Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello ... i have a pair of dwarf jacksons, along with a full grown, 24 inch lond male veiled in my herp 'collection'

the dwarfs usually eat about 6-9 crix a day, but today 1 ate 2 and 1 ate none ... i didnt think much of it, because i figure they are just living off of the food from previous days ...

is this an accurate assumption ... i will keep an eye on it, and post if they dont eat again tommorow

just let me know if i should be worryied or not - lol

Jason Singer

Jason-

Make sure all temps/humididty are correct in there cages. They are being housed in there own cages right? If you can not get them to eat crickets, then try another food source, like silkworms! There has been alot posted about them the last week or so, but once again you can buy them @ www.mulberryfarms.com and www.ebay.com Hope this helps!
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John
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers

What does you set-up look like? If you could provide info on the size, lighting, heating, humidity, plants, etc. How long have you had them? Where did you get them? Have they been treated for parasites, been examined by a vet, or had a fecal? Any unusual growths near the joints, particularly on the male? Are you keeping them together? Merus (Dwarf Jackson’s) are extremely difficult to acclimate. Without the info above it would be difficult at best to say what to do. As for alternative foods, Merus seem to prefer flies (you can purchase pupae online from bait stores).
Thanks
Justyn
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Justyn
Intense Herpetoculture

they are housed separately, and the enclosures are 2 feet, by 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet
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Jason Singer

Those cages sound alittle small for jacksons. all subspecies seem to like the same size cage. for a dawf i would go with a 38 gallon reptarium which cost like $25 on ebay and about $40 in the petstores or you can build your own 36"X18"X18" cages.

if your dawfs are babies then those cages shouold be ok and shouldn't affect their eating....by stressing them out.

try pill bugs (woodlice) they love them and can't eat enough of them. pill bugs are found under rotting wood that is moist. I would grabb a chunk of the wood and take a bunch of the bugs and put them in a container and wait to see if they have been poisoned. or if you know they havent take a chunk of the wood becuase tha is what they eat with to keep them alive or they will die over night. dust every couple pill bug becuase they are many exoskeleton but the chams can digest the entire thing.

also you can try darkling beetles which are the adults stage of mealworms

this is the first time this has happened
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Jason Singer

They might die; WC Meru's are known to do that. That’s why I am trying to see what may be wrong with your set-up. Again, if you could provide the other info such as the questions I asked in the above post that would be great. I've worked quite a bit with this sub-species and I've had my fair share of problems with them. As far as the caging, I would recommend is a larger densely planted screened enclosure about 4'x 2'x 4'. Provide one cage per a chameleon and put it in a low traffic area of your house. One thing I found out is stress kills the majority of Jackson’s more then anything else. I mean, these guys hate to be looked at the wrong way! Keep the enclosure densely planted with a fine cool mist providing them constant humidity. Also, again check for parasites with the help of a good vet. and treat as needed.
Thanks
Justyn
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Justyn
Intense Herpetoculture

so i can assume that if they dont eat for one day, they are ok?

just keep trying to feed them they next, and vary their diet as much as i can *runs t basement and get wax worms and silk worms*
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Jason Singer

They might be ok, but I've noticed that very rarely do Meru's off feeding without starting to go down hill. These guys are very particular to caging conditions and will take no less then the best for longer then a few weeks. If you wish to obtain long term success with this species you need to duplicate their natural macro and micro environment ASAP. Again, flies are the best choice in regards to a good quality alternative food.
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Justyn
Intense Herpetoculture

their cages are full of plants and hiding/climbing places, along with a relatively humid place - thei are fed out of a container and get meal/wax worms, andlong with crix

thanks again
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Jason Singer