i usually buy 15 crickets a week then keep them in a container separate from where i keep my chameleon. every feeding time i would just put my chameleon in the cricket's container and let him eat. after he is done i would take him out. i'm starting to dust my crickets now and i'm just wondering can i dust all my crickets then put them in the container or do i have to take some crickets out then dust them right before feeding time. 15 crickets last me about a week so i don't know if it is ok to have dusted crickets for a week.
When can i dust the cricket?
- Thread starter quyvu1109
- Start date
PantherVeileD
Avid Member
what type of chameleon do you have and how old?
Metric
New Member
You should be putting the crickets in the chameleons enclosure and dust them prior to putting them in.
Moving your cham to the cricket enclosure for feedings can be stressful on your cham.
I dust my chams crickets 4 times a week with only calcium, 1 time a week with calcium+D3, the other days i don't powder. I also dust them with a multivitamin once to twice a month.
hope that helps!
thanks for the advice. i have a jackson's chameleon. i dont know how old he is though. i've only had him for about 2 months now. the pet store i got him from never told me how old he was. he doesn't seem to be eating the dusted crickets though. i got him some crickets that weren't dusted and he eats those instead of the dusted ones.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
After a few hours, much of the calicum dust will come off of the crickets, hence the advice to dust (LIGHTLY) just before feeding them to the chameleon.
kianna2118
New Member
So when we buy the crickets and we dust the crickets can we feed the chameleon the same day the crickets been dusted? And can you mix the calicum and the vitamins together to be dusted or we do that once a week for the dusting ?
Kianna,
You want to gutload the crickets before you feed them to your Cham (use the search feature at the top of the Home Page to find "gutload"). You can mix calcium and vitamins, but the vitamins are only given 1-2 times per month.
Can you post a picture of your Jackson's and your cage and lighting? It will help us answer your questions.
Nick
Metric
New Member
Ill try to map this out as easy as i can.
To feed a chameleon Crickets you need:
- LIVE crickets (don't feed dead ones)
- An enclosure for your crickets
- Food/water for your crickets to eat to stay alive and provide nutrition to your cham
- phosphate free Calcium powder
- Phosphate free calcium powder WITH D3
- Multi vitamin powder
So First lets talk about the enclosure because that is where your crickets will first go after purchasing them. It's a good Idea to purchase crickets in bulk. Even if you have 1 chameleon you should purchase 250-500 in bulk from a reliable and cheap supplier. Buying 500 crickets from a store like petsmart will cost you around $50, but if your purchase it from a place like one of this websites sponsors you can get 500 crickets for around $15-25 shipped.
Enclosure: You can search the forum for proper enclosures but in a nutshell you should have around a 10gal plastic tub or aquarium with a vented lid, if your using a plastic tub, cut out a large portion of the lid and replace it with a screen. You should provide egg crates and paper towel rolls in the enclosure to provide climbing areas so the crickets have more places to move around and don't crush each other. You will need to also supply your crickets with gutload, gutload is a term meaning basically food, but not just any food, it has to be beneficial to your chameleon in the long run. You can purchase commercial gutload at pets stores or use things like fresh green veggies, carrots, potatoes ect. If you choose to gutload with things at home make sure you research to make sure what your using is appropriate gutload. The crickets will also need a supply of water, this can come in various ways. Personally i purchase this gel looking stuff and my crix love it, others use a damp sponge, this is where you need to do a little research aswell. You should clean the enclosure every 2-3 days, removing any dead crickets and removing uneaten food before it goes bad.
Supplements: As listed above you will need 3 different kinds of supplements, Calcium with D3, Calcium without D3, and a multivitamin. Personally I use the calcium WITHOUT D3, 4 times a week. I use the Calcium powder WITH D3 once a week, and i use the multivitamin ONCE a month.
actually applying the powder to the crickets can be done in many different ways, but this is how i do it:
Collect as many crickets that im going to feed from their enclosure to a small Tupperware/plastic container with a lid. Then depending on which day it is, i use the appropriate powder and just place a pinch in the container with the crickets im about to feed off. I shake the container gently making sure not to kill or injure the crickets.
From there I basically place the crickets into my Chameleons enclosure making sure the crickets don't have too much powder on them. When you apply the powder make sure there isn't so much that the crickets are a completely different colour, they should look LIGHTLY dusted before feeding them off. If the crickets happen to have a lot of powder on them just blow on the cricket lightly to remove excess powder.
And thats pretty much the feeding routine, and upkeep of crickets. Hope that helps!!
To feed a chameleon Crickets you need:
- LIVE crickets (don't feed dead ones)
- An enclosure for your crickets
- Food/water for your crickets to eat to stay alive and provide nutrition to your cham
- phosphate free Calcium powder
- Phosphate free calcium powder WITH D3
- Multi vitamin powder
So First lets talk about the enclosure because that is where your crickets will first go after purchasing them. It's a good Idea to purchase crickets in bulk. Even if you have 1 chameleon you should purchase 250-500 in bulk from a reliable and cheap supplier. Buying 500 crickets from a store like petsmart will cost you around $50, but if your purchase it from a place like one of this websites sponsors you can get 500 crickets for around $15-25 shipped.
Enclosure: You can search the forum for proper enclosures but in a nutshell you should have around a 10gal plastic tub or aquarium with a vented lid, if your using a plastic tub, cut out a large portion of the lid and replace it with a screen. You should provide egg crates and paper towel rolls in the enclosure to provide climbing areas so the crickets have more places to move around and don't crush each other. You will need to also supply your crickets with gutload, gutload is a term meaning basically food, but not just any food, it has to be beneficial to your chameleon in the long run. You can purchase commercial gutload at pets stores or use things like fresh green veggies, carrots, potatoes ect. If you choose to gutload with things at home make sure you research to make sure what your using is appropriate gutload. The crickets will also need a supply of water, this can come in various ways. Personally i purchase this gel looking stuff and my crix love it, others use a damp sponge, this is where you need to do a little research aswell. You should clean the enclosure every 2-3 days, removing any dead crickets and removing uneaten food before it goes bad.
Supplements: As listed above you will need 3 different kinds of supplements, Calcium with D3, Calcium without D3, and a multivitamin. Personally I use the calcium WITHOUT D3, 4 times a week. I use the Calcium powder WITH D3 once a week, and i use the multivitamin ONCE a month.
actually applying the powder to the crickets can be done in many different ways, but this is how i do it:
Collect as many crickets that im going to feed from their enclosure to a small Tupperware/plastic container with a lid. Then depending on which day it is, i use the appropriate powder and just place a pinch in the container with the crickets im about to feed off. I shake the container gently making sure not to kill or injure the crickets.
From there I basically place the crickets into my Chameleons enclosure making sure the crickets don't have too much powder on them. When you apply the powder make sure there isn't so much that the crickets are a completely different colour, they should look LIGHTLY dusted before feeding them off. If the crickets happen to have a lot of powder on them just blow on the cricket lightly to remove excess powder.
And thats pretty much the feeding routine, and upkeep of crickets. Hope that helps!!
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