I was thinking of breeding my Jackson's chameleon once winter ends. I have had him now close to 4 years and he is very strong and healthy. I was recently talking to a panther chameleon breeder and she said that breeding Jacksons was very difficult. I thought it would be easier since they have live births. Please tell me what you think. I would also really like to hear from anyone who has successfully bred jackson's. ( how set up should be, how can I tell when there ready to mate, raising babies, extc) Thank You.
Breeding Jackson chameleons
- Thread starter ducati
- Start date
chams1
Member
Yep. I personally have not had Jackson's babies but have had a few clutches of Rudis babies (live bearing) and man, is it difficult. Just when you think you have it figured out, bam, down goes another one just like that. Out of my first 2 clutches alone (29 born total), I was left with 5 that made it to maturity. I had tried quite a few different ways and suggestions of others, but there are so many different factors involved that you have to get just right.
xanthoman
Avid Member
raising xanths
i raised a clutch of xanths last spring (15 born 6-29-09) of which i still have 3 overall they didnt seem that difficult to keep alive from a health stand point. i did lose several, but that was due to mistakes on my part (lack of dilligence)which in hindsight were avoidable and should have been forseen. i lost a couple of the smaller ones (presumably to starvation) by advancing feeder size too rapidly, i lost a couple more in an attack by a free ranging male (not the father) i kept them in a 10 gal with no top on , which would work fine in the right situation , but if i had it to do over again, i would use an exo-terra terrarium 12x12x18. i injured one of the nicer females (survived) while changing their enclosure. also a couple otherwise healthy ones got a minor lip infection at the back of their mouths, which i believe i could have also avoided by paying closer attention, this was later cleared up by using a rubber toothpick and rinsing the affected area with a curved tip dental syringe. 2 of the remaining three are ridiculously small, but seemingly otherwise healthy. also 15 healthy neonates can consume an absurd amount of food and keeping up with enough apropriately sized feeders is a project in itself. there are pics of my neonate setup in my public album (just click on my user name)
i raised a clutch of xanths last spring (15 born 6-29-09) of which i still have 3 overall they didnt seem that difficult to keep alive from a health stand point. i did lose several, but that was due to mistakes on my part (lack of dilligence)which in hindsight were avoidable and should have been forseen. i lost a couple of the smaller ones (presumably to starvation) by advancing feeder size too rapidly, i lost a couple more in an attack by a free ranging male (not the father) i kept them in a 10 gal with no top on , which would work fine in the right situation , but if i had it to do over again, i would use an exo-terra terrarium 12x12x18. i injured one of the nicer females (survived) while changing their enclosure. also a couple otherwise healthy ones got a minor lip infection at the back of their mouths, which i believe i could have also avoided by paying closer attention, this was later cleared up by using a rubber toothpick and rinsing the affected area with a curved tip dental syringe. 2 of the remaining three are ridiculously small, but seemingly otherwise healthy. also 15 healthy neonates can consume an absurd amount of food and keeping up with enough apropriately sized feeders is a project in itself. there are pics of my neonate setup in my public album (just click on my user name)
chameleonneeds
Avid Member
I know a guy who is keen on jacksons. He wants to breed them. He will only start with a pair of WCs.
Now he has only owned one chameleon, a veiled that is now 5 months old. And he already wants jacksons. I asked how much experience does he have and he says about 6 months. And I asked if he has done research on them and he said no but he will this weekend.
I dont think he realises how hard these are to keep but he seems pretty certain that he will have them, will be breeding and selling them.
Do you think he will be able to pull it off xanthoman?
Now he has only owned one chameleon, a veiled that is now 5 months old. And he already wants jacksons. I asked how much experience does he have and he says about 6 months. And I asked if he has done research on them and he said no but he will this weekend.
I dont think he realises how hard these are to keep but he seems pretty certain that he will have them, will be breeding and selling them.
Do you think he will be able to pull it off xanthoman?
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
From my personal experience (which isn't very long either, I must admit! But I have years of caring for exotic animals, so no one yell at me for saying this lol), keeping a Xanth isn't that hard. I mean, as long as you keep the basics where they need to be (temperature, humidity, water, food, and enclosure) I don't think they're any harder to take care of than a veiled or panther. Although it's definately much easier if you live somewhere like Florida, when temperatures and humidity are easy to get just right. When I first started researching chameleon species to see which one would be my first, I didn't see anything in the care of Xanths that I thought I didn't know how to handle, and so far (knock on wood!) it's been about 6 months and he's only growing and getting better every day.
Now, would I jump into breeding without taking care of an adult or two for a long while? Absolutely not, I don't think caring for a neonate and an adult xanth are the same thing. Back when I was looking to get a Xanth, I was contacted by my local reptile vendor who was selling a prooven pair with a gravid female. And I said no because I didn't know what I could be getting myself into with babies, and I still think I wouldn't know what to do lol.
So, what I think is that keeping a couple adult Jackson's isn't necessarily more complicated than keeping a veiled. But getting into breeding might be something best aproached with more experience under your belt. It would be great to have a friend that breeds them and go experience what a typical day of care is.
Now, would I jump into breeding without taking care of an adult or two for a long while? Absolutely not, I don't think caring for a neonate and an adult xanth are the same thing. Back when I was looking to get a Xanth, I was contacted by my local reptile vendor who was selling a prooven pair with a gravid female. And I said no because I didn't know what I could be getting myself into with babies, and I still think I wouldn't know what to do lol.
So, what I think is that keeping a couple adult Jackson's isn't necessarily more complicated than keeping a veiled. But getting into breeding might be something best aproached with more experience under your belt. It would be great to have a friend that breeds them and go experience what a typical day of care is.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
In the middle of last summer I acquired 7 xanth neonates that were about 3 to 4 weeks old.
I have limited experience caring for montanes but thought I would give it a shot.
They are about 7 months old now and I have 6 left. I lost one awhile back. He was quite small and just wasn't growing at the pace of his siblings. Nothing seemed outwardly wrong with him but he didn't make it.
I have been keeping them together in an 18x18x36 screen enclosure with a large hibiscus plant. I mist twice a day by hand and dump in appropriately sized feeders daily (free range).
Their is a reptisun 5.0 on top of the enclosure and no basking lamp. The ambient temp in the room is 70 f. and it is 75/76 directly under the 5.0.
They hang upside down under the light to warm up occasionally but often stay low in the enclosure.
I have not observed any aggression among this group. There are 5 males and one female.
-Brad
I have limited experience caring for montanes but thought I would give it a shot.
They are about 7 months old now and I have 6 left. I lost one awhile back. He was quite small and just wasn't growing at the pace of his siblings. Nothing seemed outwardly wrong with him but he didn't make it.
I have been keeping them together in an 18x18x36 screen enclosure with a large hibiscus plant. I mist twice a day by hand and dump in appropriately sized feeders daily (free range).
Their is a reptisun 5.0 on top of the enclosure and no basking lamp. The ambient temp in the room is 70 f. and it is 75/76 directly under the 5.0.
They hang upside down under the light to warm up occasionally but often stay low in the enclosure.
I have not observed any aggression among this group. There are 5 males and one female.
-Brad
Lancecham
New Member
Keeping jacksons are relatively easy if they are kept under the right conditions as Olimpia said.
Breeding isn't difficult either. However, the baby survival rate can be frustrating. Sometimes, the whole clutch does well, sometimes there is a low survival rate. even the experienced keepers have this problems with the babies.
What I like about the jacksons as compared to other common cham species is that they can tolerate a wide range of temps. I raise mine outdoors and during the summer, they can handle temps of a 100 as long as the cage is placed in the shade and they are misted heavily to keep them cool.
The winters are equally surprising. Granted, our night time winter temps are very mild compared to most, but on even the coldest of nights(32 to 34) they still seem to do well. In the winter time, I place them in cages where they get the first rays of sun so they can warm up quickly.
Breeding isn't difficult either. However, the baby survival rate can be frustrating. Sometimes, the whole clutch does well, sometimes there is a low survival rate. even the experienced keepers have this problems with the babies.
What I like about the jacksons as compared to other common cham species is that they can tolerate a wide range of temps. I raise mine outdoors and during the summer, they can handle temps of a 100 as long as the cage is placed in the shade and they are misted heavily to keep them cool.
The winters are equally surprising. Granted, our night time winter temps are very mild compared to most, but on even the coldest of nights(32 to 34) they still seem to do well. In the winter time, I place them in cages where they get the first rays of sun so they can warm up quickly.
xanthoman
Avid Member
are montanes really harder ???
thats true , nothing especially hard about it, just a slightly different set of requirements than non montanes. its just a question of knowing their needs (which i dont think can be adequetely researched in a weekend or even several), and being slightly more dilligent than with veileds or panthers. easier said than done , just when you think youre an expert, is when you find out youre not. plenty of people have started with jax and done just fine, probably more have not. sadly enough, many newcomers to montanes find out they are not as informed as they thought they were , but thats no reason they couldnt be. i picked up with montanes after not having kept chams for 15 years ( i used to breed veileds with a mediocum of success) but then i did an intensive amount of research before trying montanes, and i have to admit, i have not been with out my share of problems. i guess it largely boils down to how serious one is. jax arent delicate by any means , theyre just tough in a different way. generally speaking , i think they are a little more timid though, which presents its own set of challenges, which cant neccessarily be overcome by research. also, ones personal situation plays a role (as far as begining montanes), the pnw is perfectly suited to raising jax as is hawaii, but if one lived in florida or arizona i would think veileds would be a better choice (not that one cant raise a veiled in pnw or a jax in florida) it just helps when you dont have to fight the conditions. if one has enough knowledge and experience , theyre likely to be successful regardless of genus/location
thats true , nothing especially hard about it, just a slightly different set of requirements than non montanes. its just a question of knowing their needs (which i dont think can be adequetely researched in a weekend or even several), and being slightly more dilligent than with veileds or panthers. easier said than done , just when you think youre an expert, is when you find out youre not. plenty of people have started with jax and done just fine, probably more have not. sadly enough, many newcomers to montanes find out they are not as informed as they thought they were , but thats no reason they couldnt be. i picked up with montanes after not having kept chams for 15 years ( i used to breed veileds with a mediocum of success) but then i did an intensive amount of research before trying montanes, and i have to admit, i have not been with out my share of problems. i guess it largely boils down to how serious one is. jax arent delicate by any means , theyre just tough in a different way. generally speaking , i think they are a little more timid though, which presents its own set of challenges, which cant neccessarily be overcome by research. also, ones personal situation plays a role (as far as begining montanes), the pnw is perfectly suited to raising jax as is hawaii, but if one lived in florida or arizona i would think veileds would be a better choice (not that one cant raise a veiled in pnw or a jax in florida) it just helps when you dont have to fight the conditions. if one has enough knowledge and experience , theyre likely to be successful regardless of genus/location
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