Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can anyone give me an approximate number of crickets i should feed my sunburst veiled chameleon (male, 5 months old)? I just got him 3 days ago and the previous owner is not cooperating very well right now (for reasons beyond me-maybe holiday stress.) Anyways, since i've had him he's ate about 10 crickets or so; 6 yesterday, 2 or 3 the day befor ethat, and 1 so far today, but i have 3 more in there for the rest of the day to day. I heard somewhere that chameleons don't over-eat, but would still like to know an approx. number to supply every day or so that i can keep track of things a little better. Again, he's around 5 months of age and i just recieved him 3 days ago. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Best Regards,
Mike
(Happy Christmas!)

Hi Mike,
Well your little guy has alot of growing to do at his current age. I have always thrown in about a dozen or so 1/2in crickets (medium) once in the early afternoon and if those are all gone by dinner time try another dozen... Leave some info here about your husbandry if you would please... ie cage and setup and all, He may not eat alot right now as he is prolly still adjsting to his new environment but that fact that he is eating is a great sign that he is getting settled in. Make sure he has good hydration source. Crickets should be dusted with calcium and vitamins 1-2times per week and crickets should always be gutloaded, I prefer fish food flakes (cheap and crickets LOVE THEM) along with potato,apple,orange for hydrating the crickets. At this point i would say let your little guy eat all he wants, he wont over eat. If you have a well sealed screen cage i would just toss them in there and let him hunt em down. If you have anymore questions feel free to post again

Jason

hey Jason!
sounds like a good idea to just throw a dozen in there early on and let him take care of the rest. He loves hunting them down; i can tell already. I've tried forcing them upon him (tossing them in the area that he's in)...even if he has the perfect opportunity to get it, he won't. He loves the actual spotting and hunting process i geuss. I do have one other question though. What if there are a few extra ones in there when its time to turn out lights? Is it safe to keep them in there, because i've read that they can be somewhat bothersome to the chameleon when he's trying to sleep. Oh yeah, and i'm using small-medium sized crickets. thanks!
regards
Mike

Oh yeah...one other thing, just for the "record" my set-up is as follows:

Sunburst Veiled chameleon, 3"x2"x4" mesh-screen cage, (1) ZooMed repti-sun UVB lamp, (1) ZooMed 100 watt Basking lamp, (1) Ficus plant, (1) Pothos plant, (1) small Money Tree, (2) sandblasted grapevines (driftwood), LOTS of 3/8" flukers bend-a-branches, (2) "shelves" by basking area, a room humidifier going "into" cage, and a aluminum screened cover. *Entire enclosure is homemade*
Mike

Hey Mike,
Husbandry sounds great, as for leaving crickets in at night...I have never had a problem with that if there are any left they are usually gone by the time the timer kicks the lights on in the morning. Just be sure you have the traditional brown (store bought feeder) crickets as they do not bite, while the black ones that we re used to seeing in the outdoors can bite and be bothersome and even dangerous to our little friends.

Hope all continues to go well if you have any more questions post again

Jason

Thanks Jason, for the help and quick response.

Curious as to what you own...?...and for how long now?

MERRY CHRISTMAS
Mike

Hey mike,
Your quite welcome... I have a tendancy when im home to check the forums atleast once an hour... ya i have little to no life lol...
I have 2 Male Adult Veiled
4 Adult Female Veileds
2 Sub-adult female veileds
and a Pair of Sambavas sub-adult
going on 2 years now with a year of research before hand

Happy Trails

Jason

Sounds like you have quite the life if youre raising that many beautiful creatures! I know what you mean though...i don't get out nearly as much as i should either, i blame it on genes. Anyway, how do you have room for all those chameleons? Do you just have one whole wall dedicated to these cages or do you have a room set aside for them? Just curious because this 'chameleon as a pet' thing really appeals to me...i've always wanted one as a kid and now i finally have one of my own. Everyone thinks i'm crazy and that they belong in the zoo or something, but i assure them that i wouldn't purchase such an exotic animal without a bit of reading first (i read everything there is to know about veileds; except the breeding, which i don't intend to get into yet.) Where did you purchase most of youre chameleons?...If you dont mind me asking. I got my single one from Seaside Reptiles online.
Take care,
Mike

Hey,
Ya to answer your questions I built a room especially for herps. Its about 10x8 all sealed up with a refidgerator incubator and wall to wall shelving for their cages to make sure they are up off the floor... I have the UV lights suspended from the ceiling and my dad was kinda enough to install 36 outlets in the room with 6 switchs to control the outlets so i can turn off all lights with 6 switchs instead of 20 plus my dad pipped heating in from the furnace with its own thermostat (my dad hooked me up hes all about the chams too and hes begging me to get beardies but its just alot of work right now). two of my chams i raised from hatchlings that a buddy of mine bred. Most of them came from a swap in streamwood IL and one of them was a rescue from that swap...The guy looked awful, he was in a shoe box which i guess the guy had him in for the entire month he had him... Looked like he hadnt eaten or drank in days, I gave the guy $20 for him, i didnt expect him to live but i had to try. I took him home and he went immediately into my hydration chamber, following that i fed him crickets and he ate voraciously so i let him eat all he wanted... ended up to be about 3 dozen large crickets in an hour or so. Well that was about 8 months ago and he is still with me... Alittle slender but all in all doing amazing, i continue to try and bulk him up with the occasional pinky and a good about of crickets he just doesnt want to gain weight. So long as he is healthy though the weight i can look past alittle...
Have a great day and enjoy your little friend

Jason