my jacksons will only eat crickets

clyde1985

New Member
im really trying hard to get my young jacksons( i think hes 6 months) to eat something else besides just crickets. i want him to have a variety of food in his diet. he is super stubborn . he will eat crickets from my hand everyday but absolutely no luck with wax worms or super worms for the two weeks ive had him.
i dont want to keep buying different types of insects for him if he will only eat crickets. ive left him a few wax worms & small super worms in his cage and he just stares at them . any advice on what else to feed him? i personally think crickets aren't enough of a variety of a diet for my buddy. he only ate crickets at the reptile store unfortunately so i think hes confused. i tried waiting 48 hours ( and i felt horrible for starving him ) and he will just stare at both types of worms, but if i bring a cricket to him , he instantly eats . im happy he eats those at least for now. any other good types of food for young jacksons that he may actually eat ? i might try small horned worms this weekend...thanks friends !!!
 
my veiled started eating everything i would offer the 1st try . are jacksons more stubborn to changes in diet ?
 
I had a similar problem with my Jackson's. He would scarf down crickets but wouldn't touch meal worms or super worms. Since then I have found that he will eat grasshoppers, house flies, moths, dragon flies (pretty much anything that flies), and he also loves horn worms. I plan on getting some silkworms now since I know he enjoys soft bodied worms. I think there is just something about the appearance of hard bodied worms that turns Jacksons off. I have also heard that Jackson's love snails although I have not fed mine any. Try some of the insects I suggested and I'm sure he'll find something he loves!
 
I had a similar problem with my Jackson's. He would scarf down crickets but wouldn't touch meal worms or super worms. Since then I have found that he will eat grasshoppers, house flies, moths, dragon flies (pretty much anything that flies), and he also loves horn worms. I plan on getting some silkworms now since I know he enjoys soft bodied worms. I think there is just something about the appearance of hard bodied worms that turns Jacksons off. I have also heard that Jackson's love snails although I have not fed mine any. Try some of the insects I suggested and I'm sure he'll find something he loves!

awsome !! that gives me some ideas now ! the hardest part is finding any of those others you suggested. i mean finding any of those insects at a store ... hmmmm. time to start buying insects online ?? i can only find silk worms and supers at the stores in town. thanks Dayne
 
I had to buy the hornworms online, but found the others around my house. Just make sure they are not in an area with insecticides. Buying live worms online can be expensive but from what I've researched buying just the eggs online is pretty cheap and you can keep the eggs in the refrigerator and just take out what you need to hatch and feed.
 
ill start with horned worms this weekend and a few roaches before i go searching my back yard lol. luckily i found one lady in town who sells horned worns . thanks for the advice !! i sure hope he eats some horned
 
My Jax is the pickiest eater ever, so I feel your pain. He loves anything with a crunch and generally couldn't care less about squishy things. I have to highly recommend getting some blue bottle flies. You can buy the maggots or the pupae (I buy pupae) online for pretty cheap. They keep in the fridge for a few weeks and you can take out as many as you want.

My little guy went freaking NUTS when the flies hatched. It was hilarious to watch my normally chill Jax practically dance around catching flies. The first I gave him about 20 and he snarfed every single one down. Now I usually give him about 10 every few weeks.

Flies aren't super nutritious, but it gives him a little variety and definitely livens up his day. It might be all in my head, but since I started giving him flies as a treat, he seems more open to other foods. Before, he would try it once and then turn up his nose. Now, he is warming up to silkworms (finally) and enjoys a few superworms a week.

Maybe he just needed to get settled, maybe he was in a "mood", maybe he is just a picky eater. I've noticed he eats a ton more when he gets to free range, so you might try letting your guy get some extra exercise too.
 
I would start training him to cup feed if he does not already , the reason being..when you do start feeding roaches, unless you hand feed them, I would not let them lose in the cage- if he is really into the crix, he should feed pretty easy from the cup - also, with my babies , I started them on a cup right away - the learned the cup = food - and any new food I introduce in the cup because they know the cup always has food items - and I offer the new food items first , and then ones they know about an hour later ~ I also do free range some types of feeders, but never roaches - try the flies, check our sponsors sites for feeders - he will come around :)
 
@Lathis & little leaf.. thank you both for all the info !!! i really appreciate it.. one last question.. is my jacksons too small to eat horned worms yet ?? how old should he be to start eating horned worms? and what size ?? the local store said they have medium and mostly large .. thank you all so much
 
My Jax is just now a year old and can only really manage s hornworm about 1-1/2 inches long at the most. They are a smaller cham species, so larger hornworms are going to be much too big.

Get smaller hornworms if you can. Hornworms also grow really fast, so if you get too many, they will outgrow your cham's food size.

You should try silkworms too. Very nutritious and your Jax may really like them. The only issue is that they can be really expensive because of shipping and you need special food. Eggs are cheaper if you have the patience to raise them.
 
Are you gutloading your feeders and what's your supplement use?

Just trying to help out because those two things can be confusing at first. If you need some info or want a sanity check for what you are doing, there are some really great resources here on CF.
 
@Lathis & little leaf.. thank you both for all the info !!! i really appreciate it.. one last question.. is my jacksons too small to eat horned worms yet ?? how old should he be to start eating horned worms? and what size ?? the local store said they have medium and mostly large .. thank you all so much

order the horns from Great Lakes, but get eggs - its a "pod" - it has the food and eggs all in one, as soon as they start to hatch, feed away :p and like Laths said, silks are another great feeder - you can get those in eggs too- :) I started to feed my baby Jax worms @ about a mo old - but they were from the eggs - just the right size ;)
 
ive been trying to get my jackson to eat silks as well and no luck. im trying to pick up some small roaches and small hatchling horn worms this weekend. i really hope he starts eating something besides crickets soon.. i wish i knew how old he was . my veiled would eat anything i offered him from the day i got him lol. he is not picky at all. he loves everything .
ive tried the cup feeding ( like i did with my veiled) and he likes eating crickets from my hand. but is still not interested in anything else. ill keep trying
 
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