2 Jackson's housed

[mhfan305]

I will be getting 1 male and female hatchling Jackson chameleons soon. Will it be ok to keep them together in the same cage for life because they grew up with each other? If not which age should I separate them? And what are the chances of my chameleons fighting and stressing each other out due to not being separated? What are the effects? The breeder that is sellin it to me said he houses his in pairs and has been ever since with no problems in minimum space for adults as well. He might just be trying to make more money off me, I will do more questioning with him before actually paying for the 2 instead of the 1 but I would also like an input from here. I pointed out that all the care sheets said no to the 2 Jackson's being housed and he said that its because that most haven't kept the species or breed them. I'd love to keep them in the same cage as long as I can for sure. Any help would be great. Thank you.

 

[Beautiful4Ever]

The biggest issue with housing a female and male together is just the stress that it will put on the female, housing them together would result in her having babies often and probably too soon...this will usually result in a shorter lifespan of the female. This is from the research I have done when I found out I had a female and male instead of two males.

 

[little leaf]

Welcome to the forums =)

they will need separate cages , I noticed that my babies start a "pecking order" very young - they were fine until about 3/4 mos, and then it became obvious there were bullies, and when I saw some hiding from the others, it was time to separate them - plus, if they are related, you do not want them breeding, and they will...

here is a care sheet on Jax
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

lots of good info =)

 

[Solid Snake]

Goodness, Ive seen some low posts counts compared to membership date, but you take the cake man.

"Welcome to the forum" lol

Its not the best idea, unless you have a large enclosure, with separate basking areas and such, basically two enclosures in one, only it would need to be larger than two separate enclosures, so not the most viable idea.

Especially if the two are related. Which Im going to assume they are.

You are better off getting two separate enclosures from the get go.

I would also recommend just getting two 2x2x4' enclosures, as that is what they will need when they are adults, and that way you dont have to buy baby, and adult cages. They will do fine in a 2x2x4 at any age.

Good luck.

 

[Lathis]

Sounds like your instincts about being scammed are correct

Separate is the way to go. Some chameleons lay eggs, but Jackson's give live birth. Like with birds, if you didn't want to breed them, you could just toss the eggs. It's much too cruel to kill live babies.

If this is your first cham, you might consider starting with a male. No need to worry about all the reproductive issues that way. You can always add a genetically unrelated female later. There is no shortage of Jax.

 

[mhfan305]

I'll just be getting the 1 male then. I am supposedly getting pictures of the 2 he has left. Can anyone tell me the signs of good health and bad I should look for in the pictures of the hatchlings? I have an 18x18x18 screen exo-terra cage for him as I like their products too much. If I were to upgrade to an 18x18x24 would this be sufficent for him as a life long cage? I could go for an 18x18x36 but I want an exo terra screen terrarium and they don't make that size oddly enough. Also does anyone know where to purchase hatchling Jackson's or dwarf Jackson's? He is selling me this baby for $60 and trying to put $50 shipping to it when it should be $40.

 

[jackschamnewbie]

I'll just be getting the 1 male then. I am supposedly getting pictures of the 2 he has left. Can anyone tell me the signs of good health and bad I should look for in the pictures of the hatchlings? I have an 18x18x18 screen exo-terra cage for him as I like their products too much. If I were to upgrade to an 18x18x24 would this be sufficent for him as a life long cage? I could go for an 18x18x36 but I want an exo terra screen terrarium and they don't make that size oddly enough. Also does anyone know where to purchase hatchling Jackson's or dwarf Jackson's? He is selling me this baby for $60 and trying to put $50 shipping to it when it should be $40.

Healthy chameleons display activity and alertness throughout the entire day, a healthy and high appetite, the eyes are not sunken in and the skin appears well hydrated and not wrinkly.
Color typically displays their current mood so it is better to judge their behavior as a sign of health.
Feces are another indicator of health, urates completely white and food is properly digested (no partially digested insects) is a sign of good health and proper care.

If you cant see these things personally, try and contact someone that can describe them to you. A lot of of online vendors have a guarantee for a certain time frame, which would let you observe these things and decide to keep them or not.

 

[jackschamnewbie]

dont get scammed btw
the person you described is lying to you and probably does not take care of their reptiles
110$ is reasonable for a very healthy and or very hard to get chameleon.
I personally would not pay more than 50$ for a younger jackson as you will end up spending a whole lot more than you think to give them the care they need.
"Good" genetics is all to often a false fable
Dont get dooped

 

[mhfan305]

Here are photos of the males. They look healthly to me...what do you guys think? $100 shipped for 1. There all called image so I need to upload them later on my computer but here is 1 picture.

 

[little leaf]

I love Jax I have many, but ( and I am not trying to scare you, or talk you out of anything - or into anything- lol ) he does look healthy from the pic- but may I ask, why so young? you can get an older one for the same price- I love the babies, but I see you are a Jr member - I know that only means you just have not posted alot , I see you joined in 09, and you could be a very experienced keeper - I don't know- but I would not even sell mine until they hit 5 mos - babies are harder to keep than an older one- (imho) if you are new, you may want to consider a bit older cham - but I think it is GREAT you are on here researching before you get the cham !! I am sure no matter what you chose, you will be a wonderful , dedicated keeper. if you chose the baby, I would read thew the blogs/post on keeping babies - and make sure you have LOTS of tiny feeders - they eat non-stop
also, Jax give live birth, so your baby is not a " hatchling " but rather born
if you go to our sponsors, or chams for sale, you can find Jax for sale there, and also you can post in the wanted section ( I think- lol - I am not sure what all Jr members can post in ? )
Good luck with what ever you decide you will love having a Jax

 

[Ctg]

Here are photos of the males. They look healthly to me...what do you guys think? $100 shipped for 1. There all called image so I need to upload them later on my computer but here is 1 picture.

Hey I was talking to someone from a website I found and they sent me that same exact pic as the one available. It's probably not an issue because they're reusing pictures but I find it a little odd.

 

[mhfan305]

the guy told me this morning he sold his entire clutch to someone! I want a baby, a few weeks old to maybe a month. I want to raise him. I am an experienced chameleon keeper and reptile keeper in general so I should be fine unless the animals comes to me with problems already. If you little leaf have any baby's for sale please PM me I will buy 1! I will also post a classified here on this website.

 

[Carlton]

the guy told me this morning he sold his entire clutch to someone! I want a baby, a few weeks old to maybe a month. I want to raise him. I am an experienced chameleon keeper and reptile keeper in general so I should be fine unless the animals comes to me with problems already. If you little leaf have any baby's for sale please PM me I will buy 1! I will also post a classified here on this website.

It's fine to want to raise them from very young ages, but jax are quite tricky that young and can die suddenly from something as simple as aspirating a large water droplet (especially if the misting you do creates larger droplets instead of a fine mist). Just a caution for you to consider. There is often some percentage of any clutch that simply doesn't survive longer than a month. The reasons are usually due to some undetected internal abnormality. It is safer to get one a little older...a couple of months old. Really tiny babies could be from a stressed out recent imported gravid female who managed to live long enough drop some of her babies. You won't know HER condition and that affects the survival of her babies. An older juvenile from a known successful jax breeder will be easier on your heart. You still get to raise it!

 

[mhfan305]

I rather be the one to raise its horns. Also size is a factor. So far I can only find Jackson's as young as 5 months. What size are they supposed to be at 5 months? I only have a 18x18x18 sized cage. I'd love to get my hands on a dwarf Jackson...probably get a female with him also as he would only live 2 or 3 more years when I'd get him.