Thinking about adopting a Jackson's any advice?

[Andee]

Now I know the general care for jackson's. I can't seem to remember their supplementing schedule though and can't find it right now in the care sheets. Anyone could point me to that would be great.

We have had a one year old female jackson's chameleon dropped off at our petco. She is not going to get the correct care she needs here, I know this, because she already shows signs of some MBD, I am pretty sure one of her front legs is broken and she often refuses to put weight on it. It's all about finding the space now to take her in. I plan on taking her to vet as soon as I get paid my second check. I have a very good reptile vet I work with who knows what she's doing and has helped many of my rescues come back from the brink. However, I worry about whether I am experienced enough to take on this girl. I have only had Ryker, my male panther, for two years now. Though I have nursed a vitamin A deficient veiled back to health, it's just going to be a totally different care structure with a Jackson's.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JoCarp]

I don't know much about jacksons, but the link to the sites care sheet is:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/
good luck!

 

[brownie64]

Here are a few things I have found that are different from veiled's.
First off they don't have that I got to eat everything now mentality like the veiled. Mine can go up to three days without interest in food, and they are doing fine. At first I was all stressed out about this because I was used to veiled chams.
Second your humidity needs to stay at 60% to 80% I do this with a cool mist humidifier pumped into the half of the enclosure that doesn't hold the heat source. That way they can get out of it if they want to just like the heat. This is done in addition to the Mist King mister.
Third some say the have to have a cool down at night of at least 60 degrees I have found that mine do just fine with a cool down of around 68 degrees without any ill effects.
Third the supplementation isn't done as much as it is with veiled do to slower metabolism. I give mine calcium without D3, 3 to 4 times a week without D3 once a month, and multivitamin once a month not to be done together in the same month. I hope this is helpful.

 

[Lasen72]

I have a male Jackson's, he's been pretty simple to take care of. I mist his cage at least twice a day, have a little dropper I run a couple times a day of a faster drip then leave a slo drip, calcium with D3 twice a month, gut load his crickets, super worms, hornworms and mealworms every now n then.

 

[brownie64]

Here are a few things I have found that are different from veiled's.
First off they don't have that I got to eat everything now mentality like the veiled. Mine can go up to three days without interest in food, and they are doing fine. At first I was all stressed out about this because I was used to veiled chams.
Second your humidity needs to stay at 60% to 80% I do this with a cool mist humidifier pumped into the half of the enclosure that doesn't hold the heat source. That way they can get out of it if they want to just like the heat. This is done in addition to the Mist King mister.
Third some say the have to have a cool down at night of at least 60 degrees I have found that mine do just fine with a cool down of around 68 degrees without any ill effects.
Third the supplementation isn't done as much as it is with veiled do to slower metabolism. I give mine calcium without D3, 3 to 4 times a week without D3 once a month, and multivitamin once a month not to be done together in the same month. I hope this is helpful.

Mint to say calcium with D3 once a month sorry.

 

[wodesorel]

Just wanted to say good luck with her! Even if it's just temporary until you can find someone with experience so you won't be as worried, you'll be saving her life. That's huge!

 

[Meg4433]

it sounds nice to help her. Good Luck

 

[Andee]

I have already planned where I want to put her, I just have to buy some of the set up now, like an extra uvb light and a basking light, I think I have a reptibreeze that is 18x18x36, which is the only size I can fit in the place I'd put her. I wish I could give her a 2'x2'x4', but she is rather small, topping out at I think at most 10 inches. She's absolutely terrified of everyone in the store from the sounds of it, and people just keep pushing things, she's getting no time to settle in. Plus I am pretty sure she doesn't feel great at all, and so she shouldn't be handled anyway, though of course no one is listening to my reasoning.

I might only be keeping her until I can get her well and then maybe find someone I feel comfortable giving her to, however she might become a permanent fixture, not sure yet. I am hoping I can get her before christmas so she has somewhere to be that feels comfortable for the holidays, I know that's more nostalgic on my part but I can't help it.

Apparently my coworker, who is the person who opens, has only been giving her mealworms as a food item, because he doesn't like handling the crickets. So she's getting no supplementation right now, which will only make the mbd worse. >.< Why work at a pet store if you can't handle a major staple in a large parts of the pet-stores stock diet?

 

[brownie64]

When you get her I predict she will become permanent, after you see how docile, and gentle she is. This is an awesome species, but then again I could be a little biased.

 

[Andee]

Lmao XD I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a permanent, she is already so sweet and shy, she just needs a place to relax and come out of her shell a bit.

 

[Andee]

Good news guys, my mom immediately agreed to me taking the little girl home, said something along the lines of getting her squared away and we will decide from there. I have decided to teach my coworkers how correctly take care of the current chameleons that are actually a part of the store too, just in case they aren't. I worry. I plan to have everything ready by this weekend and to have her home with me. I won't be able to take her to vet until the next week when I get my next pay check, but I can at least start her on her recovery with some proper supplements, high calcium and well fed feeders, and a new uvb bulb. I am hopeful for her, though she seems shaky and has some weakness, pretty sure there are some broken bones too, she hasn't fallen since she's come to the store and she seems bright and alert ^^ I feel pretty good about her recovery.

 

[wodesorel]

Yay!

 

[Lathis]

That's really great! Best of luck to you both and keep us posted on her progress. With some TLC and proper care, I'm sure she will have a speedy turnaround.

 

[DaChameleonKing]

They are great chameleons! They are soooo friendly! One thing is that their basking spot shouldn't be in the 90's keep it in the high 80's like at 83-89. They are also really easy to tame mine just walks right on my hand! Good luck!

 

[Andee]

I am not looking to tame her right away. I am more worried about getting her out of her danger zone. Though I assume with the issues she's dealing with since I will probably be prescribed liquid calcium it'll be pretty important to get her relaxed around me.

 

[DaChameleonKing]

I am not looking to tame her right away. I am more worried about getting her out of her danger zone. Though I assume with the issues she's dealing with since I will probably be prescribed liquid calcium it'll be pretty important to get her relaxed around me.

Yeah be sure you put calcium at least once a week

 

[Andee]

Ok so I picked her up today after setting up her cage, she is much worse off than I remember. She can no longer lift herself in a standing position, her two front legs have severe bends in them which to me screams broken bones. She is shaky when climbing and her grip, though still decent, is pretty weak for how old she is. Her body weight is fine, but she's dehydrated. She is constantly laying on whatever she grasps and her colors are off in my opinion. And though everyone at Petco told me she was grumpy I don't see that, I just see pain responses and fear. As soon as I approached her and gently scooped her up the way a chameleon should be moved, she was fine. But she's in a lot of pain right now, I can tell. She switches from standing on one front leg and then the other. I don't think I can wait until my next pay check to treat her. I think I will have to take her immediately and take my mom up on her offer. She is not well at all.

Pictures will be coming tomorrow.

 

[wodesorel]

Oh no! Fingers crossed that the vet can help and she'll be able to recover. Your mom is wonderful!!

 

[Andee]

So she has a name, her name is Hope. She is tiny, I would say she's 7-8 inches at most, and she has some muscle atrophy in her legs from the looks of it. Though they are still remarkably strong for all she's been through. She is ridiculously thirsty, I haven't seen her urates yet, she has had no reason to poop. But every time I have misted her she drinks the leaves dry and the screen dry around her. I will be giving her a 10 minute shower later today and hope that will help. She needs to rehydrate desperately. She's super sweet and shy, she's been really open with me being in her cage and taking care of her. I am buying black soldier fly larvae today to feed to her and a dripper, I am not sure if I want to start her on crickets right away. She has some scars from cricket bites. She is doing well otherwise, getting strength back from the look of it, and moving around more. I will be making a vet appointment today.

 

[Andee]

She ate two black soldier fly larvae and a wax worm today, I was just trying to see if she'd eat and she did. Next time I will try something else. She seems less thirsty now, not drinking every misting after her shower and I have her dripper just need to set it up. She's so shaky when she tries to climb at all, and she doesn't seem to realize if she grabs onto another part of her body like her tail or her feet. I have set a vet appointment for tomorrow morning. Here are some pictures to document her and how she looks now. Her eye turrets are much fuller now than they were when I got her, which is sad. I know it's going to be a process with her no matter what. I have some hornworm eggs on the way that I am hoping will get some extra hydration in her.

Do you guys think she is too full in her belly? Like she has parasites or is pregnant with slugs? The whole laying flat thing is all she ever does, I don't think she has enough strength in her bones/muscles to lift herself into a standing a position >.<