I have got surprise Jackson's babies and need some advice

UrbanFarmGirl

New Member
Hello! I'm Bree and this is a long story, I'll try to be brief. I work at a large pet store that carries Jackson's. Since I started 4 months ago the female that we have (no male, haven't had a male since before the breeder shipped her to us) has had a poor appetite, weight loss and lack of activity. Now, I know that the enclosures we display them in are a far cry from what they need so please no lectures on the things I already wish corporate could change. She was going downhill fast and we didn't know what to do for her. Surprise on the 15th of this month she birthed 8 neonates. Two still births and six viable. One passed away a few hours later and 5 were left to adopt. Knowing that they couldn't get the care they needed at the store I adopted the Jackson's 5 a few days after birth.

I'm giving the female some wax worms coated on calcium with d3 in addition to her regular crickets to get her weight back up. Is this good? Could I/should I be doing more or something else to help her? Is it true that she could have another brood in 3 months?

The Jackson's 5 became the Jackson's 4 yesterday when one neonate passed away. This one had a deformity, one of its eyes never formed, it was just a hole on his head and the upper jaw was off center because of it. There was a lot of trouble eating for this one. The other four are eating fruitflies and super tiny crickets i special ordered for them. Should the neonates be getting some kind of calcium or vitamin? What else is safe for the babies to eat? I want some variety in their diet.

Anything I should read or know? All help greatly appreciated.
 
I have no experience with post pregnancy care of Jackson's or raising babies so hopefully someone else will chime in, but I do know wax worms are high in fat and low in nutrition. Not an optimal feeder for bringing her weight and health up after pregnancy. A great feeder IMO would be silkworms. They are fairly high in protein (something the body needs to heal), calcium (something he body is probably lacking after forming all those babies), and water (something that will help if she's dehydrated). Another great feeder are Dubia roaches. They are very high in protein and gutload well! Make sure you gutload all feeders well for both her and the babies for optimal nutrition. You can still give waxworms as an occasional treat, but I would avoid giving them often.

I once came across a post about the best feeders to feed for different health conditions, but can't find it. I know the two I mentioned above were benificial though. Also, an interesting take on gutloading:
http://www.chameleonnews.com/12NovKauffman.html

This forum is great! You'll find a ton of good info here for raising chameleons. Good luck!
 
Ok first things first please stop using term breeder. This animal came from the wild.

Congratulations on the babies! The poor survival rate is most likely related to the improper care she has received from the point of being collected in the wild and the time being held in the store.

For the little ones keep the humidity high and provide lots of opportunity to drink by misting the plants. Provide small foods multiple times each day. Fruit flies, 7 day old crickets and aphids are a good start. As they grow increase the size of the food items. Provide temps in the low 80's during the day and drop it into the low 70's to upper 60's at night.

For the babies and mom like the others have suggested be careful with the D3. A light dusting once a month with a high quality product is all they need. Dust daily with calcium. Even better would be raising them outside to eliminate the need for D3. Provide all the insects a well balanced diet. This is the preferred way to get the vitamins and minerals they need.

Carl
 
Thanks. It's a habit to call them a breeder since they breed the other reptiles for for company. The neonates are doing well, they seem to prefer the fruitflies to the crickets. The mom is eating well again. Your advice has been very helpful.
 
Hey there. I hope the babies are still doing ok. I've had a heck of a time with my recent (first & last) litter of Jackson's. I'd gotten 3 Jackson's from someone who got them to breed as a hobby and then realized he didn't know anything about them. One of the females was already pregnant though by the time I got them and separated them all.

She gave birth to 23 babies on July 13th. Several were still born and several more had underdeveloped eyes and lungs and died. There are now 13 (lost one just yesterday :( ) and they are eating fruit flies mostly. They have the option of pinheads and tiny silkworms, but prefer the hydei fruit flies (flightless). The wingless fruit flies were too hard to control and the babies didn't like them. I did post a thread about the 20% survival rate for Jackson's and the response so far has been that it's true and many die around 1 month old. Just be prepared for that even if you do everything else right.

I keep a humidifier next to my babies and then mist for drinking atleast 4 times a day. I don't have a heat bulb at all on them and my temps are upper 70's during the day and upper 60's at night. I've found the best way to keep the fruit flies contained and visible is to use the end of a banana standing up on the bottom of the cage. They keep pretty well to that and are still easily seen by the babies.

Not sure if I helped, but feel free to pm me if you want to talk more.
 
Also, for the mother's care. Be sure you are dusting all her food. I would not use wax or meal worms regularly. Stick to gut loaded crickets or silkworms (my favorite). My female was also very, very thirsty. To the point that I put a small container of water in her enclosure with fake plastic leaves in it and she immediately went down to it and drank and drank. Poor babies took a lot out of her! I also give her the chance to eat more than my other adults (who I feed about 4 times a week). She gets fed at least once a day. I would go ahead and give her a dose of multivitamin and D3 if you haven't since they were born too.
 
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