jackson’s cham with odd behaviors: not eating, nocturnal??

[dudemanguy123]

Hi, I also have a Jackson’s. Jacksons chams need a basking temp of no more than 85 degrees during the day with the temp of course getting lower as you go down lower in the enclosure and humidity of around 50% . Then at night they need a drop in temp of about 15 to twenty degrees so temps at night should be anywhere from 65 degrees on down. They can tolerate temps in the 50s even. This allows them to get good sleep. They need complete darkness at night, so no lights, not even red ones and no night time heat unless the Temps are like in the 40s. Humidity at night needs to be at least 75% and up to 100% if you can active it. Don’t use any floggers unless you can get your temp to67 degrees or lower. A misting system is great to because they love cool humid air at night. You need a reptisun 5.0 linear UVB light or a Arcadia 6% UVB linear bulb the width of your enclosure and probably no more than a 60 watt white light basking lamp. Lots of climbing branches and lots of leafy plants he can hide in. Real plants, not fake. This will help with his stress. Get him some Dubia roaches and crickets, he’ll love those. Dust very lightly with calcium No D3 every feeding then use a vitamins like reptivite with D3 once a month dusted lightly. I hope this helps. It sounds like he’s very hungry and very stressed. I’d leave him be as much as possible in his main cage with no handling him for now and don’t watch him eat or he might not. Is his cage in an out of the way place like his own room or a low traffic area? That’s what he needs.

thank you for all this! i will be keeping the light off at night from now on, and ill look into that other uvb bulb. his cage is in my room, the only times im up there is at night or when i go to mist his enclosure, ive been trying my best to leave him alone as often as possible

 

[Lindasjackson]

Also your going to need a bigger enclosure. Adult Jackson’s need a 24x24x48 at minimum.

 

[dudemanguy123]

Also your going to need a bigger enclosure. Adult Jackson’s need a 24x24x48 at minimum.

i will look into getting a bigger one when he gets a bit older, but he's small at the moment so im just using the one i already had! unless i should get a bigger one now while hes still small ?

 

[Flick boy]

I don't think it matters about our homes ( temp ) just because a rooms ambient temp is so so doesn't mean the basking temp is correct with living in the uk I have changed from a 75 to a 35 basking light as mentioned if you have the money stick a thermostat in

 

[Lindasjackson]

How big is he? Do you know how old he is? My guy was between 8-12 months old ( estimated because the petco didn’t know how old he was) when I got him a month ago. They need the bigger cage when they are a mature adult Which is around a year I believe. I made the same mistake when I got my guy and bought the smaller cage but I was able to sell it on Facebook marketplace which helped And I went ahead and got the bigger one a couple weeks ago. If you decide to get an automatic mister you’ll need a drainage system which is easy to set up. Mist king is a great auto mister that a lot of the people here use. It makes life so much easier.

 

[dudemanguy123]

How big is he? Do you know how old he is? My guy was between 8-12 months old ( estimated because the petco didn’t know how old he was) when I got him a month ago. They need the bigger cage when they are a mature adult Which is around a year I believe. I made the same mistake when I got my guy and bought the smaller cage but I was able to sell it on Facebook marketplace which helped And I went ahead and got the bigger one a couple weeks ago. If you decide to get an automatic mister you’ll need a drainage system which is easy to set up. Mist king is a great auto mister that a lot of the people here use. It makes life so much easier.

i also got my guy from petco, and they didnt tell us how old he was. hes pretty small, about 3-4 inches id say, so i dont think hes too old. at the minute though, im more concerned about making sure hes back to eating regularly than upgrading his enclosure

 

[dudemanguy123]

thank you everyone for all the help!! i'm going out to buy a different type of food, and i'll be keeping the light off at night now! if the problems continue, i'll post again here for some further help, or go to see a vet! thank you all

 

[Lindasjackson]

I agree so concentrate on that for now. I see you’re in the New England area, so am I. Petco has small to medium crickets so maybe try those because you can get them right away and then maybe try ordering some Dubia roaches. How do you feed him? You obviously can’t hand feed him with how stressed he is. I use a bird seed cup like you clip into their cage, the large one so it’s deep enough the crickets aren’t as likely to jump out, but they can, and I put it in his enclosure just below his basking branch in the morning and then I leave him alone to eat. I count how many feeders I put in so when I check later I know how many he’s eaten. I hope all my advice helps. I love Jackson’s!

 

[JacksJill]

• Your Chameleon - Jackson's chameleon, male, unsure of age, and i've had him for a little over a month
• Handling - the only time i've handled him was when i moved him to and from the smaller enclosure for travel
• Feeding - i've been feeding him 4 mealworms and a waxworm every day, in the morning i give him more or switch out the old ones with new Drop both of these worms from his diet. Crickets have their problems but they are better than either of these. Feed super worms, BSFL or other items from the list
• Supplements - i dust the worms i feed him with zoomed repticalcium The standard three supplement regiment of a phosphorus free calcium, a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin without D3 has been used successfully for many years. I will quote the version from the resources section of the forum "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."
  
  I personally use a two supplement regiment of phosphorus and D3 free calcium mixed with powdered bee pollen and Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, the one with the Jackson's on the label. I don't know if the bee pollen is of any value but it seems harmless and probably at least provides dietary fiber. I consider it optional. My schedule is used with a T5 linear fixture with a 5.0 or 6% light. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I dust with phoshorus free calcium mixed with bee pollen 2:1 or 3:1. Twice a month I substitute Repashy Calcium plus LoD for a Monday's calcium. This way they get 2-3 doses of calcium per week and two doses of multi vitamin with a little D3 per month. Clearly the days of the week don't matter as long as they are every other and not more than three per week. When I keep my chameleons outdoors I modify the schedule to only one dose per month of the Repashy LoD and I'm only giving it for the multivitamins it provides.
• Watering - he has a dripper that is always running, and i mist his enclosure 2-3 times a day
• Fecal Description - i've not seen any in his cage for a few days, and recently cleaned out the substrate on the bottom, i believe because he's not been eating. he's never been tested for parasites With his per store history a fecal would be a very good test to get done.
• History - i got him at a petco around a month ago, and he was being kept in the back and not had an enclosure in the store yet, so maybe this caused some of the odd behaviors?

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - entirely screen enclosure, it is 16" x 16" x 30" He's going to out grow this start saving for a 24x24x48
• Lighting - during the day, i use two bulbs, zoomed daylight blue and zoomed reptisun uvb. i turn these two on at about 10 in the morning, and off around 10 at night. when those two arent on, his night bulb is the zoomed nightlight red I'm not a big fan of the blue bulbs but if you can't get standard incandescent bulbs in your state this may have to do. Upgrade to T5 linear ASAP if you are using a coil bulb it won't provide enough UVB. You don't need lights at night at all and no heat. This is probably causing most of your problems. You want him to cool down at night into the 60's F is great even to 50 is OK.
• Temperature - during the day, it is around 70°F -80°F. i am unsure about the nightime temps right now, but i believe it drops around 10 degrees. i have a thermometer in the enclosure toward the top, but i also have a infrared thermometer that i check the temp with Daytime temps Basking 78-80 F night time in the 60's
• Humidity - the humidity is usually around 70%, i have a humidity monitor in the enclosure as well. i keep humidity by misting a few times each day, and the dripper is always going Daytime humidity can be 40-50% and night time should be 80-100%
• Plants - all the plants i use are fake He will appreciate live plants. He could probably use more iding places to feel less stress.
• Placement - the enclosure is in my room, whenever im in my room im either in my bed or sitting at my desk, so id say its not very high traffic. in my room, i have a snake and fishtank, but the snake isnt near it, although the fishtank is. i do have a fan going at night, but it is pointed away from his enclosure. the top is about 50 inches away from the floor
• Location - i live in connecticut

 

[Flick boy]

Hi @dudemanguy123 . I would go ahead and get an adult cage a minimum of 2x2x4 but bigger is better they grow so fast. At the end of the day they aren't born in a tiny jungle. And get a feeder run imo then you can get a diary of feeders and amounts this is helpful not only for yourself to see how much variety and how much your baby is eating if a vet trip was ever needed the first picture is out of a book which i print out each month and keep notes and weights. The second i usually make a months gutload for all my insects. Good reading/ viewing Neptune the chameleon you tube also casque above. Com

 

[dudemanguy123]

I agree so concentrate on that for now. I see you’re in the New England area, so am I. Petco has small to medium crickets so maybe try those because you can get them right away and then maybe try ordering some Dubia roaches. How do you feed him? You obviously can’t hand feed him with how stressed he is. I use a bird seed cup like you clip into their cage, the large one so it’s deep enough the crickets aren’t as likely to jump out, but they can, and I put it in his enclosure just below his basking branch in the morning and then I leave him alone to eat. I count how many feeders I put in so when I check later I know how many he’s eaten. I hope all my advice helps. I love Jackson’s!

right now i have one dish at the bottom of the enclosure and another thats closer to the top, and yes! i'll definitely try the crickets, thank you for all of your help

• Your Chameleon - Jackson's chameleon, male, unsure of age, and i've had him for a little over a month
• Handling - the only time i've handled him was when i moved him to and from the smaller enclosure for travel
• Feeding - i've been feeding him 4 mealworms and a waxworm every day, in the morning i give him more or switch out the old ones with new Drop both of these worms from his diet. Crickets have their problems but they are better than either of these. Feed super worms, BSFL or other items from the list
• Supplements - i dust the worms i feed him with zoomed repticalcium The standard three supplement regiment of a phosphorus free calcium, a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin without D3 has been used successfully for many years. I will quote the version from the resources section of the forum "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."
  
  I personally use a two supplement regiment of phosphorus and D3 free calcium mixed with powdered bee pollen and Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, the one with the Jackson's on the label. I don't know if the bee pollen is of any value but it seems harmless and probably at least provides dietary fiber. I consider it optional. My schedule is used with a T5 linear fixture with a 5.0 or 6% light. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I dust with phoshorus free calcium mixed with bee pollen 2:1 or 3:1. Twice a month I substitute Repashy Calcium plus LoD for a Monday's calcium. This way they get 2-3 doses of calcium per week and two doses of multi vitamin with a little D3 per month. Clearly the days of the week don't matter as long as they are every other and not more than three per week. When I keep my chameleons outdoors I modify the schedule to only one dose per month of the Repashy LoD and I'm only giving it for the multivitamins it provides.
• Watering - he has a dripper that is always running, and i mist his enclosure 2-3 times a day
• Fecal Description - i've not seen any in his cage for a few days, and recently cleaned out the substrate on the bottom, i believe because he's not been eating. he's never been tested for parasites With his per store history a fecal would be a very good test to get done.
• History - i got him at a petco around a month ago, and he was being kept in the back and not had an enclosure in the store yet, so maybe this caused some of the odd behaviors?

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - entirely screen enclosure, it is 16" x 16" x 30" He's going to out grow this start saving for a 24x24x48
• Lighting - during the day, i use two bulbs, zoomed daylight blue and zoomed reptisun uvb. i turn these two on at about 10 in the morning, and off around 10 at night. when those two arent on, his night bulb is the zoomed nightlight red I'm not a big fan of the blue bulbs but if you can't get standard incandescent bulbs in your state this may have to do. Upgrade to T5 linear ASAP if you are using a coil bulb it won't provide enough UVB. You don't need lights at night at all and no heat. This is probably causing most of your problems. You want him to cool down at night into the 60's F is great even to 50 is OK.
• Temperature - during the day, it is around 70°F -80°F. i am unsure about the nightime temps right now, but i believe it drops around 10 degrees. i have a thermometer in the enclosure toward the top, but i also have a infrared thermometer that i check the temp with Daytime temps Basking 78-80 F night time in the 60's
• Humidity - the humidity is usually around 70%, i have a humidity monitor in the enclosure as well. i keep humidity by misting a few times each day, and the dripper is always going Daytime humidity can be 40-50% and night time should be 80-100%
• Plants - all the plants i use are fake He will appreciate live plants. He could probably use more iding places to feel less stress.
• Placement - the enclosure is in my room, whenever im in my room im either in my bed or sitting at my desk, so id say its not very high traffic. in my room, i have a snake and fishtank, but the snake isnt near it, although the fishtank is. i do have a fan going at night, but it is pointed away from his enclosure. the top is about 50 inches away from the floor
• Location - i live in connecticut

thank you so much for all this information! i will look into all of this!!

Hi @dudemanguy123 . I would go ahead and get an adult cage a minimum of 2x2x4 but bigger is better they grow so fast. At the end of the day they aren't born in a tiny jungle. And get a feeder run imo then you can get a diary of feeders and amounts this is helpful not only for yourself to see how much variety and how much your baby is eating if a vet trip was ever needed the first picture is out of a book which i print out each month and keep notes and weights. The second i usually make a months gutload for all my insects. Good reading/ viewing Neptune the chameleon you tube also casque above. Com

ill look into getting one of those! and keeping track of everything he eats is a good idea, thank you!

 

[dinomom]

thank you, i definitely will be checking out different foods for him! i'll be ordering a few online when i get the chance!


i'll start trying to keep that light off overnight! when i was setting up the enclosure i got a night bulb cause my house can get pretty cool at night. i can get back to you later on the temps that are overnight, cause im not too certain what they are. if i were to need a heat lamp at night, would there be a better option? i know in the past my snake has had one that was colored more purple, would that work okay?

Don't use any unless it hits the 50s in your house which is unlikely. Cool night is critical!

 

[Flick boy]

Your welcome we are all learning and on this forum we all help each other welcome to the chamily