Pre Jackson arrangements
- Thread starter Elgato
- Start date
lecham
New Member
frozen waterbottle method
hey here is something i do too keep the temp down at night..i live in arizona and well it is pretyt hard to get the temp down at night its usually about 70 at night.inside my room.during the day its about 80 to 83 in the basking zone..my jacksons seem to do fine but if it gets to hot i usually have bottles of water frozen so i take one out and set it up next to the cage tht way he gets some cold breeze at night when the temp drop is needed...try different locations and measure tmap see witch position works for u ..member u dnt want to freeze ur cham
hey here is something i do too keep the temp down at night..i live in arizona and well it is pretyt hard to get the temp down at night its usually about 70 at night.inside my room.during the day its about 80 to 83 in the basking zone..my jacksons seem to do fine but if it gets to hot i usually have bottles of water frozen so i take one out and set it up next to the cage tht way he gets some cold breeze at night when the temp drop is needed...try different locations and measure tmap see witch position works for u ..member u dnt want to freeze ur cham
Chris Jury
New Member
In their native range daytime ambient temps are typically in the neighborhood of 75-80 F with occasional excursions to 85 F during the warm season, whereas during the cool season daytime ambient temps are typically 65-75 F. Nighttime ambient temps during the warm season are typically in the 50's F, or occasionally low 60's F, whereas nighttime ambient temps in the cool season are typically in the 50's F with occasional dips to the upper 40's F.
However, these animals are active thermoregulators, as are most if not all chameleons. Jackson's, along with all other species tested to date, shuttle between basking and shaded areas for thermoregulation whenever sunlight is available. See this study by Bennet: http://compphys.bio.uci.edu/BENNETT/pubs/155.pdf The Ch. jacksonii used in the study were collected from near Nairobi, therefore belong to the subspecies T. jacksonii jacksonii. The minimum voluntary body temperature for active Jackson's who had access to a basking site was about 84 F, the average preferred body temperature was about 89 F, and the maximum voluntary temp was about 93 F (with a panting threshold of 97 F and critical thermal max of 105 F). These preferred temperatures are very similar to preferred temps by several other Triceros spp. as well as Chamaeleo spp. and Furcifer sp. There may be differences in temperature preferences (or perhaps tolerances) among different chameleon species, but nothing has popped up from the handful of different species in different genera that have been tested to date.
As suggested above, I would supply a low-wattage basking light that provides the animal a basking area of about 90-100 F, along with an ambient temperature well away from the light in the 70's to low 80's F, similar to what you have. That should allow the animal to effectively thermoregulate.
As for the need for nighttime temps lower than the mid-70's F: the evidence available contradicts this idea. T. jacksonii xantholophus were accidentally introduced here to Hawaii in the 1970's and have become established on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island as a result of people spreading them. Their distribution here is limited mostly by rainfall and secondarily by human use (they can be found in quiet neighborhoods, but not downtown areas). They are most abundant in areas that get 80+ inches of rain per year, and less common in areas down to about 50 in of rain per year. We get something like 50 in of rain per year here where my house is, near the coast on windward Oahu. About 3-5 miles inland from my house are the peaks of the Ko'olau mountains, which receive about 100-250 in of rain per year, depending on location. Their habitat here in Hawaii tends to receive more rain than in their native habitat, which tends to get on the order of 50-80 in/yr.
You can find them on Oahu from a couple hundred feet of elevation (at the foot of the mountains) up to the tops of the peaks, which is about 2400-3200 ft in the Ko'olaus, or up to about 4000 ft. on Mt. Ka'ala in the Waianae range on western Oahu. During the warm season daytime temps are about 75-80 F (rarely to 85 F) and nighttime temps are about 72-78 F at the lower elevations where they are found, and about 10 F cooler all the way around at the highest peaks on Oahu. During the cool season daytime temps are about 72-78 F and nighttime temps are about 62-68 F at lower elevation (rarely dipping to the upper 50’s F), and about 10 F cooler at the highest peaks on Oahu. Therefore, daytime temps are similar to or slightly warmer in their habitat in Hawaii than their native habitat, whereas nighttime temps are warmer all the way around in Hawaii.
There is no evidence nor any reason to think the higher nighttime temps they experience here in Hawaii are in any way harming them. Indeed, they have proliferated here. It also makes little sense to say that T. j. xantholophus are more temperature tolerant than other Jackson’s subspecies, at least T. j. jacksonii. T. j. xantholophus is found mostly at higher elevation than T. j. jacksonii in their native habitat, though there is a small area of integrade. If anything, we’d expect T. j. xantholophus to be less tolerant of higher temperatures.
Temperature is probably only a minor driver in zonation here or in their native habitat though. Rainfall and habitat types are probably much more important. As such, T. j. xantholophus thrives here in Hawaii in areas of high precipitation with appropriate habitat, even though those habitats are warmer at night than in their native habitat.
Mimicing seasonal changes in temperature, including cool winter conditions does seem to be important for inducing breeding behavior in some species, but for general maintenance it’s not so clear. Warmer nighttime temps don’t seem to cause any problems for Jackson’s here, and there’s no reason to think they are exceptional. The same probably applies to many if not most species.
For these reasons, I would not worry about a nighttime temp of 75 F. That’s about what we have now here, and that’s about what the Jackson’s at lower elevations here are seeing as well. I’d provide a small basking bulb, but otherwise I think the temps you have are fine for general maintenance with this species, and probably most species for that matter. If you wanted to breed T. deremensis, or something like that, you’d probably need to induce a cool down period, but that is neither here nor there.
cj
However, these animals are active thermoregulators, as are most if not all chameleons. Jackson's, along with all other species tested to date, shuttle between basking and shaded areas for thermoregulation whenever sunlight is available. See this study by Bennet: http://compphys.bio.uci.edu/BENNETT/pubs/155.pdf The Ch. jacksonii used in the study were collected from near Nairobi, therefore belong to the subspecies T. jacksonii jacksonii. The minimum voluntary body temperature for active Jackson's who had access to a basking site was about 84 F, the average preferred body temperature was about 89 F, and the maximum voluntary temp was about 93 F (with a panting threshold of 97 F and critical thermal max of 105 F). These preferred temperatures are very similar to preferred temps by several other Triceros spp. as well as Chamaeleo spp. and Furcifer sp. There may be differences in temperature preferences (or perhaps tolerances) among different chameleon species, but nothing has popped up from the handful of different species in different genera that have been tested to date.
As suggested above, I would supply a low-wattage basking light that provides the animal a basking area of about 90-100 F, along with an ambient temperature well away from the light in the 70's to low 80's F, similar to what you have. That should allow the animal to effectively thermoregulate.
As for the need for nighttime temps lower than the mid-70's F: the evidence available contradicts this idea. T. jacksonii xantholophus were accidentally introduced here to Hawaii in the 1970's and have become established on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island as a result of people spreading them. Their distribution here is limited mostly by rainfall and secondarily by human use (they can be found in quiet neighborhoods, but not downtown areas). They are most abundant in areas that get 80+ inches of rain per year, and less common in areas down to about 50 in of rain per year. We get something like 50 in of rain per year here where my house is, near the coast on windward Oahu. About 3-5 miles inland from my house are the peaks of the Ko'olau mountains, which receive about 100-250 in of rain per year, depending on location. Their habitat here in Hawaii tends to receive more rain than in their native habitat, which tends to get on the order of 50-80 in/yr.
You can find them on Oahu from a couple hundred feet of elevation (at the foot of the mountains) up to the tops of the peaks, which is about 2400-3200 ft in the Ko'olaus, or up to about 4000 ft. on Mt. Ka'ala in the Waianae range on western Oahu. During the warm season daytime temps are about 75-80 F (rarely to 85 F) and nighttime temps are about 72-78 F at the lower elevations where they are found, and about 10 F cooler all the way around at the highest peaks on Oahu. During the cool season daytime temps are about 72-78 F and nighttime temps are about 62-68 F at lower elevation (rarely dipping to the upper 50’s F), and about 10 F cooler at the highest peaks on Oahu. Therefore, daytime temps are similar to or slightly warmer in their habitat in Hawaii than their native habitat, whereas nighttime temps are warmer all the way around in Hawaii.
There is no evidence nor any reason to think the higher nighttime temps they experience here in Hawaii are in any way harming them. Indeed, they have proliferated here. It also makes little sense to say that T. j. xantholophus are more temperature tolerant than other Jackson’s subspecies, at least T. j. jacksonii. T. j. xantholophus is found mostly at higher elevation than T. j. jacksonii in their native habitat, though there is a small area of integrade. If anything, we’d expect T. j. xantholophus to be less tolerant of higher temperatures.
Temperature is probably only a minor driver in zonation here or in their native habitat though. Rainfall and habitat types are probably much more important. As such, T. j. xantholophus thrives here in Hawaii in areas of high precipitation with appropriate habitat, even though those habitats are warmer at night than in their native habitat.
Mimicing seasonal changes in temperature, including cool winter conditions does seem to be important for inducing breeding behavior in some species, but for general maintenance it’s not so clear. Warmer nighttime temps don’t seem to cause any problems for Jackson’s here, and there’s no reason to think they are exceptional. The same probably applies to many if not most species.
For these reasons, I would not worry about a nighttime temp of 75 F. That’s about what we have now here, and that’s about what the Jackson’s at lower elevations here are seeing as well. I’d provide a small basking bulb, but otherwise I think the temps you have are fine for general maintenance with this species, and probably most species for that matter. If you wanted to breed T. deremensis, or something like that, you’d probably need to induce a cool down period, but that is neither here nor there.
cj
Elgato
New Member
Sweeeeet lol thanks for all the info guys I sprayed down the enclosure and the temp dropped to 75 and humidity @ 66% during the day. I'm gonna keep doing some experiments to see what is best.
Lecham can you explain you cooling method a bit more please. Do you mean you just stick a frozen water bottle somewhere in the cage and that will cool all of it down?
Thanks again guys I'm trying to get everything as close to perfect as I can before I pick up a cham.
Lecham can you explain you cooling method a bit more please. Do you mean you just stick a frozen water bottle somewhere in the cage and that will cool all of it down?
Thanks again guys I'm trying to get everything as close to perfect as I can before I pick up a cham.
lecham
New Member
Sweeeeet lol thanks for all the info guys I sprayed down the enclosure and the temp dropped to 75 and humidity @ 66% during the day. I'm gonna keep doing some experiments to see what is best.
Lecham can you explain you cooling method a bit more please. Do you mean you just stick a frozen water bottle somewhere in the cage and that will cool all of it down?
Thanks again guys I'm trying to get everything as close to perfect as I can before I pick up a cham.
yes..this is a good way to get the place cooler at night if you want that drastic temp drop...first i began putting it inside but i noticed my cham was scared of it so i moved it outside of the mesh screen..it worked fine as well and i placed a temp gauge on the side to record temps...its really an experiment...u can tty it a diff positions and well wate evr works for u
hit me up if u have any other questionsSimilar threads
