Eating Habits and Vitamin/Gutloading

[xryan]

---Help. Advice Eating Habits and Vitamin/Gutloading

I Have a Jackson (Koa) and am trying to figure out what the best diet for him. I mistakenly got him addicted to waxworms for about 3 day and would look to crickets as friends(not letting that happen.) Since he refuses to only eat wax worms i went online to check out what to do. I didn't entirely get the best answers besides starve him till he stops rebelling and eats the staple or have some alternate way of getting him back to a normal varietied diet. My first thought was to check out what were close to Waxworms and crickets and I thought Dubias and mealworms. I got some. He didn't acknowledge the dubia besides the fact that it was a bug and left it alone. But when I put a meal worm he went right for it.
Main Point: #1
Is using mealworms a good way to get my jackson to get back on track with crickets? gutloading and all? and mix crickets in there with it.

Whats the best way to control the humidity of a Hybrid; Half-glass, half-mesh tank. 30x12x18.
For Gutloading I bought Bug Burger and was wondering if i should still dust. I have Reptivite with D3 and T Rex Chameleon Dust. He seems to be in good health and happy just need to figure this out.
I also had a big drift wood and after 3 days had mold/green algee and dust due to the moisture at the bottom of the tank. I now use as a substrate paper towl, then litlle shammys that absorb water and some repti-carpet. If pictures needed please let me know.
First Post, new to the forum!

 

[armando]

Hey!! welcome to the forum x)
you will find a complete caresheet for jackson chameleons in here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

How old is your jackson?
maybe you could try to skiping one feeding day, and then offer him some crickets or dubias... its better if he doesnt has them inside the cage all day long....
Chameleons sometimes go in hunger strikes and some will only eat worms... some members in the forum says that it could be because stress, weather, dehydration, no variety on feeders, or even because he has them all day long inside the cage...

As for the gutloading... I wouldnt use bug burger...
We use 3 things for gutloading... (Dry gutload, wet gutload and water)

You can find dry GREAT gutloading recipes in here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/575-january-2012-dry-gutload-recipe.html

for wet gutloading, the best is to use a variety of mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion leaves, collard greens, escarole lettuce, papaya, watercress and alfalfa...

Some members use water crystals because they insects drawn in water, But I rather use a little containers with clean stones, that way if a feeder falls in the water, it can crawl up back again.

It would be much better if you post pictures just like you said =)

 

[armando]

By the way... dont use many waxworms and mealworms..
they are too high in fat, and thats not good for chameleons...
And.... about vitamins and calcium.
You want to make sure you have this 3: Plain calcium, Calcium with d3, and vitamins.
Plain calcium should be used everyday... and calcium with d3 and vitamins should be used twice a month each...
What I do is... use plain calcium from monday to saturday... and I use vitamins and d3 on sundays... I switch between both of them... one sunday is d3... next vitamins.. next d3.. next vitamins.. and it goes and goes..

 

[xryan]

I have added more bones since that photo and sidesucker plant. With the gut-loading could I do both? And I have this wood that I got from the shop should I clear all ground usage due to bacteria. I disinfected the #^%* out of the wood though. The moisture seemed to have caused it. From the bottom. Should I try the wood again. I can post a lively picture in the morning. Thank you for even responding I'm so glad for that!

 

[xryan]

I'm not entirely sure how old he is the innerchild forgot to ask when I got him. He was a sub-adult but definitely smaller than the subadult they had in the other cage.

 

[armando]

We recommend not to use any substrate at all...
substrates are ground for bacteria and all your feeders will get lost in there...
We also recommend to have a full mesh cage... you see... chameleons are arboreal, that means they live high in the trees, so they get good ventilation...
If they dont get good ventilation, its easier for them to catch a respiratory infection..
They do need humidity, but they also need a proper ventilated area...
Is that linear light an UV lamp?? if it is.. what brand is it?
and whats that red light in there?
he has to have 2 kind of lamps: UV lamp and basking lamp
how are you providing water?

As for the gutloading... what do you mean with doing both?
you mean dry and wet?
or... dry/wet and burger?

 

[armando]

As for the wood....
what does it looks like?
some members bake branches to get rid of bacteria and stuff...
I did it once and it didnt work well for me... my house got all smoked up, and I ended up with a smokey smell all over the place for a couple of days...

 

[xryan]

As the substrate goes, I'm using papertowls, shammys to super absorb water and try to retain a little moisture and the reptile carpet; which I have been maintaining all there on cleanliness and dry/dampless. My linear lighting is a 5.0 24 inch UVB bulb from repti something? Or exoterra. I use an infrared 50w heating lamp that is dimmable. As going for all mesh, I understand and it wasn't entirely in my budget as this enclosure was given to me. 2 mesh doors on either side and screen top. Mist within humidity and i am trying to figure out something get rid of stagnant air. I'm trying to go everything by the books with reading up on everything but a lot is opinionated and its better getting responses then reading care sheets and articles.

 

[armando]

5.0 linear bulb uv its fine...
I havent heard about the infrared heating lamp...
I use zoomed basking lamp... but as long it works for you, it would be fine...
trust me... all the information you need is in this forum... I have found that forum works much better than most of the books, since all the information is given by experienced keepers!
the enclosure should get dry between misting sessions, and it should be completely dry for the night... you dont want it too humid all the time... just like I said before he could get a respiratory infection and thats not good!
Trust me, you should really look into the forum's caresheet, it will provide you with a lot of good information!
this is about jacksons:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/
and this is a general caresheet:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/

members are also glad to help you out anytime x)

 

[armando]

Oh.. by the way...
As far as I know... infrared heating lamp its supposed to be used at night.... It provides heat for nightime...
You dont want to provide any heat while he is sleeping... chameleons like a temperature drop down in the nights...
I would recommend you to get a regular basking light..
like these:

http://www.pearls.org.uk/ekmps/shop...amp-bulb-screw-fit-50-watt-sun-glo-1345-p.jpg

http://es.zoomed.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SL2-50-Repti-Basking.jpg

http://www.livefoods.co.uk/images/ET_Daylight_Basking_050W_2.jpg

 

[xryan]

As for the wood....
what does it looks like?
some members bake branches to get rid of bacteria and stuff...
I did it once and it didnt work well for me... my house got all smoked up, and I ended up with a smokey smell all over the place for a couple of days...

That's what I meant about the wood. One of those wood setups you bujy at the reptile store. got it all soaked cleaned and dry but now is the oven part. Any recommendations on curing the wood or not even use it? If the lighting isn't drying out the substrate/carpet would a heating pad for the bottom get rid of the humidity or would it be bad to h\ave a heat source at the bottom of the cage where he won't be.

 

[xryan]

He seems to just be waiting around fm for me to feed him. I have mealworms and waxworks but he won't eat the crickets for Dubias. It is Easter and its been a day since I've seen him eat something.
And the wood. I paid 25$ for it and its comes drilled. Not taking it back cause shop is about 70 miles away. I'm skeptical on using it for bacteria. But will it make a difference with or without. I also had the idea or unscrewing it and individually using the pieces.

 

[xryan]

also its Easter. he hasn't eaten anything and seems not too happy. should I feed him the mealworms?

 

[pssh]

The best way to get him to stop eating waxworms/mealworms is to stop feeding them to him. Offer him crickets/roaches/hornworms/silkworms/etc. every 2-3 days until he starts to eat them. Leave them with him for 10-30 minutes and if he wont eat them remove them from the cage and try again in a few days. He will eat when he is hungry, he wont starve himself. They do not need to eat like mammals, so if he is healthy, it wont hurt him to go for a few days or even a week or two without food. Healthy adult chameleons can sometimes go for a month or more without food and still be fine. Unless he is sick, you should not give in to his waxworm/mealworm demands. A fat chameleon is an unhealthy chameleon that will probably not live as long as a chameleon of normal weight. If you are worried that he will loose too much weight, buy a cheap kitchen scale and weigh him once a week or so and monitor his weight.

Your cage is fine (though bigger is better.) The screen on the sides and top allow for plenty of air flow/exchange. Just make sure the humidity stays good for a jacksons and that the cage dries out between mistings. Since he is a jacksons he needs several nice long (preferably 5 minutes each) mistings a day. If your cage cannot handle all the water, look into drainage solutions. Drilling a few holes in the bottom plastic and raising the cage above a container/catch bin will allow the water to drain without flooding the room.

You need a plain calcium without D3 for to use 2-3 times a week. The T-rex dust is okay to use once or twice every 4-6 weeks though the vitamin A concerns me a little bit because he is a jacksons. The reptivite can be used once every 4-6 weeks, but it also has some vitamin A in it as well, so I don't know if I would use both of these at the same time. I would recommend getting a separate plain calcium without D3, and a plain calcium with D3. Use the calcium without D3 2-3 times a week and use either the T-rex or the reptivite once or twice every 4-6 weeks. The number of times you use the calcium with D3 will depend on what brand it is (so come back and tell us so we can help give a general guideline about it.)

The bug burger is fine for the dry gutload portion of your gutload (I know it's a wet food, but it should be considered the dry portion,) but you still need to offer the feeders some fresh fruits and veggies (kale, dandelions, collard greens, mustard greens, squash, carrots, sweet peppers, apples, berries, papaya, oranges, etc.) Use a plain white incandescent bulb (the ones you can buy for normal house lamps are fine) instead of the red bulb. They see the white light as more natural and recognize it as a heat source, and dont use any heat at night. Chameleons like a night time temp drop and it is good for their metabolism.

As for the wood, you can use it but be careful and watch for mold or rotting. If it can sufficiently dry out it will probably do alright. Try and get more horizontal branches in there at different levels so he has more places to walk/climb on. Also try to add a little more foliage so he feels more secure.

 

[dom1959]

armando...
did u recommend calcium everyday for a jackson chameleon?

 

[xryan]

Im not giving calcium everyday. He's not eating, only worms so im not feeding him them.