Feeding confusion. Whats your regimen?

[heartben]

I am curious, how much to most chams really eat? Initially i heard a few large crickets every other day for the most part.

Now im reading people feeding like 12 a day and stuff like that. Not to mention hearing about gut feeding and roaches and all other kinds of stuff.

I can't tell you exactly what I have for more precise suggestions because i dont have one yet. The feeding is probably the last hurdle before i buy one.

**So typically, how much does one eat? also, how do to feed a cricket? What other stuff do you feed it. Basically im looking to see a sort of schedule so I have a pretty good idea of what this is going to consist of. If it helps I will most likely get a jacksons unless someone here wants to disuade me.

I understand the idea of feeding the things your going to feed your animal so it gets more out of it - ive also read about the dusting with calcium every time, then calcium with d3 something like twice a month and then a sort of vitamin dust around twice a month... im just kind of curious how much all these bugs are going to cost.

to be absolutely honest, i dont want to but a whole buch of crickets at once inside because the sound annoys me. If they will do ok outside then I suppose that is an option. I know if i have to buy locally in small batches its going to cost a lot more.

I dont mean to sound whiny or anything, bugs dont really bother me that much, its more of a cost consideration/preparation. I have a feeling a lot of people felt like this when they were new to it. I'm not going to let this stop me I just need to learn a little more about it.

Thanks everyone, I know I'll get some good responses.

OH one more small thing. how tall does a feeding container/cup need to be in order to keep them from jumping out? I was always under the impression crickets were good hoppers but I've seen some pretty low cut cups/milk jugs.

 

[phase]

i will also be a new owner soon.i will be getting a veiled cham as a first. what i have read so far

the younger the cham- the more they eat
the bigger- the less they eat

feed the cricket- stick some vegetables or dry feed like cricketcrack with the crickets overnight and then feed the cham.

you can feed them silkworms,flies,spiders,mealworms,superworms,roaches etc.

dusting with suppliments
calcium without d3- 5 times a week
calcium with d3- twice a month
herptivite (multivitamin)- once or twice a month

crickets will survive if you keep them in the garage or somewhere not too cold. a heatpad may be needed

not shure about cost yet but i will be buying small amount of different kind of foods untill i establish what works best and then i will buy in bulk.

hope i helped. (first time giving someone info on this forum )

 

[Mr Wilson]

I am curious, how much to most chams really eat? Initially i heard a few large crickets every other day for the most part.

Now im reading people feeding like 12 a day and stuff like that. Not to mention hearing about gut feeding and roaches and all other kinds of stuff.

I can't tell you exactly what I have for more precise suggestions because i dont have one yet. The feeding is probably the last hurdle before i buy one.

**So typically, how much does one eat? also, how do to feed a cricket? What other stuff do you feed it. Basically im looking to see a sort of schedule so I have a pretty good idea of what this is going to consist of. If it helps I will most likely get a jacksons unless someone here wants to disuade me.

I understand the idea of feeding the things your going to feed your animal so it gets more out of it - ive also read about the dusting with calcium every time, then calcium with d3 something like twice a month and then a sort of vitamin dust around twice a month... im just kind of curious how much all these bugs are going to cost.

to be absolutely honest, i dont want to but a whole buch of crickets at once inside because the sound annoys me. If they will do ok outside then I suppose that is an option. I know if i have to buy locally in small batches its going to cost a lot more.

I dont mean to sound whiny or anything, bugs dont really bother me that much, its more of a cost consideration/preparation. I have a feeling a lot of people felt like this when they were new to it. I'm not going to let this stop me I just need to learn a little more about it.

Thanks everyone, I know I'll get some good responses.

OH one more small thing. how tall does a feeding container/cup need to be in order to keep them from jumping out? I was always under the impression crickets were good hoppers but I've seen some pretty low cut cups/milk jugs.

You have the basic idea right. For argument sakes lets just say your feeding crickets. First it depends on the age of the cham. Younger chams will eat a lot more then adults. It's not uncommon for a baby cham to eat 5,10 + properly sized crickets a day. All mine are adults and i feed them every other day.
as far as dusting everyone really has their own schedule. My routine is calcium 3 times a week every week and rotating one for d3 and vit every week. Some do more some do less. The crickets should be gut loaded with fruits and veggies mainly leafy greens like kale and collard greens. you'll find a whole list of gut load if you do a quick search.
Theres also many other feeders you can use other then crickets, although crickets are a very good staple. Some feeders should be used sparingly as treats such as mealworms, others more often for variety such as hornworms, butterworms, and others as a main staple such as crickets or dubia's just to name a few. as far as crickets and a feeder cup? imo dont bother when i used crickets i just threw a bunch in the cages and my guys would love hunting them down. Just be careful with that if you put a little guy in a big cage.
Cost is not bad at all. I have 5 and spend maybe $60-70 every two or three months. Thats also buying in bulk though

 

[Rob G]

how old will the jacksons be when you get it? Jacksons are montane, their care is very different from veileds. Feeders you can give are silkworms, superworms, crickets, roaches, locusts, flies, and some others. You should feed your insects with a variety of fruits and vegetables and I also highly suggest getting some cricket crack. Montane species are very sensitive to suppliments so the gutload is more important than the supps, a good schedule would be calcium without d3 two or three times a week, calcium with d3 once or twice a month, and the multivitamin maybe once every 6 weeks. Feeding for a young one would be every/every other day 6 or 7 bugs and for an adult every other or every two days give 5 or 6 bugs.. these links have some good info on jacksons chams http://www.chameleonnews.com/10JulManchen.html http://www.reptilechannel.com/care-sheets/jacksons-chameleon.aspx and here's a good nutrition for gutloading the insects http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

 

[heartben]

thanks guys!

im not totally sure how old itll be because im talking to a few people. im not sure of their growth rate but one should be around 4 inches probably and one of the other people im talking to has adults im pretty sure. i will read those pages. thanks again.

 

[Mr Wilson]

Just make sure you have all that husbandry right and you should be good to go

 

[heartben]

hmm. what do you think this means?

"Although crickets can be used as an easily gut-loaded staple, these chameleons relish worms such as superworms, wax worms, silkworms, and hornworms."

I cant tell if that means that crickets SHOULD be the staple or just that they can be the staple. I don't mean to over think it but that sounds like good news for me. How often do you suppose it is ok to feed worms then? I thought they were like.. over fattening, maybe thats just specific kinds?

There is so much conflicting information out there. If anyone with a jacksons reads this, please let me know what you do.

haha. cricket crack. I will look it up!

 

[OrangeCrush]

You kinda sound like me before I bought TRex. I don't really care for crix at all, but you learn to like them because you like yourncham. Crux are easy to maintain and keep. I just keep mine in a rectangular Tupperware container. I also put a few cut up egg crates in there and this makes it so easy to catch them and feed to your Cham. You just pick up one of the cut up pieces and there is always a bunch of the hiding up in them. You just shake them off in to a container with a lid and take them to you cage. You can try to cup feed or just place them in there. I just feed my crixs some cricket crack and the flukers cricket quencher. I have not had a dead crix yet. They cost me about 10 cents a piece at a good petshop. I also plan to order other worms like silk, butter, wax, and horn worms when he gets just a like bit bigger. They cost more because you most likely have to get them shipped and them are harder to take care of. But good luck

 

[sandrachameleon]

I am curious, how much to most chams really eat? Initially i heard a few large crickets every other day for the most part. Now im reading people feeding like 12 a day and stuff like that. Not to mention hearing about gut feeding and roaches and all other kinds of stuff...

How much you feed depends on the age of the animal (is it young and growing fast, or adult and hardly growing at all), its gendre (is it a female developing eggs) and species (is it a panther, a vieled, a jack, a pyg?)

With most species, Young animals under 6 months of age should be fed as much as they can eat within about 5 minutes, three times daily. 6 months to a year feed once or twice daily, about 8-15 insects total. From 1 year onwards, feed the equivalent of approximately 1-4 bugs per day (you might choose to feed 2-5 bugs every other day).

To see what I feed panther chameleons, check out my feeding logs. Going through the entries, you will see there's over a years worth of diary entries there, for young and old and Male/female panther chameleons.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/food-diary/

Crickets alone will not be a sufficient diet, no matter how well gutloaded they are (meaning, no matter how perfectly you feed the crickets to benefit the chameleon). A variety of prey is important. See this blog entry of a comprehensive list of feeders to consider:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

Info on gutloading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/nutritional-information/




Additionally, You may find the information in these links helpful:

• https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ryan-jarosek/119-new-arrival-bringing-home.html
• https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs...questions.html
• https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
  [*]https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
  [*]https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/92-hydration-importance.html
  [*]http://www.chameleonnews.com/
• http://www.chameleonsonline.com/
  [*]http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
• http://www.chromachameleons.com/index.php?page=care
• http://www.zorabellarose.com/Caresheet/VeiledChameleons.pdf
• http://chamworld.blogspot.com/
• https://www.chameleonforums.com/general-care-true-chameleons-5943/
• http://www.rockymountainrudis.com/rudis/care/care_index.htm
• http://www.screameleons.com/How_to_care_for_chameleons.htm
• https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/82-enclosures-housing.html
• http://www.chamaeleonidae.com
• http://www.animalarkshelter.org/cin/
• http://www.exoticpetvet.com/breeds/chameleons.htm
• http://www.geocities.com/chamjacksonii/

 

[mbondy]

I'd recommend you buy an adult versus a young Jackson. As it is, you'll proabably be obssessing and worrying about your cham like the rest of us and it's a little less stressful having an adult. Not SO fragile. Good luck, make sure to post pics once you get your cham!