Pet store jackson.. buy it or not?

Hey guys, I went to my local pet store and saw that they had a jackson cham up for sale. I'm 90% sure its a xanth. They are selling it for $60, but its dehydrated and maybe has other problems. I wanted to see if you guys had any tips on what to look at on him to check for health. His grip is pretty strong for a small cham (he looks full grown though), his bones look straight and don't really see any signs of MBD. I want to get him out of there cause they don't know how to take care of chameleons..I've seen many die in that store. The thing is I can't keep him for long, at least for now. So if I do take him in to get him better, would anyone take it after and give it a good home? That'd be the only way I'd be able to rescue the little guy.

I live in Orlando, FL. I may be able to take him in after he's all better. I've also got a spare cage set up and everything from my past veiled.

Let me know if you can cause if so, I'll go tomorrow to get all his setup ready and then go to the petstore and get him. I have a vet appointment on monday for my other chams, so if you can let me know soon enough, I'll be able to take him to get a fecal done and full exam. It'd be costly, but its better than hving no chance at a pet store.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what I should look on the cham before purchasing? i know basics, so any specifics to a jacksonii would be awesome

Lot of people say buying him will just encourage them to get more chams and mistreat them. At the pet world by my house they have a cage with like 6 veiled in it and i see em fight each other all the time. Can i save em all???? They have no UVB and its like 150 in the all glass cage :-( When i mentioned it to the lady she got all snippy with me so i never mentioned it again.

I know it'll just encourage him to buy more, but the owners knows me and he knows if I buy a chameleon it isnt on impulse so he doesnt think "oh, people like these, im gonna keep getting them". I've talked to the guy but he's old and doesnt accept that his husbandry is wrong.

So rather than letting the poor dude die and the owner buying a replacement, I'd rather save the guy, or at least a better chance at a good life.

most jacksons for sale are w/c. so you will need to start with fecal to see what parasite your working with. He will need as much hydration you can give him. shower chambers will be good if he is willing. you may have to force is he is weak but becareful force feeding a sick cham as they are at high risk of aspiration. give him very small amounts of fluid at a time through out the day. set his cage as best as you can to a care sheet for montane species. GOOD LUCK!

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/454-dehydration-solutions-force-fluid-tips.html

im active in the pet trade. believe me one non purchase will not stop the flow. it will have to take drastic measures to stop it.

Thank you!

He doesnt seem weak.. his grip is fairly strong (and i'm comparing him to my male veiled that punctures my skin when i hold him).

Anyone have a picture of mouth rot? Just wanna check for the most apparent things.

you will see plaque build up badly with teeth usually being brown or green, his lips may be pushed out, red gums. just post pics of his.

jacksons in general even sick ones have awesome grips compared to many chameleons.

I'll go to the pet store tomorrow and get pics of him. His head has stuck shed from lack of humidity, but that will probably fall off with a few showers of warm water.

thanks for the help, hopefully I can get the little guy out of there and into a good home.

hope you are successful! if you need any help you can pm me.

I gathered some information from this link and came up with the following "caresheet". any thoughts?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/jacksons-care-56085/


Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – Jacksonii Adult
• Feeding - Types of insects should include: crickets, super worms (Zoophobas), regular meal worms (tenibrio), butter worms, wax worms, roaches, grasshoppers, snails and the common house fly. All gutloaded with fresh vegetables (spinach, carrot, alfalfa, sweet potatoe,etc. I use Sandra’s (Sandrachameleon) blog on gutloading), Flukers gutload, Flukers water cubes.
• Supplements – Rep-cal W/O D3 every feeding, W/ D3 once a month and herptivite once a month
• Watering – Dripper for most of the day, misting 2-3 times a day.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – Screen, at least 24X18X24” (Bigger is always better)
• Lighting – Reptisun 5.0, plus basking light to provide a 80-85°F basking spot.
• Temperature – Montane species, hailing from a climate of temperate days (74° - 80°F) and cool nights (57° - 65°F). A night time drop of 10°-15° is recommended to stimulate your pet's appetite. A basking area of 76°-80°F is desirable for a few hours daily, if the ambient temperature seldom rises above 70°F. Please note that a constant or minimal variation in temperature will eventually compromise the chameleon's health. Extended periods of cool nights, without the benefit of warm periods during daytime, may result in respiratory disease. Excessive daytime temperatures, however, will result in heat stress and gaping mouth. Temperatures more than 90°F, for any significant period, will prove to be fatal.
• Humidity – Higher humidity that Veileds as Jacksonii are a Montane species. I run a cold air humidifier in my chameleon room.
• Plants – Schefflera Arboricola
• Placement – Chameleon room, across from female C. Calyptratus and female F. Pardalis
• Location – South Florida

how can you differentiate between a xanth and a meromontanus?

I say save it if you can.

Why is it you won't be able to care for it?

But get it out of there and find it a good home. That's you being a hero. We get so few opportunities to be a hero in our lives, why pass it up?

I'm gonna be getting some of the Nosy Borahas that Jared is importing so room wise, I'll be limited. But I do want to do the right thing for the little guy.

Do you have any suggestions from the two posts above?

Well, I don't keep Jackson's, but from what I know that care sheet is good. They are smaller but roam a bit so you can keep them in a smaller cage but don't want to put them in something tiny (like you might be able to keep a carpet).

But they don't need the type of space a panther or veiled does. Are you sure there isn't a corner in the kitchen?

I have a Fischer's and a Peacock (which, research tells me is a: Chamaeleo Trioceros Wiedersheimi).

What I love about these little ones is they thrive in just about the same temperatures you do so you don't really have to worry too much about temps. If you're feeling warm, then you need to take actions to cool them down too. If you're feeling cool then you need to take action to keep them warmer too. It's sort of a no brainer in that way....

I'll have a total of 5 chams with the Nosy Borahas and I'm pretty sure I'll be getting some Faly's too.. hahaha.. I'll be able to house him for now.. give it a good start to a better life.

I know that in mountains, there are wind currents, I have an AC vent in my chameleon room, could that be used to cool the cage down, or are those drafts bad for the chameleon? So you say an 18X18X24-30" cage would be fine, right? I may be able to build it tomorrow morning, so possibly by tomorrow I'll have him here.

Anyone have info?

I decided to help the little guy out. Right now I have him in a Schefflera plant inside my guest bathroom. I don't have his cage ready, but the bath tub works well until the morning when I'll be finishing it.

These are two pics of him, and you can see he is quite skinny and dehydrated, anything else you guys see, please let me know.. i have never owned a jacksons before so idk what specifics to look at.

YAY! Sorry, I haven't been online much today. Weekends are sort of "human family" time until late at night.

I think 18x18x30 would be a fine size. I wouldn't have a vent pointing at the cage, let it bounce off the wall, if you can, before hitting the cage. You don't want leaves fluttering in the cage.

He does look a bit on the thin side, but I'm sure you'll get him all plump and healthy soon. He's very handsome.

I think you're really going to enjoy him. How could you not?

I'll take your advice on the AC and do what I can for him.. any suggestion on the subspecies?