Snacker?!?

[babyfelix]

So, my Jackson's chameleon has been acting like a "couch potato" because he will only eat a few insects at a time, and then go do something else. When I picked him up from an expo, he was stressed until I brought him into natural UVB. He would eat like a champ so I had no worries. He does fire up every now and then when he feeds, but I am perplexed whether this is normal or not.

 

[Lathis]

How old is your Jacksons? If he's closer to adult age (8 months plus), it might not be that big of a deal. If he's younger, you may want to fill out the "How to Ask for Help" form to see if we can troubleshoot any issues that might be contributing to a loss of appetite.

My Jax has always been a snacker. He might one or two bugs first thing in the morning and then he might eat one or two later in the day, but he does not "pig out" at any one time.

He won't eat every day either - about every third day, he is not interested, so I generally skip a day if he has eaten the previous two. I will try to feed him something dusted in the AM so I can be sure he is getting his calcium, then will free range a few bugs in the cage for him to hunt down. It's good enrichment. Ferdinand has always been rather small, even for a Jax, I think. At 2-1/2, he is about 65-70 grams.

How do you mean "Firing Up"? My Jax will get excited and puff his chin and rise up on all fours to hunt. I think that is normal.

 

[pigglett79]

How old is your Jacksons? If he's closer to adult age (8 months plus), it might not be that big of a deal. If he's younger, you may want to fill out the "How to Ask for Help" form to see if we can troubleshoot any issues that might be contributing to a loss of appetite.

My Jax has always been a snacker. He might one or two bugs first thing in the morning and then he might eat one or two later in the day, but he does not "pig out" at any one time.

He won't eat every day either - about every third day, he is not interested, so I generally skip a day if he has eaten the previous two. I will try to feed him something dusted in the AM so I can be sure he is getting his calcium, then will free range a few bugs in the cage for him to hunt down. It's good enrichment. Ferdinand has always been rather small, even for a Jax, I think. At 2-1/2, he is about 65-70 grams.

How do you mean "Firing Up"? My Jax will get excited and puff his chin and rise up on all fours to hunt. I think that is normal.

I agree.....we need to know age of your guy. My boy Rex is about 3.5 yrs old and eats 2-4 bugs a day and is about the same with skipping around every third day. He is a big boy though at about 110 grams.

 

[Lathis]

Wow! Rex is probably twice as big as Ferds. I think the Ferds is just a little guy by nature.

 

[babyfelix]

He is going on 5mos old.

 

[Lathis]

Keep offering him as many bugs as he will eat. He is in a growing spurt.

Have you tried offering him something new? I like to rotate crickets, superworms, silkworms, calciworms (reptiworms), a few small wild caught bugs like moths, and flies. The crickets, supers, and calciworms you should be able to get at any big pet store.

Anything that flutters or flies is also a good appetite stimulant for a Jax. You can catch those yellow or white cabbage moths. Painted ladies might be too big for him right now. Any fluttery brown moth will work too. My Jax goes nuts for moths. Also, blue bottle flies from mantidpets.com are sure to be a hit. They are relatively inexpensive. I hatch out about 10 pupae at a time. It's really fun to watch him hunt.