jack ate his first pinkie mouse!!

[Tifanydalpont]

i know it's bad to feed often..is once a month ok...i gave him it to get a little prtien and iron..i know too much protein causes Gout...he first time i tried he kinda looked at me like"what the hell it that!lol...yay he's all growed up know his about 3 years old know

 

[chameleonkev]

The correct protein wont cause gout, it's animal protein that will witch a pinkie will have, it won't cause any problems but your just not really gaining anything from it, I can see why you would feed one to a female that has not long layed but I wouldn't really bother for a male tbh but each to there own

 

[Alexl]

In my opinion, honestly, a pinkie should not be part of chameleon food at all. Not once a month, not twice a year. They're insectivores, not carnivores. And thinking about chameleons beeing very sensitive to high protein intake, I would disadvice anyone from feeding newborn mammals as well. And I'm really sure it will cause problems feeding mouse offspring that often, no matter if it's a female chameleon or a male. Even a female who layed eggs should not get one big "protein bomb", but normal insect imagos to cover nutritional requirements.

 

[Tifanydalpont]

he's a male

 

[Tifanydalpont]

i read a lot of chameleon veiled websites that say that its ok to feed mice as well as small lizaders.. i nature they eat what ever they can..if they where wild im sure they'd eat there own younge if it was around.. as well as birds and anything they came across???

 

[Alexl]

. i nature they eat what ever they can.

Yes, of cause - and in nature there will be weeks without any food. Do you imitate this situation in chameleon keeping, too? And does your chameleon walk same long distances a day as a wild one can? I'm sure he doesn't, cause our cages can't offer that space. Gout is a problem (and not the only one) "produced" by us humans in chameleons by keeping them in cages. So we need to pay attention, restrict feeding and improve keeping to prevent any "self-made" diseases. Our problem patients in keeping are mostly overfed and not starving chameleons.

And we as keepers want our pets to live a long life. Nature doesn't care about one chameleon more or less. I'm sure any bigger chameleon would catch a little bird if it had the opportunity. But that's nothing we should therefore add into regular daily (or monthly ) feeding at home as long as we do not copy all those others circumstances existing in wilderness. I'm even sure a pinkie once a lifetime in a restrict fed chameleon will not harm. But most chameleons aren't restrictively fed and those fat bombs given regularly may just be the last straw.

 

[Tifanydalpont]

i understanf i just wanted to provide him with all types foods..i dont think ill so this again i also have a 5 year old pixies frog who can eat pinkies once a month so i bought two since i read its ok for chamys aswell. Ill just stick with the silks,horned, supers and cricket... just want to know if iron and protien was need once in a while... i saved jack from mbd when i got him at2 months old just trying to provide the best

Also i leave his cage open during the day to explore and a tree next to his cage...about a year ago i couldnt stand him pacing back and forth rubbing his face trying to get out.. so he does what he wants and hasnt gone antwhere else but the 7 foot tree next to his cage

 

[Tifanydalpont]

its just hard now feeding him ....he wont eat crickets the just crawl all over him like their not there.each month i'll get silks, and horned once he gets hungry enough he'll eat those thats $30..he wont eat butters or phonix worms..which sucks they end up turning into weird black flys and i get yelled by my boyfriend and them flying around the house... but hee LOOOVEs his super whick i know are bad.. i feed the calcium gel and carrots to somewhat gut load them..now that his 3 year i feed him every 2 days

 

[Alexl]

i feed him every 2 days

How many feeders do you offer every two days? Sounds to me it might be somewhat too much for your guy.

 

[Tifanydalpont]

How many feeders do you offer every two days? Sounds to me it might be somewhat too much for your guy.

every other day i offer food..... either he'll eat it or he wont... sometimes a few days will go by and he doesn't eat whats in his cup..he gets bored a lot

 

[justjumpit621]

have you tried dubias?

 

[ibdragons]

Don't feed him for a few days.then put one or two crickets in the cage he will eat the crickets . Just don't give in ,he will eat them . Supers are not bad just not to many ,meal worms are not good for small chameleons.

 

[Sweetpea70]

PetDealer

I had a pet dealer I bought a mated pair of Jacksons from years ago tell me to feed em pinkies. A month or two later I had to put the male in a freezer cause my vet said his interestines were impacted and the surgery to remove it wouldnt garuntee the little guy would live. He said the freezer was the most "humane" thing to do. IMO STAY AWAY from pinkies. I am happy to say that this douchebag that sold me that mated pair has since gone out of buisness. The female had mouth rot at purchase and convinently he or his wife wouldnt return my calls. I missed the mouth rot being new to reptiles and chameleons at the time (shame on me) but over all he was a douchebag by dodging my calls.

 

[kinyonga]

Freezing a chameleon is not considered a humane way to kill it. Please don't use that method again.

 

[carol5208]

the most humane thing you can do for your chameleon if it is suffering is to take him to a vet and have him euthanized like a dog.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Freezing causes ice crystals to form in the brain before they die, which is painful to the chameleon.

 

[tago]

I dont see anything wrong with it. In the wild they will eat anything that they can small birds and even small lizards. So one pinky wont hurt him i wouldnt do it ones a month tho that might be to much.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

I dont see anything wrong with it. In the wild they will eat anything that they can small birds and even small lizards. So one pinky wont hurt him i wouldnt do it ones a month tho that might be to much.

It should only be done once a year.

 

[djfishygillz]

I had a pet dealer I bought a mated pair of Jacksons from years ago tell me to feed em pinkies. A month or two later I had to put the male in a freezer cause my vet said his interestines were impacted and the surgery to remove it wouldnt garuntee the little guy would live. He said the freezer was the most "humane" thing to do. IMO STAY AWAY from pinkies. I am happy to say that this douchebag that sold me that mated pair has since gone out of buisness. The female had mouth rot at purchase and convinently he or his wife wouldnt return my calls. I missed the mouth rot being new to reptiles and chameleons at the time (shame on me) but over all he was a douchebag by dodging my calls.

Yeah i wouldnt freeze buy that's not my point. If this person who sold you the chameleons thought you could feed pinkies regularly then they probably also sucked in all other aspects of chameleon care. So my point is that all the problems with the chameleons you purchased was that the lighting was probably bad, supplementing, hygiene and overall care were the problem. A healthy chameleon can digest a small pinky I would assume but a sick one like the ones you received, that would be a death sentence. But yeah that guy sounds like scum. Do you have his or her name?

 

[Tifanydalpont]

thank you!!

I dont see anything wrong with it. In the wild they will eat anything that they can small birds and even small lizards. So one pinky wont hurt him i wouldnt do it ones a month tho that might be to much.

I'm not planning on doing it often..i just wanted him to try eatting different things for the nutrients. i'm not try to harm him what so ever!!!