how to properly keep Jacksons

Hi i am new to this forum was directed to it when researching some info as i am finishing putting together my enclosure for my pair of Jacksons chameleons i will be receiving in about a week.

I have a few questions to ask about some of the care for them as i explain what i am using and what i have been told I have a few things that you may disagree with and I will put my reasoning for why i have chosen to go against what is said to be "best".


The pair I am getting are roughly 5-8" Trioceros jacksonii. I will be keeping them in a large glass exo terra enclosure (****** I live in northern Ontario so my Climate is not very warm nore is it very humid so a screen enclosure will near impossible to maintain)

My questions are,
1) i have a drip system as well as spagnim (excuse my spelling) moss in the enclosure and my humidity still drops down to 40% between mistings how else can i bump it up a bit more? or is it needed?

2) my temp for the basking spot is still around the 98F range i am down to my lowest watt bulb it is a 75 or 100 watt day blue bulb (i did have a 50 watt heat bulb but it was too much still) should i try a low wattage house bulb like i would use for my living room?

3) i know a lot of people are going to be against this but i think it could be a plausible option. I use Bio Active soil for my Monitors and Tegu (i have 3 species and a species of Tegu) has any one used it with Chameleons before? With the springtails, wood lice and earthworms there is no issue with mold or bacteria growing. (with my monitors I don't even need to clean the poop the critters in the bio active soil eat it within a few hours before there has even been a smell. i still do clean the poop when i see it)

Any ways if the soil is packed down there is no loose sub for the Cham to ingest and any small amount ingested from eating would be so minimal it would pass right through. As well the soil would provide a female to lay her eggs where ever she pleases ***i am gearing this to egg laying species i know Jacksons are viviparous (mothers know best right?) and the soil would aid in maintaining heat and humidity as well as allowing plants to be planted.

I am all for natural looking enclosures it is quite rare for me to have fake plants and such in an enclosure.



Thank you for reading my post I apologize for it being quite long and I am looking forward to your responses.

You cannot keep them together. They each have to have their separate enclosures so you will need two of everything. Here is a care sheet which should answer all your questions on how to keep them. Your temp is way way too high. Yes you can use a white housebulb for basking. That is what most of us use.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

as far as your basking spot goes, that is way to hot for a jacksons. The highest it should get is low 80's. jacksons like it cool, my jackons start gaping when it gets to like 78 so most of the time I dont even have the basking bulb on.

I live in Ontario as well and my chams are housed in a screen enclosure. It is very possible to do, you just need to tarp off 3 sides with a drop cloth or clear plastic sheeting. I'd advise against a glass enclosure as Jackson's need a ton if water and with a glass enclosure there is no way to form a drainage system. Chams are easily susceptible to respiratory infections and that will most likely be your result if the cage isn't allowed to dry between mistings.

As Carol said, your pair absolutely cannot be housed together. Males are known to be quite aggressive and this will thoroughly stress out your female and could very well cause unnecessary injury to her or even death.

Your basking temps are much too high. I wouldn't go any higher than around 83 degrees farenheit. If you cannot get a lower wattage, you will have to raise the ballast off the top of the enclosure to lower the temps.

I would also advise that you remove any and all substrate from the bottom of the enclosure. Female Jackson's give livebirths so there is no reason to have substrate in there. It's a breeding ground for bacteria and again will result in a respiratory infection if not spot cleaned every day. Even then, there is no guarantee of avoiding this.

Read the Jackson's care sheet that Carol posted for you. You have been thoroughly misinformed about how to care for these Jackson's. You're looking around $300 minimum for each Jackson's enclosure to do it properly, plus the cost of the Cham itself. Are you planning to breed them? I wouldn't advise you even attempt to do this until you become more experienced. Live bearers are notoriously difficult to raise in captivity for inexperienced keepers.

this enclosure is only a temp enclosure for now basicly to monitor them in as well as quarantine i just finished the one they will be going in (that is in my reptile room) it is a 4'2'4' enclosure with a remove able divider between the 2 to give each a 2x2x4. This one they will be in for 40 days it is 4x3x3 (the only quarantine enclosure suitable for chams)

I am in the Thunder bay area i have attempted a screen enclosure before and it is much too difficult to maintain any humidity. The enclosure is 1/4" glass with a full screen top as well as a 3" screen strip 1' from the bottom.

There is a member of this fourm actualy there are a few who are keeping chameleons in glass terrariums (exo terra) oppose to screen with good out comes (i can go and find the threads of these users to show everyone). I would never keep a Cham in a fish tank a fish tank allows almost no ventilation where as a terrarium such as an exo terra allows ventilation by the heated air rising up out the top and pulling fresh air in thru the bottom.

as for the substrate i under stand jacksons are viviparous meaning they are a live bearing species not egg layers. so the need to lay eggs in the substrate is not needed but when these animals are in the wild they dont have news paper to walk on so they don't get a little bit of dirt in their mouths and i am specifically asking about bio active substrate meaning that it will have spring tails, wood lice, and earthworms running free in the enclosure that naturally eat what ever could grow in the enclosure as well as any fecal matter that would be left.

and yes i know the temp is way off i am aiming for a basking temp of 81-82 i just went out and got some 40 and 60 watt house bulbs to attempt that.

If anything would pose a risk to the Chams it would be introduced parasites and diseases passed to them from feeders. Not soil

and yes breeding them would be of an interest not at this point of time but once they both have reached full maturity. i am not a beginner herp keeper I keep many different kinds or herps and all of them are kept above par i have had herps breed and lay eggs before i even noticed one of my monitor pairs actually produced eggs and burred them so well i had no clue till i seen a baby running around. I currently breed a few different species of herps