Help! Chameleon not eating crickets anymore :(

[SomeRandomPerson]

i really dont know what to do. my chameleon isnt eating crickets anymore and i just ordered 1000 yesterday..... i dont know if he's hungry or if he hates them. any advice? oh and i saw him eat like 1 cricket this morning before i went to school so....

Additional info: ive been feeding him mealworms for 2 weeks straight because i didnt have the money to buy crickets yet so i dont know if thats the problem why he isnt eating them because of the meal worms

 

[camimom]

i really dont know what to do. my chameleon isnt eating crickets anymore and i just ordered 1000 yesterday..... i dont know if he's hungry or if he hates them. any advice? oh and i saw him eat like 1 cricket this morning before i went to school so....

Additional info: ive been feeding him mealworms for 2 weeks straight because i didnt have the money to buy crickets yet so i dont know if thats the problem why he isnt eating them because of the meal worms

more than likely its the worms. hes on a hunger strike now cuz he wants worms.
i suggest just give him crickets, and NO worms, of any kind, and he will eat them eventally. he can go a few days without eating.

 

[ashley9333]

wow man meal worms r high in fat and should be fed as a treat like maybe 2-3 times a month. they can do harm to ur cham. google mealworms for chameleons i just click around and u can read what they could do

 

[SomeRandomPerson]

wow man meal worms r high in fat and should be fed as a treat like maybe 2-3 times a month. they can do harm to ur cham. google mealworms for chameleons i just click around and u can read what they could do

lol thats what i meant. i feed him like maybe 3 times a week

 

[camimom]

lol thats what i meant. i feed him like maybe 3 times a week

which is still too much.
hes on a hunger strike.
or hes constipated from the large amount of exo skeleoton hes injested.
stop feediing them. ONLY offer crickets, he will eventually eat.

 

[Sticktongue]

I agree with camimom. He wants worms! It seems like when people start feeding worms, most peoples chams eat less crickets after that. I personally had that happen this year as well. They can go quite a few days without eating (ive had a strike last a week before) but you can try what was suggested and give him only crickets, see if that works. But he still might want worms more often

 

[SomeRandomPerson]

sorry guys i just feel bad only just feding him crickets. i feel like i need to add some kind of variety the bugs

 

[ashley9333]

o also make sure you put the greens in there that will help you feel better about him not eating the crickets for a few day if he gets hungry he can munch on the greens then in a few days or so try a feww crickets

 

[SomeRandomPerson]

he can eat vegetables?! or do u mean plants? cause my plant is really messed up right now

 

[Skyebound]

Ok, so in an attempt to not repeat, but to clarify. From what I'm reading is my Verde should be eating more crickets than anything else? I ask cuz I seem to be having the same issue...he just doesn't seem interested in them.
Thanks.

 

[Olimpia]

I've never had a chameleon go on a hunger strike, because I offer variety all the time. Some weeks my chams may see more crickets a lot and then not at all for another one, because I also feed superworms, butterworms, hornworms, silkworms, 3 types of roaches, and sometimes wild caught insects from a safe location. So the average is about 3 different species of insects a week, if not more.

You can still offer variety, just not really mealworms. I don't think they're as awful as their reputation on this forum makes them sound, but they are sort of measly nutritionally. So if you can get your hands on any other feeder (like the kinds I mentioned) those would be better choices.

Also, veileds sometimes will eat veggies and fruit. Any fruit/veggie that is safe for gutloading is safe for feeding directly, like little slices of dark greens or strawberry, for example. You may have to wiggle them between your fingers to make them look alive though, chams take a little to recognize veggies as food.

Edited to add to Skybound's question: No, not really. No one insect should make up 80-90% of the diet, you need diversity to get really good nutrition. Many insects can be bred at home so it's cheaper, so it's easy to have at least 2-3 bugs breeding at home. Crickets actually have a really poor phosphorous to calcium ratio, which is why it's so important to supplement with calcium so the ratio is more even. So they're not excellent feeders, they're just easy to use. They're great as part of a varied diet. And this is especially easy/affordable with one or two chameleons, I think.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Blue bottle flies are excellent for breaking a hunger strikes, and theyre cheap too! And like Olimpia said variety seems to be the key to prevent this from happening.

 

[Elizadolots]

i really dont know what to do. my chameleon isnt eating crickets anymore and i just ordered 1000 yesterday..... i dont know if he's hungry or if he hates them. any advice? oh and i saw him eat like 1 cricket this morning before i went to school so....

Additional info: ive been feeding him mealworms for 2 weeks straight because i didnt have the money to buy crickets yet so i dont know if thats the problem why he isnt eating them because of the meal worms

Assuming your chameleon is an adult, you might want to just stop feeding him for a few days (like 3 or even 5) then re-introduce crickets.

sorry guys i just feel bad only just feding him crickets. i feel like i need to add some kind of variety the bugs

Variety can be good. Definitely do it if you can. Check around your community to see if there are others needing a variety of feeders. Maybe you can set up a feeder exchange: (A) buys the crickets, (B) buys the supers, (C) buys the silkworms....

he can eat vegetables?! or do u mean plants? cause my plant is really messed up right now

You can put veggies in just for him to eat, leafy stuff is probably best, or he might eat the plant..that's why you buy safe plants.

 

[SomeRandomPerson]

not really sure if hes an adult but i had him since april. ill make another topic next time for u guys to determine how old he is

 

[SomeRandomPerson]

its been like a week now. i cant get him to eat the freaking crickets.... havent gave him his powderings in weeks.....im kinda freaking out right now cause i spent 30$ on those crickets

 

[bennettandkelly]

We have a veiled chameleon

sorry guys i just feel bad only just feding him crickets. i feel like i need to add some kind of variety the bugs

We feed our veiled chameleon mostly crickets, but we give him 2 or 3 mealworms per day. If we don't have mealworms, he will get a silkworm, which he loves, but he doesn't like hornworms or butterworms. I see absolutely nothing wrong with giving him a treat daily & varying his diet. I think what you're doing is just fine. By the way, our chameleon is not fat or lazy, and doesn't have any indicators that there is a problem. It is true that they can go a couple days without eating; just make sure they have plenty of water.