Weight/ feeding question

[Gloriawood]

So back in April, Spaghetti was 85 grams. Last month he was 104. I posted pics and was told he looked a good weight. Obviously my feeding schedule has been helping him gain, but now I’m wondering what I need to cut it down to so that he maintains rather than gains. Currently he gets 4-5 bugs every other day. Mostly dubias. Hornworms about every other week. I’ve tried BSFL and he just doesn’t seem to like them. He will eat them once in a while. He does however LOVE chasing them down when they turn to flies. He really loves wax worms too, but I know they are high in fat so I use those as a treat.

 

[SteveH]

Normally at 10-12 months of age is a good time to cut back to every other day feedings of 3-5 insects. Prior to that feed as much as they will eat every day.

 

[Gloriawood]

Normally at 10-12 months of age is a good time to cut back to every other day feedings of 3-5 insects. Prior to that feed as much as they will eat every day.

He will be 2 in August. I adopted him from someone else in late February. He was previously only being fed mealworms. He had MBD, was treated and has recovered well. I just don’t want him getting too chunky now since he seems to be gaining weight

 

[elizaann2]

Great job!!!! He is so lucky to have you! I feed my male 3-5 feeders Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Saturday is my treat bug day.

 

[Gloriawood]

Great job!!!! He is so lucky to have you! I feed my male 3-5 feeders Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Saturday is my treat bug day.

thank you! I’ll try your schedule with him and see if he stops gaining.

 

[kinyonga]

This might help…

 

[Gloriawood]

This might help…

Thank you!!

 

[Beman]

Can you remind me... species please. And what is his length from tip of nose to vent?

Can you post a current picture?

 

[Gloriawood]

Can you remind me... species please. And what is his length from tip of nose to vent?

Can you post a current picture?

He is a veiled. I haven’t measured him but I can get that in a bit.

 

[Gloriawood]

Can you remind me... species please. And what is his length from tip of nose to vent?

Can you post a current picture?

6.5 inches

 

[Beman]

6.5 inches

So total length for him would be right about 13-14inches... A good weight for his size would be in that 100-120 grams range. Once he starts pushing over 125 then he starts to get too large for his total length. So size of feeder is going to matter here as well if your doing large dubia then 4-5 is going to be too much. I would take him to 3 feeders every other day and monitor him for the next month. See if he starts to maintain weight or if he is still putting on 10 grams a month. That will tell you if you need to take him down to 3 feeding days a week. This becomes a play with it to see what works. Beman is considered overweight at 15 inches long. It has not been easy getting him to lose weight the last few years. But to maintain 145 grams He only gets four 1/2 inch sized dubia 2 days a week. Then the occasional hornworm and black soldier flies as they hatch out. When I had him on 3 feeding days a week he was still gaining. So this really comes down to how your cham reacts to food intake. Beman is a fatty that if I am not careful with will shoot up in weight.

 

[elizaann2]

So total length for him would be right about 13-14inches... A good weight for his size would be in that 100-120 grams range. Once he starts pushing over 125 then he starts to get too large for his total length. So size of feeder is going to matter here as well if your doing large dubia then 4-5 is going to be too much. I would take him to 3 feeders every other day and monitor him for the next month. See if he starts to maintain weight or if he is still putting on 10 grams a month. That will tell you if you need to take him down to 3 feeding days a week. This becomes a play with it to see what works. Beman is considered overweight at 15 inches long. It has not been easy getting him to lose weight the last few years. But to maintain 145 grams He only gets four 1/2 inch sized dubia 2 days a week. Then the occasional hornworm and black soldier flies as they hatch out. When I had him on 3 feeding days a week he was still gaining. So this really comes down to how your cham reacts to food intake. Beman is a fatty that if I am not careful with will shoot up in weight.

This is good to know!

 

[Gloriawood]

So total length for him would be right about 13-14inches... A good weight for his size would be in that 100-120 grams range. Once he starts pushing over 125 then he starts to get too large for his total length. So size of feeder is going to matter here as well if your doing large dubia then 4-5 is going to be too much. I would take him to 3 feeders every other day and monitor him for the next month. See if he starts to maintain weight or if he is still putting on 10 grams a month. That will tell you if you need to take him down to 3 feeding days a week. This becomes a play with it to see what works. Beman is considered overweight at 15 inches long. It has not been easy getting him to lose weight the last few years. But to maintain 145 grams He only gets four 1/2 inch sized dubia 2 days a week. Then the occasional hornworm and black soldier flies as they hatch out. When I had him on 3 feeding days a week he was still gaining. So this really comes down to how your cham reacts to food intake. Beman is a fatty that if I am not careful with will shoot up in weight.

Thank you! This helps so much! I’ll start him on 3 tomorrow and monitor his weight