Looking to get a Jacksons Chameleon

[rob_arthur]

hi there, i have just joined the site and thought i would ask you lot a few questions and for some advice.

i am looking at getting a Jackons Chameleon. the local reptile shop near me has had two in and they are awesome little things. i have been doing a lot of research into them via internet and books and understand they are not the easiest of chameleons to have due to keeping the right temperature during the day and night.

i have been using a thermometer to check the room temperature of where my vivarium is going to go and so far the readings are all fine and would suit it. i have been readings about the high humidty needed during the day and all the rest of the facts.

i am looking at getting a glass vivarium as that has been recommended by various books and sites.

what i would like to know is the following,

is the glass vivarium the right one to go for?

to help humdity would a waterfall feature be benifical as long i make sure its not possible for the chameleon to drown.?

the tank in the shop dosent have any substrate in the bottom of the viv, am i ok to put down a substrate like spagnet moss (wetted) on the bottom and then pebbles on top or similar, to stop the chameleon walking in the wet moss but whilst still recreating the humdity with the wet moss?

and does anyone on here have jackson chameleons? if so could you show me a picture of your vivarium to get a few ideas on the best setup.

Also are there any other things i need to think about or take into consideration?

thanks
Rob

[Neonius]

I'm certainly no chameleon expert but the following advice basically comes from past experiences.

Jackson's, like you, are by no means the easiest chameleon to keep. Chameleons are generally harder than most lizards to keep but Jackson's are just that bit harder.

All be it they look very, very cool. I worked in my local rep shop for my working experience last year, and i would spray the arboreal vivs - one including a male Jackson's. He was a very friendly chameleon and didn't get at all stressed when i opened his viv and sprayed it. He even came out of the viv and climbed on me for a bit before going back in. The female, although not as confident, was never stressed either.

As far as i can remember, their substrate was a kind of moss/wood-chippings sort of mix.

[Ally]

Glass is ok as long as you have a lot of ventilation. I found the Exo Terra glass terrariums worked well, I put a Lucky Reptile fan in there on a timer (15 mins every 4 hours) to keep the air fresh.

They also like basking in the mornings, so I had a 25w basking bulb come on for 1 hour when the UV came on - they would bask then, but if I left it on they showed no interest during the rest of the day. A 25w didn't raise the temperatures too much, and the fan was timed to come on as the bulb went off too to drop the temps back again.

I found they did ok kept together, but the female needed her own space when she was coming up to giving birth. I found it was best to have two vivs set up for them, putting them together just for breeding, and splitting up again after 2ish weeks. It just meant I had no worries about bullying or anything like that.

Sorry, I don't have any pics of the vivs!

[daddycool]

only one bit of advice.....i don't keep jacksons, but they look amazing

it is generally held that waterfalls are not good idea, as they can be a hot bed for bacteria unless cleaned out almost daily....
never had one myself, just advice given to me a long time ago!!

[knighty]

the guy in my local rep store warned me away from 2 things, glass vivs and waterfalls.

the glass stresses the cham out with the reflection, and if the toung keeps hitting the glass it will break, leaving you with a dead cham, it happened to one in the store and had to be put down, the poor things tounge bone snapped and the tounge was just hanging out, not a pretty sight.

the thing with waterfalls is the water goes stale, and the crickets, locust ect drown in the water, and are in there decomposing, if you are set on a

the better thing for watering is a dripper or regular (2-3 times a day) spraying

not nit picking, new to chams myself, just passing on advice i was given by a cham expert

[Ally]

With all the chams I've kept, I never found that they tried to shoot thier tongue at anything other than food?
I guess differant people, differant opinions!

(ooh, I bet it's because with all the spraying, the limescale build up on the glass made it less refelctive!!)

[essexchondro]

I'm also hoping to pick up a pair of jacksons chams soon (just waiting for the babies to be sexed). All the info i have read on them has suggested mesh enclosures rather than glass but I'd agree that the exo terra's with their mesh tops are probably an ideal compromise between the two allowing for both good ventilation and a nice build up of humidity.

I will be starting mine off in 30x30x45 (LxWxH) exo terras before moving up to larger enclosures (possibly Terry Thatchers).

Plenty of live plants are a good idea too. Ficus and pathos (Devil's Ivy) are always good options. Live plants help boost and regulate humidity levels.

I won't be using a substrate. Jacksons don't require an overly warm enclosure so my fear would be that the substrate wouldn't dry out properly after misting and would stagnate and cause nasty things to start growing.

cheers

Stuart

[littlespark]

I don't have a jackson i have a panther but use lots of live plants, have a wooden viv with only a glass front and cut some holes out the top and secure with mesh for extra ventilation.
Don't need substrate as they are climbers lots of plants and vines.
I have a dripper and he loves it, drinks from it all the time and even waits by it and pulls at it if he's thirsty. I just spray the viv with water in the morining and have the fripper on for an hour at night.
Put litter trays in the bottom to catch excess water and to stop the bottom from rotting.
As long as you control the temp and humidity with themometers/ humidifiers etc they'll be fine.

[Ally]

I'd agree with the risk of the cooler temps being a problem with the humidity. I found the fan dried things out nicely before the next spraying - stagnant are will kill them fast, be very aware of air flow...

[paulskin]

Originally Posted by knighty

the guy in my local rep store warned me away from 2 things, glass vivs and waterfalls.

the glass stresses the cham out with the reflection, and if the toung keeps hitting the glass it will break, leaving you with a dead cham, it happened to one in the store and had to be put down, the poor things tounge bone snapped and the tounge was just hanging out, not a pretty sight.

the thing with waterfalls is the water goes stale, and the crickets, locust ect drown in the water, and are in there decomposing, if you are set on a

the better thing for watering is a dripper or regular (2-3 times a day) spraying

not nit picking, new to chams myself, just passing on advice i was given by a cham expert

i dont belive that their tounge bones can snap or that they even have bones in their tounge but i have heard of them having hanging tounges which is caused by some of deficiency or disease that im not sure of.would love a jacksons cham soon tho .