De-stressing a female Jacksonii?

[Coheed]

I have just purchased my first chameleon today She is a female Jacksonii named Zuri. My question for the community is: How can I get her to relax? She is displaying a lot of stress colors, I assume from the transport and the adjustment to a new enclosure. I havent handled her other than introducing her into her new enclosure and dont plan to do so for a week or two because ive read this species doesnt like frequent or long periods of handling. So is there anything i can do to make her feel safer and more relaxed? I know stress isnt good for chameleons especially young chameleons (shes about nine months old) Any other advice or tips on this type of chameleon are welcome! Thanks for your time!

EDIT: Also she has been at the very bottom of her enclosure perched on a water bowl in the exact same position for the last hour, is this strange behavior?

--Enclosure specifics:

ESU Reptile screen enclosure 16' wide 18' tall and full off vines, branches, and fake plants-Bare bottom no substrate.

Zoo-med UVB bulb
Exotera 75 watt basking bulb

 

[Carlton]

I have just purchased my first chameleon today She is a female Jacksonii named Zuri. My question for the community is: How can I get her to relax? She is displaying a lot of stress colors, I assume from the transport and the adjustment to a new enclosure. I havent handled her other than introducing her into her new enclosure and dont plan to do so for a week or two because ive read this species doesnt like frequent or long periods of handling. So is there anything i can do to make her feel safer and more relaxed? I know stress isnt good for chameleons especially young chameleons (shes about nine months old) Any other advice or tips on this type of chameleon are welcome! Thanks for your time!

EDIT: Also she has been at the very bottom of her enclosure perched on a water bowl in the exact same position for the last hour, is this strange behavior?

--Enclosure specifics:

ESU Reptile screen enclosure 16' wide 18' tall and full off vines, branches, and fake plants-Bare bottom no substrate.

Zoo-med UVB bulb
Exotera 75 watt basking bulb

Give her a lot of privacy (visual screening with plants so she can watch her new world without being seen), give her lots of opportunities to drink and eat without being observed. No, perching in one spot isn't strange behavior. She is probably trying to be invisible while learning her new territory. Watch the cage temps...she may be staying low in the cage because she's too hot, or if you are using a CF UV bulb it might be too intense for her. Watch the cage humidity level...letting it get too dry will also stress her. Dehydration will affect her appetite as well. If you are not monitoring the cage temps (both at the basking perch and in a cooler area of the cage) you need to start. Also track the cage humidity level carefully. Jax want cooler more humid conditions than many other herps.

What are you planning on feeding her, what supplements and gutloads will you be using? Montane species such as jax are more sensitive to fat-soluable vitamin content.

 

[Coheed]

I have temp. probes set at the bottom and top of her cage bottom is 72F top is 83F Ill add more plants at the front of the cage so she doesnt feel vulnerable

Im reading mixed opinions on a drip system for Jacksonii some say daily misting is good enough other say its not any comments on that?

Ive been reading on here to formulate a suitable gutload for her prey it says most commercially available gutloads dont have the correct vitamins so im still researching that, what would be your suggestion for a gutload?

 

[christineacero]

Your first post said there is a water bowl in the enclosure? Remove that. She won't drink from it.

As for opinions on misting systems vs manual misting, I manually sprayed 3x a day for 3 months when I only had 2 chams. When I got 2 more, I upgraded to the MistKing and have it set up to spray all three cages. I personally much prefer the auto misting systems because I don't feel like I have to rush home to spray them multiple times a day. I also don't feel so bad sleeping in on occasion because I know they can wait for food, but not water. Just my personal opinion, but I'd highly recommend one!

 

[jrath]

Just give her time and privacy, she will come around. I have had jacksons take 1-2 weeks before they are settled in. I would also recommend getting rid of the water bowel, she won't use it and if she does it could make her sick.

Since she is a female, you may want to prepare your self for babies just in case.
Most Jacksons are wild caught and typical a wild caught female is going to be gravid already. Its always better to be prepared for it then not, just in case.

Also it might not be a bad idea to fill out the how to ask for help form, just so we can make sure that you are starting out on the right track. In the long run it could save you and that way you will have a better piece of mind.

Continue to ask questions if you need anything else.