Is sleeping on the ground really all that bad?

[ataraxia]

Can i see pictures of the cage and if you dont mind a picture of the cage w/ the surrounding area?

Consistent sleeping on the ground is not right for an arboreal lizard.

Screen surfing, sleeping on the floor...If this is not a newly acquired chameleon (owning less than 2 weeks) and is acting healthy other than this. Id look into his current set up.

1. Not happy with the cage and or furnishings. Could be to bare, too small, etc.
2. Something in his surrounding area causing abnormal behavior. Over head A/C duct blowing on him, another animals pressure, etc.

 

[SilverWolf]

I'll try to get these pictures tomorrow. I'll put a picture up tonight however, that I took of him today. I am already well aware it is the set up though. My main concern is just making the inside better with better foliage placement, and most importantly for me a new plant. He is not near an air conditioning or vent, the only thing that he is near is a television and gaming consoles (which do not affect his temperatures, I have checked).

I am 90% sure it is just the foliage and unfortunately, possible the size of his cage.

How does an 18x18x36 inch enclosure sound for a 5 month old Jackson Chameleon?

 

[GrimsbyPatchwork]

The night time temperatures are in the 60s. Usually 65 degrees fahrenheit, sometimes 62. Very rarely it is high 60s or right at 70, but usually mid 60s.

That sounds fine actually ..I would recommend pothos and branches across the cage.

 

[Cait0420]

I'd say pothos or schefflera as previously stated

 

[sandrachameleon]

...rather foliage placement is not. I just need a better plant. Right now most of the foliage is at the bottom.

bingo. I think you've hit on the cause.

I like Pothos because it is so hardy. I usually have a pot on the bottom of the cage with vines growing right up to the top. On one cage I have a pot outside the cage, ontop, with vines hanging down into the cage.

schefflera is another good option

I also have one ficus along with a smaller pothos. I like this cage because the variety in leaves is nice. But the pothos stand up better to my heavy chameleons than the fiscus

 

[johnnyev]

He is not near an air conditioning or vent, the only thing that he is near is a television and gaming consoles (which do not affect his temperatures, I have checked).

But are they used during the hours of darkness? Chameleons like total darkness & quiet in which to sleep.

 

[SilverWolf]

But are they used during the hours of darkness? Chameleons like total darkness & quiet in which to sleep.

If they are used during hours of sleep no light enters the enclosure. I put a blanket on a part of the cage that blocks the light coming in (plus he is usually near a leaf contributing even more) and again, this doesn't affect his temperatures.

Even with these on, it is relatively quiet even for most people that would hear it if in my room. Because he is a chameleon, the amount of noise isn't bothering him as much as the heat or light would, which isn't a problem.

 

[SilverWolf]

So between Pothos and Schefllera which is the most hardy? I am pretty sure it'll die quickly if I don't know how to take care of it. How often does either one need water and would it be fine under the basking bulb and UVB bulb? Does it need natural sunlight, how do you keep your plants?

 

[MelissaB]

I like both plants, but I think pothos is the easier of the two. It'll do great with just the UVB bulb and basking bulb. You can get a hanging basket of pothos for about $10 at Walmart, HomeDepot, Lowes, ect. You can hang it from the top and let the vines hang down, or place the pot of the bottom and wrap the vines around your branches.

Plants will grow even better with an additional 6500k light, but it's not absolutely necessary.

 

[johnnyev]

Agree with Melissa, both are great. Personally love the look of the umbrella plant more than pothos, but pothos is bullet proof... even i can keep it alive & grow it

 

[pigglett79]

I have no idea where you got the idea you can safely supplement any Jackson, young or old at every feeding, but that is a death sentence for a Jackson. And a fast one for a baby.

Actually plain calcium is water soluble and very hard to over do. I dust all feeders that have a poor calcium to phosphorus ratio w plain calcium even for my Jackson. He gets the other vitamins once a month. He has had this schedule for over 2 years and he is perfectly healthy.

Edit: I will admit he does not eat feeders that require dusting everyday as some days he eats hornworms, butterworms, silkworms or snails etc.

 

[SilverWolf]

Yay!

So to anyone who's reading this and has been following the situation, thanks for all of your help. I am still going to get a new plant and fix up his enclosure a bit.

But thankfully I just checked on him and he is sleeping nice and soundly on the highest branch in the enclosure. …I hope THAT's not a problem.

Either way, better than on the ground probably, right?

 

[Bush baby]

Actually plain calcium is water soluble and very hard to over do. I dust all feeders that have a poor calcium to phosphorus ratio w plain calcium even for my Jackson. He gets the other vitamins once a month. He has had this schedule for over 2 years and he is perfectly healthy.

Edit: I will admit he does not eat feeders that require dusting everyday as some days he eats hornworms, butterworms, silkworms or snails etc.

My point exactly.

 

[Lovereps]

Actually plain calcium is water soluble and very hard to over do. I dust all feeders that have a poor calcium to phosphorus ratio w plain calcium even for my Jackson. He gets the other vitamins once a month. He has had this schedule for over 2 years and he is perfectly healthy.

Edit: I will admit he does not eat feeders that require dusting everyday as some days he eats hornworms, butterworms, silkworms or snails etc.

I will add my confirmation that this has worked for my Jackson's, as well.
If a feeder is calcium deficient, it gets dusted with plain calcium (no D3, no phosphorus, etc.).

This doesn't mean that all foods are dusted--only the calcium deficient ones are calcium dusted.
Dustings are also light.

Unless the calcium contains other things, it is my understanding that an excess of calcium will simply be flushed from the system of an otherwise healthy chameleon.

 

[Bush baby]

I guess, this is one of those un-confirmed debates about Cham nutrition/supplementation. I have also dusted with calcium with every feeding and have never had any i'll effects because of it. That being said, i mainly feed my chams feeders that don't have a good calcium content to begin with, i.e crickets, super worms, BB Flies, etc.

I know Jackson's are sensitive to supplementation, but this, as i have personally found has almost been geared more towards multi-vitamins (some of which are not water soluble and stay in the body) and Calcium w/D3.