Reptile & Amphibian Forums

alright guys, it's time! our new chameleon will be arriving friday morning! the question i have is would it be ok to put a days worth of crickets in the cage THURSDAY night? i know i should leave the crickets in the cage overnight WITH the chameleon but he will not be in the cage until the next day, friday(whoo hoo!!). my wife isn't into the whole "bugs"crickets)thing but she is wiling to put our new little guy in the cage once he arrives with the crickets. in addition i'd like to personally make sure the crickets get powdered.

i just making sure i havn't missed details these last fews months.

dennis
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compasscreek backcountry adventures

do you know how old and how big is the cham coming to your house friday? i don't think he needs too much foods as it arrives, it will need some times to get used to its new place

he is 3 months old. i know about leaving him alone to adjust but i thought he needed to be fed daily. so if his last meal was thursday when would you suggest he be fed next?

dennis
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compasscreek backcountry adventures

Most of the time a chameleon will eat for the first few minutes in a new cage then they start to relize that they arint home any more and get sidetracted.

i have found that the crickets need to be near the place that the cham is put into the cage....easiest way is to set the cham in and then put a cricket on the side of cage....they usually run for it.

Dennis, you sure have been doing all your homework Being relatively new I will not give any advice on the crix in the cage early - however, I will say that the dust doesn't stay on indefinitely. They clean themselves and much will come off. So I would suggest waiting if only for this reason.

Be sure to send pix!

lele

>>alright guys, it's time! our new chameleon will be arriving friday morning! the question i have is would it be ok to put a days worth of crickets in the cage THURSDAY night? i know i should leave the crickets in the cage overnight WITH the chameleon but he will not be in the cage until the next day, friday(whoo hoo!!). my wife isn't into the whole "bugs"crickets)thing but she is wiling to put our new little guy in the cage once he arrives with the crickets. in addition i'd like to personally make sure the crickets get powdered.
>>
>>i just making sure i havn't missed details these last fews months.
>>
>>dennis
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>>compasscreek backcountry adventures

Crix will loose their powder and gutload overnight. It is more important that your new little guy gets the right temp, humidity, UV, and privacy. At 3 months he's not going to starve if he doesn't eat immediately. I would not worry about feeding him right away. It sounds like you won't be around when he arrives? I would rather set the cage up just right, release him, give him water and leave him alone. The next morning offer a few crix (not too many, as too much food movement can upset little guys) that are fresh and dusted. You don't want to take a chance that a hungry loose cricket takes a bite out of him the first night.

Dennis-

I would not put crickets in the cage overnight, because by the time they are ready to be eaten there gutload will be used up, and if you dust them, by morning the crickets will have removed most if not all the dust. Also chameleons will normally eat right out of the box, during shipping in a dark box it simulates them to sleep so when you open the box it like a new day for them (as long as there is no shipping delay). Well it like a whole new life in this case!LOL! I would just hold off food until he is in the cage, this way if he wont eat there wont be crickets all over the place, and you can better feed the correct amount when you are there. Main thing is to get him in the cage ASAP when he arrives at your door, mist the cage before you put him in, this will provide drinking water for him and humidity with out the stress of him running from being misted. Give him time to settle in about a week before you try and hold him or hand feed, give him his space. Hope this helps!
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John @ Chameleon Paradise
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers
1.2 Rhampholeon uluguruensis