I just witnessed Desmond eating a cricket!

[SaraSondermann]

I've had Desmond for half a week now, and I just witnessed her eating a cricket! She won't do it when I'm sitting there watching, so I moved further away, and I finally saw it for the first time! It was amazing! She stalked the cricket like a predator, her movements so precise. And then her tongue shot out so quickly! I've never seen a chameleon eat anything before, she always ate when I wasn't nearby. That was so cool!

Do your guys' chameleons eat/drink in front of you? Or do they usually not like being watched?

 

[jorgeduardo]

Haha congrats !! Yeah it is pretty amazing how they eat. Mine always eats in front of me and from my hand.. he just cannot resist his apetite hahaha he is always hungry

 

[Defianceofexistence]

Loki will eat his crickets in front of me on days that he decides Im not the devil.....but on days where I glance in his direction to many times, or do some other normal everyday thing that peeves him off, then he will glare at me until I walk away and then eat lol....he is my fickle little man.

I only see him drink if I happen to look into the terrarium at the perfect time....he prefers to hydrate in private

 

[Psychobunny]

Both of my veiled chams are like that too, they dont mind me watching them
eat, but not drink.
I cant remember ever seeing Smidget drink, and the last time I saw Smeagol
drink was when he was a baby.

Also, my jacksons is more likely to take food from my hand if I look away
Doesnt mind me watching him drink though!! go figure

When taming and hand feeding a new cham, I learned that they are more
likely to take the feeder from my hand if I turn my head away, or place it
on a branch in front of them.

 

[Salix]

My lizzy is the same way will eat anything with me watching but I've never seen her drink

 

[SaraSondermann]

It's good to hear that, I've never seen Desmond drink, but now I'm assuming it's just because she doesn't do it in front of me. I was so worried, though, that a couple days ago I handfed her to make her drink! I just held a thin stick in front of her with a droplet of water hanging off the bottom, and she took that repeatedly for quite some time! It was amazing to see her do this. But now I guess I didn't have anything to be worried about in the first place!

 

[broderp]

Jackson, my veiled cham could care less if I'm near or not. He eats AND drinks while we watch all the time.

I don't have a video of him eating (well yes I do, but publicly available) but I do have one of him drinking water:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JptISmf4V3k&feature=youtu.be

Who says you cant train them to use a water bottle?

For a reptile, Chams seem to have such a wide range of personalities and never seace to amaze! I find myself watching him all the time. They make chewing on bugs and worms almost tempting...lol.

 

[Deevo]

my cham is the same way. Although he will eat hand fed silk worms.

I saw him drink once the day I brought the poor thing home and then like you said once when I was looking at just the right time. He is a spoiled little cham just shy lol

http://instagram.com/p/lGe5RXqh-w/

 

[FrankTheTank]

My veiled ate all the time in front of me but only Ever drank in front of me when I first got him. I assume he was very thirsty. My panther bazzle drinks in front of me but doesn't like me to watch him eating. They all have their own quirks though. Glad you finally got to see it though. It is truly amazing to watch them eat!

 

[maven]

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one whose cham refuses to drink in front of them. My panther, Charmander, has no problem eating in front of me. But in the few months I've had him I've only ever managed to catch him drinking once. Since his urates are nice and white I haven't had any fear of dehydration, but it is nice to know that he isn't the only "private drinker".

 

[ir0k]

yea, my female panther is a little shy about eating in front of me. but like you did, if I move a little further back or obstruct her view by hiding behind a vine I see her eat. but my male, dang, he don't give a crud. he starts the stalking process as soon as the crickets enter the cage. Its all personality I think.

as for the drinking, I only see both my chams lick braches and leaves, I've never seem the drink from a actually dripper or drip of water. but, as long as their urates are white, everything (including me) is happy

 

[DirtyDubbz]

Next step hand feeding did you ever get her to the vet?