Exo-terra and jacksonii

[stephen]

Well after setting up a great screened baby nursery for a 3 month old jacksonii I'm getting soon, I'm thinking of taking the glass vivarium route. Fully planted with hydroton and organic soil. Question is, how long ya think a male jacksonii can happily live in a 18x18x24? Thoughts. Thanx.

 

[stephen]

Anyone?

 

[trickedoutbiker]

he can live in that up to about 9 months to a year old. a year old or around there is when most people get the adult cages for their chams.

 

[Leo Chance]

We put our first Jackson babies into a glass vivarium. We moved them into screen cages pretty quickly. Jacksons need to be showered, which means the bottom of the glass enclosure collects water. Plants do not generally thrive without drainage, and waterlogged soil will kill them pretty quickly in most cases. If it is humidity you are trying to increase a humidifier will do a better job. I wish you luck, but I didn't have luck with glass.

 

[Chris Anderson]

We put our first Jackson babies into a glass vivarium. We moved them into screen cages pretty quickly. Jacksons need to be showered, which means the bottom of the glass enclosure collects water. Plants do not generally thrive without drainage, and waterlogged soil will kill them pretty quickly in most cases. If it is humidity you are trying to increase a humidifier will do a better job. I wish you luck, but I didn't have luck with glass.

If your soil was waterlogged in the glass terrariums, you were doing it wrong. Chameleons do not need nearly as much misting in glass terrariums as they require in screen enclosures because humidity is retained better. In fact, if you're misting that much, you're going to create other problems, like respiratory issues. In glass terrariums, I mist my montanes once per day for about a minute to a minute and a half. I have no problems with dehydration, upper respiratory infections, standing water or waterlogged soil.

Chris

 

[Leo Chance]

If your soil was waterlogged in the glass terrariums, you were doing it wrong. Chameleons do not need nearly as much misting in glass terrariums as they require in screen enclosures because humidity is retained better. In fact, if you're misting that much, you're going to create other problems, like respiratory issues. In glass terrariums, I mist my montanes once per day for about a minute to a minute and a half. I have no problems with dehydration, upper respiratory infections, standing water or waterlogged soil.

Chris

Chris,
Please do not misunderstand. I did not say that my soil had become waterlogged, I suggested that it was a possibility in a long term situation. I did not say it was not possible to house Jackson's in glass enclosures. What I said was that glass did not work well for me. Our Jackson's will frolic in the mist for 15 or 20 minutes if we let them. They really seem to enjoy water, beyond mere hydration. I wish you the best, but I prefer not to ration water when it comes to Montane chameleons. I understand you have a great deal of experience but I thought this forum encouraged an exchange of ideas.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Chris,
Please do not misunderstand. I did not say that my soil had become waterlogged, I suggested that it was a possibility in a long term situation. I did not say it was not possible to house Jackson's in glass enclosures. What I said was that glass did not work well for me. Our Jackson's will frolic in the mist for 15 or 20 minutes if we let them. They really seem to enjoy water, beyond mere hydration. I wish you the best, but I prefer not to ration water when it comes to Montane chameleons. I understand you have a great deal of experience but I thought this forum encouraged an exchange of ideas.

It definitely is for the exchange of ideas, and if I misunderstood your comment about waterlogged soil, I apologize. That said, this should still never happen in glass terrariums if they are being misted appropriately, which was my point. When this occurs, other problems will quickly follow, and its important for anyone considering the use of glass terrariums to understand that this is not how it should be done. Also, it really is not about rationing water at all, but actually more about more accurately mimicking their natural environment. It does not rain 3-4 times a day, every day in their habitat like we must provide these montane species when kept in screen enclosures with low ambient humidity. The increased humidity and less frequent misting is actually much more natural.

Chris

 

[leedragon]

otherwise a simple drainage hole would do the trick