugs can climb it well without escaping. I used PVC pipe, screen mesh, and a flexible rubber cap for the bottom. The bottom is sturdy but I can take it off easily for cleaning. I’m going to attach it to the enclosure with flexible ties. The last step is to sand the edges. Happy with how it turned out. Hope my Chams like it.

E6A700C2-FD62-41B1-AAC7-F710A5D81CFE.jpeg
 
Yeah, I used a combination of a Dremel and a Sawzall. How short was the blade on your jigsaw? I'll definitely try that next time!
 
Back
Top Bottom