Cup Feeding(Long) - Page 2

drewlowe · 11-28-03, 07:25 PM

if you look close enough on the pic you can see a little metal hooks at the back of the dish.

BigPlaya · 11-28-03, 07:31 PM

well I put some crickets in the cup and just left it there all day. When I came home today, they were gone so either they escaped somehow or they were eaten. My guess is that they were eaten because he's sitting on the rim of the cup right now. Im pleased to say the least, I think he gets stressed when I hand feed him and I dont want those little crix getting out of the cage. And I cant really silicone where the cracks are because the cracks are where the door is.

Trace · 11-28-03, 07:37 PM

Now I'm going to cause even more confusion in this thread... trust me! LOL!

I have the luxury of freeroaming my crickets and silkworms in all of my cages. (no holes) I hand feed the roaches because well I can tolerate a few loose crickets in my house, roaches... NO! On superworm day, those go in regular soup bowls in the bottom of my enclosures. Sometimes the crickets will jump into the soup bowls and I've found they can't get out of them. Maybe that will work for some of you.

Now here is where the confusion starts; has any of you found that through consistent bowl or cup feeding that your chameleons have lost the use of their tongues or have gotten "lazy" tongues?

Trace

meow_mix450 · 11-28-03, 07:58 PM

lol your right trace you just got me confuzled lol hmmm gonna give it anaother shot, hmmmm what do you mean by lazy tongues???

Meow

Trace · 11-28-03, 08:10 PM

Lazy tongue? Hmmm...

Because the chameleon is eating out of a container every day, they only need to "shoot" their tongues a short distance to grab the food. Over time their tongues get lazy (for lack of a better word) and they can't shoot them as far. This is why I like to freeroam my insects as much as I can. I also think chameleons do like the thrill of the hunt and it keeps them occupied.

There are other factors that will cause lazy tongues in chameleons. Lack of Vitamin A I think is one. I'll have to dig out those articles so please don't quote me on that right now but there are some nutritional deficiencies that will cause it as well.

So, back to my question... if you have an otherwise healthy chameleon that is solely cup fed all it's life, will it get a lazy tongue?

Trace

meow_mix450 · 11-28-03, 08:14 PM

mmmm i get it now, since i got it i hve been feeding it with a little cup thing, and hand feeding, sometimes i would also throw the criket on the mesh. And the criekts that go lose i leave them. But ive been doing thaat for a couple of months now, and about 2 days ago he went for one that was across te caage(that waas lose) so there hasnt been any lzy tounge that i notice, if it does, then i will change how i feed it, i waant my cham to live a healthly life lol

Meow

gfisher2002 · 11-28-03, 08:44 PM

I almost always feed Lucy by hand. She seems to like it. I also just toss a few crix in her cage when I'm too busy to hand feed. I would think that a handfed cham would get a lazy tongue. Don't know for a fact. But I don't think it would create an problems. All you have to do is vary the distance of your hand from her while feeding and she would get to use her tongue to it's fullest extent. I've read of chams that have lost use of their tongue because of over extending it. Good question though Trace.

meow_mix450 · 11-28-03, 08:47 PM

lol opps thanks for reminding,(gfisher2002) i was going to say where you hold the criket(distance), but i havnt had any problems.

Meow

J-Man · 11-28-03, 08:50 PM

Yeah but she said cup-fed. In which case you can't really vary the distance all that much.... I was about to give the same answer you did lol

gfisher2002 · 11-28-03, 09:23 PM

Well, depending on how you cup feed you could vary the distance. Not if he sits on the edge of the container, but if you can tip it for a second and she can see the crix you could hold it away from her.

meow_mix450 · 11-28-03, 11:25 PM

Well its ll good for me cause, my cham hates going near the cup lol, like he would stay about 5 inchs away, and when i criekt comes close its gone lol

Meow

Collide · 11-28-03, 11:42 PM

OK lol here goes my crazy brain lol. Ok

1st Mrs.moo (free range) she is a eager eater that hunts doen every single crix in sight. but ... she now will not hit crix across the cage like se used too she get as close as she can first.

2nd Mr.moo (bucket) will eat crix in there as close as he can get... so ud think that toung is lazy right... well he hit silks that i put on branches no mater how far as soon as he sees them.

3rd Silvan (hand/ that container with mesh) this guy definatly prefers hand feed food, will not eat out of a bucket. but will eat (only a bit) ot of the tubaware container.

So i do think that bucket feeding will create lazy toungs, but some chams im not sure i think they are just lazy they can do it just lazy. i never but silks in a bucket. I also think that if there cage has been the same for a long time they know how to get places sooo why shoot your toung when u can get there faster. lol just some thoughts

Wuntu Menny · 11-29-03, 11:28 AM

Interesting Q Trace. I have seen some of my chams display a short strike approach from time to time, but it seems to be a matter of preference as opposed to necessity as they will take prey from a distance as well. The one problem I did have was with transparent feeding dishes. As they don't recognize the barrier, they tend to misjudge the range or try to shoot through the plastic. This caused some temporary injuries before I figured out what was happening.

WM

drewlowe · 11-29-03, 04:34 PM

I'm not quite sure if neo does or not. Unluckly for me i got this guy already over a year old and i'm not quite sure how he was feed. I know that when i did feed him (free range) crix. that i would see most of them on the floor of the cage dead. So when i started ripping the back legs off and sticking them in the same dish i used for mealies and other worms, he would get them all. Maybe he could have a "lazy tounge" or just really bad aim. I really don't know but to ensure he eats i put his food in the bowl and i will let a few crix. loose in his cage (if he decieds he wants to hunt).

Trace · 12-01-03, 10:34 PM

I appreciate the replies everybody! I'm not completely convinced that it's true, nor am I convinced that it's false either. I guess it does boil down to circumstance in a lot of ways. Laziness, age to name a few.

I do have a 3 year old male Veiled that I took on this past summer and up until I got him, he was solely cup fed once a day. His tongue does not work, he can only shoot it out maybe a inch. I've had him to the vet for a general check-up and fecals and those came back fine. Because of that I have not bothered to pursue other tests like bloodwork to see if there is anything odd going on internally. Maybe I should, but he's a happy chameleon otherwise. I freeroam the crix (he can't catch them) and the silkies (those aren't a problem) in his cage. Eventually I succumb though and place a bowl of food in his cage so the poor guy doesn't starve. It's taking a while, but I have noticed an ever so slight improvement in his tongue. Maybe I have to be more patient with him.

Cheers!

Trace

P.S. BigPlaya... I may not have mentioned it already, but I'm glad your little guy is eating well and your tongue issues have been sorted out.