panther chameleon is picky with his food

[jelayne.ann]

Hi!! I was just wondering if i could get some advice with my chameleons eating. He is about 4 months old and he is very picky with his eating. He will only eat crickets, mealworms and superworms. (I know those aren’t the best feeders but it’s all he will eat) I’ve offered him dubia roaches, waxworms and black soldier fly larvae but he’s just not interested. Is there anything i can do to entice him to eat it? Another problem i’ve been having is that he won’t cup feed. I’m not sure if it’s just because he’s still too young or if he’s scared of it. Do you have any advice on how i can start getting him to cup feed? Thanks!!

 

[jamest0o0]

Hes addicted to those feeders, that's why he's not eating anything else. They shouldn't be offered at all until he's back to regularly accepting crickets and/or roaches

 

[jelayne.ann]

Hes addicted to those feeders, that's why he's not eating anything else. They shouldn't be offered at all until he's back to regularly accepting crickets and/or roaches

How should i get him to eat the roaches and the other bugs? He’s not interested in them at all and he’s still young so he needs more food

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I would cut back on those items you don't want him to eat, and keep offering those you do want him to eat. Once he's a little bigger, you can taper off the crickets while still offering the roaches.

Are you holding the cup in your hand, and does he know that's where the food is?

Some have tried transparent (e.g. glass) cups so he can see the feeders moving around.
Regardless, once he knows where the food is, he should move on it. If he won't eat from it while you're holding it yet, anchor it someplace until he figures it out. Time & patience.

 

[jelayne.ann]

I would cut back on those items you don't want him to eat, and keep offering those you do want him to eat. Once he's a little bigger, you can taper off the crickets while still offering the roaches.

Are you holding the cup in your hand, and does he know that's where the food is?

Some have tried transparent (e.g. glass) cups so he can see the feeders moving around.
Regardless, once he knows where the food is, he should move on it. If he won't eat from it while you're holding it yet, anchor it someplace until he figures it out. Time & patience.

Thank you so much for your advice!! I will definitely try that with the food. I have the feeding cup posted in his cage and he looks at the bugs inside it but he rarely eats from it. He mainly prefers when i free range the crickets but i don’t want to always be doing that. I leave the cup in there all day and i watch him to see if he eats but if he doesn’t i just end up free ranging them at the end of the day. Maybe he’s scared of the bowl?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Or maybe he's scared of you(?) Please don't take that the wrong way—these are tiny creatures compared to us, and it's natural for them to see us as predators. (It can be hard to relax & eat when there's a big scary thing glaring at you...)

Mine rarely eats while being watched—unless we're across the room. And he retreats whenever I fill his cup. However, we can still hear him eating; there's nothing quite like the sound of that tongue going ZAP!