What can I feed a baby chameleon if I run out of crickets?

[Jonah S]

I ordered some crickets from Ghanns on Thursday night and paid for next day afternoon but they didn't arrive yesterday. They may still come today but I'm concerned that if they don't Larry may not have any crickets until Monday. I fed him what I had left this morning and they were the last small ones Petsmart had. I have seen him eat his pothos leaves but he hasn't touched any lettuce I put out for him. He is getting bigger at a good pace, he is still somewhat small though. The space between his eyes is probably around half an inch or so.

I know if he doesn't eat until Monday it won't kill him but I obviously don't want him to not be able to eat. He has two feedings a day so I would owe him a larger one today since he only had six small ones earlier and then there are tomorrow's feedings. I live in Tallahassee Florida and there are are a decent number of grassy areas, I'm not sure how pesticide free they are however.

 

[Olimpia]

Petsmart/petco usually sell superworms/mealworms. You can definately give him a few of those to hold him through the weekend if you're really worried. If you give him 6 superworms one or two days out of the month it is not going to hurt him, in my opinion.

 

[laurie]

First you need to know Ghann's shipping schedule. You will not have crickets until Tuesday. Ghann ships Mon, Tues, Wed & Thur. If you ordered on Thur after the shipping cur off ( and you did or the crickets would have arrive Fri), your crickets will ship Mon and you will have them Tues.

Your options are see what other foods petsmart has, small supers, wax worms, etc. Check the phone book or internet for other pets store that carry crickets & food items, Last option call local bait shops and see what they have. If your baby is eating leaves off his plan he will not starve before Tuesday.

 

[Jonah S]

I haven't seen a lot of small supers, I have seen some small meal worms though. Even the small ones are bigger than the space between his eyes, wouldn't that mean they are a bit big for him? I attempted giving him a small meal worm about a month ago and it looked like he was choking down.

I didn't know thats when Ghann's shipped, thanks for the heads up. Petco, Petsupermarket, and Petsmart are the somewhat local stores and I snagged up the last of the small crickets so I will start lookin around for alternatives. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[eric thompson]

I catch house flies all the time or Forked Tree Ranch


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[sandrachameleon]

How old is this chameleon?

If you get a couple of the smallest available mealworms, those should be fine. One at a time, with a gap of time in between.

My 2 month old panther chameleons are able to eat mealworms that are nearly 2cm in length.

 

[pssh]

The thinnest part of the worm has to be smaller than the space between the eyes. If it can eat large crickets, it can definately eat small mealworms.

 

[Elizadolots]

Petco carries "Calci worms" which is their brand name for Phoenix Worms. They are very small, very nutritious and very, very wiggly. Lately they've been packaging them in a two set with superworms.

 

[Monties1982]

I thought about getting some Calci Worms at the PetCo here, but I've looked in every container they have on a couple of occasions and they were always all dead except for an adult fly or two.

 

[Elizadolots]

Yeah, I've had that happen. I also love when they swear the black ones are "good." Sure....maybe for the trip home but there's no way those things are going to be feeding anything in a couple of days.

 

[AReptile]

I think you should try wax worms since he is young. Don't have to worry about impaction because you gave him too many mealworms or something.

 

[Jonah S]

Petco carries "Calci worms" which is their brand name for Phoenix Worms. They are very small, very nutritious and very, very wiggly. Lately they've been packaging them in a two set with superworms.

I managed to find 30 crickets for him to chomp on and I will check back in a day to see if they have more. I saw the calci worms at petco and they were all labeled as 5/16 and there wasn't a single survivor.

 

[Psi]

I managed to find 30 crickets for him to chomp on and I will check back in a day to see if they have more. I saw the calci worms at petco and they were all labeled as 5/16 and there wasn't a single survivor.

How many are you feeding daily if you need to pick up more with an order from ghanns coming on tuesday?

 

[Jonah S]

How many are you feeding daily if you need to pick up more with an order from ghanns coming on tuesday?

He usually dusts off between 15-20 a day. I feed him twice a day and usually start with six or seven crickets per feeding. He's a growing boy, he likes his food

 

[Psi]

He usually dusts off between 15-20 a day. I feed him twice a day and usually start with six or seven crickets per feeding. He's a growing boy, he likes his food

Ya that's a bit too many daily.

 

[Olimpia]

Honestly, I wouldn't worry if he doesn't eat Monday, since the crickets will be there midday Tuesday. He's not going to suffer, and you can relax an not drive all across town looking for a couple crickets! OR, give him much fewer crickets today and tomorrow and leave it at that. Instead of 15, give him 5-7, and that way he won't be hungry and you won't worry so much. He will not think "oh how unfortunate I am, my life sucks today!" if he doesn't eat as much as he does normally.

 

[Jonah S]

Ya that's a bit too many daily.

I have been told that that is a good amount to feed a baby and in most cases they should be fed as much as they can eat per feeding. I'm certainely not arguing with you, I'm just telling you what I have been told.

 

[Psi]

I have been told that that is a good amount to feed a baby and in most cases they should be fed as much as they can eat per feeding. I'm certainely not arguing with you, I'm just telling you what I have been told.

I would just go by this:

HOW MUCH TO OFFER

During the first six months of a veiled chameleon's life, it has an amazing appetite. Reptiles are extremely good at converting food into body mass, and grow at an amazing rate during this time. However, at this stage of life they should not have access to as much as they can eat (please see specific care for females) which could be up to 25 or 30 small crickets a day! Rather they should be grown at a slower pace and offered 5 to 8 feeders per day. Growing them too fast could lead to problems with MBD as well as other developmental issues.
This should taper at about six months old and by one year of age the chameleon will most likely do quite well on three to five insects once every other day or so.
Vitamin and mineral supplementation should continue throughout the animals life (see supplements page).
Posted by Brad Ramsey

 

[sandrachameleon]

for roughly the first four months, I will feed them as much as they want and can eat within about 5 minutes, a few times a day. But from then on my methods are similar to the quote from Brad. Except as adults I tend to feed them almost every day, but less quantity (so it works out about the same total per week).

 

[Cuda]

You can get wax worms at most bait stores or catch one of these!