Based on the pictures, I would say that you are not too late in saving her. She looks pretty healthy despite poor husbandry before your care. You did the right thing--I'm glad you took her under your wing! Based on the pics, I would say that she's probably around 4 months old (???--I would have to refer to Kaizen on this one since he has a lot of experience breeding and raising up jacksons chameleons). It is always hard to tell their size in pictures like this, but she's still small and young. Females start turning green around 8ish months of age.
So mealworms are not the devil when it comes to food items, but they are not nearly as nutritious as other insects like dubia roaches, crickets, black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, etc. Chameleons can get addicted to superworms and mealworms. I'd keep trying the crickets. She may not eat crickets the first couple days but she'll get hungry pretty quickly--especially since she is a growing gal. When feeding crickets, you want to gutload them--I think I saw the chart posted on this thread already. My jacksons chameleon grew up primarily on crickets since they eat just about any leafy green, carrots, and oranges. He really likes black soldier fly larvae. (Also I apologize if I'm repeating what other said--I'm on a tight ship right now when it comes to time so I haven't read all the responses.)
Plain exoterra calcium is fine. For the Calcium with D3, I highly recommend Repashy Calcium plus LoD. Essentially this is a multivitamin and D3 supplementation mixed into one. This way you don't have to schedule a third dusting routine for a multivitamin. Plain calcium, D3, and Multivitamin are the three main components to dusting (ofc with differing frequencies. You can dust the plain calcium anywhere between three times a week and every feeding. The calcium lod--meaning low d3--should be given twice a month--this is all info you can find here on the chameleon academy jacksons caresheet:
https://chameleonacademy.com/wp-con...-Yellow-crested-Jacksons-Chameleon-091320.pdf.
Okay, so the frequency of misting depends on the humidity levels inside the cage. Daytime humidity levels should be between 30-50%. Since you are right around 50% during the day your levels are perfectly fine. The levels at night should be between 75-100%--but if you are hitting 70%--you should be fine--especially if you have a dripper. My concern is how long is the humidity staying at 70% humidity? I use a mistking to mist a few times throughout the night. But I also have a cool mist humidifier to run from 1a.m-7a.m. to help keep the humidity up.
A larger concern of mine is the ventilation. Does your cage have ventilation near the bottom? Your cham looks fine and doesn't seem to have a Respiratory Infection (RI), so you are good for the time being. But let me warn you, you are increasing the chances of an RI. Chameleons don't need as much airflow as once touted, but they do need some airflow. If your cage has a vent at the bottom, this will cause a chimney effect where cool fresh air will enter the cage simultaneously as the hot air (from the basking lights) rises out of the cage. If you don't have a vent at the bottom, then you can get a computer fan to pull air out of the cage every so often to as to keep the air from stagnating. High humidity plus high (relative) temperatures can lead to conditions where a cham is more susceptible to getting an RI--"susceptible" is the keyword here as it isn't a guarantee. And these chances increase without proper ventilation. So get on that fan asap. At the moment, your cham looks to be in good health, I wouldn't risk that.
Your cham looks healthy at the moment, and based on the poop she seems well hydrated. I wouldn't worry about getting a fecal.
Reiterating. Ventilation is important. Glass isn't bad with proper ventilation. Proper ventilation is surprisingly less than once thought. You need a fan sucking air out (hook it up to a timer to turn on for a minute or so every so often). Preferably get a cage with slightly better ventilation (can be glass--just needs vent near bottom of the cage for new air to enter for chimney effect).
Follow the uvb recommendations that were provided to you by the other members earlier. A 12 hr day and 12 hr night is perfect.
During the day, 70 at the bottom and 82 at the basking spot is fine. Though many people aim for 80 at the basking, especially for juveniles. For my basking spot, I use a temperature probe that I zip tied to it, and I also have a temp gun that I can point and shoot which will tell me the temp as well. Try getting a digital temperature probe from a hardware store that while tell you the temp and humidity. Digital probes are much more accurate (but you still need to keep it dry and away from mist). You can place this probe anywhere near the bottom or midsection of the cage. Then at night, you want the probe to get into the lower 60s (65f and below) with a humidity above around 75 (give or take a few). I can answer more questions if you still have them after reading this.
I'd recommend adding another plant that is easily climbable. I like Schefflera arboricola, but you can essentially use any plant at the store that is big enough for her to climb and hide in. You will also want to add more climbing branches so she can properly thermoregulate and explore, and ultimately find a spot where she will feel comfortable. Have parts of branches hidden away from view so she can hide if she wants. You will find that they will become much braver when given the option to hide.
Okay, that's not bad. I'm glad it is up high--she'll definitely feel more secure. The high traffic during parts of the day isn't bad either--just make sure to add that plant I was telling you about so she can properly hide during those times if she wants to.
Ayyy, my sis lives in Massachusetts. She is going to Tuffts Med School in Boston. She is doing rotations, going to Maine this weekend for two months before going back to Boston.
You are doing a great job--keep it up!
P.S--sorry for all the typos, my brain is literally (well...figuratively) dead at the moment and I really hope that I typed everything correctly. Feel free to ask a million questions. I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability or reach out to others who can help.
Oh, and the size of your cage is fine for the moment. You can always by a screen cage that size and cover it up with a shower curtain, but leave a gap at the bottom for the chimney effect--if you did this you wouldn't need a computer fan, which is iffy IMO.
Okay, I'll stop rambling now. Hang in there.
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I’m just not having the luck
