jackson chameleon questions and husbandry review

caroline?

Avid Member
Hi I have a few questions about jackson chameleon husbandry.
so I have a t5 bulb and fixture coming thursday and im wondering if i should still be using basking lights once i have that fixture?
and also what's your guy's mistking schedules im trying to set mine up but im not sure how long and when my mister should go off.

@JacksJill @Kaizen?
could one of you review my husbandry?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Jackson chameleons and ive had the mom for 5 months the baby is 4 months and three weeks
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? maybe once every other week
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? they eat dubias, bsfl and superworms and waxworms for treats occasionally
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? flukers without d3 every feeding and reptivite twice a month
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? i currently mist with a hand mister about 4-5 times a day because my mistking isn't setup, i put frozen water bottles on top of their cage every morning so it drips all day for them. i do not see them drinking
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? i have not tested for parasites, their poop is normal with a white urate

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? the adult is in a 2x2x4 screen cage, i don't know the dimensions of the babies cage but it's a little smaller than the adults cage
there is also a visual barrier i between them
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? lights are on from 6am to 6pm. they currently only have basking bulbs but the t5 is coming
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? the top of the cage is about 85 and the bottom is around 70-60. at night the temp is usually 50-60
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? humidity levels are between 45 and 65 usually
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? no fake plants i use pothos,monstera,money tree,ficus tree and a few others that i can't remember the names of now
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 cages are the highest thing in the room and it's not typically a high traffic room.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Texas🤮
 
Mom will need a basking light part of the day and by 6 months baby will need 40 watts they won't need them on all day. I do a couple hours an hour after lights on and several 30 minute periods through out the day ending an hour before lights out.
Reptivite twice a month is too much I would only do once. Is this the multi vitamine or calcium D3?
85 F is too warm try to stay below 80 for the adult and below 78 for the baby/juvenile. Going lower wattage will make this easier or you can lift your fixture up a bit.
I recommend boosting humidity at night with a cool mist humidifier directed into the top of the cages. I use PVC to pipe it across the top with holes drilled in it so the mist cascades down thru the cages.
 
Mom will need a basking light part of the day and by 6 months baby will need 40 watts they won't need them on all day. I do a couple hours an hour after lights on and several 30 minute periods through out the day ending an hour before lights out.
Reptivite twice a month is too much I would only do once. Is this the multi vitamine or calcium D3?
85 F is too warm try to stay below 80 for the adult and below 78 for the baby/juvenile. Going lower wattage will make this easier or you can lift your fixture up a bit.
I recommend boosting humidity at night with a cool mist humidifier directed into the top of the cages. I use PVC to pipe it across the top with holes drilled in it so the mist cascades down thru the cages.
thank you! i'll work on all this, and the multivitamin has d3.
also what's the cool mist humidifier?
 
Hi I have a few questions about jackson chameleon husbandry.
so I have a t5 bulb and fixture coming thursday and im wondering if i should still be using basking lights once i have that fixture?
and also what's your guy's mistking schedules im trying to set mine up but im not sure how long and when my mister should go off.

@JacksJill @Kaizen?
could one of you review my husbandry?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Jackson chameleons and ive had the mom for 5 months the baby is 4 months and three weeks
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? maybe once every other week
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? they eat dubias, bsfl and superworms and waxworms for treats occasionally This is good as long as you are gutloading and supplementing right
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? flukers without d3 every feeding and reptivite twice a month I have the same schedule I was told it was good from people on here. Does your reptivite have d3?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? i currently mist with a hand mister about 4-5 times a day because my mistking isn't setup, i put frozen water bottles on top of their cage every morning so it drips all day for them. i do not see them drinking You don’t have to mist that much usually it’s recommended once in the morning before or right after light come on for 2-4 minutes and again before lights turn off for 2-4 minutes. It depends on how humid it is where you are if you do mist more make sure that everything is dry from the mist before, before misting again since overwatering can lead to bacteria. Humidifiers are also good but you need to have an accurate schedule
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? i have not tested for parasites, their poop is normal with a white urate I recommend getting one done

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? the adult is in a 2x2x4 screen cage, i don't know the dimensions of the babies cage but it's a little smaller than the adults cage there is also a visual barrier i between them Sounds good as long as the cages have met the correct husbandry with plants branches correct lighting etc...
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? lights are on from 6am to 6pm. they currently only have basking bulbs but the t5 is coming You need those ASAP!
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? the top of the cage is about 85 and the bottom is around 70-60. at night the temp is usually 50-60 I’d say no higher than 80 for both
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? humidity levels are between 45 and 65 usually
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? no fake plants i use pothos,monstera,money tree,ficus tree and a few others that i can't remember the names of now
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 cages are the highest thing in the room and it's not typically a high traffic room.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Texas🤮
This is what I’d say but there are others who will review it since they are more of experts than me.
 
Hi I have a few questions about jackson chameleon husbandry.
so I have a t5 bulb and fixture coming thursday and im wondering if i should still be using basking lights once i have that fixture? So, it all depends on the temps. If your jax can see a warm zone in the upper 70s for a few hours a day, then you’re all good.
and also what's your guy's mistking schedules im trying to set mine up but im not sure how long and when my mister should go off. Again, a lot will depend on your RH numbers. Personally, I only most when lights are off. So, just after lights out for 5-10 minutes, periodically throughout the night to maintain near 100% humidity, then 5-10 minutes just before lights on. I also offer a dripper during the day. Rather than telling you when to mist, I’ll just share what I try to accomplish with my misters: I want my chams to sleep in near 100% humidity, wake up to leaves covered in dew (water) and then spend the day with gradually decreasing humidity until night rolls around again. I offer a dripper in the afternoon, but I rarely see my jax take advantage of it.

@JacksJill @Kaizen?
could one of you review my husbandry?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Jackson chameleons and ive had the mom for 5 months the baby is 4 months and three weeks What subspecies are your jax?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? maybe once every other week
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? they eat dubias, bsfl and superworms and waxworms for treats occasionally Crix are also good regular feeders, as they gutload well and are nutritionally pretty good. Silks are also good, but many of my jax don’t go for them. The real Jackson’s treat are snails. Breed your own to avoid any possible parasite transmission, but there’s some primordial prey instinct with jax that makes them love snails...and you don’t need to dust them.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? flukers without d3 every feeding and reptivite twice a month I’ll let Jill weigh in here, but I’d use something milder than reptivite if you’re doing twice per month. Maybe repashy calcium plus LoD? I think @JacksJill has a pretty successful supplement regime for her jax, so she’ll probably have a lot to add here. You can check out kaizenchameleons.com for my supplement schedule.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? i currently mist with a hand mister about 4-5 times a day because my mistking isn't setup, i put frozen water bottles on top of their cage every morning so it drips all day for them. i do not see them drinking So, the urates will tell you a lot, but how are you maintaining high nightime RH?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? i have not tested for parasites, their poop is normal with a white urate Good, they’re probably well hydrated. So now you just need to do a deep dive into hydration, and see whether you feel comfortable with your schedule, or want to change anything.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? the adult is in a 2x2x4 screen cage, i don't know the dimensions of the babies cage but it's a little smaller than the adults cage
there is also a visual barrier i between them
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? lights are on from 6am to 6pm. they currently only have basking bulbs but the t5 is coming Good! My personal view is that if your jax can see temps in the high seventies for a couple hours a day, and the ambient temps are in the low to mid seventies, then a basking bulb isn’t required. But please get that uvb dialed in.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? the top of the cage is about 85 Too hot!and the bottom is around 70-60. at night the temp is usually 50-60 That’s a big range, but ambient in the low 70s and nightime below 60 is good.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? humidity levels are between 45 and 65 usually So there’s a lot to discuss here, but my protocol is thus: daytime humidity as low as 35%, nightime humidity above 95%.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? no fake plants i use pothos,monstera,money tree,ficus tree and a few others that i can't remember the names of now
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 cages are the highest thing in the room and it's not typically a high traffic room.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Texas🤮So a lot depends on where in Texas you are. Like, bayou Texas, or desert Texas, or somewhere in between. In any case, if I were doing jax in Texas, I’d have them outside as much as possible. I’m in OntArio, Canada, and my jax are outside 5 months/year. May-September. And, though I’m sure I’ll be branded a terrible person, all my jax have seen nightime lows in the mid 30s. In the summer, we can see daytime temps in the 90-95 range, but in a soil bottoms enclosure with lots of foliage, my jax dont have an issue.
 
Hi I have a few questions about jackson chameleon husbandry.
so I have a t5 bulb and fixture coming thursday and im wondering if i should still be using basking lights once i have that fixture? So, it all depends on the temps. If your jax can see a warm zone in the upper 70s for a few hours a day, then you’re all good.
and also what's your guy's mistking schedules im trying to set mine up but im not sure how long and when my mister should go off. Again, a lot will depend on your RH numbers. Personally, I only most when lights are off. So, just after lights out for 5-10 minutes, periodically throughout the night to maintain near 100% humidity, then 5-10 minutes just before lights on. I also offer a dripper during the day. Rather than telling you when to mist, I’ll just share what I try to accomplish with my misters: I want my chams to sleep in near 100% humidity, wake up to leaves covered in dew (water) and then spend the day with gradually decreasing humidity until night rolls around again. I offer a dripper in the afternoon, but I rarely see my jax take advantage of it.

@JacksJill @Kaizen?
could one of you review my husbandry?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Jackson chameleons and ive had the mom for 5 months the baby is 4 months and three weeks What subspecies are your jax?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? maybe once every other week
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? they eat dubias, bsfl and superworms and waxworms for treats occasionally Crix are also good regular feeders, as they gutload well and are nutritionally pretty good. Silks are also good, but many of my jax don’t go for them. The real Jackson’s treat are snails. Breed your own to avoid any possible parasite transmission, but there’s some primordial prey instinct with jax that makes them love snails...and you don’t need to dust them.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? flukers without d3 every feeding and reptivite twice a month I’ll let Jill weigh in here, but I’d use something milder than reptivite if you’re doing twice per month. Maybe repashy calcium plus LoD? I think @JacksJill has a pretty successful supplement regime for her jax, so she’ll probably have a lot to add here. You can check out kaizenchameleons.com for my supplement schedule.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? i currently mist with a hand mister about 4-5 times a day because my mistking isn't setup, i put frozen water bottles on top of their cage every morning so it drips all day for them. i do not see them drinking So, the urates will tell you a lot, but how are you maintaining high nightime RH?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? i have not tested for parasites, their poop is normal with a white urate Good, they’re probably well hydrated. So now you just need to do a deep dive into hydration, and see whether you feel comfortable with your schedule, or want to change anything.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? the adult is in a 2x2x4 screen cage, i don't know the dimensions of the babies cage but it's a little smaller than the adults cage
there is also a visual barrier i between them
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? lights are on from 6am to 6pm. they currently only have basking bulbs but the t5 is coming Good! My personal view is that if your jax can see temps in the high seventies for a couple hours a day, and the ambient temps are in the low to mid seventies, then a basking bulb isn’t required. But please get that uvb dialed in.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? the top of the cage is about 85 Too hot!and the bottom is around 70-60. at night the temp is usually 50-60 That’s a big range, but ambient in the low 70s and nightime below 60 is good.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? humidity levels are between 45 and 65 usually So there’s a lot to discuss here, but my protocol is thus: daytime humidity as low as 35%, nightime humidity above 95%.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? no fake plants i use pothos,monstera,money tree,ficus tree and a few others that i can't remember the names of now
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 cages are the highest thing in the room and it's not typically a high traffic room.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Texas🤮So a lot depends on where in Texas you are. Like, bayou Texas, or desert Texas, or somewhere in between. In any case, if I were doing jax in Texas, I’d have them outside as much as possible. I’m in OntArio, Canada, and my jax are outside 5 months/year. May-September. And, though I’m sure I’ll be branded a terrible person, all my jax have seen nightime lows in the mid 30s. In the summer, we can see daytime temps in the 90-95 range, but in a soil bottoms enclosure with lots of foliage, my jax dont have an issue.
they are xanth (sorry if i spelled that wrong)
the uvb bulb and fixture are coming thursday so i'll get that set up as soon as i can
could you possibly send links for the supplements i should get? im bad about finding things on the internet lol.
i live close to dallas texas i want to keep them outside but im worried it will get too hot in the summer and we also have a crap ton of lady bugs outside that i don't want my chameleons eating.
also i have another mistking nozzle coming in the mail so i'll get that set up asap, i really need to work on my nightime humidity and temperature drops.
 

Attachments

  • E0A76280-490A-4CD2-A46B-3D3B86F9AAEF.jpeg
    E0A76280-490A-4CD2-A46B-3D3B86F9AAEF.jpeg
    159.8 KB · Views: 137
they are xanth (sorry if i spelled that wrong)
the uvb bulb and fixture are coming thursday so i'll get that set up as soon as i can
could you possibly send links for the supplements i should get? im bad about finding things on the internet lol.
i live close to dallas texas i want to keep them outside but im worried it will get too hot in the summer and we also have a crap ton of lady bugs outside that i don't want my chameleons eating.
also i have another mistking nozzle coming in the mail so i'll get that set up asap, i really need to work on my nightime humidity and temperature drops.
I just posted some supplements so I have the links I’ll post in another comment
 
they are xanth (sorry if i spelled that wrong)
the uvb bulb and fixture are coming thursday so i'll get that set up as soon as i can
could you possibly send links for the supplements i should get? im bad about finding things on the internet lol.
i live close to dallas texas i want to keep them outside but im worried it will get too hot in the summer and we also have a crap ton of lady bugs outside that i don't want my chameleons eating.
also i have another mistking nozzle coming in the mail so i'll get that set up asap, i really need to work on my nightime humidity and temperature drops.
So, not to keep plugging my own website, but check out kaizenchameleons.com
If you look under other resources/information you’ll see several supplement regimes with brands and schedules. And I explain how I keep my xanths.
 
So, not to keep plugging my own website, but check out kaizenchameleons.com
If you look under other resources/information you’ll see several supplement regimes with brands and schedules. And I explain how I keep my xanths.
thank you! i'll check it out!
 
Back
Top Bottom