extremely picky eater

[waldo22]

i have a 6 month old M jacksoni and he is exetremly hard headed when it comes to feeding. he drinks well and is very active but he doesnt seem to have much of an appetite. =/ i do not understand. this is not my first cham either, i have had 3 veileds, and a flap neck and this was never an issue.

 

[carol5208]

have you tried a variety of feeders? What were you feeding?

 

[waldo22]

i offer 1/2" crickets, wax worms maybe once a week, meal worms(although i'm aware they dont have much nutrition) hes eaten little hormworms when i can find them small enough. and hes eaten little superworms again when i can find then small enough. im not too sure what all i can offer. and where im from i have a very difficult time finding different feeders for him, even at reptile shows.

 

[fowlers]

mealworms have no nutrition???, i totally disagree as i gutload them with a variety of fruit, veg and my own gutload mixes, i actually think they are the best feeders to gutoad. as long as they are gutloaded they have as much nutriton as every other feeder

have you tried any flying insects or butterflys? im sure they would attract his attention. i used to have a pair of hoehnelli which would hardly eat any feeders that i would offer,i would put a housefly in and then they would get "excited" and couldnt get to the insect quick enough, jacksonii are roughly from the same place as hoehnelli, give it a try and let us know


regards
rob

 

[waldo22]

how could i obtain butterflies that would not be harmful? that sounds like a neat idea

 

[Texas Panther Man]

This isnt a good time of year for it but grasshoppers always got my slow feeders going. Esp the large green ones, they go crazy for em. Katydids too, you can catch the smaller softer bodied katydids. the small 1/2" ones are great for females or smaller chams like jacksons. Depending where you live you might catch some still. I went last week and caught 4 hoppers and a katydid within 30 mins. Not bad considering it was cold and rainy down here.

 

[waldo22]

theres about 2 inches of snow on the ground lol. i live a few blocks from lake erie in ohio. good idea though

 

[fowlers]

m8 can you take pictures of the frozen building by lake erie, saw 1 pic in my local newspaper the other day of it frozen and it amazed me, it looked like an ice castle. back to chameleons i collect my insects in the summe ofcourse from fields and meadows, butterflies, grasshoppers, houseflies etc. if you can manage to breed the moths of silkworms then your on a double bonus as you have the worms to feed and moths. also fishing maggots can be kept in the warm and they will turn to flies, just make sure you gutload them prior to feeding.

by the way im in the uk and we also have a few inches of snow.

rob

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Try blue bottle flies man. I have heard nothing but good things about em. Im trying em for the first time. Just placed my order last week over at mantisplace.com

I didnt even think about them earlier. They are fairly inexpensive. Alot cheaper than horns. And far easier to raise than silks from everything Ive read.

 

[Olimpia]

I have a WC jax that I've had for a year and a half and he's never been a big eater. Especially when he passed the 1 year mark he just doesn't have much of an appetite. He might not eat for 3 days and then be totally contented with a single medium roach or superworm. Some days he'll eat more, but the average is very little food. And he still maintains a very healthy body weight, so I think that's just how he is. I've never thought to ask other Jackson's owners about it, but maybe this is a little bit how some of them are perhaps?

 

[Action Jackson]

My 4 yr old male Jackson is the same way. He doesn't eat much especially this time of year. My 7 month olds are still eating well. Also my j jacksonii seems to be eating and thriving with the decrease in temperatures.

If you have access to garden snails try those. Jacksons really like them.

I have a WC jax that I've had for a year and a half and he's never been a big eater. Especially when he passed the 1 year mark he just doesn't have much of an appetite. He might not eat for 3 days and then be totally contented with a single medium roach or superworm. Some days he'll eat more, but the average is very little food. And he still maintains a very healthy body weight, so I think that's just how he is. I've never thought to ask other Jackson's owners about it, but maybe this is a little bit how some of them are perhaps?

 

[houseofchameleons]

picky eaters

I have a veiled that is almost 3years old and has been picky for a year or more only eating every couple of days switching from insects to collard greens believe it or not.for me the more you offer the more he hunger strikes