Jojo da Chameleon

DaChameleon66

DaChameleon66

Established Member
Hello everyone! I'd like to present my new Jackson chameleon Jojo! View attachment 331151
We named him that because my previous chameleon's name started with a J as well. Jojo is around 6-7 months old. I got him rather recently so I am still setting up everything. He has been eating around 6-8 pinheads a day and drinking water daily from my hand sprayer. He is currently sleeping right now. I have a few questions however. I live in Hawaii, where the humidity and temperature is ideal for chameleons. Because of this, I have not purchased a heat/basking light. With my previous chameleon I didn't encounter any problems not having a heat lamp. But I did get a UVB light back then. I have a Zilla Slimline Reptile Fluorescent Lighting Fixture 18 inch UVB bulb and have been using it for Jojo. I've heard that you're supposed to change the bulb every 6-9 months. I also asked a worker at petco when I went to get crickets and they said you have to change it when the light goes off. Which one is correct? Do I need to change my bulb? And do I need to get a heat lamp? I will appreciate any advice and will try to keep this updated.

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Hi there
The picture on your profile, is this him? If so, I’m afraid to say that he is a she. You got a female Xanth, which is beautiful. You’re right about the heat light, in most cases it’s not needed with Jackson‘s or just for a few hour per day. You do need a uvb light, and then linear T5. No, screw in bulb, they aren’t sufficient enough for a chameleon. This would give your chameleon only healthy freedom to move directly underneath the reflector. Could you post some pictures of your enclosure en Cham please, just add with the ”Attach files” button.
 
Sonny13 said:
Hi there
The picture on your profile, is this him? If so, I’m afraid to say that he is a she. You got a female Xanth, which is beautiful. You’re right about the heat light, in most cases it’s not needed with Jackson‘s or just for a few hour per day. You do need a uvb light, and then linear T5. No, screw in bulb, they aren’t sufficient enough for a chameleon. This would give your chameleon only healthy freedom to move directly underneath the reflector. Could you post some pictures of your enclosure en Cham please, just add with the ”Attach files” button.
Click to expand...

The picture on my profile is my old chameleon. There should be an attachment in my first message showing my chameleon. I will post picture of my enclosure.
edit: on second thought, the attachment doesn't work. I will post a picture of my chameleon. Thank you for the advice!
 
The attachment is not showing...

The zilla slimline is not a good T8 fixture. The reflector for the bulb is very poor quality. Also if you have left the plastic cover on it that covers the bulb you want to remove this asap.
 
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The last picture was Jojo last night. Do I have to remove the clear thing over the light? Or should I get a new light. This one is rather old.
 
I just finished feeding Jojo. I have to put him in a smaller container and put some crickets in there because his cage is too big. He ate around 8 crickets. Here is a picture of him hunting. I’m not sure how to put a video in here though. He ate around 9 crickets.

image.jpg
 
Goodness that is a tiny baby. Baby needs to be able to eat as much as it can.

You have to get the plastic off. Or no UVB will get through it. I personally would get a T5HO fixture and 5.0 or 6% UVB bulb. Then placement is very important. You are going to lift this new fixture off the top 4 inches. Measure from the bottom of the fixture to the top of the screen. Then you will have branches that are 5 inches below the screen top. So your total distance is measured inches. We do this with hatchlings because they climb the top screen and you do not want UVB to be in over exposure levels on the screen.


@JacksJill can provide more feedback as well as I am not as familiar with this species.
 
Yes, take the plastic off for use until you can get a T5 linear 5.0 or 6% bulb and fixture in the next few days. The bulbs produce visible light longer than they produce UVB. So once again the Petco employee is poorly informed. Six to nine months is a reasonable expectation. If you have access to a UVB meter you can sometimes have a bulb last longer but don't risk it without a meter.

Here are some supplement schedule options. My Jackson's Supplement Schedule You can start immediately just dust lightly and only once per scheduled day. You probably need to feed twice daily at this age/size.
 
Thanks for the advice! I have taken off the plastic covering. Jojo is sleeping right now so I will use it tomorrow. Do I keep using this light or do I have to get a new one? I looked around and found that this was a good light. Should I get it?
 
I just went to check on Jojos crickets and then gave the pinheads some oats to eat but I noticed that some of them looked green on the inside. I think it's because of the green thing inside their cage but it came with that when I got them from the store. Can Jojo still eat them? Here's a pic of the crickets and the light without the plastic and Jojo sleeping.
image.jpg


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image.jpg
 
Don't feed them oats if the oats get moldy and the crickets eat them it will make Jojo very sick. (See 'Aflatoxicosis' ) Feed them carrots or leafy greens See gutlaod). That green stuff is what cricket breeders feed, good for crickets, okay but not great for chameleons.

You will need a different fixture for the T5 bulb the prong spacing is different than the T8.
 
Jojo has woken up. I am using the zilla light for him. I have misted his enclosure and he is drinking. He seems to be hungry though. I will remove the oatmeal immediately but are the crickets still safe for Jojo to eat? And could you point me towards a good UVB light to use? I also don't have any powdered supplements but I have a calcium spay one. Do I use that for the crickets? Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it!
 
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