Feeding Schedule

[Fretfreak13]

Alright, help me out here.

I'm a college student and my home is about an hour away from campus. I was planning on getting my first cham at the end of this semester, however I'm a little at a loss at what I'm going to do with him when school starts up again. I come home every weekend for work, but I'm worried about feeding during the week. My mom wants nothing to do with him, so having someone feed him for me is out of the question.

Here is kind of my only option:

-Home Saturday, feed roaches, silkies.
-Home Sunday, feed roaches, silkies & dust and release a lot of crickets in cage.
-Gone Monday, no feed. (except loose crickets)
-Gone Tuesday, no feed. (except loose crickets)
-Come home after class Wednesday to feed roaches & silkies, clean out dead crickets/poop, release more freerange, dusted crickets.
-Gone Thursday, no feed. (except loose crickets)
-Gone Friday, no feed. (except loose crickets)

The cage will have a mist king and proper drainage so the crickets wont drown. By the time this happens, the cham will be about 10 months old. Is this at all possible? Is there a way to hopefully keep the loose crickets dusted longer? If this wont work I'll figure something else out, but this is the easiest option at the moment. I may be able to persuade my boyfriend into a new, googly-eyed roomate. He only lives ten minutes from campus, rather than an hour, but I would much rather the cham stay at my own home.

Please offer your input and any further suggestions.

 

[DavidBuchan]

From your post.....I would firstly say I applaud your planning. You will be a great Chameleon keeper if you are this conscientious
Ok.....now for my opinion....you will be fine with a system similar to that one.
You will be always tweaking it anyway. Depending on what sort of insects you have in house at the time.
And depending on your chams favourites. And his appetite. And all sorts of things.......
So, for now - you are over-thinking it

 

[Fretfreak13]

Thank you!!! This was SERIOUSLY keeping me up at night (it was written at 2:30 am my time)! lol

I already have a vet for the little fella too. =)

Can you think of anything else besides the obvious (cage, supplements, etc) I can get for him before he arrives? Any noob advice?

 

[DavidBuchan]

Thank you!!! This was SERIOUSLY keeping me up at night (it was written at 2:30 am my time)! lol

I already have a vet for the little fella too. =)

Can you think of anything else besides the obvious (cage, supplements, etc) I can get for him before he arrives? Any noob advice?

My noob advice is to stay on this forum. Check out the chameleon resources. Read.......that's pretty much all you can do for now. Details will happen when you have the cham.....then you'll really worry =)
Welcome to the mad house.........the addictive world of chameleons.....

 

[Lovereps]

I hope that you are normally making all these trips home, so it won't become a source of resentment when you have to make the long drive.
I would not get a cham younger than 10 months.

Veileds and Panthers are hardier than many other species, which is one of the reasons they are popular.

Here is a good list of all that your cham will need:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/

I would be sure to setup everything before the cham arrives to be sure that his humidity and basking temperatures are where they need to be.

You may need to cover 2 or 3 sides of his cage with plastic sheeting in order to be able to maintain high enough humidity.
Chameleon safe live plants, thoroughly washed with dish soap and water, then thoroughly rinsed a few times will also help the humidity to remain at higher levels.
http://www.flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp

Tempting as it may be, don't skimp on cage size.
Chams require very large cages for their size.
This would be ideal:
http://www.diycages.com/15201/15243.html

One more good way to feed your cham in your absence is to put Blue Bottle Fly pupae into the cage to hatch on the days you're away.
The best plan is to refrigerate them all until a few days before needed, then take out more than you anticipate him needing. Put them in the cage in a smaller container, in a dry spot and they can hatch in a few days.
Here is one reliable source of them:
http://www.mantisplace.com/feederinsects.html

Crickets will chew on your cham as he sleeps unless you provide them with food.

Phoenixworms are a high calcium feeder that your cham will very likely enjoy.
Here is one source:
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

You should read about gutloading feeders to ensure they are as nutritious as possible for your cham:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

 

[Fretfreak13]

One more good way to feed your cham in your absence is to put Blue Bottle Fly pupae into the cage to hatch on the days you're away.
The best plan is to refrigerate them all until a few days before needed, then take out more than you anticipate him needing. Put them in the cage in a smaller container, in a dry spot and they can hatch in a few days.
Here is one reliable source of them:
http://www.mantisplace.com/feederinsects.html

I've read and knew pretty much all of that except this! I've been researching for a few months and that actually was the exact cage I was going to get, but I'm thinking I'm actually going to DIY a cage instead. The fly larvae is genious.

And yes, except the Wednesday trip I do go home normally on the weekends anyways. My job is closer to home...plus free laundry.