New Jackson's Chameleon Questions

[muellerb24]

On Wednesday, my new 4-6 month old Jackson's chameleon shipped to my house (by FLChams). I haven't quite thought of a good name for him but my brain is still cranking. I've got a couple questions, but I always see people filling the help form so here we go...

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Jackson's Chameleon, Male, 4-6 months (received October 24th)
• Handling - Handled him for the first time this morning attempting to get him to eat.
• Feeding - Yes, I am gutloading the feeders. I've got dubia roaches and superworms. I'm not open to feeding crickets but willing to hear any other feeders that I could feed to him.
• Supplements - I wrote down a schedule for Repti-Calcium without D3 around 2-3 times per week, Repti-Calcium with D3 every first day of the month, and Rep-Cal Multivitamin on the 15th of every month.
• Watering - I use a misting system with distilled water. Yesterday when I got home, he was drinking water off the leaves for a solid half hour or so.
• Fecal Description - No fecal description yet
• History - Gotten from FLChams and can't wait to get my journey with Jackson's started again.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Full Screen Cage, 18x18x36
• Lighting - UVB Repti-Glo 5.0, basking light 50 watts
• Temperature - He has an ambient temperature of 71-78 degrees while his basking spot is around 81. Night temps sometimes go down to 69. Thermometers on both parts of the cage.
• Humidity - Misting (Every hour for 45 seconds) and fogger (runs all day and night) help keep up humidity. Stays around 60-70% in non-basking spots.
• Plants - Using live plants and fake branches, Pothos and Dracaena
• Placement - Top of cage is over 6 feet off the floor, 10 feet from our backyard door.
• Location - Suburb of Chicago

Current Problem - I just have a couple questions which I'll put after this paragraph. My Jackson's chameleon seems to be doing alright emotionally. He hasn't been very dark colored at all since I first saw him. He is sleeping great, and he is drinking great, and I have zero things to complain about his health so far. I haven't gotten him to eat yet. I've placed a cup inside of his cage that he could feast on when he's hungry but he hasn't tried one yet. I'm thinking that he is still definitely trying to get used to his surroundings but of course, this worries me. Secondly, he keeps climbing to the top of his screen cage and hanging upside down and scrawling around the top. Let me know if this is a normal problem or if he will stop doing it once he gets used to his cage.

Questions:
How often do your chameleons eat and how many of the insects do they eat?
Are there any techniques that you use to get your chameleon to eat? Do you take him out of the cage and put him with a container with the feeders? Any tips would be appreciated.
Is it normal for the chameleon to not eat a few days after shipping and getting in a new environment?
Any feeders you'd recommend besides crickets?
Is it normal for him to crawl upside down on top of his cage at the start?

Otherwise, I am super excited to watch him grow and I'm already having fun starting this journey.
I'll include photos in the next post...

 

[JacksJill]

Super happy for you. Jackson's rule.
He may not eat for a couple days while he settles in and catches up on his hydration from the shipping. That said he may have been fed crickets primarily before you got him and not recognize other feeders. I understand you not wanting them around but you may want to try a few just to check. Silkworms are great feeders, pricy but nutritious and you can raise them from shipped eggs if not available otherwise. To get him to eat dubia you can let them loose in front of him on the side screen one at a time or flip them upside down in a spoon so he sees their legs moving. Superworms can be very addictive and not the best feeder so go easy on them.
Little guys climb upside-down all the time. when he gets heavier he will do it less. Make sure his basking lamp is raised off the screen to prevent burns.

 

[muellerb24]

 

[JacksJill]

A few more horizontal branches 6-8 inches down from the top will give him a nice basking spot and might keep him off the ceiling.
Almost forgot you probably won't need the fogger as much during the day unless it's super dry in your house, just use it to bump humidity at night.

 

[muellerb24]

A few more horizontal branches 6-8 inches down from the top will give him a nice basking spot and might keep him off the ceiling.
Almost forgot you probably won't need the fogger as much during the day unless it's super dry in your house, just use it to bump humidity at night.

Thanks so much! I'm open to any feedback.

 

[Thehippie]

what a cute little fella, he definitely needs more branches but dubias are a good source of protein too hornworms butterworms waxworms (only on occasion) can also be great food choices but butterworms and waxworms are pretty fatty so watch out. I used to have a jacksons for a long time and he ate 3 to 5 large crickets a day but he was pretty big when I got him superworms can also bed a nice treat but a staple diet of roaches and crickets should do just fine lol hope your little fella does well

 

[muellerb24]

what a cute little fella, he definitely needs more branches but dubias are a good source of protein too hornworms butterworms waxworms (only on occasion) can also be great food choices but butterworms and waxworms are pretty fatty so watch out. I used to have a jacksons for a long time and he ate 3 to 5 large crickets a day but he was pretty big when I got him superworms can also bed a nice treat but a staple diet of roaches and crickets should do just fine lol hope your little fella does well

Thanks so much!

 

[muellerb24]

How long does it usually take for the chameleon to get accustomed to their environment and start to eat?

 

[ERKleRose]

How long does it usually take for the chameleon to get accustomed to their environment and start to eat?

It’s different for each cham, but if it gets to two weeks without eating, you need to take action