How much does your cham eat?

[lauriexcurtis]

Lately, within the last three weeks, it seems like my six-month old veiled is much more hungry than usual. I used to feed him five crickets a day, then I started giving him about ten. But since November I can tell he's been much more hungry bc he'll try to eat the substrate, which he never did before. And he also continues to try to "hunt" after I've already fed him about five crickets.
So essentially I've been feeding him about fifteen crickets a day lately. He seems insatiable lol. Maybe it's just a growth spurt? How much does/did your cham eat at about 6 months old?

 

[Dawniegirl]

Not sure how much this will help

My Panter Cham is just about 6 months, 1 week shy. He eats about 12 crickets daily about 1/2 inch in size. I was told to give him 10-12 crickets daily but I've seen that people will even give up to 15 daily. I see you have a veiled & I'm not sure if it would be the same amount for those or not, sorry. I also saw you already did the help form w/ another thread, I was going to suggest it. I was wondering about the the substrate you mentioned in this thread. Most people on here & the breeder I got my Panter Cham from said you should keep the cage bare at the bottom, NO substrate. Maybe I'm wrong w/ veiled but I thought veiled owners as well suggested to keep it bare. They can ingest it trying to eat their food & it can be a big problem. Also the bacteria issue is a problem w/ substrate.
What I've been trying to find out about is worms. Are you feeding those? I have now started Diego on worms & I'm trying to figure out a good amount on each of those. It's a learning process for us new owners. At first he turned his nose up at them & now loves them .

 

[lauriexcurtis]

My Panter Cham is just about 6 months, 1 week shy. He eats about 12 crickets daily about 1/2 inch in size. I was told to give him 10-12 crickets daily but I've seen that people will even give up to 15 daily. I see you have a veiled & I'm not sure if it would be the same amount for those or not, sorry. I also saw you already did the help form w/ another thread, I was going to suggest it. I was wondering about the the substrate you mentioned in this thread. Most people on here & the breeder I got my Panter Cham from said you should keep the cage bare at the bottom, NO substrate. Maybe I'm wrong w/ veiled but I thought veiled owners as well suggested to keep it bare. They can ingest it trying to eat their food & it can be a big problem. Also the bacteria issue is a problem w/ substrate.
What I've been trying to find out about is worms. Are you feeding those? I have now started Diego on worms & I'm trying to figure out a good amount on each of those. It's a learning process for us new owners. At first he turned his nose up at them & now loves them .

Yeah, I guess I'll continue to feed him about 15 as long he's enjoying it and acting healthy.
I've always used coconut substrate in the floor of his cage. But I also have heard that it's more of a hassle with bacteria and accidental ingestion and stuff. I considered just putting something like a reptile carpet down there instead. Do you think that'd be a good idea?
I tried giving Tesla superworms a couple times, but I think those may have been too big for him. So I feed him small mealworms as a snack sometimes, usually about five at a time. I really had just been guessing on what would be an appropriate amount, but I really do think that my cham is very healthy lol. Even though I'm not exactly an expert at this stuff yet.

 

[carol5208]

Five crickets in my opinion is under feeding and the poor little fella was still hungry obviously. No substrate or carpet at all! you are much better off for clean up and sanitary reasons to leave the cage floor bare. You could put down paper towels if you want but as you said substrate and carpets holds water which can grow bacteria. At 6 months old I fed my cham atleast a dozen crickets a day.

 

[Jamelon]

my little girl whose almost 5 months old now eats alot haha at least 10 crickets and probably a couple of dubias a day, as soon as i put them in the cage around 10am she will chase after all of them haha. Ive heard that chameleons might eat substrate because they arent getting enough supplementation, just what ive read from other posts.

 

[lauriexcurtis]

Five crickets in my opinion is under feeding and the poor little fella was still hungry obviously. No substrate or carpet at all! you are much better off for clean up and sanitary reasons to leave the cage floor bare. You could put down paper towels if you want but as you said substrate and carpets holds water which can grow bacteria. At 6 months old I fed my cham atleast a dozen crickets a day.

Yeah the only reason I even fed him five a day when he was two months old (only for like three days) was because the store rep from Petsmart told me that he ate five a day. But as I did more research I immediately began feeding him about ten lol.
Now it's definitely at least 15 a day.
The reason I'd like to put repti-carpet down is because the bottom of this cage is a white piece of plastic essentially, and he would have NO traction whatsoever to the ground when hunting his food. I want him to at least have a surface to walk upon that isn't completely smooth.

 

[ghettomike]

I use the green carpet stuff in part of my chams enclosure and I like it alot, it looks good and can be put in the wash (or handwashed) and it comes out clean, it also soaks up the water nicely if a bit of a flood happens to occur.

 

[lauriexcurtis]

I use the green carpet stuff in part of my chams enclosure and I like it alot, it looks good and can be put in the wash (or handwashed) and it comes out clean, it also soaks up the water nicely if a bit of a flood happens to occur.

Thanks so much. I think I am going to invest in the green reptile carpet.

 

[Itwas]

The reason I'd like to put repti-carpet down is because the bottom of this cage is a white piece of plastic essentially, and he would have NO traction whatsoever to the ground when hunting his food. I want him to at least have a surface to walk upon that isn't completely smooth.

Do you have a problem walking over smooth surfaces? I suspect your cham wouldn't either and ive never seen my cham walking on the floor when hunting, he swings down from his plants. carpet will probably be fine but ive heard of chams claws getting ripped off after getting caught in the fabric, newspaper or paper towels will provide traction if needed and also be easier to clean.

 

[warpdrive]

For rookies or noobies I Suggest no substrate or carpet for many reasons.
Time to start looking into a dranage system if flooding happens.

They will be fine with a bare bottom. Easier to clean and keep the cham healthy.
Carpets don't dry fast enough if flooding happens and mold or other problems can be a health problem.

Harry

 

[ghettomike]

my approx 14 month old female veileds appetite seems to change regularily, sometimes she will eat lots and other times not so much, she even went a week without eating anything a while back and I still dont really know why. She gets fed every other day (occasionally every 3rd day) and on average eats about 7- 8 crix or 3-4 supers or 1-3 medium size dubia or 1-2 silkies/horns or 5-6 butters.

 

[draetish]

I didn't see it mentioned, but veileds are known to eat fruit and dark leafy veg like collard, turnip and dandelion greens and they are high in calcium. You might want to try some to see. Google which ones are high in calcium and low in phosphorus. You do not want to feed spinach or brocoli as it binds the calcium.