feeding

[dudsky]

ever since i got my chameleon, which was around 2 months ago, i was putting his crickets in a deli cup, and inside the cage, so they are always in one spot and dont get lost. Then i thought that maybe this could lead to some other problems, since the chameleon always comes to close range with the crickets and they are always available for him and he doesnt need to hunt, and now i heard from a friend that it really may lead to some problems in future, i wanted to ask u guys how u feed ur chams and if you know any problems taht can arise in the future.
thanks in advance
igor

[meow_mix450]

some problems that might arise is lazy tongue. This is when he slowly stops using his tongue cause its food is right n front of his face. A way to go around this problem is to free range you crickets. Let them wander the enclosure. You can also hand feed and make him work for it and not just put it in front of his face. I hand feed, cup feed, and free range.

Meow

[Bartman]

Is it really a big deal if they get a lazy tounge? If you are going to feed it from a cup/dish its whole life then whats the difference?

I personally cup feed crix and hand feed all other worms.

[peterm15]

ya the lazy toung supposedly hangs out in one long... string... correct me if im rong... i cup feed to.... you could use a taller dish and scatter a few dishes each feeding with 2 crix in each... i used to have my cham on 4 dishes and he would hunt for his food... i only have 2 now but will be adding more...

you could free range but then arent you supposed to remove any loose crix... that would be a pain....

i would free range but the mesh that i used is to large so all the crix would get out.... ive had mine for almost a year... maybe 8 or 9 months... hes about 7" head to butt and i got him when he was about 1.5 "... ive had no prob yet... and he flicks out fine...

[meow_mix450]

Ya there are many advantage and disadvantage to feeding. But yes lazy tongue can become a big deal. They will get lazyer and lazyer till they can barly catch the bug anymore. It would pretty much take them 30mins to eat 1 cricket. They start to lose weight which is no good. But as long as your making them work for it and using ther tongue that should be fine

Meow