Jackson preparations

[Chamaniac]

Hello everyone! My son and I are getting back into the cham life following the passing of our (his) Nosy Be this past winter. He has identified a male Kenyan Xanth so we have been researching over the past month and would appreciate some feedback on our current setup. We do have another branch / vine on order mainly for the top portion of the enclosure.

Pics could be better I admit.

Thanks in advance!


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon – juvenile male Kenyan Xanth Jackson
• Handling – as comfortably allowed
• Feeding – main staple of dubias along with crickets, bsfl, and hornworm treats. Gutloading with Bug Burger and fresh fruits/veggies.
• Supplements – Calcium w/o D3 daily, Calcium w/ D3 and Vitamin twice per month
• Watering – MistKing with early morning, mid-day, and after lights out misting. Fogger running from 12am-5am
• Fecal Description – n/a
• History – n/a

Cage Info:

• Cage Type – Reptibreeze XL, solid backwall made of beadboard, pond foam, cork bark, and coconut fiber
• Lighting - Arcadia 24” Dual with 12% and 6500k, heat lamp with 60w bulb (considering switching to CHE) …either adding another dual 24” with 6500k bulbs that I have on hand (not Arcadia) or purchasing a grow light for plants.
• Temperature – Basking area 80, ambient temp mid-lower cage is 70 using digital thermometer.
• Humidity – 30% daytime humidity, 80% nighttime…considering adding window plastic to sides for increased nighttime humidity, unsure how that will affect daytime levels
• Plants and cage interior – 1 Sheffelera, 1 hanging Pothos, 2 wall planted Pothos, 1 wall planted Croton…considering hanging another pothos in the left front area
• Placement – Corner of bedroom, low traffic, away from venting, near windows on a desk, top of cage is approx. 8ft
• Location – Northern Minnesota

 

[AnamCara]

I am not familiar with Jackson's care but this setup looks good -- almost any setup can benefit from more horizontal branches/vines!

To help keep humidity in I have been experimenting with Bamboo Curtains. Many keepers have had success using shower curtains around their enclosure -- but I like the blinds as I can raise them and lower them with ease -- and I also think they look natural and pretty. So far I only have one side covered but will cover the others soon.

 

[JacksJill]

Jackson's require way less supplement than the Panthers you are used to.
The care sheet https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/ and Resource Link - Jackson's In Captivity, by Kent Manchen
"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." You can swap out Repashy calcium plus LoD for both your D3 and multi if you want just use it every 2 weeks very lightly.

Lighting - Arcadia 24” Dual with 12% and 6500k, heat lamp with 60w bulb
6% should be plenty in a 24x24x48" cage you can wrap your 12% with aluminum screen to reduce the output or raise it several inches if that is what you already have. You may only need a 40w basking bulb most of the year. I like the extra light a bulb gives off over a CHE I believe available light improves mood.

Humidity – 30% daytime humidity, I would go just a bit higher as this is the extreme in nature 40% day time 80-90% night time.

Your cage is beautiful he's going to be very happy. The more branches the more of it he can enjoy.

 

[Chamaniac]

@AnamCara
Originally I thought of using the bamboo curtains and I do like the ability to raise or lower them. My concern is the dryness of the winter months up here so figured the windows plastic would help hold it in as long as possible. Also my reasoning for adding another hanging pothos up top but I may already have insufficient lighting for my plants.

@JacksJill
I'm very happy to see that the supplement requirements are less with the Jacksons and will definitely be purchasing the Repashy product.
I do have the 12% already but could easily raise it up. Would several inches be 6-7?
Will do!

Thank you very much, more branches coming.

Thank you both for kind words and information!

 

[JacksJill]

3-5 Inches should do for starters if you see your chameleon squinting then go up 6-8

 

[Chamaniac]

Without a basking bulb the top of the cage is 75 and almost 50% humidity.

Ignore the Fogger, we had just set it up and turned it on for testing.

 

[DartFrogKeeper]

That cage looks great. I have plastic fencing to assist with climbing on 3 sides of my cage. My Jackson's uses the whole cage to climb around and explore. He is much more active than my veiled, even though he's much less of a voracious eater (I rarely get to see him eat crickets or dubias that I put in his feeder even though they disappear). For basking I found a 43 watt incandescent bulb that seems about right. I've also found 35 watt halogen bulbs at Lowes that would be comparable for heat (a bit hotter but close).

 

[Chamaniac]

Interesting idea on the plastic fencing. I've not come across that before.

Our panther was quite active as well and he was our first so we're excited to see the differences between the two. Everything is ready to go, just waiting on the guest of honor. We've definitely missed having a little green friend in the house!

 

[JacksJill]

I wasn't suggesting going without a basking bulb just be ready to adjust with different wattages if necessary.