Feeding every other day - reason?

[Echoezra]

I thought I'd start a new thread for this specific question since some ofthe other questions in my last long post were addressed, save people some reading.
I know it's recommended to feed adults every other day. Is there a specific like, digestion-time related-reason for this? I'm just wondering if it's supposed to be like say 6 feeders every other day, why it wouldn't be okay to do 3 feeders every day instead? They'd get the same amount of food in the end.

 

[KurtH]

I thought I'd start a new thread for this specific question since some ofthe other questions in my last long post were addressed, save people some reading.
I know it's recommended to feed adults every other day. Is there a specific like, digestion-time related-reason for this? I'm just wondering if it's supposed to be like say 6 feeders every other day, why it wouldn't be okay to do 3 feeders every day instead? They'd get the same amount of food in the end.

I've never understood the 'every other day' rule.....I'm sure in the wild, crickets,locusts etc, don't decide to stay in on certain days.....it's silly.....if they see something and they're hungry, they eat it!

Strange

 

[carol5208]

This is a quote from the breeder of my chameleon on feeding every other day. "At this stage of life, they are no longer experiencing rapid growth and do not require food on a daily basis" Not saying it is right or wrong but just their reasoning.

 

[KurtH]

This is a quote from the breeder of my chameleon on feeding every other day. "At this stage of life, they are no longer experiencing rapid growth and do not require food on a daily basis" Not saying it is right or wrong but just their reasoning.

It's bizarre isn't it......they don't require it, but they sure as hell want to eat it,lol

 

[carol5208]

It's bizarre isn't it......they don't require it, but they sure as hell want to eat it,lol

haha I agree!!! As I stated, not saying it is right or wrong!

 

[carol5208]

I have written before that I would love for someone to travel to Madagascar and just follow the same Chameleon around for a week or two and see how much and how often it eats in the wild.

 

[yoshi9]

I have written before that I would love for someone to travel to Madagascar and just follow the same Chameleon around for a week or two and see how much and how often it eats in the wild.

I wanted to be a zoointoligist at first lol, this would have been a great research! Maybe someone needs to talk to a zoo researcher or something

 

[Echoezra]

Okay, so I'm not crazy for thinking that? Lol.

 

[carol5208]

Not at all! I basically do it because the breeder told me to and they have been keeping chams successfully for like 15 yrs or more.

 

[Julirs]

Remember-a fat cham is not a healthy cham. They do not get even close to the amount of "calorie burning movement" in captivity as they do in the wild hunting for food.

 

[ChamOh]

^^^ exactly. you can't even pretend like we are successfully reproducing their natural environment. we are trying to keep them as healthy as possible in captivity, and that usually requires a deviation from what they may normally do in the wild. It's likely they eat as much as they want daily when there is easy food in the wild and never become overweight. That's not the case in captivity.

 

[Miss Lily]

I would like to add that it differs from cham to cham and also what sex they are! My female would happily gobble food up all day every day if I gave it to her. Whereas my male will only eat when he's hungry. He had two locusts yesterday and wouldn't eat again this morning. My female is the total opposite - I would know that something was wrong with her if she ever refused food - she even ate a locust just hours before laying her first clutch!

 

[Jimturner]

Most if not all wild chams also carry a large parasite load. A lot of energy is required to keep these free loaders in check. i.e. lots of food. In captivity these parasites have been all but eliminated. Reducing the need for vast amounts of calories to grow and/or maintain weight. I think....

 

[sandrachameleon]

I feed my adult panthers almost every day. It works out to be like 6 days a week. My chameleons are long lived and healthy - and also not fat.

You can feed every day, every other day, or even every third day. Or you can feed irregularily, so that sometimes the space between feedings is 1 day, 2 days, and sometimes its every day. It truly doesnt matter all that much so long as the QUANTITY is considered.

Obviously other factors would be health, whether or not a female is producing eggs, age, heat/temperature, activity level, etc.

Most people over feed, rather than underfeed

 

[Cainschams]

I feed my adult panthers almost every day. It works out to be like 6 days a week. My chameleons are long lived and healthy - and also not fat.

You can feed every day, every other day, or even every third day. Or you can feed irregularily, so that sometimes the space between feedings is 1 day, 2 days, and sometimes its every day. It truly doesnt matter all that much so long as the QUANTITY is considered.

Obviously other factors would be health, whether or not a female is producing eggs, age, heat/temperature, activity level, etc.

Most people over feed, rather than underfeed

This is a great post, of course Also, Jim has a good answer too. I feed pretty irregularly to keep the chameleons guessing when their next meal is. Another thing to remember is season. Bugs are not always plentiful. The amount of bugs available will depend on the season. In the wild they may take everything that is available only because its not sure when they may get another meal.

This is why I suggest 6 appropriate sized bugs or equivalent too every other day. Equivalent can be as Sandra mentioned, every day, every other, every third day etc. During which season I am trying to replicate will be the deciding factor of how I feed and how much. I should probably get more into detail for others on how I feed but most people keep panthers and veileds that do not need seasonal simulation to breed. Although, I feel simulating the natural seasons for them is much better for health. A slightly under fed chameleon is more healthy than an over fed one in my opinion.

 

[Echoezra]

RIght exactly. I wasn't saying double their food intake by feeding every day, but you shouldn't be overfeeding if you cut the amount in half and fed twice as often right? That shouldn't hurt them?

 

[Echoezra]

Assuming that I determine that the weekly amount should be 22 to 24 bugs or whatever, as long as I stay within that total, I could mix up the frequency however I wanted? Every day, skip a day here & there, if more generous one day, skip the next day or so, etc? That would be cool then as long as the total stayed under the aforementioned 24?

 

[Cainschams]

Assuming that I determine that the weekly amount should be 22 to 24 bugs or whatever, as long as I stay within that total, I could mix up the frequency however I wanted? Every day, skip a day here & there, if more generous one day, skip the next day or so, etc? That would be cool then as long as the total stayed under the aforementioned 24?

This should work well. Of course a certain amount of bugs depends on the animal and the size of the feeders. This is why I say equivalent to. Also this may be enough to sustain a good weight on an adult, might be too much might be too little. You kinda just got to play with it and figure out how much exactly keeps the certain animal at a good weight. I think your idea should be good to start off with. If your animal is looking thin then up the intake and vice versa

 

[Echoezra]

Absolutely. Awesome, thanks so much for the feedback guys.

 

[sandrachameleon]

24 bugs a week, no matter how its divided up, seems like too much to me.