Not eating

MSB123

New Member
My Jackson isn’t eating very much. I think it might be because of the large enclosure he is in, but it could be anything. Does anyone have ideas? I’m feeding 5 med crickets a day, he is eating about 1-2.
 
Not giving us much info, how are we supposed to know by that? In the health clinic section, there is a sticky that says how to ask for help. There is a form there to copy, fill out, and paste. Chams don't always eat either, especially adults. They can be finicky at times.
 
My Jackson isn’t eating very much. I think it might be because of the large enclosure he is in, but it could be anything. Does anyone have ideas? I’m feeding 5 med crickets a day, he is eating about 1-2.
Look man.... there could be many reasons to this but honestly it’s ok for it to flungtuate ( vary ) in feeding behavior,
Sometimes changing up his diet helps to spark that instinct for hunting and sometimes the temperature also plays a role. Being cold blooded and all the hooter there temperature is the more active it will be... if that makes sense. it’s normal for it to change the amount it eats
 
Chameleon Info:
  • my Chamelon- Jackson, male, 7 months, screen cage
  • Handling - Once every 2-3 days,
  • Feeding - Crickets (only thing I can get ahold of atm. Calcium and multivitamins once a week.
  • Watering - I have a dropper, 1 drop every 3 seconds, I have never seen him drink. I also have a fogger on to keep the humidity up for half hour increments
  • Fecal Description - Brown, Hard moist pellets, small amount of yellow but mostly clear and white
  • History - I have had him for a week now, seems ok generally
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Screen, 5x3x2,
  • Lighting - Mega Ray 100 watt, 8” above basking spot, 7:30 am to 7 pm Also a LED strip for general lighting and a small heat bulb to keep the large top of the cage warm
  • Temperature - Basking is about 88 F, bottom is about 68 nighttime low about 55 digital gauge for general temp, laser temp gun for specifics
  • Humidity - Keep it about 55-65 average, gets to 85 during fogging 3 times per 24hr period, using a digital gauge
  • Plants- Large Pothos, adding a large ficus TMW
  • Placement - Near a window(kept closed most times) cage top is about 7ft above floor
  • Southern California, Santa Barbara area

Current Problem - He doesn’t seem to be eating very well, I don’t see him drinking.
 
From your picture in your avatar id definitely add some more vegetation to his enclosure, very open and exposed, gota make your buddy feel secure, I’d start implementing hornworms to your chameleon diet if hydration is a concern,just a great feeder in general. Can order from one of the sponsors like Great Lake worms. With such a large enclosure could try cup feeding.many things u can try with this. Also do you know if your chameleon is WC or CB. As internal parasite are always a consern, it’s more prevalent in WC specimens. A fecal exam should be done if so and yearly As some feeders could carry parasites.i would increase your dusting of calcium to every other feeding as well. Make sure he has a nice canopy at least 8-10 inches from the top and under lighting.
 
Get black soldier fly larvae. try cup feeding larvae, let some adults pupate. They love flies. If he is eating something, don't get too worried it.

He may just be sick of crickets. When I go to the local pet shop (where I am allowed to do what I want) I sometimes see crickets being ignored by chams but will devour dubias. When all I was raising at my house was dubias, my chams would get sick of them and would devour crickets. I now have a much more diverse menu but they still love something they havn't had in a while.

You really need to get them more variety. If you happen to have a wine fridge, you can easily keep black soldier fly larvae. Mine are a month old and doing fine. If not, you can keep mantis oothes in the fridge for months, dubias keep with little trouble and super worms will keep for week with little trouble. Just trying to think of a few things that you can order in fairly large amounts to save money. then when you run out or low, rotate crickets into the mix.
 
image.jpg
 
My Jackson isn’t eating very much. I think it might be because of the large enclosure he is in, but it could be anything. Does anyone have ideas? I’m feeding 5 med crickets a day, he is eating about 1-2.
I do not have a cham yet but this summer I will so i have done TONS of research! Not saying I know everything but I would recomend feeding your cham veggies and maybe fruits along with your crickets so he dosen't get bored of his food. Hope this helps!
 
Back
Top Bottom