How many small crickets for adult male veiled Cham?

elissameck

New Member
My teen daughter has just inherited a male veiled chameleon around 1 year old from a friend who is moving overseas. He comes with a UV light, heat light, dripper, screened cage 18x18x36” and various vitamin powders, spray mister, etc. She’s been given instructions from her friend and feels pretty comfortable about it all. I am quite worried that we’re not really prepared. Her friend has taken care of him since getting him as a baby (last May) but certainly isn’t an expert.
She has been feeding him 4-5 crickets 2x daily (morning and afternoon). She only buys the small crickets as they don’t make noise. We would like to do the same as we live in a small flat so the box of crickets is under the cham’s table in my daughter’s bedroom.
But it seems to me from my brief reading that perhaps this isn’t what is expected for an older cham, and we think he’s just about 1 year old.

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on whether we can continue in this manner successfully? We’re also giving him some small diced bits of fruits/veggies using a list we found online about what’s safe. So far he has enjoyed some grape and cucumber but seems uninterested in carrots.

We have to go quite far from where we live to get insects, so hoping to only have to go purchase small crickets once monthly or so, and she has done that successfully by feeding them on slices of carrot and pieces of dog kibble and keeping them in a plastic bin with appropriate holes for air movement.

Appreciate any advice on this or anything else we should know! Thanks so much!
 

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Your UV light is not good. You need linera UV T5HO light. This one that you have does nothing.. Why dont you try dubias and superworms that are bigger size if you can get them, they dont make noise. I would day you should feed him 3-4 crickets every other day but they need to he medium size at least.
 
The most popular brand is reptisun for uvb lights. I recommend getting the t5 5.0 or he will develop metabolic bone disease and eventually die. Small crickets aren't the best choice for an adult, like said above, try getting dubia roaches or bigger crickets, banded crickets do not make noise so try to find those. Joshes frogs sells them on their website.
 
Hi and welcome! :) It looks like you’ve got a good start so far. In order to better help you make things perfect for your handsome scaly man, if you answer the questions below, someone can look them over and see if anything needs to be changed or improved.
As for feeding, he should be getting about 4-5 decent sized feeders once every other day, preferably once in the morning. Chameleons do like variety so I’m giving you the feeder sheet. The healthier you feed your bugs, the more nutritious they will be, so attaching ‘gutloading’ sheet too. No need for fruits, veggies...while veileds will eat them, all they need is live bugs.

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
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Your UV light is not good. You need linera UV T5HO light. This one that you have does nothing.. Why dont you try dubias and superworms that are bigger size if you can get them, they dont make noise. I would day you should feed him 3-4 crickets every other day but they need to he medium size at least.
I have a UVB 26W bulb, Komodo brand, in the lamp. My friends said that’s what they were recommended.
 
We are located in Hong Kong, so I think the variety of feeders available is a bit less. Lots of bird shops that have crickets for sale. Not great other options.
I understand that a bigger chameleon usually gets bigger crickets, but is there any reason why more quantity of smaller crickets wouldn’t suffice? Really not keen to go for bigger, but also don’t want our lovely new pet to be unhealthy!
 
Welcome to the forum!
I have a UVB 26W bulb, Komodo brand, in the lamp. My friends said that’s what they were recommended.
It may have been recommended, but I agree that is incorrect information. Recommendations from pet stores are often incorrect or out-of-date. I can also see several other things about the enclosure that could be troublesome.

Please answer the questions MissSkittles posted above. It's pretty standard stuff, and will help us help you to provide the best and healthiest habitat for your chameleon.
 
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