Newbie with a Jacksons

[OvenMitts]

Hello all. New to chameleons and reptile keeping. I keep tropical fish and for literally 2 months, I walked past this guy and stared at him every time I went to get something for my aquarium.
About a week ago I finally caved and decided I'd like to keep him. Picked him up 3 days ago. They believe him to be 9 months old.



Here is my current setup. This is the combo mesh/glass National Geographic brand terrarium. I believe it measures 20x20x36.

I've got a reptisun 5.0 uvb and a 50 watt basking lamp. Live dracaena and pothos. My ambient temp is in the 73-77 degree f range. Humidity is already worrisome for me. After misting it spikes at high at 75% or so, but quickly returns to a lower 50% mark within 2 to 3 hours.

I need to ask some questions though, as any new parent would:

1) I have not seen him drink. This worries me the most. I am misting heavily 3 times per day but it scares him from what I can tell. I tried to hold him near a trickle of faucet water, as I've read can be helpful, but he wouldn't drink it either. Any suggestions on how I can be sure he's hydrating?

2) I have only seen him eat 1 cricket. I have a couple free range in the terrarium thinking he would enjoy the hunt but he always seems too high up to notice them. I have a clear betta fish cup with a few crickets in it which I've placed at the base of a potted plant but he hasn't seemed interested in them. What can I do to aid him?

3) He turns slightly brownish greenish yellowish when I go to pick him up, and I'm sure he's frightened of me because he tries to walk away; however, once I hold him he is a bright green color and seems pretty content to sit in my hand or crawl up my arm. Is this normal behavior?

I look forward to learning more here and hopefully getting some constructive criticism on how I can better enrich Jack's life.

Many thanks,
OvenMitts

 

[sharp229]

Welcome to the forums! There are a lot of knowledgeable people here so you should be able to get all the help you need. Having the humidity go down between mistings is fine and normal. Things should dry out between mistings to prevent mold. I would only be worried if it gets super low like below 30%. If you average the humidity it should be somewhere around 60-80%.

To answer your questions:

1. He may not drink if he can see you. It will take him a while to get used to his new environment and you. In most cases he will drink droplets off the leaves when you are not around. If you are worried that he is not doing this, you could also add a dripper, either homemade or something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Labs-...qid=1411011560&sr=8-1&keywords=little+dripper

If he is dehydrated, his urates (the white part of his poop) would be yellow. If it is white then he has enough water. Also if he was not getting water his eyes would eventually sink in. He does not look dehydrated in your pictures.

2. It is normal for them to not eat much or at all the first week or two. I would keep doing what your doing.

3. Its best to not handle them the first week or two while they adjust. You can then get him used to you starting with hand feeding. Eventually he may even walk out on your hand of his own accord, it just takes time and patience.

I have a couple questions, what is his basking temp and is there anything other than screen between the UVB bulb and him? UVB can't travel through glass. Below is the care sheet for Jacksons:

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

 

[shawn_melanson]

You have to let him adjust to his new home if you only got him 3 days ago I wouldn't be pulling him out yet it'll just stress him. He's probably drinking you just might not see it, some chams are shy and won't eat are drink when your looking.but your cage set up and lighting is for the most part right, I'd add more foliage to it though I'll post a pic of my Jackson's set up. Other then that looks like your doing everything right Jackson's are awesome

 

[OvenMitts]

A couple of other bits...
Your Chameleon: Male Jackson. Approx.9 months old. In my care for 3 days.
Handling: I've held him once daily.
Feeding: He has crickets but hasn't really eaten them.
Supplements: none yet...I have reptivite.
Fecal Description: one blob like brownish bit.
History: He prefers ancient Rome and the American Civil War.
Placement: Bedroom. Quiet and climate controlled.
Location: SE North Carolina

 

[sharp229]

You will want to give him plain calcium twice a week, multivitamin once a month, and calcium with D3 once a month.

I would also add more horizontal and vertical vines. If you want something easy you can use dowels from a hardware store, if you want something more natural you can use sticks as long as they are cleaned thoroughly. He should have horizontal perches at different levels under the heat as well as the UVB.

 

[OvenMitts]

Thanks for the info so far. Good stuff. I will measure basking temp later. And the uvb is only going through screen, not glass.

 

[Miss Lily]

A couple of other bits...
Your Chameleon: Male Jackson. Approx.9 months old. In my care for 3 days.
Handling: I've held him once daily.
Feeding: He has crickets but hasn't really eaten them.
Supplements: none yet...I have reptivite.
Fecal Description: one blob like brownish bit.
History: He prefers ancient Rome and the American Civil War.
Placement: Bedroom. Quiet and climate controlled.
Location: SE North Carolina

This made me chuckle! You don't have any history on this guy since he is a new arrival. As others have said, more foliage will help with humidity too. If the sides are screen then you can cover them with plastic sheeting or similar. I have the back and one side of my screen vivs covered in plastic.