I have posted a lot on here, I know & I apologize! I'm new obviously and have questions! I have noticed one of my females is much 'fatter' than the other. Before I adopted them, the breeder had two females & one male in a pretty big enclosure. They are all around one year of age. I adopted the females. The skinnier one is much more active, and adventurous. While the other doesn't move around much unless she's basking or eating or drinking. She's definitely got more of a pudgier stomach than the other. I thought at first it night be because she eats more. But then again the thought crossed my mind that she might be pregnant.. if & when she gives birth, (if she's even preggo) what do I need to do? I've only had these babies for less than a week, but I want to be prepared! Any advice? Will the babies and mom be okay in the same cage? How many babies do I need to look for? Will she eat them? Do I Need to seperate them from her? Can they eat smaller crickets? How do I care for them? I might be over obsessing, but I just want to be prepared just in case!?
wondering if my female jackson is pregnant?
- Thread starter faithxw
- Start date
amanda509
New Member
if they were housed with the male, more than likely, yes she is pregnant, and the other may be too.
-they will need separated as soon as you see them. your best bet is to have an extra cage, or even a large storage tub on hand for them. you can decorate this with dial rods, large coated mesh, and some fake plants.
here is an example, and you can add a few more fake plants than this:
-make sure you have an extra uvb bulb and fixture for them. as for food, locate a place that sells flightless fruit flies, or pinhead crickets. and make sure you can get alot of them, because these guys eat like pigs
-the #1 killer of baby jackson's is dehydration. mist as often as possible, even "shower" the babies often. you can put them in a fake plant and set it in your shower. using luke warm water, spray the wall next to them and the mist and water should bounce off onto the babies.
-jackson's babies are very tiny and you can expect from a few, to in the 20's of them. all the babies can stay together (given there are no bullies) for up to 3 months, so you have that long to find homes or make arrangements to keep them
some pics of the females will help a few members on here tell you if she is pregnant and can give you a rough guess on how much time she has before she pops
sulfurboy1o3
New Member
https://www.chameleonforums.com/update-thread-chambust-spartytessys-newborn-jacksons-88712/
this and the related search engines to this will help a lot.
this and the related search engines to this will help a lot.
xanthoman
Avid Member
gravid jacksons
What is her coloring like? Gravid xanths often turn a brown splotchy color. Another thing yo could do, which is imo a good husbandry practice anyway, is to get a $20 digital scale with tare and a typical weight range of 0-500gin tenth gram increments. A mature healty gravid xanth will typically gain about a g a week.also be a good time to do a fecal float as imo, its better to give any meds earlier term than later if at all possible. Imo, now would also be a good time to review any dietand/or supp issues. If you are feeding mostly cricks, now would be a good time to reduce the crick intake and work on getting as much diversity in her diet as possible. I agree that Amanda 509 is correct in that, if it was housed with a male for more than a few days, it is most likely gravid. just my 2 c worth. Jmo
What is her coloring like? Gravid xanths often turn a brown splotchy color. Another thing yo could do, which is imo a good husbandry practice anyway, is to get a $20 digital scale with tare and a typical weight range of 0-500gin tenth gram increments. A mature healty gravid xanth will typically gain about a g a week.also be a good time to do a fecal float as imo, its better to give any meds earlier term than later if at all possible. Imo, now would also be a good time to review any dietand/or supp issues. If you are feeding mostly cricks, now would be a good time to reduce the crick intake and work on getting as much diversity in her diet as possible. I agree that Amanda 509 is correct in that, if it was housed with a male for more than a few days, it is most likely gravid. just my 2 c worth. Jmo
Thanks y'all! I'm not sure if she really is pregnant, but she is quite fat. Maybe a cause of over eating, as she is quite a pig. They are now in a 3 foot tall, 2 foot wide cage EACH, as I moved them to bigger cages.. is this too big a cage for chams in general? They are about 5-6 inches long head to tail, but what I had them in before, seemed to small.. but is there any such thing as too big of a cage for these chams?
Elizadolots
New Member
That's a good size cage. I think most people keep Jackson's in 4 foot tall cages. You can free range them with no cage, meaning "the room is the cage"...so, I don't think a cage can be too big. The only concern would be finding food and a feeding cup would solve that nicely.
If you could post a few pictures of your chameleon, I'm sure the experienced members could help determine if she is pregnant.
I sort of think any female that has been housed with a male should be assumed to be pregnant and preparations should be made for babies or eggs (depending on the chameleon type).
If you could post a few pictures of your chameleon, I'm sure the experienced members could help determine if she is pregnant.
I sort of think any female that has been housed with a male should be assumed to be pregnant and preparations should be made for babies or eggs (depending on the chameleon type).
amanda509
New Member
ive always heard you should never keep an adult jacksons in a smaller cage than 18x18x36...so ive always kept my jacksons in that size and he loves it!! honestly with chams, the bigger, the better. with a bigger cage you can have a wider temp range for them to use to stabilize their own, they have plenty of room to move around, and they actually create their own schedule over time! so i would actually say those cage sizes are perfect!
