Daesie11
Chameleon Enthusiast
Ahh... well that's what happened. I may have accidentally drowned my pupated larvae
Jackson's Chameleon not eating anymore, please help :(
- Thread starter maria.meihua
- Start date
Franquixote
Established Member
Josh's Frogs isn't horrible price or otherwise, but isn't the best... on the high end of price and variable quality BUT:
try hornworms- order them a size or two smaller because they grow FAST (like almost double in size every 2 days). At least it will get them some moisture... by the way, is the animal drinking? Shower if not... water much more important than food.
Butterworms can also be a good choice to get their stomach grumbling. Got to get them to eat a lot for a few days to break a hunger strike.
Silkworms are hard to find but also hard for them to resist.
Ultimately, see if you can get a colony of dubia or orange head (orange heads can get a little smelly as a defense mechanism but not too bad) going, the roaches can be gut loaded really well and dubias and orange heads don't climb glass... they don't bite, and they reproduce well in a large (60 liter or so) Tupperware tub with lid that you can get at Walmart.
I personally HATE crickets, they smell, can bite, can chirp and infest, and sooner or later will pass on pinworms. Normal to have some parasites but given all the other factors crickets are my absolute last choice in feeders.
Bioactive setups are- IMO- not a good idea when starting out because it introduces a lot of variables that you can't control like stuff burrowing into it, native insects taking up residence (annoying gnats and such) and poop isn't as obvious. Something that can be sanitized on the bottom completely is an easier way to do business for a year or so if you haven't kept chameleons before.
try hornworms- order them a size or two smaller because they grow FAST (like almost double in size every 2 days). At least it will get them some moisture... by the way, is the animal drinking? Shower if not... water much more important than food.
Butterworms can also be a good choice to get their stomach grumbling. Got to get them to eat a lot for a few days to break a hunger strike.
Silkworms are hard to find but also hard for them to resist.
Ultimately, see if you can get a colony of dubia or orange head (orange heads can get a little smelly as a defense mechanism but not too bad) going, the roaches can be gut loaded really well and dubias and orange heads don't climb glass... they don't bite, and they reproduce well in a large (60 liter or so) Tupperware tub with lid that you can get at Walmart.
I personally HATE crickets, they smell, can bite, can chirp and infest, and sooner or later will pass on pinworms. Normal to have some parasites but given all the other factors crickets are my absolute last choice in feeders.
Bioactive setups are- IMO- not a good idea when starting out because it introduces a lot of variables that you can't control like stuff burrowing into it, native insects taking up residence (annoying gnats and such) and poop isn't as obvious. Something that can be sanitized on the bottom completely is an easier way to do business for a year or so if you haven't kept chameleons before.
GoodKarma19
Chameleon Enthusiast
Just to add - butterworms have been known to rarely cause an allergic reaction in some reptiles, specifically chameleons. As a treat items go, I personally avoid them for this reason! I also dislike that they have been irradiated. My 2c!
@maria.meihua, if you're considering bioactivity, I'd suggest investing in a lot of research. I'm on month 5 of research, and have only just started building! John Courtney-Smith's book, "Bio-Activity and the Theory of Wild Re-Creation", was an invaluable source for me - as well as this forum of course! Once you've done some of your own reading, feel free to hit us up with any questions you might have.
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
People overcomplicate bioactivity I think. If you ever had a plant in a flower pot, that soil was bioactive in some way. Research it of course, but imo more can go wrong with a sterile set up. I let my kid play on the floor with dirt and whatever, I do the same for my chameleon.
GoodKarma19
Chameleon Enthusiast
I'm an academic at heart - what can I say?
I either commit all the way, or I don't commit at all.
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
I'm an academic at heart - what can I say?
My comment wasn't in response to what you said. I said it because a lot of people make it out like it's only for advanced people and is tricky to do, when it's not that hard to do at all. Some of us go a little further with it, but it can be effective and simple as well. I had 5 large cham enclosures all bio at one point and it took me like 2 days to do. Now that I have kids though any cool projects aren't going to be possible some time. Maybe I'll make a bioactive playpen haha
maria.meihua
Member
Thank you so much, your cage looks awesome!
maria.meihua
Member
Wow, thank you so much for steering me away from this guy! You guys are the best.
maria.meihua
Member
This is definitely an investment I'm going to be taking up! Thank you : )))
maria.meihua
Member
Thank you, I'll try hornworms out!
She is about 7 months old, and those things get BIG, so I wasn't sure if that was really an option for me. I guess I just gotta feed them to her when they're super tiny babies
She is drinking plenty of water, so at least she is hydrated. In the past day, she's eaten 2 crickets and 2 Waxworms. I'm working on implementing new stuff into her diet, but it's a slow process for me. I'm looking into getting silkworms as well.
I would be cool with getting some dubia roaches and orange heads, but I don't think I'm quite ready to start raising my own colonies and reproducing them myself.
JoXie411
Chameleon Enthusiast
Can you make me a bioactive play pen to?
maria.meihua
Member
Does Flukers Calcium Fortified Cricket Quencher have D3? I dont wsnt to make my poor Chryssa sick.
GonzoBatCountry
Member
I'm a newbie too.... I've had my jackson girl for about 4 months now. It took my Dinah Shore a good month to settle in her routine. Any deviation from her said schedule, she gets mad and will go on a day or two hunger strike. I've had other reptiles and none have had fraction of the personality that she has. I think she could tell that I was stressing and she reciprocal to it.
It doesn't have D3 but it is little more than a water source. There is no need to buy anymore of it just use veggies to supply moisture to your crickets.
