Jackon's chameleon - terrible choice for a beginner?

[CezzaXV]

Hi guys, newbie here!

A little background about myself: I have previously kept tropical and then marine fish. I loved them, but a tank disaster on New Years’ Eve forced me to shut down my tank. I’ve gone on a little hiatus, but I’m now starting to miss the companionship and having something to care for.

I was in the reptile shop yesterday looking at various reptiles, and one that caught my eye was a Jackson’s chameleon. I’m aware that chameleons are not the easiest reptile to care for, especially for a beginner. However, my marine fish really weren’t easy or cheap to look after so I am used to looking after animals with somewhat complex needs, and I am looking for a hobby as much as I’m looking for a pet.

The space I have available is 60x45cm for the base, 95cm tall, plus space for the light(s).

I’ve not done an awful lot of research yet, as I don’t want to do loads of reading, get my hopes up and then be told that a Jackson’s chameleon is an absolutely terrible choice for a beginner. It is one of several options I am considering and right now I just want to know if I should rule it out or not, so feel free to be completely honest with me.

A few questions:
1. Is a Jackson’s chameleon a completely terrible choice for a beginner? As I said, I’m looking for a hobby as much as a pet, but I need to be capable.

2. The enclosure will be in my bedroom. I currently only work part time so I spend a lot of time here, although most of the time I’m just sat at my desk. I do, however, play music and have my boyfriend over, and let’s just say when that happens there’ll be a lot of human movement reasonably close to the enclosure. Is this going to stress the chameleon?

3. I’m cool with the setup costs, but how much time and money can I expect to put into keeping a chameleon on a daily/weekly basis?

4. My window is north facing and gets next to no direct sunlight whatsoever. It also features two outside walls. The temperature can drop pretty low during the night because of this. How would I go about keeping the right temperature at night without the use of lights?

5. What electrical equipment am I going to need? I know I need a basking light, but not sure about other types of light. Wattages would be helpful information, so I can calculate running costs.

I’m sure you must get a lot of newbies here who think chameleons are a great idea, but I would appreciate any help given.

Thanks guys

 

[renderit1]

I’ve not done an awful lot of research yet, as I don’t want to do loads of reading, get my hopes up and then be told that a Jackson’s chameleon is an absolutely terrible choice for a beginner. It is one of several options I am considering and right now I just want to know if I should rule it out or not, so feel free to be completely honest with me.

A few questions:
1. Is a Jackson’s chameleon a completely terrible choice for a beginner? As I said, I’m looking for a hobby as much as a pet, but I need to be capable.

2. The enclosure will be in my bedroom. I currently only work part time so I spend a lot of time here, although most of the time I’m just sat at my desk. I do, however, play music and have my boyfriend over, and let’s just say when that happens there’ll be a lot of human movement reasonably close to the enclosure. Is this going to stress the chameleon?

3. I’m cool with the setup costs, but how much time and money can I expect to put into keeping a chameleon on a daily/weekly basis?

4. My window is north facing and gets next to no direct sunlight whatsoever. It also features two outside walls. The temperature can drop pretty low during the night because of this. How would I go about keeping the right temperature at night without the use of lights?

5. What electrical equipment am I going to need? I know I need a basking light, but not sure about other types of light. Wattages would be helpful information, so I can calculate running costs.

Sorry, I wont be able to answer in detail but here goes.

1. Its not a terrible choice. For me, its mainly their supplementation schedule that is different. Rumor has it that they can die for no reason (I have not yet read any posts of members losing theirs since i've been lurking in the forums)

2. I dont think it will be a problem, I currently have my Jackson's in my bedroom. The only thing that might bother you would be the crickets once it gets to the age where he needs adult size.

3. This depends on how much homework you do. for instance, the difference in costs between raising and buying your feeders.

4. The Jacksons can do good in the 50's but if it gets colder than that, you might need a ceramic heat bulb (not the red night bulbs)

5. As I was typing, it occured to me that someone has done a good job of explaining their setup, supplementation etc. Here you go: http://youtu.be/lKTbUaOQ0aA

and Here is a caresheet from this forum. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

Hope this helps. Im sure other veteran Jackson's owners will be able to go into detail.

 

[kplatvoet]

I would say it on if it's a bad idea or not that it might depend on where you live- a Jackson a lot harder to keep if your living in Arizona or one of the hotter dryer states than it is in humid New Jersey. Cold at night seems to make my Jackson much more active in the morning -she likes her dripper so drainage is important. I have a humidifier by her cage - and cover the cage at night - she's not in a high traffic area but it's not a no traffic and it's easier.
I use a t8 forest Arcadia bulb for UVB - it fits a regular hood - for basking I have different wattage regular daylight bulbs - in the summer she had a 40 but I had to up the wattage when it started getting colder - I would suggest a temp gun.
I would also suggest a pump sprayer or misting system - spray bottles just don't cut it with a jackson-

Your daily/monthly expenditures somewhat depend on how healthy you eat - good gut loading is important with jackson's - mine isn't happy unless she gets a couple of different feeders - I use a mixture of silk worms, crickets and blue bottle flies as staples - the crickets get what the bearded dragon gets for wet gut load and I use below for the dry
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/394-dry-gutload-recipe-january-2010.html
I started out with bug burger and bought the other stuff slowly I had some but some took a while to find - they get a mixture when i'm missing things

You should have some money put away for a vet visit - Jackson's are more prone to mouth problems - fecal's to test for parasites - my vet charges under 20 for a fecal - I've heard of people being charged a lot more.

 

[symphonica]

I actually also started with fish and have ample experience with aquariums, so hopefully I'll be able to relate my fish vs. chameleon experience to help you.

I started with tropical fish, working my way up to a 180 gal oddball monster tank (arowana, RTC, TSN, knifes, bichirs, you get the idea). The only freshwater fish I've basically never gotten my hands on are discus.

I then moved onto reef tanks. I had a 120 gal full of LPS. And I mean full - no empty spots left in the tank. Because I had no fish and therefore no bioload, I never did a water change. People told me that corals are really difficult, but I thought it was super easy. I think it's because people tend to get greedy and try to do too much.

After my saltwater kick, I got into these guys. I started out with veileds before making the switch to panthers. I've found chameleons to be much more difficult compared to fish. Why? Because fish are contained in a somewhat steady environment - their tank. And water does a great job of maintaining consistency, especially with the larger volume tanks. That's why people always say that bigger tanks are easier to maintain than smaller ones.

Also, with fish, things like nutrition and light levels do not have that great of an impact on the animal. For corals, lighting is critical, but you can easily see the effects in time to be able to make the necessary changes. Chameleons tend to be a bit more silent. By the time you realize that something may be wrong, it's often too late to reverse the damage that's already been done. And when they get sick, they deteriorate quickly.




enclosure & environment
Chameleons should be kept in screen cages, rather than glass cages. The bigger the enclosure, the happier they are. They should have a lot of plants and vines to climb on, steady and sturdy enough to safely support your chameleon's weight.

Appropriate levels of temperature and humidity must be maintained to ensure good health and to avoid problems. Such is usually achieved using lighting and water spraying (see drinking).

They can become stressed very easily, and stress can lead to decline in health, much like how humans tend to get sick when we're under a lot of pressure. Mental health has a lot to do with physical health. They recommend being kept in low-traffic areas. It also depends on the particular personality of the individual cham. Some are more friendly and tolerant of humans than others, and some even enjoy human company. With fish, you have those that hide a lot and only come out when it's dark and quiet. If you were to relate it to humans, you have shy, withdrawn people and outgoing people. Same with chams.



For lighting, proper levels of UVB lighting. Essentially, not enough will kill them. I've also heard that too much can cause sunburns, blisters, and even blindness.
They will also need a basking spot of some sort.
If you're room is cold, you could use a nighttime heating lamp. I use one of them.
With lighting, you have to make sure that the cham can't get close enough to the heat source to burn itself.

I would highly recommend speaking with Todd Goode of lightyourreptiles.com. If you give him the specific information about your cham, size of cage, etc., he will set you up with the most perfect lighting system, top of the line. Pretty much, they'd be a plug-and-go situation once he sets you up. To give you an idea, I got a 48" T5HO light with all bulbs and custom hanging kits for about $200. To buy a 48" T5HO light for my reef, I spent at least double that! But, that was back when we didn't really have MHs and definitely no LEDs, so T5HOs were the best thing out there still.




diet
Fish have foods that are flaked, pelleted, processed to give them the necessary nutrition. Not the case with chams, being that they typically only eat live. They appreciate a variety of insects. Otherwise, they get bored of the same thing day after day and may stop eating.

Their insects should be gut loaded. This simply means that they should be fed good, nutritious stuff that in turn will be absorbed by the cham when he eats these insects. They have pre-processed insect food like Repashy's Bug Burger, but most people here just feed them greens/highly nutritious veggies.

Their insects should be coated with calcium, vitamins, and vitamin D3. It is critical that their diets be supplemented with these. They have calcium WITH D3 and calcium WITHOUT D3. You may think that the more that's in it, the better, but that's not always the case. Calcium with no D3 should be given at every feeding, vites twice a week, and D3 twice a month.

Over supplementation can build up in their bodies and cause problems. Therefore, this is a case where too much of a good thing can actually cause more harm than good.



water
Chameleons don't understand the concept of drinking stagnant water. They won't drink from a bowl. They will only lap up beads of water running down their cage, plants, etc. Dehydration is also a major problem with many chameleons, something that can lead to serious health problems. You could use an automatic misting system like the MistKing or ExoTerra's Monsoon. If you have the time to do so, you could use a spray bottle to do it yourself at regular and necessary intervals.




veterinarian
Unlike with fish, chams should be taken to the vet's regularly. This is primarily because there are so many silent killers amongst them. Their health can rapidly decline without showing any signs of a problem. Vet visits will ensure that they're on the right track, and they can also prescribe you necessary Rx when they do become ill. Regular visits will also help you achieve a baseline of what your healthy chameleon's levels should look like, because every chameleon is different. Then, when something's wrong, you can compare it to your healthy baseline to see exactly what's going on. These include annual bloodwork to check organ function, X-rays to catch early sign of metabolic bone disease, and fecal exams to test for parasites.





With chameleons, there are a lot of brands on the market that are affordable, but really aren't going to cut it. Franchises like Petsmart and Petco are convenient and may have the best prices, but they definitely don't carry the most variety or the top of the line. Some of the stuff they have is absolutely useless - you're essentially just throwing money away. Just because a product says that it's made specifically for a chameleon doesn't mean that it's the best product for them. It's important that you get recommendations from knowledgeable people, even if the brand may be more on the expensive side.


So yes, I guess you could say that they require more care than fish when it comes to regular, daily maintenance. Like fish, they don't handle drastic changes of their environ,net very well - consistency is key. There are species of chams that are better suited for beginners, simply because there's been a lot of experience and research about their care in captivity. Also, some species are hardier than others. Personally, as with fish, if the option is available, I would always go with a captive-bred as opposed to wild-caught. They're more used to captive situations and aren't as sensitive to non-wild conditions.


If you set them up correctly from the get-go, the rest is just maintaining those conditions with necessary upkeep. Just like how you have to take the time to properly cycle a tank before adding the fish, you should have the correct situation set up before you bring a cham into it.

 

[Katrinaa]

My two cents is try to stay away from pet stores And lean more towards a breeder. Wild caught animals are normally in the pet store. You're better off with a captive bred animal if you want a pet.

 

[SMCNARY]

Hi guys, newbie here!

A little background about myself: I have previously kept tropical and then marine fish. I loved them, but a tank disaster on New Years’ Eve forced me to shut down my tank. I’ve gone on a little hiatus, but I’m now starting to miss the companionship and having something to care for.

I was in the reptile shop yesterday looking at various reptiles, and one that caught my eye was a Jackson’s chameleon. I’m aware that chameleons are not the easiest reptile to care for, especially for a beginner. However, my marine fish really weren’t easy or cheap to look after so I am used to looking after animals with somewhat complex needs, and I am looking for a hobby as much as I’m looking for a pet.

The space I have available is 60x45cm for the base, 95cm tall, plus space for the light(s).

I’ve not done an awful lot of research yet, as I don’t want to do loads of reading, get my hopes up and then be told that a Jackson’s chameleon is an absolutely terrible choice for a beginner. It is one of several options I am considering and right now I just want to know if I should rule it outj or not, so feel free to be completely honest with me.

A few questions:
1. Is a Jackson’s chameleon a completely terrible choice for a beginner? As I said, I’m looking for a hobby as much as a pet, but I need to be capable.

2. The enclosure will be in my bedroom. I currently only work part time so I spend a lot of time here, although most of the time I’m just sat at my desk. I do, however, play music and have my boyfriend over, and let’s just say when that happens there’ll be a lot of human movement reasonably close to the enclosure. Is this going to stress the chameleon?

3. I’m cool with the setup costs, but how much time and money can I expect to put into keeping a chameleon on a daily/weekly basis?

4. My window is north facing and gets next to no direct sunlight whatsoever. It also features two outside walls. The temperature can drop pretty low during the night because of this. How would I go about keeping the right temperature at night without the use of lights?

5. What electrical equipment am I going to need? I know I need a basking light, but not sure about other types of light. Wattages would be helpful information, so I can calculate running costs.

I’m sure you must get a lot of newbies here who think chameleons are a great idea, but I would appreciate any help given.

Thanks guys

A Jackson is a fine chameleon to start with. The start up/cage cost with everything will be about $450.00 to 500.00 if u set it up top notch. That includes a 2x2x4 cage,uv light,plant light,basking light,Mistking system,dripper system,live plants,vines,branches,drip pan and 5 gallon bucket for drainage.
You need to look up care sheet on this forum. I also suggest you talk with someone to help you with all the tricks before you try to set up the cage. It will save you a lot of re do work!!! Human movement is not a problem close to the cage but they need 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark so if it's after lights out then you will need to keep the lights out. :<) Choosing a good healthy Chameleon is the most important step so DO YOUR HOMEWORK. We welcome you to this forum and if we can help don't hesitate to ask!!!
Steve

 

[Crfman734]

Jackson's

Cezza,
Just wanted to let you know my Jackson's experience...I too had numerous fresh and saltwater aquariums through the years, many snakes and lizards when I was young.. just nothing exotic...I was recently given an adult female Jackson's as a gift, I had zero knowledge of how to take care of one...but the aquarium skills (attention to details) favors these kinds of pets as well. Also the amount of knowledge and tips from members on here made it real easy. I also came here for my first tips....after about 6 weeks she gave birth to 13 babies (we thought she may be pregnant or just really fat!) I had to learn about caring for babies as well as her....it all worked out well...all of the babies are gone to other homes and mom is doing better then ever. The key is to spend your money wisely from the beginning. Most of the cost are day one. If had to answer your questions I would tell you no glass....get a tall screen enclosure....the bigger the better. Jackson's are susceptible to breathing problems from aquarium type cages. Also buy a good misting system. I bought a monsoon (it works good for me but others have had problems) I would invest in a better system if I had to do it again. But the automation and the fact that you don't have to give them water every day is easy as pie.....also use live plants and mix a couple of shapable vines through the cage....a big live plant will help keep the clean up to a minimum (the little waste will help the plant) and if your watering system is set up correctly it will water the plant as well. (one big umbrella plant worked perfectly for me). For feeding I followed the tips here for the vitamins and calcium dusting of crickets for the staple diet and I mix in meal worms and wax worms occasionally. Ghanns crickets seem to be best in my opinion.....they don't chirp or smell. You end up spending more time raising crickets than your Cham. I have two uv units on top (I think they are 5's) check the requirements on the guide here. I also use a red heat lamp I believe it's halogen.....also on the guide. I time all lamps and the mister as well....they don't seem to like the water misting when they are sleeping and when the timer kicks on in the morning it starts the misting cycles....works perfect......I think if you liked aquariums you love the chams....you can actually hold them!....
Good luck!
Jeff

 

[EmmaChams]

My two cents is try to stay away from pet stores And lean more towards a breeder. Wild caught animals are normally in the pet store. You're better off with a captive bred animal if you want a pet.

A unfair statement, not sure which pet stores you are near but not all pet stores carry wild caught reptiles, there's only one near me which does and don't buy from that particular store but both of my chams were captive bred and from a pet store and no issues.

Back to the OP, I don't think Jacksons are a bad choice, they require more water and more fickle when it comes to their supplementation, imo a bad first choice would be a meller's and parson chameleon.

 

[Montium]

I actually also started with fish and have ample experience with aquariums, so hopefully I'll be able to relate my fish vs. chameleon experience to help you.

I started with tropical fish, working my way up to a 180 gal oddball monster tank (arowana, RTC, TSN, knifes, bichirs, you get the idea). The only freshwater fish I've basically never gotten my hands on are discus.

I then moved onto reef tanks. I had a 120 gal full of LPS. And I mean full - no empty spots left in the tank. Because I had no fish and therefore no bioload, I never did a water change. People told me that corals are really difficult, but I thought it was super easy. I think it's because people tend to get greedy and try to do too much.

After my saltwater kick, I got into these guys. I started out with veileds before making the switch to panthers. I've found chameleons to be much more difficult compared to fish. Why? Because fish are contained in a somewhat steady environment - their tank. And water does a great job of maintaining consistency, especially with the larger volume tanks. That's why people always say that bigger tanks are easier to maintain than smaller ones.

Also, with fish, things like nutrition and light levels do not have that great of an impact on the animal. For corals, lighting is critical, but you can easily see the effects in time to be able to make the necessary changes. Chameleons tend to be a bit more silent. By the time you realize that something may be wrong, it's often too late to reverse the damage that's already been done. And when they get sick, they deteriorate quickly.




enclosure & environment
Chameleons should be kept in screen cages, rather than glass cages. The bigger the enclosure, the happier they are. They should have a lot of plants and vines to climb on, steady and sturdy enough to safely support your chameleon's weight.

Appropriate levels of temperature and humidity must be maintained to ensure good health and to avoid problems. Such is usually achieved using lighting and water spraying (see drinking).

They can become stressed very easily, and stress can lead to decline in health, much like how humans tend to get sick when we're under a lot of pressure. Mental health has a lot to do with physical health. They recommend being kept in low-traffic areas. It also depends on the particular personality of the individual cham. Some are more friendly and tolerant of humans than others, and some even enjoy human company. With fish, you have those that hide a lot and only come out when it's dark and quiet. If you were to relate it to humans, you have shy, withdrawn people and outgoing people. Same with chams.



For lighting, proper levels of UVB lighting. Essentially, not enough will kill them. I've also heard that too much can cause sunburns, blisters, and even blindness.
They will also need a basking spot of some sort.
If you're room is cold, you could use a nighttime heating lamp. I use one of them.
With lighting, you have to make sure that the cham can't get close enough to the heat source to burn itself.

I would highly recommend speaking with Todd Goode of lightyourreptiles.com. If you give him the specific information about your cham, size of cage, etc., he will set you up with the most perfect lighting system, top of the line. Pretty much, they'd be a plug-and-go situation once he sets you up. To give you an idea, I got a 48" T5HO light with all bulbs and custom hanging kits for about $200. To buy a 48" T5HO light for my reef, I spent at least double that! But, that was back when we didn't really have MHs and definitely no LEDs, so T5HOs were the best thing out there still.




diet
Fish have foods that are flaked, pelleted, processed to give them the necessary nutrition. Not the case with chams, being that they typically only eat live. They appreciate a variety of insects. Otherwise, they get bored of the same thing day after day and may stop eating.

Their insects should be gut loaded. This simply means that they should be fed good, nutritious stuff that in turn will be absorbed by the cham when he eats these insects. They have pre-processed insect food like Repashy's Bug Burger, but most people here just feed them greens/highly nutritious veggies.

Their insects should be coated with calcium, vitamins, and vitamin D3. It is critical that their diets be supplemented with these. They have calcium WITH D3 and calcium WITHOUT D3. You may think that the more that's in it, the better, but that's not always the case. Calcium with no D3 should be given at every feeding, vites twice a week, and D3 twice a month.

Over supplementation can build up in their bodies and cause problems. Therefore, this is a case where too much of a good thing can actually cause more harm than good.



water
Chameleons don't understand the concept of drinking stagnant water. They won't drink from a bowl. They will only lap up beads of water running down their cage, plants, etc. Dehydration is also a major problem with many chameleons, something that can lead to serious health problems. You could use an automatic misting system like the MistKing or ExoTerra's Monsoon. If you have the time to do so, you could use a spray bottle to do it yourself at regular and necessary intervals.




veterinarian
Unlike with fish, chams should be taken to the vet's regularly. This is primarily because there are so many silent killers amongst them. Their health can rapidly decline without showing any signs of a problem. Vet visits will ensure that they're on the right track, and they can also prescribe you necessary Rx when they do become ill. Regular visits will also help you achieve a baseline of what your healthy chameleon's levels should look like, because every chameleon is different. Then, when something's wrong, you can compare it to your healthy baseline to see exactly what's going on. These include annual bloodwork to check organ function, X-rays to catch early sign of metabolic bone disease, and fecal exams to test for parasites.





With chameleons, there are a lot of brands on the market that are affordable, but really aren't going to cut it. Franchises like Petsmart and Petco are convenient and may have the best prices, but they definitely don't carry the most variety or the top of the line. Some of the stuff they have is absolutely useless - you're essentially just throwing money away. Just because a product says that it's made specifically for a chameleon doesn't mean that it's the best product for them. It's important that you get recommendations from knowledgeable people, even if the brand may be more on the expensive side.


So yes, I guess you could say that they require more care than fish when it comes to regular, daily maintenance. Like fish, they don't handle drastic changes of their environ,net very well - consistency is key. There are species of chams that are better suited for beginners, simply because there's been a lot of experience and research about their care in captivity. Also, some species are hardier than others. Personally, as with fish, if the option is available, I would always go with a captive-bred as opposed to wild-caught. They're more used to captive situations and aren't as sensitive to non-wild conditions.


If you set them up correctly from the get-go, the rest is just maintaining those conditions with necessary upkeep. Just like how you have to take the time to properly cycle a tank before adding the fish, you should have the correct situation set up before you bring a cham into it.

The red is common misinformation. You may want to look this over https://www.chameleonforums.com/everyone-who-knows-you-cant-keep-chams-glass-31937/ , it was done by a cham researcher. Also if you have trouble maintaining humidity glass can be a great way to go. You will need to change how you water compared to a screen enclosure but it doesn't mean you can't have great success with glass enclosures.

 

[symphonica]

The red is common misinformation. You may want to look this over https://www.chameleonforums.com/everyone-who-knows-you-cant-keep-chams-glass-31937/ , it was done by a cham researcher. Also if you have trouble maintaining humidity glass can be a great way to go. You will need to change how you water compared to a screen enclosure but it doesn't mean you can't have great success with glass enclosures.

Although you can keep them in glass enclosures, I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner chameleon keeper. Until you get to know chameleons and their needs, what their behavior is like when healthy vs. sick, and how to take care of their needs step to step, I wouldn't recommend trying glass.

Although dehydration and low humidity are common challenges with screened enclosures, that can easily be combated with regular mistings or by investing in an automatic spray system. With glass tanks, increased temps and humidity are the problem. Chams can end up with upper respiratory infections and make any sort of infection very difficult to combat. Have you ever had the problem with reef tanks and MHs raising the temp of the water too high, which in turn leads to greater evaporation rate, which in turn leads to increased salinity, and to bring the temp down you needed a chiller? Similarly with chams, one problem leads to another, to another, to another... Except with chams, water wouldn't evaporate because unlike with reef tanks, it's completely enclosed and nowhere for the water vapor to escape to. It basically turns into a hot, soggy steamer.

It would also be much more cost-effective to go with a screen enclosure than to go with a glass enclosure of the same size. For example, a 4'x2'x2' screened enclosure is the equivalent of a 120gal. I believe a ReptiBreeze that size is under $100. I'm sure you know how much a 120gal would cost. Plus, how heavy and difficult is it to move a glass tank that size if location didn't work out, versus how easy it would be to rearrange a screen tank.

If you're really having difficulties with humidity, you can go to Home Depot and pick up acrylic sheets and hang them up on some of the sides. That way, you still get airflow but the acrylic helps to retain some of the moisture to prevent it from drying out too much.

As with fish, if you're going to go with glass, the larger the tank, the easier it is to maintain more stable conditions.

If you're the handy type, you could always custom make a cage using basic materials from Home Depot. You could even pre-install some acrylic sides if you wanted.

Start basic, and work your way up as you get to know chams better. We all tend to start out with a 10-gal freshwater, and just keep upgrading and getting into the more difficult/needy fish. I started out with a 10-gal with tiger barbs. Then 55, to 75 -> 90 -> 125 freshwater -> 120 reef -> 180 -> 265 now.

 

[laurie]

Hello, I will just add a couple things.

A jackson is not a bad first choice. There are a few things that are different in keeping a jackson, but if you know how to start properly, you can do fine.

A couple errors in other posts.

You can not supplement a jackson every day. They are very sensitive about over supplement. I supplemented my jackson twice a week.

Your temps are lower and your humidity higher with jacksons, than say a veiled or panther.

A screen cage is the only way to go for a new person to the hobby. Way to many things to monitor using a glass terrarium.

Jacksons are a more laid back cham than a veiled or panther who often bite.

You will not want to raise food for one cham. That would take lots of space and cost 4 times what it will cost to buy food.

Lots of people take their chams to the vet a lot. I don't. Take it when you first get it to be checked out and tested for parasites. After that I take one when i see something change that I can not explain. Nothing wrong with going to the vet if you feel better for doing it. My only regular thing is have fecal checks done at least annually. I do my own so I check at least quarterly.

I am sure I left out a lot of things, but can answer and questions you may have.

 

[broderp]

First off, did the tank disaster on new years involve any kind of alcohol?

Second, how does one working part time able to say cost is no option? My little guy is costing me a decent chunk of change and I work full time.

(Some people are lucky I guess!)

I won't even touch on the comments about the boyfriend being over.... (My daugher better not ever do this when she leaves for school! lol)

As mentioned, even without a PC since you have web access, the care sheets here in the forum are a great recource. I learned SO much from here in the last few weeks (months?)

I got a veiled cahm, but Jacksons are about the same. If you want lower maintenance, then try to get a male. From what I read females will require special attention and stuff around egg laying time.

And what ever you do...take pet store info with a grain of salt.

Post some pics, of the enclose and cham. Many love to see these guys.
cheers.

 

[EmmaChams]

Hello, I will just add a couple things.

A jackson is not a bad first choice. There are a few things that are different in keeping a jackson, but if you know how to start properly, you can do fine.

A couple errors in other posts.

You can not supplement a jackson every day. They are very sensitive about over supplement. I supplemented my jackson twice a week.

Your temps are lower and your humidity higher with jacksons, than say a veiled or panther.

A screen cage is the only way to go for a new person to the hobby. Way to many things to monitor using a glass terrarium.

Jacksons are a more laid back cham than a veiled or panther who often bite.

You will not want to raise food for one cham. That would take lots of space and cost 4 times what it will cost to buy food.

Lots of people take their chams to the vet a lot. I don't. Take it when you first get it to be checked out and tested for parasites. After that I take one when i see something change that I can not explain. Nothing wrong with going to the vet if you feel better for doing it. My only regular thing is have fecal checks done at least annually. I do my own so I check at least quarterly.

I am sure I left out a lot of things, but can answer and questions you may have.

Agree on the vet part, no need to take a cham to the every 6 months are so if nothing has changed and he/she isn't sick, only stresses them out and probably wasting your money on a check up they don't need.