On a cricket strike???

[maryanne27]

So, I finally had Rory eating after his vet appointment a week and a half ago. I mixed up a new gutload and got cod liver oil to drip on one feed each day for a while to get his vitamin A back up.

Now he won't eat crickets. He will eat butterworms and maybe some super worms if I hold it out for him. I check his temps as often as possible, and they seem ok - maybe even a bit towards the higher side of 70s for the ambient temp because some of the crickets end up dying. But Rory just kind of chills throughout the day... doesn't hunt down the crickets, even if they are right in front of him.
Not really sure what is going on. I am still giving him antibiotic injections from the vet for his sore throat. Is that possibly why he is not going for crunchy crickets? If he is just sick of crickets, what else can I give him that I can gutload appropriately, or something that has all the nutrients he needs?

 

[xraygirl]

Have you tried giving him some silkworms or hornworms? They're nice and soft, and the hornworms are great for hydration. Be careful with the butterworms, they're like Krispy Kreme donuts for chameleons.

 

[maryanne27]

Have you tried giving him some silkworms or hornworms? They're nice and soft, and the hornworms are great for hydration. Be careful with the butterworms, they're like Krispy Kreme donuts for chameleons.

I did try those before... I was going to order more but thought I would check out what more experienced people thought before I did. Will I be able to feed them a gutload? I know silk and hornworms each have a particular food, but if Rory doesn't eat these crickets, I don't know how else to get his nutrients in him!
Also, thanks for the heads-up on the butterworms.... no wonder he likes them so much! Hahaha. We will be cutting back today!

 

[jannb]

Tate doesn't care much for crickets any more either. Every now and then I can get him to eat one or two if I hand feed them. I would try to get him off the antibiotic. He's been on that for awhile. I'm not a vet but I've never heard of a Cham having a sore throat.

 

[Hakai]

Tate doesn't care much for crickets any more either. Every now and then I can get him to eat one or two if I hand feed them. I would try to get him off the antibiotic. He's been on that for awhile. I'm not a vet but I've never heard of a Cham having a sore throat.

If your cham won't eat crickets, what's another good staple diet?

 

[Cami2013]

Tate doesn't care much for crickets any more either. Every now and then I can get him to eat one or two if I hand feed them. I would try to get him off the antibiotic. He's been on that for awhile. I'm not a vet but I've never heard of a Cham having a sore throat.

I was wondering how one would know that a cham has a sore throat???

 

[kdc5019]

Im not a vet but I agree I have never heard of a cham having a "sore throat".

When chams are on meds, their appetites totally change, so that could be part of the problem.

All chams go on hunger strikes, it happens, the best thing to do is to introduce variability in what you offer them. My staples are crickers, dubia and silkworms.

They get the occational superworm and hornworm as treats.

Experiement with what feeders your little guy enjoys. All my chams are different, some wont touch a Dubia when others will jump off a branch just to snag one. So find what your cham enjoys and provide it for them! Keeping in mind to have a proper gutloaded diet.

 

[jannb]

If your cham won't eat crickets, what's another good staple diet?

I really don't use a staple but roaches would be an ok staple. Tate eats a large variety of worms (horns, silks, butter and supers). He also eats several stick bugs and a praying mantis each week and a couple crickets. I offer him food every other day since he will be a year old this month. After 8 months or so they can get bored with food if offered everyday.