New owner of Jackson Chameleon.

[DGray]

Hamster bottles! Time traveling...

I had Jackson's in the early 70's and at the time, hamster bottles were the suggested way to water. My male would drink this way, but the female never did. Looking back on it, I don't know how she got enough water. I'm sure I misted them, and put them outside, including for rainstorms, but now I feel terrible thinking about it.

To expand on my guilt, we kept them in a 20 gal fish breeder aquarium set on it's side. This was 20 x 20 x 9 in.

I know. Horrible.

Suffice it to say they did not live long and happy lives, but I learned from the experience, and I did not keep chameleons again until the 90's when a lot more was known, and then I was able to provide beautiful complete planted environments for the animals. They were happy and did breed, but I was not able to spend the time to raise their offspring, so I gave them away.

I'm starting again in the 21st century. Now I will have the time to make more than one generation. Quadricornis first; other high montane sp. maybe later.

Thanks to all who have moved the culture of chameleons forward from the hamster bottle days.

 

[astroprojector]

I use one that was 12 bucks from HD and it measures humidity as well. It seems to work just fine. I use a 40 watt bulb to make it about 83-85 at 6 inches away.

So yesterday I went to HD and bought a 45w flood light and digital thermometer. The thermometer measures outside, inside temperature and humidity. After I replaced the light I placed the outside temperature sensor about 6" under the light where the chameleon can get the closest to the light and thermometer settled on 91 degrees. Should I go back and get a 30w light? The humidity was 31% before I misted around.

Update: Replaced the light bulb again. Now it is around 89 degrees. So I am going to leave it. Another thing is that I am starting to get concern about him. I do not know how they supposed to behave after they are brought from the store. Since Saturday he ate only two crickets, drank once on Sunday morning and another time he now when I started squirting water in his face. After he drank he turn to bright green color, so I assume it is good. I placed 6 crickets this morning and there 6 crickets in there right now. Maybe they are too small and he does not sees them. He moves around but much. Sometimes I see him resting his head on the leave and his eyes are closed. I hope this is their way of acclimating.

The only time I open the cage is when I place the crickets in the morning, spay him and take the crickets out at night.

 

[astroprojector]

Any suggestions?

 

[ponders]

You might want to just try a regular house 40w light bulb. Jacksons like it cooler than panthers do.
I would cover several sides of his cage with fabric or shower curtain and try not to bother him much while he is adapting to the new cage.
Do you have a dripper set up? It will give him a chance to drink while you are not there.

 

[astroprojector]

I covered the back and the left side with painter plastic. During the day no one is bothering him. What about the food? I still have to put the food in, take it out, mist. I tried the 45w flood bulb and the temp was around 95 degrees. When I switch the bulb to 30w flood the temp went down to 89 degrees. So, you are saying that if I place regular 40w bulb, the temp will be lower?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

What is the ambient temp?
I would not go over 80 degrees in the hottest spot and I would not keep the basking light on all day, most of the enclosure should be mid to low 70's.
Also, montanes are very sensitive to supplementation.
I dust my jackson's feeders with calcium (no D3) once a week and nothing else.
Watch what you're gut loading with as well ... I only use fresh fruits and vegetables.
Water is super important and no compact fluorescent bulbs. Temps can go down to 50 degrees f. at night.

-Brad

 

[astroprojector]

The hottest spot is around 89 degrees that's with the 30w spot light. The temperature in the room is about 75 degrees. I installed the dripper so the water will be dripping all day long. For now I gut load the crickets with carrots. Should change the light bulb to 20w to reduce the temp even more?

I got the reply earlier in the post to dust my feeders with calcium (no D3) 5x a week. Is that too much?

 

[Julirs]

89 is a little too hot, and I guess supplementation is always a debate, and it always depends on how heavily you dust. I dust very, very lightly-and do also supplement my montanes less.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

The hottest spot is around 89 degrees that's with the 30w spot light. The temperature in the room is about 75 degrees. I installed the dripper so the water will be dripping all day long. For now I gut load the crickets with carrots. Should change the light bulb to 20w to reduce the temp even more?

I got the reply earlier in the post to dust my feeders with calcium (no D3) 5x a week. Is that too much?

Are you using a linear tube fluorescent UVB directly on top of the enclosure?
That provides enough additional heat for my Jackson's.
An additional basking spot is okay for this species and yes, I would switch to a 20 or even 15W bulb.
You need to get more than carrots into your crickets.
I provide the following (all food we eat so it's not expensive to provide the feeders with some)
apple cores
zucchini
sweet red or yellow pepper
thawed frozen mixed vegetables (green beans, peas, carrots)
unsweetened breakfast cereal (Cheerios, Total)
spring mix greens
collard greens (we don't actually eat these)

Stay away from vegetables high in oxylates, ie: spinach, broccoli, tomato
Calcium with no D3 may be okay (I only do it once a week) to dust with more than once a week, but be very careful with multi vitamin supplements and anything with Preformed A and/or D3 ... maybe once a month if at all.
Your chameleon looks close to a year old to me.

-Brad

 

[astroprojector]

I do use the 18" Reptisun 10.00 UVB ligh and no compact lights. If the color is the indicator of stress, then I do not think he is stressed. His color is bright green. He is not a year old. I cropped the image. He is about 4"-5" long not counting the tale.

Is it normal for chameleon not to it for 3 days?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I was going by horn development.
I have several 6 month old xanthalophus right now .... their horns are about 1/4 inch long.
4-5 inches snout to vent is adult size.
Don't understand the last question.

-Brad

 

[astroprojector]

Basically, I am concerned that he did not it anything since Saturday. So the question is normal for new chameleon to go w/o food for that long. He ate two crickets right after I brought him from the show.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

That is not too concerning.
Water is going to be most important for him.
Are his eyes open?
Mike always supplies good animals, make sure your humidity is good and he has access to water (drinking) at least two or three times a day but don't drown him.

-Brad

 

[astroprojector]

Not sure about his eye during the day, because I am at at work, but sometimes in the late afternoon or evening I see him resting his head on the leaf with his eye closed. There are not recessed, just closed, kike he is taking a nap.If I see it today when I get hope I will take a photo.

I have a dripper setup so water is dripping, hopefully he will find it.

 

[xanthoman]

i cant believe i didnt see this post earlier. nice looking xanth, there is not much i can add that hasnt already been said, of course (uva) bulb wattage depends on bulb type, distance , cage screen and cage setup etc., but i think anything over 30 w is probably uneccessary, ideally you should use the minimum wattage you can get by with and still achieve the temps you are looking for. you said you mist with warm water which is good, but you didnt mention how you heat your water ? jacksons can be fairly sensitive to the quality of their drinking water, so it is probably better to use cold water that has been heated rather than just using warm tap water, i use filtered water and the .5g pump sprayer sits on top of a heat pad.

 

[czer]

Hello everyone.

I am new to the forum. Just like many new forum members in the past day or so, I went to the Pomona Reptile show and purchased a Jackson Chameleon. Here is the info:

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Mash metal screen, 18x18x36. I covered the back of the cage with plastic to keep the humidity in and mostly not to get water on the wall. I just finished remodeling the house. There is plenty of ventilation as all other sides completely open.

* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 18" ReptiSun 10.0 UVB light, for heat I use regular 65W flood light.
*Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I don’t have a digital thermometer yet. I know that the room temperature during the day is 75 degrees and at night it drops to 68 degrees.
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Currently I mist by hand. The auto mister I bough did not work. I do not have the mister so I spray the warm water for about 2 mins every couple hours. Currently I am looking to buy the Mist King, but it is on backorder.

* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I have a large schefflora. I had to trim it a little bit.
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? The cage located in my kid room. Currently it is on the floor. There are no vents near by.

* Location - Where are you geographically located? Los Angeles, CA 91344


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species = Jackson Chameleon, sex= Male, and age of your chameleon = about 4 to 5 month.
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not at all I just bought him and he is in the cage acclimating.
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Have pin head crickets in cage right now but going to go get other varieties at pet store soon... recommendations welcome What amount? there are about 15 in the cage right now... I dusted some with Calcium and others with minerals powder. What is the schedule? Dont have a schedule yet... what is a good schedule How are you gut-loading your feeders? I use orange cubes by flukers.

* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Calcium with vitamin D3, Calcium w/o vitamin D3 and Mineral powder.

* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Currently none. I am hopping to get the mist king pretty soon. How often and how long to you mist? I saw it drinking this morning. I was spraying the cage and him with warm water and he started drinking right away.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Not tested and has not used the bathroom yet.

* History – I got the chameleon at the Pomona reptile show on Saturday the 9th. I bought from FL Chams. The sales guy told me that the chameleon was wild caught in Hawaii. They had several of them in the cage and they were selling them very quickly.

* Current Problem – Currently no issues yet. I am learning thing about him as he learns things about his new surroundings.

I know, I have read that Jackson Chameleons are not the starter chameleons. Please no need to post. However I have some questions:

Below are the pics:

Pics 2 - 4 are him in the bright green color, but as soon as I spray him with warm water his colors turn dark green, pic 5. Is this normal?

Once I brought him home and placed him in to the cage he acclimated little bit and ate two crickets. The crickets were dusted with calcium powder that has vitamin D3. The next day as I started spraying him in the morning he started drinking. He drank for a long time. Most of the time he sits in one spot. He might move and place his had on the branch. Once I saw him laying on the branch on his side. He started to move when I got close to the cage. So for now he has about 16 medium crickets in the cage, all of them in the further upper right corner and I try to spray him about 5 time per day with warm water.

How am I doing so far?

i also got my first cham from flchams that day at the show, i got a female jackson and she also get dark when i spray her habitat.

 

[xanthoman]

personally i would use reptisun 5.0 , the 10.0 are not neccessary, and i personally feel they are better suited to other species. jacksons are montanes and being such, they like slightly mellower conditions the non montanes. they are a little more sensitive to brighter light, higher temps, and require a litttle less supplementation and like a little more humidity and moisture than other species. jacksons can be shy eaters and my male often wont eat a couple of days at a time. you might try offering some different feeders. as long as he is well hydrated active and his urates look and smell healthy, i wouldnt be too concerned for now jmo