how’s everything looking

You will want to get a tube fluorescent fixture as soon as possible. I use the reptisun t5ho fixture, and choose either 5.0 or 10.0 bulbs depending on how much calcium you give her, how close she gets, ect. As for heating, you don't need a nighttime bulb if your house doesn't drop below 70's at night. if your nightlight produces light all you are doing is disturbing her sleep. CHams won't sleep well if they are too hot at night. But we use the same type of basking bulb so I believe that is fine, and it works for me.
 
Ares05 said:
You will want to get a tube fluorescent fixture as soon as possible. I use the reptisun t5ho fixture, and choose either 5.0 or 10.0 bulbs depending on how much calcium you give her, how close she gets, ect. As for heating, you don't need a nighttime bulb if your house doesn't drop below 70's at night. if your nightlight produces light all you are doing is disturbing her sleep. CHams won't sleep well if they are too hot at night. But we use the same type of basking bulb so I believe that is fine, and it works for me.
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i use the nighttime bulb because she’s close to a window, i was also told that she can’t see the blue so it wouldn’t interfere with sleep
 
As for the cage, I would say the 18x18x36 reptibreeze cage would be good, along with uvb t5ho fixture and your existing basking bulb. You can still use some fake plants but live will improve humidity.
 
They can see the light, even I they can't see the color. Your better off getting rid of it. If your temperature drops below 65 degrees at night, invest in a ceramic heat emitter, as it doesn't produce any light, only heat. The drop in temperature is good for there metabolism. The incorrect uvb and other lighting could even be contributing to her lack of eating properly. Any information from Petco and Petsmart is probably false. they want you to buy things you don't need at high prices, for the business.
 
Ares05 said:
And also, The 18x18x36 reptibreeze is only 85 bucks. if you can get it, please do. Your cham will be very happy, and the change of light may encourage her to eat.
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i really appreciate all your info, i’m definitely going to go do what i can until i can get it all, for now what i’m hearing the most important thing to change out now is her UVB & look at a ceramic heater for nighttime
 
Yes! and, does your temps drop below 65 at night? if not, don't bother with the CHE.
 
I'll put my comments in blue.

- my chameleon, marley She is a lovely girl. You are right she could use some calories.
• handling - only when needed Good they are shy and it does stress them.
• feeding - wax worms, meal worms, crickets keep bowl full of 2-3 at all times so she can eat when she pleases. Meal worms are a poor feeder more keratin than digestible food you can substitute super worms but only use them for about 10% of her diet. I'm guessing the wax worms are to fatten her up phase them out when she bulks up. Crickets, silkworms, Phoenix worms & flies, hornworms and a feeder roach species are all good choices to rotate for variety.
• supplements - repticalcium with D3, throw a scoop in a bag and shake up the worms & crickets in it
There are two good schedules that people have had long term success using. "Feeder insects should be lightly dusted with powdered supplement before being fed to your chameleon. As a montane species (native to higher altitudes) Jackson's have decreased supplementation requirements compared to tropical species due to metabolism differences. Use calcium (without D3 or phosphorus) twice a week, a multivitamin once a month, and calcium with D3 once a month." Or you can get Repashy Calcium Plus LoD I use it lightly weekly in my growing or pregnant Jackson's (Monday) or every other week for the adult males. Then they get plain calcium two other times per week (Wednesday & Friday).
• watering - little dripper, shell drink straight from the dripper or the bark it’s dripping onto, i don’t have a mister yet so i’ve been hand misting to keep the humidity above 60 - 70 Day time humidity can hover between 35-50%. Night time should be 80-100% when it is cool. Combined heat and humidity leads to infections, respiratory and temporal gland primarily.
• fecal - whiteish, clear urine. followed by a solid brown poop, not exactly sure what to look for. poop has not been tested. A fecal would be a good idea after she settles in.
• history - petco cham, she’s been finicky about eating even when they had her, loves wax worms & crickets. doesn’t care too much for meal worms. Likely she's a little toxic from all the D3 they have been giving her and the stress of being on display and possible parasite issues.

• cage - it’s a glass, half circle. the center of the cage gives about just under a foot in width. about 2 & 1/2 feet deep and about 1 & 1/2 ft long. It is a beautiful cage but as mentioned above it will become to small for her quickly. I think it would be more appropriate for frogs or other amphibians. Controlled ventilation is important for chameleons. Glass cages are used by people in your area for the reasons you mentioned but they all have some vents down low so that a chimney of ventilation is produced by the heat from the lights. Without the lover vent it is going to be stagnant in her cage. If the cage was larger you might save it with a small computer fan but you are already having space problems at the top. A 18x18x36 is the minimum size for her as an adult with 24x24x48 being optimum. Height is key because it allows you to create more options of heat light and humidity for her to self regulate. Screen cage with plastic covered sides or glass Exo Terra of suitable height could work for you. DragonStrand has some excellent options as well.
• lighting - 75 watt night blue heat lamp (exo-terra) 75 watt day basking light, 75 watt uvb
Chameleons need darkness at night to sleep properly for metabolic function. Jackson's also need a temperature drop into the 55-65˚F range to power down at night. You will want all lights off at night and daylight for 12 hours daily like they would get near the equator. Sadly the coiled UVB bulbs don't make enough to keep a chameleon healthy. Linear T5 bulbs are the best thing available currently to imitate the sun. I recommend getting a 2 bulb fixture one T5 6% bulb and one plant light (6500K) plenty of UVB and will keep you plants alive. Basking bulb depends on heat needed 40, 50 or 60 Watt is usually enough to create a 78-80˚ basking spot and retain the 72˚F ambient for the rest of the cage. Varies by house hold and season adjust accordingly.
•temp - temp stays at about 80 degrees That is a little warm for a sub adult I try to start around 78˚basking until they are a year old. I hope the rest of the cage is cooler or she will dehydrate quickly.
• humidity - this is where i’m having trouble, i don’t have an automatic mister yet so i hans mist her everytime i see it drop below 60. sometimes at night i wake up and it’s as 40, which i know is too low, saving up for an automatic mister. You can be around 40-50 daytime I would start with a cool mist humidifier directed by hose into her cage for the night time boost.
• plants - no live plants yet, she loves her fake pot leafs lol Live plants create pockets of humidity that will help you out. Pothos is cheap and hardy and available at any Lowe's or Home Depot and most grocery stores. rinse the leaves well and cover the soil with large stones, too large to eat by accident. There are many other choices if you want. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/plants/
• placement - cage is on my desk about 3-4 feet from my window, top of cage sits about just under 5 feet from the floor.
• location - mile high city, denver colorado VERY DRY ALL THE TIME HERE !!
I know this is a lot to take in but you have come to a very supportive community and there is a ton of help here. Feel free to ask as many questions as you need. Here is a link to a collection of Jackson's articles etc. it includes a very good care sheet. Jackson's Chameleon Articles and Studies

i hope i included enough information about marley and her habitat, please let me know if i should change anything
 
And with the CHE , you will need a thermostat for sure! without one your chameleon cage could become an oven, quite literally.
 
Its more likely you won't need than if you will. Its just if you ever need one, get a thermostat otherwise your cham will cook.
 
Anyways, if jacksjill contradicts something ive said, go with her say as she's way more experienced than I am, even though I try and help the best I possibly can! :)
 
Thank you! And thanks for the correction, I actually have a veiled but I did a decent share of research on either species and panthers before I made a choice, so I try and help using the knowledge I gathered, but im always learning! (ive got a lot to learn yet, too)
 
thanks for all your help guys! i feel like i kinda bought all the wrong things :/ there's a need to get:
1. screen 18x18x36 tank
2. more variety of diet (Crickets, silkworms, Phoenix worms & flies, hornworms and a feeder roach species)
3. different lighting bulbs (a 2 bulb fixture one T5 6% bulb and one plant light (6500K)
4. reptifogger
5. live plants
6. multivitamin and calcuim without d3
 
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