when to change up the diet?

vtbigyellow · 06-23-04, 12:36 AM

hey all~ i've read just about every care sheet out there for my veiled female. i just have a quick question, at about what age/size should i started mixing up the feeders? right now, i only feed her about 8-10 gut loaded/dusted crickets a day. she is about the size of my thumb (not including tail) so i guess she's still too small for superworms. what else can i feed her at this size? butterworms, mealworms? mostly interested in butterworms for the nutrition. oh yea, im not completely sure of her age because i got her at a petshop in early may, she was frickin tiny.

kidchameleon · 06-23-04, 12:43 AM

i would feed her more crickets if she is that small. i know that when mine was younger(5 weeks old) she ate A LOT more than she eats now. she never seemed to be full, and she certainly wasnt obese, or skinny for that matter. anyway, id say just offer a couple small butterworms or silkworms here and there for a little. also, you can give her fruit flies. i know mine really loved them.
once she gets a little bigger, than i would start giving her mealworms, superworms, and other things. once she is an adult, she will most likely eat some vegetation, good luck

vtbigyellow · 06-23-04, 02:54 AM

thanks for the info~ i'm guessing she's about 2.5 months old and shes getting medium sized crickets, about half of them dusted w/ calcium and vitamins. so you think shes big enough to try some butterworms and silkworms? i guess i'm pretty paranoid of her choking on anything... i watch her eat every cricket just in case i have to go and pull something out of her throat~~ also, about how many inches (not including tail) do you think a female veiled about 2-3 months old should be? thanks again~~

vtbigyellow · 06-23-04, 02:55 AM

oh yea, she definitely doesnt look skinny or obese, judging from the base of the tail method

vipervenom · 06-23-04, 09:26 AM

That is not always a good method as some chams naturally have a thick/thin tail base. There are other ways to tell which I currently do not remember. About how big is your cham right now? Wax worms are very small and a good treat every now and then. But they are fatty as well as any other worm excpt for silkworms. You could try silkies but I am not sure of the size of them or your cham. Also, if what you are feeding her now is healthy, there isn't really a need to change unless she is getting sick of crix. In that case, you try something just as healthy (silkworms and some types of cockroaches are fine) as a staple food. What i do is find a field where no where around it has been sprayed for pests and just collect a series of grasshoppers, katydids, mantids and crickets. This is known as field plankton. Just make sure you don't get any arachnids (spiders, centipedes) or stinging/toxic insects (bees, wasps, most bright coloured insects including lady bugs should be avoided. Small moths are also eagerly taken by chams.