Cup Feeding Jacksons?

I have tried feeding my Jax from a cup but it never works hes not scared of it is there anything I can do because its hard free ranging crickets and Dubias. Is this behavior normal with a jacksons?!?

Not an expert by any means with the Jackson, but our rescue will eat from hand, screen, cup... pretty much anyway he can to get the food in his mouth. Just thought i would post you a quick response.

Gpmo (him)

some xanths will eat as aggressively as any cham out there, but occasionally they can be shy or picky eaters. if they are used to free ranged feeders, then they may be less receptive to cup feeding as as long as there are other alternatives available. no healthy xanth with a normal appetite is going to starve themselves because they would rather have free range feeders. things you can do; dont use clear cups. use a cup that holds feeders well, i prefer the yoplait yogurt cups that are skinnier at the top than the bottom, they hold feeders better than straight walled cups. its important there is something in there when they do check it out, otherwise, he will just learn to ignore it. to start, use smaller feeders than normal, a small cup can make feeders look bigger than they are used to. use feeders that move, if you put dubia in a small cup they only move for a couple of minutes, after that, they may sit motionless for hrs, so even if dubia are his favorite feeder they may not be the best for initiating cup feeding, so at least have a crick or something that moves in with it. make sure the cup is in a well lit area that he can look down into from his basking spot. in the begining it might be good to show him there is something in the cup before you hang it. drastically reduce or even eliminate the free range feeders available to him, he may be reluctant at first but he will eventually come around.

Yes, mine used to ignore it completely. But after some time he was completely used to it. I usually don't put crickets in a cup any more but I will for dubias and superworms, and I will place it right under his favorite perch.

Usefull info thanks guys. We are trying to teach our Yemen to cup feed for dubis and will use this info.

Gpmo (him)

I think you should have the feeders free range because what else better does you chameleon have to do other than hunt for food?

IHaveAJackson said:

I think you should have the feeders free range because what else better does you chameleon have to do other than hunt for food?

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I would agree completely, but sometimes it's good to have certain feeders contained. In my case, I kept finding superworm beetles that were pupating in whatever nooks and crannies the worms could find in the pots. And the roaches will just find a dark place to hide and not move for days, so they'll also just end up living in the nooks. To me that's gross, especially since I can barely stand the sight of the roaches. So crickets are free, and roaches and worms are in a bowl under his favorite perch. He still has stuff to chase around but I know that the other insects aren't setting up camp in the cage (and to scare the daylights out of me when I'm in there cleaning the cage!)