I need help with jackson's!!!

[Latex]

Im fairly new to becoming a chameleon owner. I have a some questions I hope you guys can help me out. I just bought a pair of Jackson's chameleons male and female. the person who sold them to me said they were about 2 years old. I have them both in a 12X12X20 screen cage.

-My first question is how can i tell how old they are?

-Should I keep them in separate cages?

-Is it better to buy a mister or a fogger?

-How do i know if the female is pregnant?

-The female is usually darker than the male and she looks like she might be under stress and I'm wondering if that's just her color because the male is usually brighter green shes usually like a darker brown a little blackish?

Thanks for your help...

 

[Calypso]

I've never heard of a way to identify age, but I'm sure there has to be.

At two years old that cage is too small for just one of them. I think I remember reading jacksons should have at least a 36" tall cage.

Mister and foggers ran in conjunction make everything a lot easier. Fogger is more help for humidity, and the mister is more help for giving your guys water.

You can monitor your female by weekly weighings. When she's gravid you'll notice a sharp increase.

She probably is stressed in the same cage as the male as well as the cramped conditions. Also, the females usually aren't as vibrant as the males.

 

[Kate]

As Calypso said your cage is way to small for one let alone two. I would suggest you separate then ASAP. It could be that your female is stressed by the male. He could be dominant and she could starve to death also they could fight. I would not try to mate them until you learn more about keeping jacksons. The female could be gravid and you need to learn about keeping a pregnant female. There are many of the members who keep jacksons who can help you. Welcome to the forum by the way. Sorry to be so negative .

 

[Latex]

Thx Calypso... What about the ground for them? I bought some coconut fiber that expands with water and placed it along the bottom, but now when i put the dripper it collects way too much water what do you think about that?

 

[Kate]

Thx Calypso... What about the ground for them? I bought some coconut fiber that expands with water and placed it along the bottom, but now when i put the dripper it collects way too much water what do you think about that?

Many here do not recommend substrate as it could cause impaction if swallowed. Paper towel oe newspaper is ok and is easily removed. Your cage should dry out between misting and should be dry overnight. Dripper is good but its best to mist as well. You can hand mist or use an automated one. The leaves on plants in cage should be dripping to stimulate drinking. What are you feeding and what supplements are you using?

 

[Latex]

THX Kate... I don't have a cage for them other than the one I already bought... I'm planning on getting one ASAP...

What type of foliage do you recommend i should get them and do u have any websites that you would recommend where i can find cheap stuff for them?

What should i put on the bottom since its just glass?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Welcome to the forums.
You won't need anything on the glass bottom since your chams will not/should not be spending time on the ground anyway. As others have said, they need separate cages that are larger and asap! The female will gain weight if she is pregnant, and I can bet she probably will be since she's being kept with a male right now. Being kept together will inflict a lot of stress on the both of them, but especially on the female. They will need 18x18x36" cages each. Diycages.com has great quality screen cages that ship directly to you.

Some good plants include schefflera, pothos, and hibiscus. If you post some pictures we can try to help you decide about how old they are. Once they reach adult size there's really no way to tell how many years old they are though.

Here's a good starting point for some of the information you'll need for your new chams. Feel free to ask as many questions as you have though!!

 

[Latex]

THX ferritinmyshoes... I appreciate your help... what else do you recommend?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Jacksons really like to drink so make sure they have a dripper that runs for a few hours onto the leaves of some of the plants. The sooner you can separate them the better.

 

[Kate]

THX Kate... I don't have a cage for them other than the one I already bought... I'm planning on getting one ASAP...

What type of foliage do you recommend i should get them and do u have any websites that you would recommend where i can find cheap stuff for them?

What should i put on the bottom since its just glass?

I have a ficus and a pothos and lots of artificial ivy. I have a panther but most chams like to hide. Can't help with web sites as I'm in uk but I'm sure someone will help you. I hear people talk about Craig list. There are many blogs on here that will help you with care. When you are not sure just post a question.