Is a Jackson a good pet?

[reptileguy112]

In terms of behavior and general care are they any different than a veiled? I am thinking of adding one, I already have a panther and a veiled. I'm not positive but I believe they require smaller cages, would an 18" x 18" x 30" work? Thank you fellow chameleon nerds!!!

 

[JaxyGirl]

Jackson's are great! I had a male for almost 8 years and he was awesome! I lost him 3 months ago.
It's like having a mini Triceratops Danasaur. I think the enclosure size your talking about should be big enough, but larger is always better. Mine free ranged pretty much his whole life. I think because of that he developed a great personality. He was a smart old boy.

 

[reptileguy112]

Jackson's are great! I had a male for almost 8 years and he was awesome! I lost him 3 months ago.
It's like having a mini Triceratops Danasaur. I think the enclosure size your talking about should be big enough, but larger is always better. Mine free ranged pretty much his whole life. I think because of that he developed a great personality. He was a smart old boy.

Ok, I will probably acquire one when the next good opportunity comes by and I can make either make a viv or just put an aquarium on its side and knock out the top panel and screen it up. I was confused when you said danasaur, I thought you were talking about one of those weird long name chameleons lol

 

[JaxyGirl]

Meant Dinasaur Lol! That's one of the reasons I bought one in the first place. I was enthralled with the horns

 

[reptileguy112]

They do have some awesome horns, my younger sister also thought the back looked weird lol

 

[JaxyGirl]

I loved my Jacksons. His horns got so long! They were quite impressive. They keep growing their whole lives.

 

[Action Jackson]

Jackson's are great! I had a male for almost 8 years and he was awesome! I lost him 3 months ago.
It's like having a mini Triceratops Danasaur. I think the enclosure size your talking about should be big enough, but larger is always better. Mine free ranged pretty much his whole life. I think because of that he developed a great personality. He was a smart old boy.

Wow 8 years! Great job with him. That's probably the longest I've heard of one living. I have males from all three sub species that are 5+ years old that are still going strong.

 

[Carlton]

In terms of behavior and general care are they any different than a veiled? I am thinking of adding one, I already have a panther and a veiled. I'm not positive but I believe they require smaller cages, would an 18" x 18" x 30" work? Thank you fellow chameleon nerds!!!

A jax will need a cooler more humid setup than either a veiled or a panther. They are also more sensitive to vitamin supplements...especially fat soluable such as D3. You will want to use it less often...once a month to 6 weeks. So, make sure you can provide the cooler temps and higher humidity year round. Lower nighttime temps too. No reason to give one a smaller cage really. They'll use what you give them. Lots of live foliage too.

Jax can be shyer than panthers and veileds even though we all know they are individuals. Just don't expect one to be as outgoing as the others.

 

[reptileguy112]

I need something a bit smaller than a 2 x 2 x 4 like what my veil and panther have because they are taking so much room. I have a few extra fogger's I can use to raise humidity. So for heat should I just use a UV light and leave out the heat bulb all together? The cage cant be any bigger than 1.5 x 1.5 x 3.

 

[Carlton]

So for heat should I just use a UV light and leave out the heat bulb all together? The cage cant be any bigger than 1.5 x 1.5 x 3.

What are the daily temps in the room? Maybe in summer when you know the room will get up to 80 you can have a timer turn the basking light off midday if necessary. They still need to warm up in the mornings. Maybe start off with a lower watt basking bulb or set it farther away from the cage top.

IMHO that's a pretty minimal cage for an adult jax. Others may find it works, but I like to go larger for everyone.

 

[reptileguy112]

The room is usually 70 to 77

 

[JaxyGirl]

I need something a bit smaller than a 2 x 2 x 4 like what my veil and panther have because they are taking so much room. I have a few extra fogger's I can use to raise humidity. So for heat should I just use a UV light and leave out the heat bulb all together? The cage cant be any bigger than 1.5 x 1.5 x 3.

You don't need a fogger. Humidity varies in the wild. So it doesn't have to be constant in captivity either. A fogger could lead to bacteria and upper respiratory problems. Their enclosures have to dry out in between mistings. Jacksons do however drink a lot of water so you want to make sure you have a constant dripper going. Mine just drank directly out of the spray bottle so I knew he had his fill of water every day.
And yes you do need a basking spot. I live in Maine so in the winter I had a 75 Watt bulb and in the summer I switched to a 50 or 25 watt bulb

 

[JaxyGirl]

What are the daily temps in the room? Maybe in summer when you know the room will get up to 80 you can have a timer turn the basking light off midday if necessary. They still need to warm up in the mornings. Maybe start off with a lower watt basking bulb or set it farther away from the cage top.

IMHO that's a pretty minimal cage for an adult jax. Others may find it works, but I like to go larger for everyone.

I agree with Carlton for the size of the cage. It's probably alright now cause he's small but my male was 12" long. He free ranged pretty much his whole life. Theyre very active chams.

 

[Carlton]

You don't need a fogger. Humidity varies in the wild. So it doesn't have to be constant in captivity either. A fogger could lead to bacteria and upper respiratory problems. Their enclosures have to dry out in between mistings. Jacksons do however drink a lot of water so you want to make sure you have a constant dripper going. Mine just drank directly out of the spray bottle so I knew he had his fill of water every day.
And yes you do need a basking spot. I live in Maine so in the winter I had a 75 Watt bulb and in the summer I switched to a 50 or 25 watt bulb

IMHO maybe a better way to look at this is that you MIGHT need the fogger if you can't maintain the proper humidity levels using misting and the dripper. It will depend on the room's situation. At some seasons (dry hot summer or dry cold winter) it may need to be added to your routine. There's no way to predict this exactly. If you have a fogger handy you can use it if it seems called for. I have used foggers in addition to periodic misting depending on what my humidity gauges and my chams' condition tell me. If I find that the cage humidity level drops off very quickly after each misting session and my chams seem to be overly thirsty every day, it may be a good idea. It shouldn't need to run constantly of course (control cycles with a timer), but can slow down the rate at which the cage dries. It should dry out for some portion of each day, but not so fast that the cage is too dry for the majority of the time. Does that make sense?