Sneaky Veiled

[beenpanced]

Okay so today I was cleaning out my cham's cage and before I got started I placed him on a ficus I have on my porch so he wouldn't get stressed. While I was cleaning I noticed he had something sticking out of his mouth. Upon closer inspection I figured out that the little booger ate a small Green Anole that must have gotten to close, I could tell cause the back legs and tail were sticking out (I live in Florida so those Anole's are EVERYWHERE). Now I know that I should def. keep an eye out for parasites, but do I have anything else to worry about? I don't plain on feeding him Anole's but I do plan on introducing Pinky Mice eventually. He's 7 months old so he had no problem getting it down.

 

[hawaiianice99]

you plan on feeding pinkys? on a casual basis?

*now im interested in what everybody else is going to think about this, i will have to keep my eye on this thread.

 

[Kat77]

I haven't done it myself, but I know several people who feed their chameleons, veileds specifially, pinkies occasionally. From what I have heard, there is no harm in this as long as it remains seldom and does not become a regular thing. I've also heard pinkies are good for getting chams to come off of hunger strikes.

As for that anole, you may want to get a fecal done on your cham..sneaky little guy!

 

[wendysjungle]

Oh, this is one of the main reasons I get so paranoid when I take Joyce outside! She is such a pig, I'm sure she would try to scarf down one of the wild swallows out there if she could open her mouth that wide!

Yeah, I second the idea that you should get a fecal done, but other than that you probably don't have much to worry about. Somebody posted a U-Tube video a couple weeks ago of a cham eating a hummingbird! Guess they can digest more than we realize.

I've also heard people mention pinkies, several did so on that video thread, but I have never tried it either. Hopefully one of the senior members will chime in as far as how frequently something like that should be done.

 

[luckykarma]

Somebody posted a U-Tube video a couple weeks ago of a cham eating a hummingbird! Guess they can digest more than we realize.
.

Do you have a link for that? I'd love to see it. I did a search and nothing came up.

 

[BocaJan]

I feed my adult a pinkie about every 2 weeks. That is how often I go to the reptile store. I was told that since pinkies are not their regular food they sometimes have trouble digesting the bones. I can't see how a soft pinkie bone would be bad, but every time I give him one I watch his poop and behavior. He has never had an issue, in fact, he LOVES to eat them. He makes a mad dash to his feeding cup and no matter what else is in there he snarfs it down right away.

 

[luckykarma]

I used to give my veil pinkies. One of his sons that a friend has goes crazy for them. We gave him that veil which was about a year and half old - completely past its growth. One month later we went to visit him and asked where "Sumo" was. He pointed to the cage and I asked again. He pointed again. He was almost twice as big.

Anyone know if Panthers eat pinkies?

 

[wendysjungle]

Do you have a link for that? I'd love to see it. I did a search and nothing came up.

I can't seem to find the thread again, maybe on another forum?? There is a member here who has photos of his cham eating a hummingbird, though, the original post about it is here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/small-birds-141/

I'll let you know if I find that video again...

 

[topknot20]

I fed my old male cham that I had a few years back an anole and he never had any problems with it at all. if fact, he went right after it without hesitation!!! I just did it to see if they would eat them, if he hadnt i was just going to keep him.

But, Veilds being the omnivores they are probably eat small lizards and other small creatures when the opportunity arises. It wouldnt surprise me if they ate small baby birds too, if they came across a unattended nest or something.

You might want to keep an eye on him for parasites being that it was a wild anole though.

 

[chamlover]

I feed my veileds pinkies once in a great while. It is a great source of calcium and as long as you don't to do it too often or if they are too young there isn't a problem. Of course i think there is always more of an issure of parasites with pinkies than with crickets. I don't think most panthers can eat pinkies, at least you never really hear of any one doing it.

Debby

 

[beenpanced]

I was told that pinkies are great for Veiled's but not to over do it because they are really high in fat, which makes sense given that they mostly chomp down insects.
I'm not like freaking out about him eating the Anole but it was a new experience for me, as it must have been for him because he held the Anole in his mouth for a solid 3 minutes before he gobbled it up. He just kept looking around like he didn't know what to think. I snapped a pic with my phone but the image is terrible. It was funny though cause all you could see was a set of legs and a tail hanging out his mouth. Quite a site, for sure.