Grey Jackson's chameleon

[laurie]

Hi I have a question about my Jackson's well being . I have a 60 watt light and a reptisun 5.0 bulb in a glass terrarium with the top completely open. He stays a grey color while he is awake but when he sleeps he turns bright green why does stay grey all day? And I would like to start hand feeding how to I get him to start. Any replies will be helpful thank you

Hello, I am going to just state the things you need to change to keep your jackson alive. I don't mean to be rude but rather want to sum up all the responses in one place.


Get that jackson out of a terrarium! Living in AZ with your heat he will die in there.

He needs a screen cage. Is your home air conditioned? If not I see no way for you to keep a jackson. What temps do you have right now and what will it be like in August? Jackson like cool temps and high humidity. From my times in AZ you have that in reverse. He need temps of 70 to 80. Humidity of 50 spiking to 80%

Toss out the orange cubes and feed your crickets sweet potato, squash, cantaloupe, fresh greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens. This is just to start, more info after you get the crickets fed for now.

Supplementing jacksons is nothing like a panther or veiled. Supplement once a week with plain calcium ( no D3), once every 3 weeks with calcium +d3, and once every 3 weeks with a multi vit. Dust very, very lightly - no white crickets.

His lighting should consist of the UVB bulb you said you have and a low watt household bulb. A 40 watt to 50 watt at most. Make sure you have an accurate digital temp/humidity gage.

We also need to see pictures of your jackson and know his age as close as you know it.

 

[Alaska]

Is there alternative than a screen cage could I let him free roam?

 

[Hoj]

You could but then you would need to keep your whole feerange area and a sufficent temp... well below 80, and high humidty 60% plus. Witch could be very difficult in Arizona.
Even up here in Canada it can be difficult to keep rooms cool and humid enough for montane species.

 

[Alaska]

I'm in new Mexico . So a screen cage would be the best? One other question I notice he hasn't been eating much any solution?

 

[SpartyTessy]

I got home from work and misted him real good he was loving it drinking the water like crazy. I need to set up a drip system so he has water available at all times. The gut loader that I was recommended was flunkers orange cubes complete cricket diet

That is great news. You will want to monitor him closely making sure he is drinking plenty of water each day for the next few days. You will really see him turn around. That is what happened to mine is he was dehydrated when I got him so I misted in the cage a ton and he was drinking lots of water each time. Once he is hydrated after a few days he will not drink as much but still keep an eye on him making sure he is drinking each day. Make sure to get a dripper and have it drip on a leaf that way it can collect water as he will drink from it.

 

[Alaska]

Yes I was real glad and excited to see him drink up.. I just need to get him to eat. I don't know whats going on there..

 

[SpartyTessy]

I'm in new Mexico . So a screen cage would be the best? One other question I notice he hasn't been eating much any solution?

When mine was dehydrated he also was not eating much. His appetite should change one he has plenty of water. Also one thing to keep is mind is adult Male Jacksons do not eat as much as say panthers, Vields, etc. Also if they go on a hunger strike usually changing up the diet with different feeders should get him going again.

 

[SpartyTessy]

Also if you are looking for a good screen cage a really popular one that many here have is the Repti Breeze 2x2x4 found here. They have free shipping which greatly helps.

 

[Alaska]

What would be a good choice of alternative feeders?

 

[SpartyTessy]

What would be a good choice of alternative feeders?

You never want to have just one feeder that is more than 40% of its diet. Two main staples could be Crickets and Dubia Roaches. Dubia's are very good for them and many recommend them more than crickets. Than for other feeders you can feed them various worms.

 

[Montium]

I hate to break it to those that think you can't keep a Jackson's at 80 or above. It gets hotter than that where they range in Hawaii. They DO need a night time temp drop of 15 to 20 degrees and clean water. Stress is the biggest killer of most Jackson's and if yours is getting a reflection from the glass that could be generating stress. A glass enclosure is fine to keep chams in but it requires different husbandry than most in North America are used to providing. If you wish to stick with glass you should contact Chris Anderson or some of the European members of the forum.

 

[Montium]

Oh and flies are one of the best feeders for Jackson's.

 

[SpartyTessy]

I hate to break it to those that think you can't keep a Jackson's at 80 or above. It gets hotter than that where they range in Hawaii. They DO need a night time temp drop of 15 to 20 degrees and clean water. Stress is the biggest killer of most Jackson's and if yours is getting a reflection from the glass that could be generating stress. A glass enclosure is fine to keep chams in but it requires different husbandry than most in North America are used to providing. If you wish to stick with glass you should contact Chris Anderson or some of the European members of the forum.

Yes it does get hotter than that here maybe even in the low 90's but they are not going to be out in the direct sunlight when it is that hot. They are going to be under cover in the shade when it is that warm which here in Hawaii there is plenty of shade where you can find them.

 

[Alaska]

Alright so what I feed him should I do it by hand or what??