I think my cham is a pig

krknieriem

New Member
Ok so its the weekend and while I am at home I feel that if my chams food dish is empty I will just throw some in, so today my going on 5 month old cham has already eaten over 18 crix and 4 1 inch hornworms I found at a local petstore, I think now he is hunting down the wax worms I put in there, my question is since he is young should I just let him eat to his hearts content? When he is not eating he just sits halfway between the uv tube and his basking spot
 
lol...thats the sign of a healthy young one panther:)

but try not to "overfeed" you cham, what are the size of your crix? maybe a size upgrade might help and let be 10-15 crix a day. once he is close to year then try to feed every other day...there growth spurt slows down
 
well from what ive read for veilds and panthers they should eat 10-12 crickets a day until about six months than 6-8 a day until adult 12-13 months of age
they say its better to "grow" them slow at this age so that the bones develop slowly and strong.
 
They only have 2 sizes where I get my crix so I get the small which ranges from 1/4 to half, I ordered 500 at the 1/2 size which will be here by tuesday but I know for a fact he ate over 2 dozen yesterday, I also am a little concerned about the crix beeing too supplimented so I am just dusting the first dozen+ I put in there or should I dust them all?
 
no you dont have to dust even all of the first dozen and i swear if i let my veiled eat all he wanted id be feeding him all day lol
 
While almost all food goes into growth during the first year, there are other factors to consider. One being that bone development may not keep pace with growth if you pump your cham. too rapid growth will see your cham with poor bone density and at risk of MBD, bone fractures etc.
The other is that depending how much you feed, can lead to fatty deposits in the organs, the liver being one such, and in short, a very unhealthy lizard that wont live to its full life expectancy.
depending on the size of the crickets, thats more than enough. A cham that has to hunt food (not cup fed) will burn off excess calories by doing so, but none the less, its not a recommended practice.
If your cham is excessively ravenous, check your basking temp is not too high and/or consider getting it tested for parasites.
:)
 
They only have 2 sizes where I get my crix so I get the small which ranges from 1/4 to half, I ordered 500 at the 1/2 size which will be here by tuesday but I know for a fact he ate over 2 dozen yesterday, I also am a little concerned about the crix beeing too supplimented so I am just dusting the first dozen+ I put in there or should I dust them all?

no that seems fine...as long a they dont look like "ghosts" its good. and that explains the amount of crix he is eating, they seem small for a 5 month old...i started on 1/2-5/8 and feed 8-12 crix.
 
While almost all food goes into growth during the first year, there are other factors to consider. One being that bone development may not keep pace with growth if you pump your cham. too rapid growth will see your cham with poor bone density and at risk of MBD, bone fractures etc.
The other is that depending how much you feed, can lead to fatty deposits in the organs, the liver being one such, and in short, a very unhealthy lizard that wont live to its full life expectancy.
depending on the size of the crickets, thats more than enough. A cham that has to hunt food (not cup fed) will burn off excess calories by doing so, but none the less, its not a recommended practice.
If your cham is excessively ravenous, check your basking temp is not too high and/or consider getting it tested for parasites.
:)

ah, good point jj forgot about temps and maybe possible parasites...but wouldnt that lead to weight loss??? then again a fecal might be needed.
 
his urates and everything look fine from what Ive learned from reading this forum, basking temps are at 85 and the crix I cup feed because when I would dump them in alot of them would drown in the small puddle at the bottom by the drain, I may switch back to free range crx when the feeding size is bigger and hardier
 
honestly. your fellow is 5 months old. feed the little piggy. now once he has grown to an adult monitor his intake and make sure he doesnt get over weight but for now feed the little piggy!!!

id have a bunch of chameleons with mbd or dead. if feeding them like little piggies was harmful under a year old..
 
You could pile some large pebbles over the drain puddle *shrugs*
Smaller crickets is just as likely an explanation, this is no biggy, and my personal preference is for few more smaller crix ,than few less larger. particularly if their free ranged.
Crix grow rapidly if well fed regularly, if you buy bulk, you dont want them too big before your half way through. :)
soon you want to feed fewer slightly larger ones though, very small crix means not much gut content and more chitin per meal overall.
 
Actually I think my drain puddlge is caused by not drilling large enough holes on the floor of my enclosure, I plan on remedying that when I switch this plant out with a shefflera( I would have bought one in the first place but I thought they were poisonous)

Good point about the crix though, but I guess I will have to just see how it goes as I am new to all this and doing my best to research and pick things up as I go
 
You could pile some large pebbles over the drain puddle *shrugs*
Smaller crickets is just as likely an explanation, this is no biggy, and my personal preference is for few more smaller crix ,than few less larger. particularly if their free ranged.
Crix grow rapidly if well fed regularly, if you buy bulk, you dont want them too big before your half way through. :)
soon you want to feed fewer slightly larger ones though, very small crix means not much gut content and more chitin per meal overall.

very good points!
 
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