He hates the cup feeding, lol

B

buick455

New Member
Ok, so I decided to start cup feeding last week (4-5 days ago). Mainly b/c I don’t think my lil dude is the best gymnast & he tries to climb on air when in a hurry...

The first day was great I dropped in his crix (8) and he walked over and got them, but I learned that 1 in the cup at a time would be a better idea (he would zap one and knock out another).

So the second day I dropped in 1 and he just looked at me and didn’t move, so I put in another, still sat there, put in 1 more making it 3 in the cup & he walked over and got them and then one at a time after that.

3rd & 4th days... LOL...
Well day 3 was a disaster, he just wouldn’t go near the cup at all... I ended up leaving his food in it and walked away... 5 min later I hear him in his tree hunting & the cups leaning over... :rolleyes:

Day 4... I just dropped all the crix in thinking he would repeat the day before feedings and walked about 10-15' away and watched him... he waited a min... Walked over... Tipped the cup out then hunted them down :eek: I think he planned it that way, he doesn’t want them in that silly cup, and he wants the thrill of the kill I guess...

Is this type of behavior normal for WC chams? I would think a buffet would be more relaxing for him, lol..
 
Most WC chams don't take well to cup feeding. What might help (since he actually tried it a few times) is to do the milk carton feeder method. Look up milk carton feeder in the search. It's cup feeding with the fun of free range! :)
 
renzo0684 said:
How old is your chame and how big is your cage?
Click to expand...

not sure of his age.. hes about 5" - 5.5" STV. His cage is 2' x 2' x 3' (few inches bigger then that b/c its all 2x4 framed)

pssh said:
Most WC chams don't take well to cup feeding. What might help (since he actually tried it a few times) is to do the milk carton feeder method. Look up milk carton feeder in the search. It's cup feeding with the fun of free range! :)
Click to expand...

I thought he would go right to cup feeding without a problem since he will take mealworms from my hand or off a plate. I found the youtube video. It looks like a great idea.. going to hunt down the materials now, might have to drink alot of milk though :D
 
I suggest using superwoms instead of meal worm unless they are fed very sparingly. They have the potential to cause impaction if fed regularly.

Good luck with your milk!
 
How about just keep free ranging your feeders:) Sounds like he is eager to snatch those feeders (in a hurry and climbing on air) which is good for a WC cham. Im not so sure why people are hell bent on cup feeding:confused: You want your cham to be active. After it knows it doesnt have to do anything but sit beside the cup and look pretty to get food that is most likely what it will spend most of its time doing. How much fun is it to watch your cham eat out of a cup anyway. I find it much more interesting and natural to watch them go crazy and track the feeders down:D

What species is your cham?
 
I think people like to cup feed because of the escaped crickets eating your chameleon thing. I prefer to cup feed when I can't watch them eat all the bugs. Free range is more fun to watch, but where's the fun when you can't? :) I also like to hand feed a few a day, but I try to get him to move a bit in the process. :D
 
pssh said:
I suggest using superwoms instead of meal worm unless they are fed very sparingly. They have the potential to cause impaction if fed regularly.

Good luck with your milk!
Click to expand...

I have only been giving him 1-2 every 3 days along side a main course of 5-7 crix (to change it up a bit). I (tried to get/might have got) supers from my local pet store. When I got them home I thought they looked like the meals my brother got me. I think they sold me meals instead (honestly, I don’t know if they know the diff, first time buying them for me). My local Pet Shops kind of lack in the feeder dept :rolleyes: Is there a visible difference?

Cainschams said:
How about just keep free ranging your feeders:) Sounds like he is eager to snatch those feeders (in a hurry and climbing on air) which is good for a WC cham. Im not so sure why people are hell bent on cup feeding:confused: You want your cham to be active. After it knows it doesnt have to do anything but sit beside the cup and look pretty to get food that is most likely what it will spend most of its time doing. How much fun is it to watch your cham eat out of a cup anyway. I find it much more interesting and natural to watch them go crazy and track the feeders down:D

What species is your cham?
Click to expand...

He is a veiled.

Well my reason for trying the cup feeding right now is b/c his cage is a bit on the sparse and hard side. Last week he went for a flight and fell about 8"-9" through his ficus tree. If he had not grabbed on at the last second he would have fell about 2.5' to the hard formics floor of the cage (would have killed me to see that, b/c the 8" fall shocked me more then him). I have lots more plants for him outside breathing off the nursery fertilizers b4 they go into the cage. I hope I can make it a little soft if he happens to fall that far.


pssh said:
I also like to hand feed a few a day, but I try to get him to move a bit in the process. :D
Click to expand...

I don't even need to have food in my hand to get him to move... if I reach into the cage and touch his ficus or vines he comes at me tongue peeking out. If he was coming at me because he was pissed he would puff up right?
 
He'd probably be hissing too :)

supers and meal worms shouldn't be used more than once a week. Supers can be about two inches long and are a lot darker than meal worms. Look up a picture of superworms and compare it to the worms you have. Try buying silkworms, hornworms, stick bugs, Rollie pollies (sow bugs), cockroaches (much bigger, pleasant smelling, and less jumpy than crickets), flies (fruit, house, blue bottle), mantis, wax worms, Phoenix worms, and butter worms online. All are great for variety and they have different benefits to them all silkies, crickets, roaches, Phoenix worms, and hornworms can be fed regularly. The others are treats mainly.
 
My chameleons all hunt for their food except for one or two that just recently have taken to cup feeding. My adults and a few of my 3-5 month olds always have crickets or some type of feeder in there and they eat whenever they get teh urge to hunt. I know crickets can possibly hurt your cham while it sleeps but I'm pretty sure it would wake up and shake the bugs off or move if they were doing any real damage. I have never has cricket bites or anything one any of my cvhams, but then again thats just me. I'm sure people have had problems with it and that probably why everyone is cautious about it. It is nice putting the exact amount you want in and knowing how many were eaten though.
 
just kinda scanning... maybe someone said this... but he isn't gonna get too excited about one cricket in the cup... not enough movement to spark an interest. I use a tall cup so they can't jump out or get knocked out. Sometimes my chams grab 2-3 maybe even 4 crickets in one shot.... that tends to cause them to drop one... or one of the crickets gets away because it wasn't fully in the grips of the cham's mouth.
 
Phoenix worms usually come in quite a bit. At least 50-ish. Phoenix worms are small, so keep that in mind when buying them. They don't always catch the attention of large adult chameleons. They have high amounts of calcium so they're good for that!

Try buying silkworm eggs and a pound of food and grow them that way. Especially if it's still fairly warm where you are.
 
You will need at least one pound for about 100 worms. I made a 1/2lb bag and ran out and my works aren't even full grown... time to make some more.
 
well I ordered my Phoenix worms and Silks from Coastal b/c they are in my state. I guess we will see what he likes :D

pssh, I tried the milk carton feeder and it was great, but maybe to great. he was picking them off 2 at a time :eek: I was prayin he wouldnt choke, lol.. hes fine no issues, but it was 5 crix hown the hatch in less then a min. I would have a stomach ache (i feel sick just thinking about eating 1 cricket, lol), I hope he doesnt :eek:
 
Haha. Im glad he likes it! I have a chameleon that refuses to eat out of the milk carton cup/free range method and one that will only cup feed with a milk carton. Of course they both prefer free range, but I found it interesting that they are so picky. I've also found that the one who refuses the milk carton will eat from my hand, and the other one won't (so far) eat out of my hand.
 
I find there's a nice compromise between cup and free range feeding...

Instead of the smaller deli cup we tend to think of, try a plastic storage box with a perch running from the edge to a good "shooting position" over the feeders. Put some gutload in the bottom and several feeders. Your cham can climb to the rim of the box or onto the perch and hunt them as they move around beneath him. Few if any feeders get loose in the cage, the cham gets to use his tongue and coordination, more movement gets attention and excites him, and the feeders stay full of gutload until "served".
 
Carlton has the idea, you feed your feeders, provide a gathering/hiding place and they dont bother the lizard.
I wonder how many wild chameleons sit sleeping on the branches at night get bothered/bitten by insects? Very few i'd bet, since the bugs natural diet isnt chameleons and there is food elsewhere on offer.
Just limit the numbers in the confines of a cage ofcourse.

Think, it's not illegal. :)

The only real concern with freerange feeding is the cham/cage size ratio.
Tiny cham in a big cage will find it harder to catch food, chams arn't a fast predator. :)
 
jojackson said:
Just limit the numbers in the confines of a cage ofcourse.
Click to expand...

Right...too many feeders moving around together can confuse a cham who is trying to focus in on one to shoot. They will just sit mesmerized by all the motion. Why do prey animals tend to live in herds? Because all the motion tends to confuse predators.

Free range feeders in a cham cage can also lose thei gutload and dust pretty quickly once they hide. And, what are they going to eat? Bits of fecal matter, skin, plant soil, etc. Not what I want my chams eating.
 
what is his age

ha ha... I don't blame him its fun to sneak up on things but just tell the age and typ of cage and ill hellp
 
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