New veiled owner- questions

Amagi82

Amagi82

New Member
Hey everyone, I'm a new chameleon owner, and I have a few questions. I spent a large portion of the past month researching chameleons and care requirements, and just built a kick-ass enclosure. Last night we picked up our new little friend, a tiny little 3 month old veiled chameleon. :) I had an iguana when I was growing up, and I loved her, she was great. This is my first experience with a cham, and my first experience with crickets...

The first thing I've discovered is that my idea of how to feed him is grossly inadequate. The enclosure I made for him is 2ft by 3ft by 4ft high (which is huge for him right now), with aluminum screening on all sides, and I've got a Schefflera arboricola for him to climb on (which he ADORES). He's got a heat lamp at the top, and the UVB lamp is coming this afternoon. Anyway, the first problem I'm having is he likes to hang out in the top right corner of the cage, and the crickets like to hang out on the floor of the cage. He's nowhere near them. I was thinking about picking him up and placing him at the bottom where they're hanging out, but he's really skittish right now and I don't want to over-stress him. The second problem is that crickets are freaking incredible escape artists, and they keep on finding tiny cracks in the enclosure to escape out of (which we designed to be impenetrable btw, lol).

What do you recommend for improving his feeding arrangements?
 
A feeding cup should do the trick. Mine is a bird bath container. It's not as deep as it could be (now that I'm feeding large crickets now). There are occasional escapees but Gizmo's big enough to hunt them down real quick.

There are a lot of pictures of forum members DIY feeder cups. Do a search and you'll get some good ideas.
 

Attachments

  • FeederCup.JPG
    FeederCup.JPG
    168.1 KB · Views: 156
mmkay, I'll work on setting up a plastic cup for him near his favorite spot.

I'll also get some pictures this evening for further critiquing.
 
ya definitley cup feed.. if the cage is too big cup feed is the only way... because i got my panther and three months and my cage is 3 ft by 2 ft, big for a chameleon at 3 months, well i used the cup to feed, also if you get tweezers, you can put the crickets in front of him, when he's starving, usually he can just eat then, till he gets older to hunt the crickets down
 
Cup feeding also gives you a better idea of how much they are eating too. Amy, my new veiled, is very shy and jumpy still and I know she wouldn't venture down to the floor to hunt, so I cup fed right from the day I got her. She found the food straight away! She's happy as she knows where the food is, and i'm happy as there are no roaming crix to bother her or me (I hate them)!:D If you always put the cup in the same place they will be waiting for food in the morning! Amy has been on her 'food vine' every morning so far!
 
Two issues with cup feeding so far- one, some crickets are really jumpy and leap out (the cup is about 2" deep), and two, I think I need a non-clear cup, because half the time he climbs under the cup, only to look up at the bugs and wonder why there's this invisible plastic forcefield preventing him from eating dinner.
 
Amagi82 said:
Two issues with cup feeding so far- one, some crickets are really jumpy and leap out (the cup is about 2" deep), and two, I think I need a non-clear cup, because half the time he climbs under the cup, only to look up at the bugs and wonder why there's this invisible plastic forcefield preventing him from eating dinner.
Click to expand...

Go with a deeper cup, one that will allow him to reach them, but deep enough so they can't jump out. Clear cups won't work usually because it will confuse the Cham.

most people suggest a brown/green cup that isn't shiny.

hope that helps!
 
If a feeding cup doesn't do the trick, you can produce a feeding tray that's encircles the edge of the inner cage like a reverse mote. The crickets will move around more and stimulate his appetite. But since yours is a veiled, you shouldn't have a problem with feeding cups, there's a few panther chams (including myself) who are unable to get ours to eat out of a cup. Mine loves free-roaming insects and refuses to eat out of a cup.
 
Amagi82 said:
Two issues with cup feeding so far- one, some crickets are really jumpy and leap out (the cup is about 2" deep), and two, I think I need a non-clear cup, because half the time he climbs under the cup, only to look up at the bugs and wonder why there's this invisible plastic forcefield preventing him from eating dinner.
Click to expand...

2 inches is fine. I find that if you cover the dish as soon as they are put in, they usually settle down and seem to forget they can jump. Keep it covered until it is put into the enclosure. Jarring the cup can startle them into jumping.

Also if you cup feed in the same dish you use to dust them. You need to take your finger and wipe the inside of the cup. For some reason the dust residue gives them something to get a foot hold on, allowing them to climb out. :mad:

All I use is a 2 inch deep ceramic feeding dish at the bottom of my veild's cage. 1 may escape every few days, but for the most part they stay put.
 
Amagi82 Congrats on your New Cham, and well done for researching! :)

Crickets are a common problem (jumping/escaping), so at this stage while your cham is small,
you have a few options.

1. A deeper cup~ This may not be satisfactory since your cham is still smallish (it wont be for long)
2. If your not squeamish or hesistant to, you can pull the larger jumping legs off the crickets. (Personally I think thats a bit cruel and certainly a nuiscance)
3. [best option] If you will feed your Cham at the same time each day, at the same place each day, (a shallow cup suspended near the basking/fav spot/vine is great) then you use the cooling method.

This simply entails refridgerating your chams breakfast crickets in a container in the fridge. Crickets and other insects, much like reptiles, will go into a state of torpor in cold conditions and cannot move.
You will need to experiement a little till you find just the right timing. A few minutes makes them slow, but a few too many minutes makes them dead! The cham wont be interested in non moving insects.
After cooling the crickets till they are barely moving, add them to the cup for your chameleon. As they warm up (this is why near the basking spot is good) they begin to move and will attract your chams attention.

Note: I beleive many folks initial problems with feeder cups is not that they are clear but rather presented poorly. Ive found ensuring the cup is suspended so the rim is below the vine/perch, means the cham can look down into it, rather than zap stupidly at the sides.
I've had much success with this method.

best wishes :)
 
Thanks for all your helpful comments everyone. :)

I'm heading to Home Depot tonight... I'll see what I can find for him.


Oh, and we just named him Vaarsuvius. Hopefully that makes sense to a few of you. :)
 
make one of these. It is cheap and lasts forever.. and the crickets never jump out. Lets them climb the sides to get your chameleon interested, too.
 
I think they meant to post the milk carton with the front cut out and screen glued to the inside of it. There is a video on youtube for it....When I get off work Ill look for it and post it on here!!

It was easier to find than i planned here ya go!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_od47TlbXA

Ps. you can pick up screen at walmart for $6 and its ALOT of screen!! perfect for making containers for all your bugs!
 
Well, we set up another dish near his favorite spot, this one opaque, and appropriately sized. We're really kinda worried about him- we haven't been able to get him to eat in the last 2 days. Food just skitters around as he ignores it. Will they starve themselves, or will they finally decide to eat if they get hungry enough? I want the best for him. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Baby Veiled Chameleon basking/lighting help
Replies
16
Views
1K
Dexter.
D
groggow
Reptibreeze xl and cats
Replies
12
Views
912
groggow
groggow
Gecky
Why is he trying to escape?
Replies
9
Views
791
Beman
Beman
S
New Keeper Questions...
Replies
3
Views
479
ScalesbyKyn
S
Amadeus_peasant
NEW MOON REPTILES
Replies
12
Views
856
Amadeus_peasant
Amadeus_peasant
Back
Top Bottom