Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, we just got a juvenile veiled last week. We put in 24 small crickets the first day. Gone the very next. Put in 50 more gone in 2 days. Is this normal? He is only about 2 inches long not counting his very long curly tail. He is in a large screened cage with the appropriate lighting. We have other lizards but have never had another lizard eat like this,just checking to make sure we aren't doing anything incorrectly. Hasn't touched his collard greens yet, but we keep trying. Crickets are gut loaded and dusted, no worries there. No way for them to get out but every day when I look for extras there aren't any and I am just worried. Thanks for any help and Happy Holidays!

How large are your crickets? If he/she is eating 50 every 2 days, maybe increase the size of the crickets. My veiled rarely leaves any food I put in there for the next day, so I would think this is normal for a growing baby.

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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

I only feed my adult veileds about 7-8 crickets a day. With some days adding a wax worm, or kale or a roach to their meal. 50 is far too many. I would think that it would have a very difficult time digesting that many. You can tell how well it is digesting it food by looking at its feces. If you see whole peices or parts that still look like a cricket, ie legs, antennas.

Congratulations on your new addition to your family. Sounds like your little one is in good hands and proof of that is your inqueries to better keeping it.

Be glad that your little one is eating so ferosiously! Some don't eat at all. Much more often than not this is a good size. Maybe you are feeding crickets that are too small? Most people recomend that crickets should have a body lenth of the width of the chameleons head, or just for you to estimate what would fit inside their mouths.

Also, for the most part, you can't overfeed a growing baby. They just spring up faster! Try offering some other feeders. Time to buy in bulk!

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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS

Congrats on your new little guy - do you know how old he is? Having him in a very large screen cage and free ranging crickets may not be the best ide at his size. If any are left in the cage overnight they might nibble on your little cham if they do not have access to other food, you can leave some dry gutload/and or a pice of carrot or something for any that are left in the cage. He also might not be able to find them in a large cage (just how large?) I assume you have plants in there with him - have you seen him eat all these crickets? They can hide really well - in soil, in and around pots, etc. Babies can dehydrate quicker than adults and you may have a hard time keeping the humidity up in screen for now - depends where you live. You can keep them in a glass tank to help with humidity until about 3 months. I linked below to a good baby article (scroll down to 5 weeks to 4 months section) and there are also good ones at www.chameleonnews.com

You might consider bowl feeding so you can really gauge how much he is consuming. What size crickets? They should not be longer than his head is wide.

Can we see pics??? I love baby photos

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

baby care

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet