Feeding baby panthers?!

[Nyfynest22]

Hey everyone i have a question i have 2x baby panthers , that are in a nice size cage each one has there own, my ? is how would you guys feed them? i have been putting crickets into a container and handed it to them , they look at me funny lol but they started to adapt to it, spoke to a really knowledgeable breeder and he suggested that i let the crickets not alot about 6x or so run in the cage and let them hunt, and do what they do in the wild, he also said they will become fat and could have health issues if all they do is sit there and feed from a conatiner, witch makes total sense, how do you guys feed? im going to take his suggestion and move forward with it. my only concern is that i heard that the crickets can start picking on my chameleons at night while they sleep witch worried me. thanks all.

 

[millerman6401]

use fruit flies! they love them! and many of us here use a feeding cup, i keep some in the cup for my baby panther but let some free range. i keep some in the cup incase he cant find any others he knows food is always there, he like to hunt more tho

 

[mbondy]

Well depends on the cham, both my guys don't cup feed exactly. I had a baby panther that due to a health issue couldn't really free range very well so I cup fed and free ranged, that way you can monitor their eating habits yet still let it be somewhat natural.

My other baby only free ranges, he isn't impressed by cup feeding so I just make sure the crickets are climbing on the screen and my cham will go out and hunt. Now my other adult cham also free ranges, sort of. He waits until I put the cricket on the screen ahead of him and then shoots at the cricket, he's not really a hunter! lol

I would cup feed and free range, it's good exercise and you can still see how much your cham is eating when you cup feed.

 

[Nyfynest22]

use fruit flies! they love them! and many of us here use a feeding cup, i keep some in the cup for my baby panther but let some free range. i keep some in the cup incase he cant find any others he knows food is always there, he like to hunt more tho

thanks millerman for the response, i do also want him to hunt but get concerned that these crickets will pick on him at night, its a large cage so i get worried also that they will just hide some where and he would never find them.

 

[sdheli420]

all my chams feed the same way..always have.. watch all my cham vids they dont look like they have health issues from cup feeding...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THHkk3PtBro

 

[millerman6401]

thanks millerman for the response, i do also want him to hunt but get concerned that these crickets will pick on him at night, its a large cage so i get worried also that they will just hide some where and he would never find them.

well as long as hes in the appropriate sized cage for his age he should be fine with finding crix. and after keeping many reptiles i honestly havnt ever seen crix nipping or disturbing anybody at night.

 

[mbondy]

thanks millerman for the response, i do also want him to hunt but get concerned that these crickets will pick on him at night, its a large cage so i get worried also that they will just hide some where and he would never find them.

You'll need to take any left over crickets out at night, usually they tend to climb up the screen cage to your heat bulb.

 

[Nyfynest22]

all my chams feed the same way..always have.. watch all my cham vids they dont look like they have health issues from cup feeding...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THHkk3PtBro

thanks for the video nice looking cham you got there, nope def dont see any health issues.

 

[millerman6401]

its a large cage.

i missed that part!!! how big is it exactly, bigger is NEVER better with babies as they cannot find food or regulate temps as easy in big cages, they become overwhelmed

 

[Nyfynest22]

You'll need to take any left over crickets out at night, usually they tend to climb up the screen cage to your heat bulb.

ok ill start with about 3x crikets or so in each cage and let them climb see what happens. thanks so much for everyones help.

 

[sdheli420]

thanks for the video nice looking cham you got there, nope def dont see any health issues.

haha....well he's now 6 months and bright as hell!!..just cup feed..you can always have a lil dust at the bottom of the cup that their toungue picks up, easy way to add supplement if you need..

 

[Nyfynest22]

i missed that part!!! How big is it exactly, bigger is never better with babies as they cannot find food or regulate temps as easy in big cages, they become overwhelmed

24l 16w 30h

 

[moviemanmania]

I do not free range feed at that young of an age. I cup feed until about 4-5 months in which case I start to hand feed. Isn't that part of the fun of having a chameleon is hand feeding it? As for being fat because of cup feeding I have to say I partially disagree. Wrong diet and too many fatty worm feeders will make your cham fat but cup feeding doesn't really play as big of a part as diet does. Besides, I'd rather have a fatter baby up to about 7 months old than a skinny baby as the extra fat can leave you with a little 'insurance' should you experience a health issue or an eating strike in the near future. I also like to closely monitor what my baby cham is eating and exactly how much. I start cup feeding at about 2 months of age and continue to about 4-5. When they are newly hatched its near impossible to cup feed.

Free ranging full size crickets you run the risk of: crickets getting out, crickets chirping under your bed at night, crickets chewing or injuring your cham while it sleeps. They may also lay eggs in any potted soil which would hatch and you'd have baby crickets hopping everywhere.

 

[Nyfynest22]

haha....well he's now 6 months and bright as hell!!..just cup feed..you can always have a lil dust at the bottom of the cup that their toungue picks up, easy way to add supplement if you need..

yea i def do the same dust them and give them the crikets wright in there dust container.

 

[millerman6401]

24l 16w 30h

and how old are these babies? my cham is in a 15x15x30 and hes 4 month

 

[Nyfynest22]

I do not free range feed at that young of an age. I cup feed until about 4-5 months in which case I start to hand feed. Isn't that part of the fun of having a chameleon is hand feeding it? As for being fat because of cup feeding I have to say I partially disagree. Wrong diet and too many fatty worm feeders will make your cham fat but cup feeding doesn't really play as big of a part as diet does. Besides, I'd rather have a fatter baby up to about 7 months old than a skinny baby as the extra fat can leave you with a little 'insurance' should you experience a health issue or an eating strike in the near future. I also like to closely monitor what my baby cham is eating and exactly how much. I start cup feeding at about 2 months of age and continue to about 4-5. When they are newly hatched its near impossible to cup feed.

Free ranging full size crickets you run the risk of: crickets getting out, crickets chirping under your bed at night, crickets chewing or injuring your cham while it sleeps. They may also lay eggs in any potted soil which would hatch and you'd have baby crickets hopping everywhere.

yes this is why i started the cup feeding as well there 3x months old so i will continue the cup feed until they get a little more advanced i guess i do like to make sure there eating my cages have alot of crazy decor in there i wouldnt be able to find them if i was in there , ill see how it goes thanks so much.

 

[Nyfynest22]

and how old are these babies? my cham is in a 15x15x30 and hes 4 month

3x months.

 

[millerman6401]

oh they should be fine in that cage then, when mine turns around 6-7 months i wanna get a 24x24x48 for em!

 

[Nyfynest22]

oh they should be fine in that cage then, when mine turns around 6-7 months i wanna get a 24x24x48 for em!

yea i figure by 1x cage and maybe down the road upgrade the male, and the female will def be good in her cage for her life, of course im looking to purchase another pair soon from chameleonsonly.com Ed and Liddy are GREAT people.

 

[millerman6401]

i got my guy from jim chameleon company and he arived healthy as could be! nothing but great service and information from jim! he had amazing colors at 2-3 months old! its like xmas everytime he sheds tho because new colors just come popping outta nowhere!