Feeding a spayed veiled female

[stalincat]

I think I've asked that before, but just to clarify.. I was told to give a couple of bugs every other day, but then I read that they usually let you know when they want to slow down their food intake. Well, she doesn't seem to want to slow down. She would eat as much as she can. When I give her say 3 locusts, she runs after them and gobs the next one without even finishing the previous one.
She poops about twice a week. Usually it's quite impressively sized poops.
She is 1 year old, was ~130g (well last time I checked). I'll be cleaning her cage in the next couple of days, will weight her then. She doesn't look fat or skinny, just about right. She's got chunky legs though=)
So i was wondering if I should feed her more? She always seems hungry.
She recently started eating greens and she's addicted to blueberries

 

[nightanole]

Feeder once a day if she is still a once a day gal. If she is getting chunky you will not be able to see her hips. Chams store all their fat in their hips. So you want a tail with some shape and alittle ridges on the side, not a tube tail, and you want to see hips, but not hip bones, nor so fat that it looks like legs are just poking out of the side of cham.

 

[AngieL]

Hmmmm interesting! Since you don't have to worry about eggs any more I wonder if its ok to feed more? And if she eats more would she need it a bit hotter to digest it all? Interesting

 

[camimom]

Actually chams do not store all their fat in their hips.

Alot of fat is stored in the fat caps on their heads.

For veileds its the casque area.

If shes been spayed, I would think it would be ok to feed every day, but I would still regulate her food intake so she does not overeat

 

[szpond]

Curious, how much does spaying cost? If you had the procedure done!

 

[stalincat]

Hmmmm interesting! Since you don't have to worry about eggs any more I wonder if its ok to feed more? And if she eats more would she need it a bit hotter to digest it all? Interesting

She used to havea 75W lamp, but she started climbing the top and hanging upside down under it, so I changed it to 60 (so she doesn't get a burn). She still has her gob open when she basks so I guess it's alright.

Actually chams do not store all their fat in their hips.

Alot of fat is stored in the fat caps on their heads.

For veileds its the casque area.

If shes been spayed, I would think it would be ok to feed every day, but I would still regulate her food intake so she does not overeat

She's got chucky pads on her cheeks, but not on her casque.. for now hehe. She had a chubby casque after the period of LOADS of food after her surgery, but now it's back to normal. She is a fairly big girl. I'm attaching a pic from 2 days ago

Curious, how much does spaying cost? If you had the procedure done!

not sure how much it costs on its own. She had issues with her eggs, they were not forming properly and had to be removed. I payed £470 for everything. I guess spaying on its own would be around £200.. but you shouldn't really do it unless it's really necessary. First of all it's done under general anesthesia, which is not particularly good for them. Secondly, she HATES me now. She became (and stayed) very aggressive cause she probably thinks it's all my fault. She used to like to come out and walk on me, I could put a worm in my lips and she'd take it.. now she hates me=(

 

[Kate]

You put a worm on your lips how could you???

 

[Cainschams]

Just because she cant lay eggs doesnt mean you can start feeding her all she wants. You do not want an overweight obese chameleon. This is just as bad as laying huge clutches. Feeding every day isnt bad but you dont want to feed all she wants to eat. Around 6 appropriate size bugs every other day or equivalent to is a good place to start. She doesnt look bad right now but I wouldnt let her gain any more weight.

Some people should really get their facts together before they cause someones cham harm by spouting off totally incorrect information

 

[stalincat]

You put a worm on your lips how could you???

yeah I did put worms in my mouth and let her get them. It was fun=) I ate them too.. well, tried them. they taste quite nice, would totally eat a meal worm stir-fry

Just because she cant lay eggs doesnt mean you can start feeding her all she wants. You do not want an overweight obese chameleon. This is just as bad as laying huge clutches. Feeding every day isnt bad but you dont want to feed all she wants to eat. Around 6 appropriate size bugs every other day or equivalent to is a good place to start. She doesnt look bad right now but I wouldnt let her gain any more weight.

Some people should really get their facts together before they cause someones cham harm by spouting off totally incorrect information

I was giving her 3 large locusts + a few calci worms/woodlice every other day and 1 silkworm every day. She always seems hungry though. Maybe it's jut not enough?

 

[Cainschams]

yeah I did put worms in my mouth and let her get them. It was fun=) I ate them too.. well, tried them. they taste quite nice, would totally eat a meal worm stir-fry



I was giving her 3 large locusts + a few calci worms/woodlice every other day and 1 silkworm every day. She always seems hungry though. Maybe it's jut not enough?

She looks great in the picture. Nice full casque, full cheeks but not too full. Id keep doing what you are doing.

Some chams will regulate their own intake and some just want all they can get. A lot of veileds and panthers seem to want all they can get. This is natural because in the wild they dont know when the next meal will be and they dont get easy access to bugs like we can give them so they will eat when something is in their face.

She looks good. Really glad to hear the surgery went well with her.

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO you still need to regulate her feeding so that she won't become obese. If they are fat they can prolapse and develop issues such as MBD and it can shorten their lives too.

 

[AngieL]

Some people should really get their facts together before they cause someones cham harm by spouting off totally incorrect information

Nobody has said that she should feed her chameleon all she wants

 

[Cainschams]

Feeder once a day if she is still a once a day gal. If she is getting chunky you will not be able to see her hips. Chams store all their fat in their hips. So you want a tail with some shape and alittle ridges on the side, not a tube tail, and you want to see hips, but not hip bones, nor so fat that it looks like legs are just poking out of the side of cham.

Nobody has said that she should feed her chameleon all she wants

No but storing all their fat in the hips? Not true.

 

[stalincat]

She looks great in the picture. Nice full casque, full cheeks but not too full. Id keep doing what you are doing.

Some chams will regulate their own intake and some just want all they can get. A lot of veileds and panthers seem to want all they can get. This is natural because in the wild they dont know when the next meal will be and they dont get easy access to bugs like we can give them so they will eat when something is in their face.

She looks good. Really glad to hear the surgery went well with her.

Thanks!=)
Gonna keep doing what I'm doing then. I didn't think I should feed her more, just got confused when I read they regulate their food intake themselves. Decided to make sure.
She doesn't look starved though and she's got chubby cheeks..

 

[AngieL]

No but storing all their fat in the hips? Not true.

Agreed they do have fat pads there but you can tell an obese cham by the cheeks and casque usually bulging!