Jackson’s chameleon sleeping during day

Hello, I just purchased a Jackson’s chameleon 2 days ago. He likes to sleep during the day. I’m assuming the pet store may have had a little different schuedle for him? Mine is 11-11.
I have had A vielded chameleon for about a year now so I am kind of familar With care but. I just see him sleeping and I wake him up and put him under the basking light and he will sit there for a couple hours and go back to bed.
I believe he is around 3 months old according to pet store and they said he’s a “rainbow Jackson” idk if that’s even a thing but I do see he has some nice yellow going through him.
Also when I got him he was much darker and in a cage with other water dragon lizards and one other Jackson. Idk of this change of color is good or bad. He’s been eating some wax worms but not much. He has a Mercury bulb 80 watt all in one power sun uv. The cage is small (Chameleon kit size) but he’s tiny so it’s ok. Basking temp about 80-85 depending on where he stands. When he sleeps during the day it’s usually under all those fake leaves on the vine to the left. Think he just needs time to adjust? Too soon to tell?
 

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Hi there. Sleeping while lights are on is definitely a bad sign. Fill this out. The more detail the better.

  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
 
What a cute little guy! Trioceros jacksonii jacksonii is sometimes commonly called Rainbow Jackson's. Has his coloring been like that consistently since you got him? They'll show that diamond pattern when they're stressed/startled. Sleeping during the day is usually not a good sign, and can be due to stress or underlying health issues. They can take a little while to adjust to their new home but it's definitely good to make sure there aren't any other underlying issues.

Please fill out the form so we can better help you out!
 
Hi there. Sleeping while lights are on is definitely a bad sign. Fill this out. The more detail the better.

  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 2 days
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not often but I recently see him sleeping during day I grab him put him under the light and he wakes up and basks. Trying to not let him sleep till night
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He’s small so mostly wax worms and mealworms and horn worms but he hasn’t been eating too much other than wax worms right now.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use calcium without the D3 on all feeders. I use some liquid calcium In water sometimes.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a dripper. He drank a ton when I first got him. I spray his cage morning and night with a squirt bottle. He doesn’t like it lol
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
    poop looks normal and is small.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
    When I got him he was Dark color. Didn’t show any yellow at all. But when he sleep the first night I noticed the colors. Now when I catch him sleeping during the day he kind of stays a little bit colorful. Idk he looks stressed honestly

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?Mesh cage chameleon kit style
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Power sun UV 80 watt mercury bulb all in one
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot was 80-85 rest of the cage is like 70 depending on how low u go.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is around 50% right now he’s in my basement. I spray at night to raise it
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? The cage is next to my veiled chameleonS cage Who is an adult. He stares him down somtimes When I first got him I wanted to see the reaction if they would get along. This guy looked like he was about to EAt him!! Got real big and colorful and started walking towards him. I was like ok nope and separated them.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Michigan
 
My responses are in red, although my Xanth was about 8 months old when I got him, 3 months is quite young. @JackJill can you comment here (feel free to correct me)?
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 2 days
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not often but I recently see him sleeping during day I grab him put him under the light and he wakes up and basks. Trying to not let him sleep till night Handling stresses these guys out, waking him up & moving him will add additional stress
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He’s small so mostly wax worms and mealworms and horn worms but he hasn’t been eating too much other than wax worms right now. Mealworms aren't a great choice for feeders. You just got him & this wouldn't be the cause for the issue right now, but is something that can be adjusted for the future. Are you gut loading the feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use calcium without the D3 on all feeders. I use some liquid calcium In water sometimes. Are you using a multivitamin?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a dripper. He drank a ton when I first got him. I spray his cage morning and night with a squirt bottle. He doesn’t like it lol Most chams don't like being sprayed directly.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
    poop looks normal and is small.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
    When I got him he was Dark color. Didn’t show any yellow at all. But when he sleep the first night I noticed the colors. Now when I catch him sleeping during the day he kind of stays a little bit colorful. Idk he looks stressed honestly Was he all around dark in color? How was his activity level at the pet store? Unfortunately, many pet stores don't care for their chams correctly, and often keep them in incorrect conditions which can eventually lead to other problems.

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?Mesh cage chameleon kit style 16x16x30?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Power sun UV 80 watt mercury bulb all in one Chameleons require a linear UVB bulb such as the Reptisun T5 5.0 HO, or T8 5.0 or 10.0, depending on the size of the cage.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot was 80-85 rest of the cage is like 70 depending on how low u go. Gradient is good. However, they need a decent drop in temperature at night. What is the overnight temp? What kind of probe are you using to measure this?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is around 50% right now he’s in my basement. I spray at night to raise it How high is it at night? How are you measuring this?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Live plants are highly recommended. Pothos are extremely easy to keep alive and create nice hiding places for your cham as well as help maintain humidity
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? The cage is next to my veiled chameleonS cage Who is an adult. He stares him down somtimes When I first got him I wanted to see the reaction if they would get along. This guy looked like he was about to EAt him!! Got real big and colorful and started walking towards him. I was like ok nope and separated them. Can they still see each other? Chams (especially males) prefer to live alone and can become very stressed if they can see another cham in the room.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Michigan
 
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 2 days
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not often but I recently see him sleeping during day I grab him put him under the light and he wakes up and basks. Trying to not let him sleep till night
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He’s small so mostly wax worms and mealworms and horn worms but he hasn’t been eating too much other than wax worms right now.
He needs some sort of stable feeder. I’ll post a picture of stables. Wax worms are very high in fat and mealworms have a hard outer shell which can be hard for them to digest. Hornworms are great for hydration.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use calcium without the D3 on all feeders. I use some liquid calcium In water sometimes.
Without D3 is good but you also need a multivitamin and calcium with D3. Without D3 everyday then multivitamin 2 times a month and with D3 2 times a month. So say multivitamin this weekend and D3 next weekend.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a dripper. He drank a ton when I first got him. I spray his cage morning and night with a squirt bottle. He doesn’t like it lol
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • poop looks normal and is small.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
    When I got him he was Dark color. Didn’t show any yellow at all. But when he sleep the first night I noticed the colors. Now when I catch him sleeping during the day he kind of stays a little bit colorful. Idk he looks stressed honestly

They will change colors when they sleeps it’s known as pajamas. Bright colors can also indicate stress.
Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?Mesh cage chameleon kit style
Eventually you’ll have to get a bigger cage.

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Power sun UV 80 watt mercury bulb all in one

You need a T5 linear UVB. Then 60- 100 watt household bulb is fine for basking bulb.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot was 80-85 rest of the cage is like 70 depending on how low u go.
Do you know how old he is? As they get older you can raise basking a tad.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is around 50% right now he’s in my basement. I spray at night to raise it.

  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?

  • Live plants are great and help with humidity

  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? The cage is next to my veiled chameleonS cage Who is an adult. He stares him down somtimes When I first got him I wanted to see the reaction if they would get along. This guy looked like he was about to EAt him!! Got real big and colorful and started walking towards him. I was like ok nope and separated them.
You should definitely put something between cages so they can’t see each other. It will stress the both of them out.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Michigan
 
Attached are great reference sheets for good feeders and gut loading options
 

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  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 2 days
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not often but I recently see him sleeping during day I grab him put him under the light and he wakes up and basks. Trying to not let him sleep till night
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He’s small so mostly wax worms and mealworms and horn worms but he hasn’t been eating too much other than wax worms right now.
He needs some sort of stable feeder. I’ll post a picture of stables. Wax worms are very high in fat and mealworms have a hard outer shell which can be hard for them to digest. Hornworms are great for hydration.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use calcium without the D3 on all feeders. I use some liquid calcium In water sometimes.
Without D3 is good but you also need a multivitamin and calcium with D3. Without D3 everyday then multivitamin 2 times a month and with D3 2 times a month. So say multivitamin this weekend and D3 next weekend.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a dripper. He drank a ton when I first got him. I spray his cage morning and night with a squirt bottle. He doesn’t like it lol
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • poop looks normal and is small.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
    When I got him he was Dark color. Didn’t show any yellow at all. But when he sleep the first night I noticed the colors. Now when I catch him sleeping during the day he kind of stays a little bit colorful. Idk he looks stressed honestly

They will change colors when they sleeps it’s known as pajamas. Bright colors can also indicate stress.
Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?Mesh cage chameleon kit style
Eventually you’ll have to get a bigger cage.

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Power sun UV 80 watt mercury bulb all in one

You need a T5 linear UVB. Then 60- 100 watt household bulb is fine for basking bulb.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot was 80-85 rest of the cage is like 70 depending on how low u go.
Do you know how old he is? As they get older you can raise basking a tad.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is around 50% right now he’s in my basement. I spray at night to raise it.

  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?

  • Live plants are great and help with humidity

  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? The cage is next to my veiled chameleonS cage Who is an adult. He stares him down somtimes When I first got him I wanted to see the reaction if they would get along. This guy looked like he was about to EAt him!! Got real big and colorful and started walking towards him. I was like ok nope and separated them.
You should definitely put something between cages so they can’t see each other. It will stress the both of them out.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Michigan

Oops, looks like you and I replied at the same time!
 
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 2 days
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not often but I recently see him sleeping during day I grab him put him under the light and he wakes up and basks. Trying to not let him sleep till night
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He’s small so mostly wax worms and mealworms and horn worms but he hasn’t been eating too much other than wax worms right now.
He needs some sort of stable feeder. I’ll post a picture of stables. Wax worms are very high in fat and mealworms have a hard outer shell which can be hard for them to digest. Hornworms are great for hydration.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use calcium without the D3 on all feeders. I use some liquid calcium In water sometimes.
Without D3 is good but you also need a multivitamin and calcium with D3. Without D3 everyday then multivitamin 2 times a month and with D3 2 times a month. So say multivitamin this weekend and D3 next weekend.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a dripper. He drank a ton when I first got him. I spray his cage morning and night with a squirt bottle. He doesn’t like it lol
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • poop looks normal and is small.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
    When I got him he was Dark color. Didn’t show any yellow at all. But when he sleep the first night I noticed the colors. Now when I catch him sleeping during the day he kind of stays a little bit colorful. Idk he looks stressed honestly

They will change colors when they sleeps it’s known as pajamas. Bright colors can also indicate stress.
Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?Mesh cage chameleon kit style
Eventually you’ll have to get a bigger cage.

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Power sun UV 80 watt mercury bulb all in one

You need a T5 linear UVB. Then 60- 100 watt household bulb is fine for basking bulb.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot was 80-85 rest of the cage is like 70 depending on how low u go.
Do you know how old he is? As they get older you can raise basking a tad.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is around 50% right now he’s in my basement. I spray at night to raise it.

  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?

  • Live plants are great and help with humidity

  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? The cage is next to my veiled chameleonS cage Who is an adult. He stares him down somtimes When I first got him I wanted to see the reaction if they would get along. This guy looked like he was about to EAt him!! Got real big and colorful and started walking towards him. I was like ok nope and separated them.
You should definitely put something between cages so they can’t see each other. It will stress the both of them out.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Michigan
Hun thank you for helping out but this is incorrect info for a Jacksons chameleon. They are a montane species and have very specific temp, humidity, and supplementation requirements.
 
Hun thank you for helping out but this is incorrect info for a Jacksons chameleon. They are a montane species and have very specific temp, humidity, and supplementation requirements.
I apologize. I forgot that there were different care requirements for chameleons besides panthers and veiled. I apologize for the incorrect info.
 
I don’t know if I’m understanding this ^^^ right but WHAT??!!? He was in a cage with water dragons??!!? Ummm... I thought you were supposed to keep chameleons alone???

You're right that Jackson's should absolutely be house alone. The poor little guy was probably so stressed with such housing conditions. I worry that the care requirements of both the chams and the water dragons might not have been properly met at the pet store. ☹
 
I'm in the middle of a family emergency so I can't give this the attention I normally would. 2 things jump out at me. The lighting is an issue get the linear UVB asap. Closed eyes can be a lighting issue.
You are giving too much plain calcium. Too much in a young montane like this can cause constipation or slowed bowels and affect appetite. Plain calcium with or with out bee pollen only every other day lightly. I would switch to Repashy Lod and use it once a month until she is 6 months old then go to every 2 weeks very lightly on only half of the days feeders.
Get small crickets for a while and gut load them you can switch to dubia or something else later. She was probably used to them as most breeders feed them.
 
@Billythechameleon Please see feedback from @JacksJill above my post and follow that. I will assist a bit more since she is dealing with a family emergency.

Per the UVB lighting. You have to remove the Mercury Vapor bulb immediately. Not only do these produce very high UVI levels they produce quite a bit of heat.
For UVB lighting you need a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 UVB bulb or a T8 with a 10.0 UVB bulb. Fixture type is specific to the bulb I included with it. With the T5HO the closest basking branch would be about 9 inches down and with a T8 the closest basking branch would be 6 inches down.

In no way should the cham be near the Veiled. This will cause extreme stress... The Jackson has very specific temp requirements and humidity requirements as well. Different then your Veiled. IMO they are more fragile then a Veiled. So husbandry needs to be perfect. Get small feeders 1/4 inch or 2week old crickets and feed at least 15 a day at this age please make sure you follow the supplementation recommendation you were given above by Jacksjill. Repashy LoD is Repashy Calcium plus LoD. Make sure you order the LoD version.

Here are some resource links for you https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jacksons-chameleon-articles-and-studies.2407/
 
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