Breeding Jackson Chameleon

[Tbrock91]

I am in the process of convincing my wife to allow me to breed Jacksons Chameleon. The issue is not whether we can do it , in fact from my perspective there is no issue keeping us from beeing able to do it. She is pretty much on the verge of saying yes but I think we are going to wait for our tax return. Yes I know back story not needed but I didn't not know how to start out my question. I have a lot of experience with repitiles I have Veiled Chameleons and they were great! But the reason for me not wanting to breed Veileds is I don't want to have to deal with the eggs and the high Mmaintenance of taking care of repitile eggs. So I had a couple question.

1) Would you suggest Jacksons as my first Chameleon to breed? or am I bitting off more than I can chew?
2) Is there a high market out there for them?
3) What has been the most cost effective but also adequate setups for you as a breeder?

 

[AlbertEinstein]

Bumping this for my own thirst for this same knowledge.

 

[Rango3d]

I have noticed not a lot of people work with them. Jackson's are awesome and I wish they would. How do you not like a mini dinosaur?

 

[leedragon]

you should as yourslef, can I take care of 10-20 babies? can I feed de 2, 3 times a day? wattering them 2, 3 times a day? do I have the sapce? the terrarium to separate them? if I don´t get them sold, can I keep them?

it is alot of responsability to breed babies, whatever htey lay eggs or live babies.

xanthos are not easy to get sold in the US doe hawaii been able to provide wild caught, willigensis and merus on the other hand are easier to sell.

 

[kplatvoet]

Before you think about breeding jacksons wait until May & June here on the forum - my baby was born in the first week of May to a girl from work who's pet smart baby had 11 - they are all dead now except mine (including the mother) around the same time and through out the summer there were quite a few posts on surprise clutches and new owners getting very young babies at shows - there were not a lot of happy endings -
The people who had the clutch I got my baby from were having a hard time finding enough food for all the babies - I was lucky enough to order "fruit fly kits" on line and didn't have to rely on petsmart but I still ended up traveling an hour to multiple stores a couple of weekend when they weren't hatching to schedule - I killed a couple of thousand pinheads by not having a clue.
In the summer I read about people going to shows finding many baby jacksons sold in small containers for 20 to 30 dollars - most of the threads were in the "health clinic" it's hard not to get a bit emotional on the subject because I know how lucky I was to find this forum early- I'm not saying it can't be done but there's a lot to it - and the market is undercut by people willing to sell unhealthy babies for cheap - they have a high mortality rate in the first 3 months and tend to die for "no apparent reason" It would be hard to break even -

 

[Saldarya]

The hard facts are this:

1. They are more difficult to raise in the first few months that panthers or veilds.

2. They do not have a high resale value. As mentioned, 30-40 likely at a show, perhaps a bit more if you have some great babies.

I enjoy Jacksons very much, but if your goal is to try and make some money, well, this is not a species to go with on a small scale.

If you just want the joy of breeding and raising the babies, go for it!! Live birth is a pretty cool deal.

 

[Rango3d]

I think we are all forgetting the most important thing. We choose to have chameleons cause we enjoy them. We try and take the best care and if we decide to breed we do it as a hobby not a business venture.

If you wanna try a breed Jackson's or any other chameleon go for it but be prepared to lose money if you can't sell the babies.

The question shouldnt be is their a market but can I house and feed them if I can't sell them.

I'm all for anyone trying to breed any species of chameleons, but do it cause you enjoy it.

I do wish more people would work with Jackson's. And not for the money.
How about selective breeding to get more color out of them. That way theirs more of a market for the captive borns instead of buying wild caught.

The animal should come first if you choose to have them, not the money.

 

[Saldarya]

Although that sounds great and I would agree with you from a philosophical perspective, the OP did mention the viability of raising these to make some cash.

Secondly, outside of the species that need to be worked with to help establish captive populations, the cost to breed and raise clutches of animals is a huge expense if there is no way to recoup some costs.

I am not sure if it is an ethical idea to try and breed these animals on a small, hobby lev if your intent is not to try and sell them. What is one person going I do with 12 baby, and then adult Jackson's if not try and move them?


To the OP, although it is not likely you are going to make money breeding Jackson's, you certainly can enjoy the experience and the. Possibly sell them to local stores at whole sale pricing or perhaps trade for feeders of which you will need many.

I think we are all forgetting the most important thing. We choose to have chameleons cause we enjoy them. We try and take the best care and if we decide to breed we do it as a hobby not a business venture.

If you wanna try a breed Jackson's or any other chameleon go for it but be prepared to lose money if you can't sell the babies.

The question shouldnt be is their a market but can I house and feed them if I can't sell them.

I'm all for anyone trying to breed any species of chameleons, but do it cause you enjoy it.

I do wish more people would work with Jackson's. And not for the money.
How about selective breeding to get more color out of them. That way theirs more of a market for the captive borns instead of buying wild caught.

The animal should come first if you choose to have them, not the money.

 

[Tbrock91]

I have actually moved on from Jascksons. A person on here (Chameleon forums) help convince me that I should breed Veileds. I'm not disagreeing with you guys that it should be a hobby/love. I was just curious whether Jacksons sell easy. I will put it this way, my passion is photography I have had a camera in my hand since I was 7. I am currently in school for my associates in photojournalism in hopes of one day being on National Geographic. Now I say all that to say that if a family wants me to photograph them I am more than happy to do it because I love photography. But I ask them to make a donation or I put a price on taking their portraits to cover for my gas to drive to the location and the time it takes to edit their images. Because I ask for money does not mean I don't love photography it means I am simply trying to cover cost. The same goes for breeding chameleons.

 

[Rango3d]

I never said don't sell babies.
I agree with you both.
I too sell/trade babies, adults to keep my hobby going.

I just was trying to say don't jump into breeding chameleons as a get rich thing.
It's not fair to the animals and you probably won't make money from it.

Good luck with the photography thing. I do hope to see your work on netgeo 1 day.