Cricket Contest – September 2022 Winner!

[Tawnya Edwards]

This is Rico…I have had him for a year now and he is getting huge…

• This topic was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by CritterDepot.

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[Zoodulcis]

Dang, little Rico is huge! I bet he needs a lot of crickets. Tell Rico to get all of his friends to give him a critter gold to help him fill his substantial tummy. How old is he now?

[Tawnya Edwards]

He is like 14 months now….and he does eat a lot….

[Zoodulcis]

At 14 months, he does not need to apologize for his size. But he is a big lad. How many crickets does he now eat each week?

[Tawnya Edwards]

He will eat as many there is in his habitat. I use to put a whole bunch of crickets in his habitat but he would eat them all untill they were gone so I limit him now to like 10 a day..I have super worms for him also but he will not eat them and then they turn into black beetles and there is no way he will touch those…it seems he never gets enough crickets..haha!!!

[Zoodulcis]

10 a day seems like plenty. The wee piggy. I can see why you need to win the contest! Remind me, is he your only reptile?

[Tawnya Edwards]

Yes he is my only reptile…I did have a female but I think she got egg bound…I had everything she needed but I don’t do well with a female…males are easier…

[ABMoore22]

Wow, that’s a big healthy looking boy. I have one myself, about the same age too. As of right now, alls well but I wouldn’t let him get too much thicker than this though. He’s in his prime right now and you’ve obviously done a great job but in case you’re not aware, overfeeding can happen and It can cause an assortment of issues and a shorter life if he’s allowed to continue eating so much. A great website to learn from is “www.chameleonschool.com”.

I love your posts and It’s obvious you love him, and I hope you find my comments to be me sharing of knowledge from one cham lover to another! And not me being rude in any way. I hope you enjoy the info!

Here is the feeding chart I follow for veiled chameleons: babies-6 months feed 12-18 small bugs a day divided between two feedings.
Juvenile 6-12 months feed between 8-10 medium bugs a day, occasionally skipping a day of the week.
Adult 12 months and up feed 5-6 large bugs a day until over 12 months, then feed that amount every 2 to 3 days. If they’re healthy.

Lightly dust daily with calcium and once a week with multivitamin. As adults, if they have proper lighting and as long as your gut loading your feeders you can occasionally just dust once a week with both. But not every week.

Chameleons are recently domesticated so they’re DNA is still all wild, telling them to fill up any time food is available. No matter how often fed. But they don’t use much energy as they don’t move unless they have to and they don’t use their own energy to heat themselves.

Overfeeding can cause gout, liver issues, kidney failure, and shorter lifespans. I added a pic of my boy from earlier this year.

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[ABMoore22]

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[Zoodulcis]

A nice post AB and thanks. A persnicky point from me, chameleons are not domesticated. That takes thousands of years. They are technically wild animals that make good companion animals. That makes your point about DNA even more true!

[ABMoore22]

Thank you. You are right, I don’t consider them domesticated either, but much easier to type that than “recently made to be pets” lmao.

They’re in the same category as sugar gilder’s yo me, though they are even more “pet ready” then Chams to me. They actually enjoy human contact if tamed correctly.

I hope my comments are taken as intended, as this cham does look good. But the max of weight I’d want on one. I worry myself about weight of mine, but I try to monitor him. I know if his arms look beefy instead of twiggy, it’s time to skip a few feedings though. Chams are dainty creatures and are not accustomed to carrying extra weight on their little bones.

[Tawnya Edwards]

Thank you so much for sending me information…I would never get upset at you for sending me information about my Rico ..I want what is best for him….

[ABMoore22]

I appreciate that as I only have the pets here’s best interest at heart. Love your picture, glad you one. I think it MAY be the first duel winner. Definitely a first since I’ve been here, which as been for about 2 years at least. Winning definitely helps and reduces so much worry about your pet, Ive won twice so trust me there. The code can come at any time on the night or day, anywhere from 2-10 days is my experience and from others comments. I’d say no longer than one week is average. I will post something similar on the other winners thread too.

[CritterDepot]

Congratulations, Tawnya & Rico! You are September’s dual-winner for a year supply of free feeders! Be on the look out for an email with a custom coupon code. You can use this code to redeem your free feeders! Thanks for sharing!

[ABMoore22]

You rock! Lookin’ out for your customers and giving back to them. That’s why I recommend you guys so much. Just great people all around. Love seeing all the winners because I know how much it helps.

[Tawnya Edwards]

I would just like to say thank you so much!!!

[ABMoore22]

Oh, I forgot to add. The free insects is worth $23, or 500 crickets, etc. so if you just pay $2 you can get 1000 bugs. I alternate between crickets, black soldier fly larvae and super worms. I have bad luck with crickets, so I get them less since you can’t get refunds on insects from the coupon. Hope that helps.

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