Jackson's Chameleon Sub-Species And Age

[h22turbo]

Hello everyone!

I have bearded dragons, but I've always loved chameleons... so, I bought one!

I've been doing a little research on Jackson's and I read they have 3 sub-species of Jackson's. I'm not sure if mine is the yellow-crested or not?

Also, im having a hard time determining his age. Can somebody help me estimate how old he is?

Here is some pictures...

spike

• h22turbo
• Oct 14, 2016

spike

spike

• h22turbo
• Oct 14, 2016

spike

spike

• h22turbo
• Oct 14, 2016

spike

Spike

• h22turbo
• Oct 14, 2016

Spike

Spike

• h22turbo
• Oct 14, 2016

Spike

He is 6 inches long from tip of nose to end of tail.... about 3 inches from tip of nose to vent.

Thanks,
h22turbo

 

[Andee]

No one calls them yellow crested because that's what pet stores call them to make them more appealing.

You have a Jacksonii xantholophus, or a xanth

 

[h22turbo]

No one calls them yellow crested because that's what pet stores call them to make them more appealing.

You have a Jacksonii xantholophus, or a xanth

awesome, thank you!

do you know about how old he is?

 

[Lathis]

Very handsome little guy! Jax are such great chameleons. I would guess he's a sub adult, somewhere around 8 months to as much as a year.

Here is a really great resource for his care. Unfortunately pet stores often give incorrect and sometimes harmful information about carrying for chameleons. The information here you can trust; it was developed by people with years and years of successful keeping and breeding of chameleons.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

Jax need cooler temperatures and more water than veileds or panthers and supplements less often, so pay close attention to this parts of the caresheet. Be sure to ask any questions, and there is a huge wealth of info under the search function.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[h22turbo]

I would guess he's a sub adult, somewhere around 8 months to as much as a year.

WHOA!?!?!? 8 months? He's so tiny to be that old!

I've read a lot of conflicting information online about how to estimate their age. One site said they dont get green color until about 4 months and their horns start to grow at 2 months and should be grown by 4 months. I was thinking he was 4-5 months old. He's only 6 inches from tip of nose to end of tail (3" from nose tip to vent).

I also read they average 10-12" long full grown.... but if my little guy is already 8 months old and only 6" long, I dont think he will do much more growing! I have him in a ZooMed ReptiBreeze "Medium" 16x16x30 cage, 75 Watt basking bulb which keeps basking spot around 85 degrees, and a ZooMed ReptiSun T5 High Output 10.0 Tube above him. I know that's probably a little much UVB for a Jackson's Chameleon, but the only other bulbs I have it an old Exo Terra 160 Watt Solar Glo Mercury Vapor Bulb (7-8 months old), and a ZooMed ReptiSun 10.0 13 Watt Mini Compact Florescent Light. I dont think the mini compact florescent light is enough UVB, and I also dont think my 160 Watt Solar Glo MVB is much good now since it's so old.

I've had him for 2 days now and he hasn't ate anything I know he's stressed out and getting use to his new home, but I hope this little dude starts eating and gets healthy! There's 8-10 crickets running around in his cage and I've offered him dubia and superworms, but he wasn't interested! He did drink some water drops off a vine today after I misted his cage.

Anyways, Thanks for the help!

 

[h22turbo]

Oh and I forgot to mention this.... I cant find any information on how much UVB a Jackson's Chameleon requires.

I have bearded dragons and I've found dragons require XXX uW/cm2. Also on UVB bulb packaging, it will say this bulb produces XXX uW/cm2 at 4" away etc etc....

So, how much UVB does a Jackson's Chameleon need? Like I said, I know the ReptiSun 10.0 T5 High Output tube is probably to much, but I would say my little 13 watt mini compact florescent bulb is NOT enough UVB!

 

[carol5208]

Read the caresheet you were linked to.. It will tell you everything you need to do to keep your Jackson's healthy.

 

[h22turbo]

Read the caresheet you were linked to.. It will tell you everything you need to do to keep your Jackson's healthy.

All it says is I need a UVB bulb, 12 hours on and 12 hours off, replace it ever 6-8 months, and make sure there is a "UVB Gradient" in the cage....

It doesn't really say which bulb is best, how much UVB they actually need, etc etc...

 

[Lathis]

I could be wrong about his age - I'm guessing (of course!) based on horn growth. My Ferdinand was a very small guy, even for a Jax. He was maybe a hair bigger than that when I got him at about seven months old. BUT Ferds had not been cared for very well before I got him, so if your little guy had good care, he may have a great set of horns and be younger.

That UVB light is fine if you have a heavily planted cage. If he has shady areas he can go, then that is perfect. I like to have a very shady side and a more open side where the basking light is - gives him options for thermoregulation.

 

[h22turbo]

I did find this

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/lighting/

which says....

Some suggested brands: Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0, Reptiglo 5.0 or 10.0, Arcadia 6% or 12%.

but, still not very clear or specific. huge difference between a ReptiSun 10.0 mini compact florescent (13 Watt) bulb and a ReptiSun 10.0 T5 High Output florescent tube.

 

[MortiMarie]

I did find this

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/lighting/

which says....

Some suggested brands: Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0, Reptiglo 5.0 or 10.0, Arcadia 6% or 12%.

but, still not very clear or specific. huge difference between a ReptiSun 10.0 mini compact florescent (13 Watt) bulb and a ReptiSun 10.0 T5 High Output florescent tube.

Hi,

I don't own a Cham yet but I've been lurking for quite some time, so take my advice with a grain of salt haha. From my understanding, the mini compacts are less desirable because of the limited area of UVB they produce. Linear tubes seem to be the way to go in order to cover a larger, more usable area of the cage.

 

[Link]

Looks like the big X very good looking congrats

 

[Lathis]

Linear tubes are recommended over the compact ones. Each brand of bulb puts out a slightly difference spectrum and different intensities. The lower end "pet store" brands can be highly variable in their output (as I have read people post) even within one brand and bulb rating. The Arcadia brand lights are very highly regarded in the reptile community. I use a T5HO Arcadia 6% for my heavily planted enclosure. I can't answer your question re: the two reptisun bulbs. You would have to run both and measure their UV output over time... I suspect the HO bulb would perform better in the long run, but that's a guess on my part.

Regardless of what brand you use, it will always be significantly lower than natural sun even in the shade - the key thing is to remember that this is a point source rather than a distributed source like natural light, and in nature, the UV levels would change through the day. With artificial lights, the closeness of the light and the fact that it's a constant level can be an issue, hence why you want a shady side.

If you want to dig into it, there have been a couple of really good discussions on this on CF. I'll link a few I remember reading, and maybe others will add on.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...ead-everything-you-really-need-to-know.80869/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/arcadia-t5ho-12-uvb-output-solarmeter.81470/

 

[Lathis]

PS - You should submit one of these photos for a month contest. They are very good!