HELP. Jackson Chameleon wont eat.

[djdrum]

I have had my (Adult) Jackson for a little bit over a week now and she has not eaten anything. I have tried feeding her crickets and meal worms but she just wont eat them. I have another Jackson which is a male and he eats up his crickets all the time and is perfectly healthy. But my Camilla hasn't eaten anything ever since I found her I also have not seen her drink any water. I spray her screen tank about 10 times a day (sometimes more) She may be drinking some water but I just haven't seen her. I have tried holding the cricket right in front of her, I have tried putting the cricket on the screen so he can climb up to her, and I have tried placing the cricket in her tank so she can hunt him. She is very active every time i handle her. She walks all around me non stop and just loves to climb. She also mated with my other Jackson a few days ago. She is literately so skinny that i can see her ribs, I have no idea why she's not eating??! If anyone can help it would be much appreciated to me and my little Camilla.


EDIT : By the way I live on Maui (Hawaii) so that's how I found her out in the wild. Lol

 

[christineacero]

If she's wild caught then she might not be acclimating well to captivity. How big is the Enclosure she's in right now? Try free ranging some crickets in her enclosure and give her some privacy. She may not be comfortable eating in front of you. Check on her a while later and count how many crickets you can find.

 

[Lathis]

Agreed - she may just not be acclimating well to her change in circumstances. If she is wild caught, she is likely stressed - and a big primate constantly sticking its face in hers doesn't help . I second the idea of setting crickets loose in her cage and giving her privacy. Misting is great, but she may prefer a dripper to let her drink without you there.

Just a question... if she continues to not eat, do you have a plan for releasing her? I know Jax are not native to Hawaii and are considered a pest, but she may never acclimate to being captive.

Best of luck with her. Do you have any photos?

 

[djdrum]

I have tried placing crickets in her tank but they ALWAYS just jump down to the floor and stay there. Since she never climbs down to the floor she is unable to even access the opportunity of eating them. My strategy for feeding my other Jackson is to put the cricket on the screen then he gobbles them right up, I tried this strategy with my Camilla but she wont eat it. But ill try putting the crickets in and leaving her alone with them. Yes I do plan on releasing her if she does not get comfortable or continues not to eat. Hopefully it will not have to come to that because I have a fairly strong bond with her. Ill post some pictures here in a minute.

 

[djdrum]

Heres Camilla

 

[djdrum]

Heres my other Jackson, Jack!

 

[djdrum]

And heres my Gold Dust Day gecko, Tony just for the fun of it lol

 

[djdrum]

Mo picjahs of Camilla

 

[Baksmurf]

Does she have places to hide in her enclosure? Just wondering because in the pic of your male it doesn't look like there is a lot of greenery. Can you get other feeders to offer her?