New, and need some advice

Hi everyone.. I am Lisa and I am pretty knew to Chameleons.. however not so much to reptiles. My daughter and I came upon a Jacksons in a pet store, and found him to be really awesome. I didn't plan on getting one, but wanted to look him up and read a bit, and in doing so, became really down. My daughter (much like a sponge for info), now gets irritated every time we go into this store, as he is far from happy and its noticeable. The first time we asked to see him, the girl ripped him from the tank. Yes, I said tank.. a very wide fish tank to be exact.. not very tall, with one branch going side to side, a little bit of fake plant under the lamp, substrate that looked like dirty mulch, and one of those bio bubble things that trickle water into fake leaves? Anyway, there is no "UP" for him to climb, and a few times we went in, he was on the screen upside down directly under the lamp, which is wedged in so tight they have a hard time opening the tank. The girl was jamming it around so much, that he was being jerked around pretty bad.

Anyway, hes been there a while, and after speaking to the district manager, I decided to take him.. It was clear, that even though he knows about reptiles, his hands were tied when it came to what he would be staying in, and he has no clue why they have had him so long. The only problem is that I couldn't take him right away. I needed to get the things he needs, or I would be no better then they are. So, I have a temporary Repti breeze, not the big one I plan on getting him, but it will do to get him out of there faster. I scrubbed it down (since its 2nd hand), and got rid of the substrate. It came with a Zoo Med Repti Fogger, a double dome fixture (which I think I will replace) some fake plants and some sticks that seemed pretty sharp.. those I tossed.. not sure what happened to the previous occupant, but didn't want to chance not getting it super clean. I plan on putting live plants in, but I am baffled. How in the WORLD do you get the Pathos set up inside? I know its a hanging plant, but for those that use it, how do you get it where he can climb in and on it? I want to get a Hibiscus if I can find one, and the other, just not sure how to put them in there to get the most use out of them.

ALSO, will the Repti Fogger work with creating enough moisture on the leaves etc? I don't mind misting each day, but I just don't feel like that will be enough..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.. I want to bring him home as soon as possible, so keeping my costs low for now will help to do that.. I can work on the bigger cage and more elaborate set up after hes happy.

Oh, and one more thing.. cant understand why they didn't help him.. but we first saw him about a month ago.. he has had the same shed on his head between his horns when we went in the other day. The girls claim hes nippy at times..but I didn't see that.. just a scared little guy... when she handed him to me, I started rubbing his head and working on getting that shed off from between his horns.... I had a hard time because my fingers were a bit big, but my daughter (whos pet peeve is old shed), helped and together we gently cleaned him up.. when we got done, he pushed his head against my fingers and I continued to love him on him.. the girl couldn't believe it.. she said shes never seen him do that.... he also put his little hand up on his chin in a thinking man position, and closed his eyes... I have no clue what that was about, but it seemed as though he was happier... sadly, I had to put him back so I could go work on his new home.


I want to do right by him.... I think we fell in love... lol.. Oh and we decided to name him either Chuck, Jake or "Stan Lee". Im a bit of a geek, so I think Stan Lee will stick.

Thanks for any help you can give me with the plants and mister... I try to read and get so confused at times...

I didnt have much luck with foggers when i had my iguanas. They work best in a glass enclosure. For my cham i use a monsoon misting system that runs 4 times a day. And a "my little dripper" that i let run during daytime so that theres is always at least one spot that has drinking water available. As far as the shed goes. My cham is new and hasnt shed with me yet. But from what ive seen with my iguanas shedding can be very uncomfortable, probably similar to some bad dandruff you cant scratch. Im sure he was very grateful you helped him out with that one

Heres a pic of my pothos hangin on the right hand side. I used a spool of thick plastic string to hang the pot from the frame of the enclosure. My cham loves it, i also use it as his "drinking plant" and have the dripper and mister aiming at it

I don't see a photo? As far as the shed, ya, I think it is as well.. I mean, our beardies don't like it.. so I can only imagine he didn't either.. I asked the one girl if they test for parasites, and her response was, they have someone that comes and changes the tanks once a week or so. That was it.. my daughter just looked at me.. shes 15 and she is so disgusted. The place isn't a huge pet chain. They have maybe 5 or so stores. Ive never been in the others, and maybe its a good thing. Its clean, just poorly set up. My OCD goes bonkers when I go in there.

I had pretty much the same setup you're currently doing with the 16x16x30 for my jacksons chameleon up until last Thurs. It worked just fine for me and was happy and he seemed happy with a variety of potted plants and spraying and the fogger. He's now in a bigger home I built but I'd imagine that cage I had would be ok a few more months before I had to upgrade,I simply wanted and was able to.
Congrats on your first chameleon!

Sorry wont let me post the pic again because i just posted it elsewhere. If you check this thread you will see it. https://www.chameleonforums.com/first-cham-enclosure-143321/

I want to put him in the EX lg.. they ordered one for when I am ready for it, but it has LED if I remember correctly, and not sure if that will bother him or not. The temp cage is the 16x16x30... its a "quick fix" for now...I just want him home.. And thank you.. he is VERY cool and deserves to be happy... there is one thing I am a bit concerned about... hes been in that "tank" for over a month.. I want to say at least a month and a half, maybe 2 with the way the one girl talks. How likely would it be that he has or is developing respiratory issues...

I cant say for sure but i would assume that as long as the cage was fairly clean he should be okay. I would also think that putting him in the proper cage with good ventilation would clear up a mild infection. I would just try and keep him as hydrated as possible as it helps thin any mucus he has built up

CraftingDreams said:

I want to put him in the EX lg.. they ordered one for when I am ready for it, but it has LED if I remember correctly, and not sure if that will bother him or not. The temp cage is the 16x16x30... its a "quick fix" for now...I just want him home.. And thank you.. he is VERY cool and deserves to be happy... there is one thing I am a bit concerned about... hes been in that "tank" for over a month.. I want to say at least a month and a half, maybe 2 with the way the one girl talks. How likely would it be that he has or is developing respiratory issues...

Click to expand...

I run a fan next to mines cage set to go on for 15 mins every hour to help blow fresh air through the plants,it also lightly drops the Temps like it probably would in their environment,good for the plants too.

I sure hope so.. I think tomorrow, I will do a bit of calling and see who has the plants I need. might pick up some of that vine that is bendable and maybe put that up through there.. see if I can find a way to set the Pathos high...

You'r set up is nice... I think that's what I am missing in my design is the larger sticks or branches... Ill look for something that's big enough to set up and drape the plants through it..

CraftingDreams said:

I sure hope so.. I think tomorrow, I will do a bit of calling and see who has the plants I need. might pick up some of that vine that is bendable and maybe put that up through there.. see if I can find a way to set the Pathos high...

You'r set up is nice... I think that's what I am missing in my design is the larger sticks or branches... Ill look for something that's big enough to set up and drape the plants through it..

Click to expand...

What might work better for the cage is buying a tall plant,thst how I did my first enclosure, and wrapped vines off of it and a piece of mopani wood,he had lots of pathways through and above the plant to his feeder ledge and basking area

pgr7, is that the wood you used in the photo you shared? I love the plants you used, especially the croton... but they didn't have those when I called. I was thinking about using dracaena.. I just need to find it.. I am in NJ.. so I think some plants will be harder to find.

I think Ill also pick up a little dripper, and see if I can find a way to build a platform around the plants so the water can drain through to a removable pan I can empty. I don't want substrate. I thought about using just paper towel at the bottom, but I worry about excess water that might miss the plant. Ill be looking for a 16x16 very shallow but workable pan that I can place paper towels in and change out. This way, if he happens to fall in or go down there, he wont be in a puddle of water..

I am so happy you are saving this little guy, I hope they won't get another one after he's gone... it would be annoying. But anyway, if he ends up getting respitory issues it's pretty easy to treat. He's just have to put up with some medicating for a while. He will be a happier guy. Try finding a schefflera plant, or even a small cammelia bush would work in that set up. No one ever suggest cammelia's but they are great and really hearty, don't die easy at all and I use them in my panther's cage whenever I have to replace something and I can get my hands on them. Get lots of vines and maybe some bird ladders to make horizontal pathways for the baby. I've also realize the natural mazanita perches for birds are great for chams too. I often just connect two of them with thinner bendable vines.

I would get an auto-mister if you can. If not able he needs to be misted around 3-4 times a day for at least a minute each time, Jacksons drink a lot more than panthers or veileds. I can't remember what the Jackson basking temps are but there are care sheets on here, just tell me if you need them and I will hunt them down. I know they are lower than panthers and veileds. Jacksons are also more sensitive to dusting than panther or veileds, so only dust with Calcium w/o d3 twice a week, calcium with d3 once a month, and a multivitamin once a month.

Do you know how old he is? That will determine how much he should be eating.

CraftingDreams said:

pgr7, is that the wood you used in the photo you shared? I love the plants you used, especially the croton... but they didn't have those when I called. I was thinking about using dracaena.. I just need to find it.. I am in NJ.. so I think some plants will be harder to find.

I think Ill also pick up a little dripper, and see if I can find a way to build a platform around the plants so the water can drain through to a removable pan I can empty. I don't want substrate. I thought about using just paper towel at the bottom, but I worry about excess water that might miss the plant. Ill be looking for a 16x16 very shallow but workable pan that I can place paper towels in and change out. This way, if he happens to fall in or go down there, he wont be in a puddle of water..

Click to expand...

I have a 16x16 base tray that's now in the drawer of the new enclosure, I wasn't sure what to do with it after buying it like 2 weeks ago so put it in the drawer to dust and handle food for the cham so they don't roll out very easy if I drop one.
Alot of the plants are probably inside your local home depot or lowes as I'm in pa so we have similar climates.

Also,yes,sorry that's the wood of the back structure and through the general center of the enclosure.

Also lol Andee is Def 100%,my jackson likes some water,Def invest in a mister system if you can,will make owning the jacksons much more easy on you. They receive alot of annual rainfall in nature.

CraftingDreams said:

pgr7, is that the wood you used in the photo you shared? I love the plants you used, especially the croton... but they didn't have those when I called. I was thinking about using dracaena.. I just need to find it.. I am in NJ.. so I think some plants will be harder to find.

I think Ill also pick up a little dripper, and see if I can find a way to build a platform around the plants so the water can drain through to a removable pan I can empty. I don't want substrate. I thought about using just paper towel at the bottom, but I worry about excess water that might miss the plant. Ill be looking for a 16x16 very shallow but workable pan that I can place paper towels in and change out. This way, if he happens to fall in or go down there, he wont be in a puddle of water..

Click to expand...

My male Jacksons lived for almost 8 years so under the right conditions you should him for a long time. How old is he? You prob mentioned it but I didn't see it.
Jacksons do need a lot of water to drink. Mine used to drink right out of the nozel when I hand sprayed him. I would spray him and the foliage around him for a good 3 minutes
at least 2-3 times a day because sometimes it takes a while for them to drink and a Jacksons can dehydrate really easily which leads to major health issues. Make sure his cage dries thoroughly between mistings. Keeping a dripper going between mistings helps also.

They are a Montane species which means the also like cooler temperatures. His basking spot should be between 80-90 degrees and not more. They're cage temps should drop to the 60's and 70's at night.

Also be careful of over supplementing. They do not tolerate supplementation well. I dusted my crickets with calcium with D3 twice a month. And dusted with calcium without D3 twice a week. It's important that Jacksons get most of their vitamins and minerals through very well gut loaded crickets and super worms along with a variety of other feeders. You can buy really good cricket food from sponsors on the site.

Make sure you have a 5.0 UVB bulb. And a bulb that provides heat such as a 60 Watt regular incandescent light bulb. Both should be on a 12 hour timer that turn on in the morning and shuts off at night. Mine are on from from 7am-7pm.
Make sure there are no lights on at night and do not use a heat lamp at night.

Andee, I don't know how old he is. Sadly, when most pet stores get animals, they don't look at the age. I try to guestimate based on questions I ask them.. IE: When exactly did you get him in..(that should be logged somewhere as he is their inventory), and how old does your supplier require them to be before they are shipped out to stores.

The girl there said she had been handling him to "train" him since they got him, which was a MONTH before the first time we ever saw him, and its been at least a month since them.. HOWEVER, the last time I spoke to that girl, which was about a week ago, she mentioned they maybe had him a month. I think he clock is jacked. It would have actually made it 2 months.. When I go in to get him, Im going to ask them to look at the logs right then and there.. or, I might call the district mgn that heads their pet store and market, and have him meet me there. I want to talk to him about their displays and such.. maybe I can talk him into getting these guys in a bit better condition. I don't think they will stop selling them.. and I cant go and get them all sadly. My husband is already going to stomp my butt into a mud hole when he sees Stan sitting in my living room.


As far as the temperature.. I was thinking of putting him in the kitchen by our one window that gets a lot of sun.. but here in the summer, lately its been really hot in the kitchen. I mean excessively, and to the point the fan does nothing. I should know.. I do the dishes and sweat like someone is pouring warm water over my head. So, I will be setting his terrarium up in my living room where its a bit cooler.. and might see about putting him over by the one window so he can get some sun in the afternoon when its on that side of the house.

I kind of figured he would need more water then this fogger or just spritzing would take care of. I work from home, so I would have no issue spritzing a few extra times a day.. Ill also be picking up the little dripper. When I go and get his bigger cage, Ill pick up the mister.



pgr7 What size wood did you get? is it the lg or ex lg? Also, do you think Mangrove root is ok for them? I saw this and thought it would make a GREAT center support for the Pathos etc.. maybe a feed bowl attached the top.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032G6XIW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


I am writing so much down..lol.. my daughter is going to help me gather all the info.. "plant list", "temps", "food".. etc.. and were going to do a laminated pocket reference. Im in the process of doing one for our bearded as well.. maybe I will make a second copy and give it to the pet store.. see if the girls working there can learn more about the animals they care for as well.

CraftingDreams said:

Andee, I don't know how old he is. Sadly, when most pet stores get animals, they don't look at the age. I try to guestimate based on questions I ask them.. IE: When exactly did you get him in..(that should be logged somewhere as he is their inventory), and how old does your supplier require them to be before they are shipped out to stores.

The girl there said she had been handling him to "train" him since they got him, which was a MONTH before the first time we ever saw him, and its been at least a month since them.. HOWEVER, the last time I spoke to that girl, which was about a week ago, she mentioned they maybe had him a month. I think he clock is jacked. It would have actually made it 2 months.. When I go in to get him, Im going to ask them to look at the logs right then and there.. or, I might call the district mgn that heads their pet store and market, and have him meet me there. I want to talk to him about their displays and such.. maybe I can talk him into getting these guys in a bit better condition. I don't think they will stop selling them.. and I cant go and get them all sadly. My husband is already going to stomp my butt into a mud hole when he sees Stan sitting in my living room.


As far as the temperature.. I was thinking of putting him in the kitchen by our one window that gets a lot of sun.. but here in the summer, lately its been really hot in the kitchen. I mean excessively, and to the point the fan does nothing. I should know.. I do the dishes and sweat like someone is pouring warm water over my head. So, I will be setting his terrarium up in my living room where its a bit cooler.. and might see about putting him over by the one window so he can get some sun in the afternoon when its on that side of the house.

I kind of figured he would need more water then this fogger or just spritzing would take care of. I work from home, so I would have no issue spritzing a few extra times a day.. Ill also be picking up the little dripper. When I go and get his bigger cage, Ill pick up the mister.



pgr7 What size wood did you get? is it the lg or ex lg? Also, do you think Mangrove root is ok for them? I saw this and thought it would make a GREAT center support for the Pathos etc.. maybe a feed bowl attached the top.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032G6XIW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


I am writing so much down..lol.. my daughter is going to help me gather all the info.. "plant list", "temps", "food".. etc.. and were going to do a laminated pocket reference. Im in the process of doing one for our bearded as well.. maybe I will make a second copy and give it to the pet store.. see if the girls working there can learn more about the animals they care for as well.

Click to expand...

I used large pieces,4 of them and a medium piece so 5 total. The mangrove might be ok if it's not slick plastic as it may be hard for the cham to climb if it's hands and feet can't grasp the diameter of the decor. Although weaving vines around it would solve the issue.

I am looking into the lighting today and making sure I have what I need. The girl gave me a deep dome combo, but she mentioned that the one bulb she had in there kept blowing. Im a bit nervous since it looks a bit "blackened" where both bulbs screw in. I was wondering if I can use a combo bulb and use only one dome... a UVB/basking? I think its a bit more expensive, but that's ok. If they shouldn't be used, Ill just pick up two new domes.

Vitamins... I read Reptical and Herptivite were best for them.. especially Herptivite.


I purchase Dubia for my Beardies, and planned on giving him those along with crickets. I was also curious if they can eat phoenix worms. If so, Ill stock up on those as well.

JaxyGirl said:

My male Jacksons lived for almost 8 years so under the right conditions you should him for a long time. How old is he? You prob mentioned it but I didn't see it.
Jacksons do need a lot of water to drink. Mine used to drink right out of the nozel when I hand sprayed him. I would spray him and the foliage around him for a good 3 minutes
at least 2-3 times a day because sometimes it takes a while for them to drink and a Jacksons can dehydrate really easily which leads to major health issues. Make sure his cage dries thoroughly between mistings. Keeping a dripper going between mistings helps also.

They are a Montane species which means the also like cooler temperatures. His basking spot should be between 80-90 degrees and not more. They're cage temps should drop to the 60's and 70's at night.

Also be careful of over supplementing. They do not tolerate supplementation well. I dusted my crickets with calcium with D3 twice a month. And dusted with calcium without D3 twice a week. It's important that Jacksons get most of their vitamins and minerals through very well gut loaded crickets and super worms along with a variety of other feeders. You can buy really good cricket food from sponsors on the site.

Make sure you have a 5.0 UVB bulb. And a bulb that provides heat such as a 60 Watt regular incandescent light bulb. Both should be on a 12 hour timer that turn on in the morning and shuts off at night. Mine are on from from 7am-7pm.
Make sure there are no lights on at night and do not use a heat lamp at night.

Click to expand...