Feeding ideas....help

[heloderm]

I've been trying to switch my w.c. florida veileds over to roaches with mixed success. They surely prefer crickets but I can't stand them. Ontop of that I'd like to get them to eat out of a container rather then throwing the food item all over the cage. I put a bunch of roaches in a sterilite container with no success. Any ideas to get these guys to eat out of a container or to get them more willing to take roaches? I'm also going to adapt any ideas to the panther setup I'm putting together. It's a large screened in portion of my garage, Surely I can't just throw roaches all over the cage. Thanks in advance,

John

 

[sttines]

Try a couple of roaches and a couple of crickets in one dish. They may target the crickets but may also accidentally hit a roach and discover a new taste for them.

Also,the crickets moving will stir the roaches a bit and they will move also. Try a roach in some long forceps. Roaches tend to settle too quickly to catch the eye of a chameleon who hasn't acquired a taste for them. The motion may trigger the tongue and eye.

 

[Bio123]

I would try to find a way to get the roaches warmed up, so they're more active. Put them near a basking light for about 30 sec. then try feeding them to your cham. This is what I do to get my feeders moving. If you want to train your cham to eat out of a cup, don't feed him for a day. The next morning, he should be willing to eat a bug. I hold the cup firmly and try not to move, so my cham feels secure, then he focuses on the feeders and gets them. Good luck!

 

[pssh]

Starve them for a few days. They'll eat the roaches when they're hungry enough.

 

[Pure]

Starve them for a few days. They'll eat the roaches when they're hungry enough.

Yep, starve them. They will eat when they are hungry enough. If after a few days they still refuse the roaches, wait a few more. I wouldn't give in unless I noticed my cham becoming visibly thin, and with a healthy adult cham this can take a really long time.

 

[heloderm]

I have 100 eggs in the incubator and one of my females is gravid. My plan is to keep back a ton of them and get them started on roaches from the get go. These adults are a pain in the butt! I gave in today and put a bunch of crickets in the enclosure. I guess after today I'll starve them a bit. I have had the problem of the chams falling into the bins and not being able to get out. I'm going to add a branch across the bin so they can sit on that and feed and get out if need be. I went ahead and wormed them as well which I hope will help. What size cups are people using? I really hope I don't have this problem with the panthers I have coming on monday, they will be housed in my garage in an open air type enclosure.

John

 

[pssh]

I cut off the bottom of a half gallon milk jug so it's about 6 or so inches tall. With crickets I get minimal escapees and any that do escape get eaten immediately. The crickets seem to settle down pretty quickly and stop trying to jump. Also, making holes in the bottom or replacing it with mesh will stop any water build up from misting.

 

[Julirs]

I have 100 eggs in the incubator and one of my females is gravid. My plan is to keep back a ton of them and get them started on roaches from the get go. These adults are a pain in the butt! I gave in today and put a bunch of crickets in the enclosure. I guess after today I'll starve them a bit. I have had the problem of the chams falling into the bins and not being able to get out. I'm going to add a branch across the bin so they can sit on that and feed and get out if need be. I went ahead and wormed them as well which I hope will help. What size cups are people using? I really hope I don't have this problem with the panthers I have coming on monday, they will be housed in my garage in an open air type enclosure.

John

Free feeding any cham is a bad idea. A fat cham is short for this world. Could you explain your open air type enclosure idea?

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

If you have a food dish with roaches and only a few free ranging roaches he will eventually eat them when he gets hungry enough. I have one chameleon that is very fussy and will take 5 and sometimes 7 days before he trys the new unfamiliar food. It all depends on the cham. But if ther is food in there besides roaches for a few days he will realize the crickets aren't coming backa dn he has to eat them. It is very important to not feed him even one cricket if you are trying this method because even one will put you back on square one. Good luck.



Justin