chameleon bug soup

[ohh_kristina]

Hello! I am planning on getting a sub adult Jackson's chameleon sometime after the new year. In January I will be setting up the enclosure and getting everything ready, and then later that month I will hopefully be making my purchase. I have been reading for months and have finally found a breeder (www.chameleoncorral.com). My question is about bugs. I know that chameleons need a variety to survive healthily. I plan to feed silk worms, crickets, cockroaches, and a few other things. What else can I feed? Also, what kind of cockroaches don't fly? I am afraid of flying cockroaches. :D. I have also read that Jackson's chameleons are sometimes over fed calcium and vitamins and that they should only be supplimented once a week. Is this correct?

I kept a pair of veiled chameleons a few years ago, but I feel like so much has changed since then, so I'm kind of relearning everything. Any tips on keeping chameleons (or Jackson's in particular) that you wouldn't read anywhere commonly?

Thanks! I will let you know how my cage and everything turn out.

[Collide]

as a adult every cham should be suplimented once a week I find that to be too much though so im usually around 3 times a month mabey less but jacksons do grow those amazing horns so they might need a tuch more... congrats on your upcomming addition you guys have it soo good in the states with your selection...

[khameleon]

Jacksons are very suseptable to vitamin overdose, especially Vitamin D, which leads to edema. So, to avoid this, vitamin supplements are used once a week. As for Calcium, it depends on whether your chameleon is gravid or not (in which case you should just dust every other day to provide for the gravid female's needs) A really good brand to use is Miner-ALL 0. Be careful using Miner-ALL 1 since it has added vitamin D, and that could lead to overdosing if you use it too much.

With that said, the biggest problem with Jacksons, and WC ones in particular, is the water issue. They need high humidity levels and a water dripper for their water needs, otherwise they will dehydrate.

I use a ficus and scheffera (sp?) for them to hide in and get comfortable. It's great because you can just spray the water onto the leaves where they can lick it off. Jacksons are rather shy creatures, so having a plant as shelter really helps.

Robert

[J-Man]

As for bugs:

good staples are crickets and silkworms and maybe some roaches.

good treats are butterworms and waxworms... and when they're old enough you can feed them hornworms (but I'm not sure if they're good as a staple or a treat)

and bugs to avoid, for the most part, would be mealies. Their exoskeleton is much harder to digest than other bugs so it's best to just stick with the formentioned feeders... but you probably already knew that.

Jeremy