My new male Jackson bites a lot.......but....

[rj1204]

We live in Hawaii and just got a new, wild caught, adult Jackson. Just about everything here is wild caught unless you get lucky enough to find a breeder on the side of the road, which I have not. All the pet stores carry Jackson's and again, just about all are wild caught. Usually the breeders sell babies only when you can find one.

We got our boy Tuesday evening and as expected, he was very nervous and scared. The next day (Wed), I offered him adult crickets and he was quick to eat 4 of them. I skipped the next day feeding (feeding every other day.....hope that's right???) and today he ate 3 more crickets, but that is it. I plan on feeding 6-8 crickets (or as many he will eat up to 8 per feeding every other day) as I read on one of the care sheets. He is still very scared and "runs" away from me, even if I have food. I have not handled him and have not even let my kids in the backyard all week so he can adjust.

I figure its pretty normal for a wild caught animal/chameleon to be nervous, stressed, and a little aggressive if it feels threatened. He has only been with us for 72 hours and has eaten twice, so I am not worried yet. I figure I will give him another 3-4 days until we handle him again. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[rj1204]

Sweet.....I am assuming we are cool. I guess we will handle him and see how it goes in a few days. That will be a week to allow him to adjust. I guess as long as he eats 3-4 crickets (hopefully 6-8 soon) every other day, that shows he has an appetite and isn't too stressed.

 

[reptoman]

If he is overly defensive, I would not try to handle him at all. Some will tolerate it better than others. I have a male panther that will not tolerate handling despite several attempts over the last couple of years. You need to weigh the amount of stress it causes vs the benefit of handling.jmo

 

[rj1204]

Well, he has only been with us 5-6 days and again, he is wild caught. He ate 4 crickets day one, 3 day 3, and now 1 day 5. I may leave him alone and not feed him for a couple more days so he is hungry and will let me hand feed. I built the cage with 1/4" hardware cloth and found out the crickets can escape. I guess I can post that on the food forum section.