My Jackson's won't cup feed with crickets, but will do so with mealworms!

[chamfan93]

Hey guys, just wanted to ask a quick question here. My new small Jackson's chameleon is not eating crickets from the feeding cup, I have tried small cups, clear cups, Solo cups, he just won't eat the crickets from the cup. I have had him for about a week now.

It is funny because if I put a mealworm in one of the cups, he immediately goes for it. But the crickets he won't touch when they are in the SAME cup! I left 4 crickets in his feeding cup, he didn't eat one of them, then I put a mealworm in the cup, left the room, came back, and it was gone!

I am going to try feeding him dubias tomorrow in the cup and see if he responds well. If he does not, does anybody have any ideas as to how to get him to cup feed???

On a side note, can anybody look at these pics of him and tell me what you would guess his age is? I heard mealworms aren't good to feed to babies because they are hard to digest, but it seems like that is all he gets excited about eating so far.

 

[reptileguy112]

In my opinion he doesn't look too old, also you need to get some water in him he has sunken eyes. I would try stuff like hornworms, superworms, waxworms, and butterworms. (supers, wax, and butters should only be offered as occasional treats. Also calci worms (aka Phoenix/black soldier worms). If he doesn't eat it he doesn't eat it. Nothing really you can do except for starving him into it, jk

 

[chamfan93]

Thanks for the quick response reptileguy112. I appreciate you dropping in on this. I really think it must have been the camera angle as his eyes are actually quite bulbous. When I got him he was really thin. He has been eating at least 2 worms and 2 crickets a day since I got him. I will try to snap a better picture.

 

[chamfan93]

His name is Ranger. He has a kink in his tail (I wanted to name him Kinky). But he has been doing well overall, just hard to get him to eat crickets so far. Ate one out of my hand the second day I had him, then he refused after that. But when I drop one on the screen he will eat it in front of me. Funny personality.

 

[reptileguy112]

Seems like he is still warming up to you. I have seen a few kinky chams before lol. The main thing you want to do is to make sure you are supplementing correctly (by the way, what is your supplementing schedule?), misting the enclosure a few times a day, making sure you replace your UVB every few months, keep humidity high, and really trying to get at least about five medium crickets a day in him or an amount of feeder of smilar size (Ex:five medium crix equals one large horn worm or five cali worm). I forget to recommend this but dubias are also another great feeder.

 

[chamfan93]

More pics

I have been misting twice a day. Gave him crickets w/ reptivite w/o D3, going to alternate. Once each week between reptivite w/D3, and reptivite w/o D3. Have a UV 10.0 bulb he likes to chill under that is on 12 hrs a day.

So to be clear Reptivite w/ D3 twice a month and Reptivite w/ D3 twice a month. Spraying all feeders with Calcium (except on vite days).

Funny that you say that, I currently have a breeder pack of dubias on the way and am going to try my hand at that. not sure if I'm going to buy a heat bulb for them too. Gonna do a rubbermaid tub w/ vaseline or oil along the sides so they can't climb.

 

[chamfan93]

Have been feeding him daily so far...Do you recommend feeding daily, or every other day?

 

[reptileguy112]

You should not do reptivite four times a month, you should do calcium ( I recommend powder over spray) every feeding, reptivite once every two weeks with no D3 and calcium with added D3 twice a month. So just switch between reptivite and cal D3 every week. Lots of calcium powders already have D3 added so check the ingredients to make sure you aren't dosing D3 thirty times a month.

 

[reptileguy112]

Have been feeding him daily so far...Do you recommend feeding daily, or every other day?

Some people prefer feedin every other day but I see no point in it. If you feed every other day you need to do twice as much so its not like you are saving feeders doing it. Five crix/medium dubias/calcis/ect a day works.

 

[reptileguy112]

That part of the tail looks dead, can it wrap it around stuff? From the way it looks, the dead part might have to be snipped (AT A VET!!!!)

 

[JaxyGirl]

He is still very young so I would recommend feeding him every day as much as he will eat. Also be very careful with supplementations. Jacksons don't need as much as other chams. Over supplementation can lead to major problems in a montane species. Make sure that your feeders are gut loaded with good food and instead of mealworms switch to supper worms which are more nutritious and you can also feed them kale and other greens to make them a healthier food for your Jacksons.!

 

[reptileguy112]

He is still very young so I would recommend feeding him every day as much as he will eat. Also be very careful with supplementations. Jacksons don't need as much as other chams. Over supplementation can lead to major problems in a montane species. Make sure that your feeders are gut loaded with good food and instead of mealworms switch to supper worms which are more nutritious and you can also feed them kale and other greens to make them a healthier food for your Jacksons.!

I thought superworms were treats and not very good for them?

 

[JaxyGirl]

I wouldn't feed just super worms as their main diet nor would I feed just crickets either. You need to mix a chameleons food up. And give them a variety of foods. Each feeder has its own type of nutrients that's different from the other.
In the wild chams eat all kinds of things. Snails, slugs, bugs, other lizards etc.
My Jacksons absolutely loved raw shrimp and would eat all kinds of things. I think that's one of the reasons he lived so,long.

 

[chamfan93]

Reptileguy: He still uses it to wrap around branches and all, he uses the end of his tail as well. I have been observing his movements. It is not dead at the end. If he wasn't using it still I would take him to a vet.

I will grab a calcium w/d3. The calcium spray is just calcium.

And I will continue to feed daily then.

Thanks for all your helpful tips. Really appreciate it.

 

[JaxyGirl]

Like I said don't over do it with the D3. It can cause toxicity in Jacksons chams

 

[chamfan93]

D3

Like I said don't over do it with the D3. It can cause toxicity in Jacksons chams

With what frequency would you recommend using d3? Once a month?

He hasn't been taken outside since I got him. Wanted to give him time to adjust to his new home before stressing him out by picking him up. Only picked up once to take the picture of his tail and show the people I purchased him from.

 

[chamfan93]

I wouldn't feed just super worms as their main diet nor would I feed just crickets either. You need to mix a chameleons food up. And give them a variety of foods. Each feeder has its own type of nutrients that's different from the other.
In the wild chams eat all kinds of things. Snails, slugs, bugs, other lizards etc.
My Jacksons absolutely loved raw shrimp and would eat all kinds of things. I think that's one of the reasons he lived so,long.

How long did he live?

Any guesses as to age of my new little guy? His horns are real small so I was thinking just a few months old.

 

[mvad]

This is a very helpful guide when new to a species.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

 

[JaxyGirl]

How long did he live?

Any guesses as to age of my new little guy? His horns are real small so I was thinking just a few months old.

My Jacksons just passed away 3 months ago. He was almost 8 years old and I had him since he was 5 months old. So they can live a long time in the right environment with the right food.

 

[JaxyGirl]

My Jacksons just passed away 3 months ago. He was almost 8 years old and I had him since he was 5 months old. So they can live a long time in the right environment with the right food.

He was about 1.5 years old when I joined chamelionforums in 2009.
I miss the old guy so much!