When do you feed?

[Jamire]

Hey guys,

Im so close to getting my ambanja male, hopefully monday.
Prepared to feed crickets. 2 weeks. My only issue is that My screen that I chose will allow small crickets (1/4") to get through. So I dont want to free range crickets until he is bigger and can eat bigger crickets.

Im planning on hand feeding as many as he will eat before I leave in the morning (7am). I wont be able to feed him again till I get home (5pm). Is it okay for him to go that long without food? What if he doesnt want to eat in the morning? I dont want to starve him. I have heard its better for them not to eat in the evening so they can digest properly.

I would cup feed worms during the day, but he is too small for worms I think? He is only about the length of an index finger. I have made feeder cups with sticks glued up so worms will crawl up the stick and he can shoot them off from there. But I dont want him to choke on a worm.

I have mealworms, hornworms, and butterworms available. They have small ones, but Im afraid they are still to big.

What do you think?

 

[Zephalia]

Congrats on you new chameleon - the anticipation is part of the fun.

For me, I let the lights come on for 30 minutes to an hour in the morning. In that time, I mist his cage and let him warm up and have a drink. This also lubricates his mouth. After that I put crickets into a feeding cup for him and he can eat at whatever point he likes during the day. Most of the time he does his eating in the morning and that's the best way since they require the light and heat from their lamps to help them digest properly.

I think that small worms would be fine so long as they aren't wider than the space between his eyes. You don't want them to choke but it's surprising the size of feeders they can handle. Mine got ahold of a grasshopper that came in with a plant when he was only 4 months old. The thing was nearly half his size and I panicked when I realized what he had in his mouth but I watched him and after a couple minutes of working he got it down.

If you are relying on only hand feeding him, you may not find that sufficient, especially at first when there is an adjustment period. Mine did not eat for the first couple days he was with me and after that it took him a couple weeks to be totally comfortable hand feeding. If the alternative is not to feed him until the end of the day, that's not ideal because of the digestive requirements with the lighting. I would suggest cup feeding in this scenario.

Hope that helps - I'm sure some others will chime in as well.

 

[IvoryBolt]

How long do they need to digest? if I feed at 5 and lights go out at 9, is that enough time? Generally when he's done, he basks, then goes and finds his sleeping spot for the night, all before lights go off

 

[nightanole]

How long do they need to digest? if I feed at 5 and lights go out at 9, is that enough time? Generally when he's done, he basks, then goes and finds his sleeping spot for the night, all before lights go off

It takes days for that cricket to come out the other end...

Im on the same schedule. get home from work, nom noms, bed time around 8-9. Mine never basks after feeding anyway, even if its mid day on the weekend.

 

[fluxlizard]

How long do they need to digest? if I feed at 5 and lights go out at 9, is that enough time? Generally when he's done, he basks, then goes and finds his sleeping spot for the night, all before lights go off

Wild chams will eat when they get the chance.

Time of day isn't too important. I've fed mine over the years at all kinds of times and it really doesn't make much difference. When the metabolism slows at night, everything slows, including digestion. When things warm back up again in the morning, things speed up again. It isn't like a lizard will poop out an undigested insect because he ate too close to sundown and then there is no stopping the progress of the insect through the GI tract during the night... LOL

 

[Chameleon Creator]

Wild chams will eat when they get the chance.

Time of day isn't too important. I've fed mine over the years at all kinds of times and it really doesn't make much difference. When the metabolism slows at night, everything slows, including digestion. When things warm back up again in the morning, things speed up again. It isn't like a lizard will poop out an undigested insect because he ate too close to sundown and then there is no stopping the progress of the insect through the GI tract during the night... LOL

Exactly. I think some things are smart to fine tune, but in some aspects people tend to over complicate simple ideas. Maybe having them eat at certain times will reflect minor differences, but they eat when they are hungry and when they can.

 

[Jamire]

Great advice, I agree its easy to over-complicate things. Ill use cups and feed him when he is hungry. Thanks

 

[Chameleon Creator]

Also, if you are per-say worried about it being too close to lights out, just adjust the lights on period to give yourself adequate time to feed him when you get home from work before he sleeps.
I leave every morning at six to go to the gym, come home, leave for work at eight. The lights come on at ten am so I am unable to feed him prior to leaving. I get home from work at seven, so I set the lights timer to shut off at ten pm.
When I get home I'll throw in about 20 crickets and he eats them all. I'll also leave some reptiworms in a cup for him which he loves.
That being said, he still has the average bowel movements, growth rate, and very active; a healthy/happy chameleon.
For your situation it would be best to try and hand feed or cup feed as many as he will eat in one sitting when you get home.
I would assume he would be okay to eat the smallest reptiworm sizes they offer, anyone else welcome to chime in here, this is just my opinion.

 

[kplatvoet]

I used phoenix worms when mine were real small - they sell them as calci worms also -they are pretty small - they don't need to be kept cold so you may have missed them -

 

[Jamire]

I am aware of phoenix worms, but aren't readily available. I may have to do an online order for small worms.

What are reptiworms?

 

[fluxlizard]

reptiworms and phoenix worms are the same thing- soldier fly larvae.

These larvae are not difficult to ranch during the summer months outdoors. Check youtube videos for information- people use them for composting and for feeding chickens and fish and reptiles. I had a lot of fun with my home made thing last summer and made quite a few of them. I "seeded" mine with an initial order of reptiworms. The larvae put off a pheromone that attracts more egg laying females to the suitable egg laying site, which starts the ranching process going. The adults are wild, the larvae hatch and grow in the bucket- or in my case 55 gallon garbage can buried 2/3 into the ground with drain holes drilled in the bottom (easy way for drainage)...