Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My new veiled is getting a nice new big cage next week. I have heard that it is not good for crickets to hang out too long inside reptile cages because they can, I've heard, actually chew on the reptile.
My cage is going to be planted and I even found a beautiful ficus tree to put in it. It seems to me that it would be difficult to chase down leftover crickets what with all the plants. What do y'all do?
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

hey,all you gotta do is spray the plants and eventually the crickets will jump out and jump to the screen or ground,then just get the tweezers or a cup and scoop them out..once ya do it a couple times,it'll get real easy..hope this helps you..
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Jonny Blaze
1 Nosy Be Panther
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Unless your Cham is on deaths door, crickets won't chew on it. If I see extra crickets floating around, I skip a feeding and that will usually take care of the problem

Actually, this can happen even if the cham is healthy. When the lights are off and the cage is cool chams sleep. Once their brains are cool they are fairly unaware and crix have been known to chew on tail tips and toes, even eyelids. Crix are more active at night. For other reasons it can be trouble to free range your crix. They eat fecal matter which is not a great gutload. They lose their healthy gut contents pretty fast and groom away any supplement dusts. You can confine the crix to a plastic feeder box with gutload. The cham can climb to the rim of the box and shoot them from there. This exercises tongues and eyes more than a small bowl or cup and there will be fewer escapes.

>>Actually, this can happen even if the cham is healthy. When the lights are off and the cage is cool chams sleep. Once their brains are cool they are fairly unaware and crix have been known to chew on tail tips and toes, even eyelids. Crix are more active at night. For other reasons it can be trouble to free range your crix. They eat fecal matter which is not a great gutload. They lose their healthy gut contents pretty fast and groom away any supplement dusts. You can confine the crix to a plastic feeder box with gutload. The cham can climb to the rim of the box and shoot them from there. This exercises tongues and eyes more than a small bowl or cup and there will be fewer escapes.

Carlton, I am not familiar with feeder boxes, could you describe them more? How big do they have to be so the cham can get the crickets but the crickets can't get out? Do you suspend them up on the side of the cage since I have heard chams don't come down to the ground often?
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

A feeder box can be something like a small plastic critter keeper or shoebox (depending on how much room you've got in your cage) with sides about 6" deep. Most crix don't try jumping that high if they aren't spooked. There are often one or two who just refuse to be confined, but most will stay in the box if you put small pieces of fruit or veggies in it. You can either punch holes in the sides and hang the box with wire from perches or Ficus branches or rest it on something on the cage floor. Provide an access branch to the box rim so your cham can find a place to shoot at the insects from above. Just don't put it under the dripper or fogger...the crix drown easily. I really prefer using a larger box like this rather than deli cups. The feeders move around more, you can provide gutload during the day, and the cham has a more natural hunt and exercise for tongue and eyes.

Have you experienced this? I've kept a number of different species and have never seen a cricket chew on a healthy Reptile, even at night. They still shake them off like they do in the day. It may take a few more seconds for them to become aware of what's going on, but they react the same way. The best Cricket container I've found are the 4 or 5 gal Ice Cream tubs, but they still aren't foolproof. You still get a few that manage to hop out, but like I said, skip a feeding once a week ( or whenever you have an overage ) and you'll take care of the free rangers

>>Have you experienced this? I've kept a number of different species and have never seen a cricket chew on a healthy Reptile, even at night. They still shake them off like they do in the day. It may take a few more seconds for them to become aware of what's going on, but they react the same way. The best Cricket container I've found are the 4 or 5 gal Ice Cream tubs, but they still aren't foolproof. You still get a few that manage to hop out, but like I said, skip a feeding once a week ( or whenever you have an overage ) and you'll take care of the free rangers

No I don't remember actually seeing this happen, I just read it. If Blue Bell ice cream comes in 5 gallon tubs both the chameleon and myself will be very happy to try your cricket container suggestion out
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

I was wrong, it's more like a gallon and a quart or so. I don't know where the 4 gallon idea came from, but you probably know what I'm talking about. Basically the big Ice Cream tubs sitting next to the half gallon cartons.

>>I was wrong, it's more like a gallon and a quart or so. I don't know where the 4 gallon idea came from, but you probably know what I'm talking about. Basically the big Ice Cream tubs sitting next to the half gallon cartons.

Unfortunately I have something exactly like that in the garage so I can't use it as an excuse to buy more Blue Bell ice cream. lol.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

I had a rescue jax with insect bites all over its tail...but the shop it was taken from left many loose crix in the tank with no food. Again, I don't free range for other reasons not just this.

same here. I'm on a every other day feeling to make sure the chameleon cases everything down that I throw in the cage.