Feeder Question

[carol5208]

I have been seeing on here for over two years now that the feeders should not be bigger than the space between the eyes. I never got that as the food does not always go down sideways. What about the huge hornworms that get eaten with no problem?. Can someone clarify this for me? It has always "bugged" me. I have seen little anoles take down large crickets in my yard easily. I have seen my chameleon eat an anole(I did not feed intentionally) so what does it matter if a cricket is bigger than the space from eye to eye? Does anyone have the answer?

 

[sandrachameleon]

As with all the advice we typically give/receive, its not a rule. Its just a guideline, to limit the size to the width between eyes and double the length of the head. I also usually state this doesnt apply to soft bodied feeders that quickly squish down in size (although a too large hornworm could cause a prolapse - there are documented cases). and certainly I've fed off full size stick insects which are clearly longer than double the chameleons head length.
I generally feel these guidelines are more important for young chameleons, that may under-eat if only offered food is too large, or may have trouble if their judgement on appropriate size is not yet well developed. It is possible a chameleon will eat something too large, and have difficulty. A too large meal can cause prolapse, may not be fully digested (wasted), may get caught in throat (vomit), etc.

 

[jannb]

I totally agree with Sandra. I always feed on the small side. I believe it's better for them to eat a few more small feeders that one or two large ones. You have to also be careful with hornworns sticking in their throat, which happen with one of my females once and it wasn't even a big horn. I also read on here a while back where a meller almost choked on one and the owner had to pull it out. Padre, my 667 gram parson is the only one around here that gets large horns and I watch him carefully while he eats to make sure there's no problems.