Jacksons chameleon

[ChamoNate]

So i havent done this yet and decided i would, this will also be my only post to post stuff under from now on so please ignore all other posts. Here is my cham info.

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - male jacksons chameleon around 4 to 6 months old, had him for a week now.
* Handling - have only handled one time and dont plan to anymore for a long time
* Feeding - feed mostly crickets and i feed grasshoppers when i can round them up, just bought some superworms, would feed flies but dont know where to get any or how i would contain them. Feed him about 5 to 7 insects at one feeding and use flukers calcium diet to gutload my insects (they dont ever eat the fruits and vegetables i feel)
* Supplements - have reptivite calcium that i havent used yet because it has d3 and i dont plan to use that more than once a month i think, unless it should be once a week but i hear the montane species like jacksons dont do well with supplementation plus he already has a uvb bulb so he doesnt need much d3
* Watering - i solely use a mist king to go off every 3 hrs during the day, at 7 am for 5 minutes and then 2 minutes the rest of the day every 3 hrs until 7 pm and then once at 1 am for 1 minute, also have a reptifogger as backup. I have seen him lap water from the leaves the first day i got hik but i have not seen him drink since.
* Fecal Description - feces is brownish black with a white string of some sort, looks normal to me.
* History - ordered from fl chams in florida, no nothing about history except that he apparently wasnt cup fed.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - currently 18x18x36 reptibreeze screen cage with corplastic siding that i attached to the two sides and back
* Lighting - zilla dual canopy light that provides heat from a halogen bulb and uvb from a uvb bulb
* Temperature - temperature stays at about 75 gradient and 80 to 82 at the highest hottest point, stays about 69 to 70ish at night, so temps are fine.
* Humidity - humidity is always at 70 to 80, i never let it go below 70. I use a mistking with the settings i explained in the "watering" section, i use misting for watering as well. My reptifogger is attached to a hygrotherm which keeps the humidity around 70
* Plants - only plant in the cage is a schefflera.
* Placement - cage is in closet in spare room with doors open
* Location - i live in arkansas, low humidity and very drastic annual temperature fluctuations.


Current Problem - this is my first cham. He seems to be doing ok, he eats maybe 3 insects or less a day. He sleeps very soundly at night, so much that i sometimes think he is dead but maybe its normal? color is very bright at night. During the day he roams around SOME i guess in search of food, havent had any luck with him eating from a free range feeder yet but definately doesnt eat from a cup, i just want ti be assured that i am doing things right for him because i want him to be healthy

 

[kinyonga]

I would recommend that you add a dripper. It can be a simple deli cup with a tiny hole in the bottom so it drips at the rate of one or two drips per second.

You need to improve your supplements and feeding/gutloading of the insects.
It's recommended that you dust the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phosphorous-free calcium powder at almost every feeding lightly. This helps make up for!the usually poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous found in most feeder insects.
It's recommended that you dust with a phosphorous-free D3 powder and a vitamin powder once a month lightly by many people who keep Jacksons.

I feed/gutload the crickets, locusts, superworms, roaches with greens (dandelion greens, kale, endive, escarole, collards, etc) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc) and a bit if fruit (melon, berries, apples, pears, etc.).

Jacksons are not big eaters compared to veileds or panthers...so I'm not surprised at what he's eating.
Re sleeping soundly at night....many chameleons sleep very soundly at night.

Colors normally lighten at night on many chameleons.

If you have any other questions or concerns just post and we will domour best to answer.

 

[ChamoNate]

So today and on alot of days, he will climb around but then at some points (which to me seems like to much) he jist clings to one branch and turns really light green and just sits there for hrs, he wont eat anything from his free range feeder, i dont want him eating from free ranging in his cage because i want to make sure he is eating so i use a free range feeder. Is this normal behavior to spend lots of time either clinging to branches or staying on the eco earth substrate and not spending much time around the basking area? I mean he is a moutain cham so i realize they prefer cooler temps anyway. Also how is a good way to get him to realize his food is in the free range feeder? Im afraid to use a cup feeder because im afraide he might fall in and cant get out when im away, plus he doesnt take to the cups. Any advice is welcome

 

[kinyonga]

Eco earth substrate?? He's not ingesting any of it is he?
Please post a photo of his cage.
How long does he sit on the substrate?
Sitting low in the cage can be a sign of health issues unless the cage is way too hot.
What is a free range feeder?

 

[Scottsquatch]

Ditch the substrate ASAP. @kinyonga I think he means something like Nick Barta's feeder cups.

 

[ChamoNate]

So i have a difficult time keeping up humidity without the substrate, but there is not suppose to be any way for impaction with eco earth, it is fully poopable even if they eat it. Just in case know one knows that, i mean i could just do paper towels but i would much rather use a natural look so i chose eco earth. Plus my plan is to really go bioactive at some point. Yes my free range feeder is a nick barta feeder, he hasnt used it yet. Idk the health issues that a cham can have ive read a bunch of info but ive read alot of good things about eco earth and it is usable for any reptile because they cannot be impacted from it. It does stay pretty moist though. I mean if anyone has had bad experiences with eco earth before then let me know, i want the best possible things for him

 

[ChamoNate]

His lights to his enclosure are out for the night, i will post pics tomorrow

 

[ChamoNate]

My desire was to go bioactive but maybe it is better to just use paper towels or cage carpet? It just looks so plain

 

[ChamoNate]

So this is his enclosure, there is a cup feeder there but i dont think he will ever look in there and find anything, he just doesnt seem to eat unless its right in front of him....idk what to do, he does not hand feed or eat from a cup or from that nick barta feeder and he barely eats anything i let free range the cage cuz the crickets i buy from petsmart dont even move much, im at my wits end

 

[Fireborn]

If you squeeze one or 2 more plants in with the umbrella plant. That would help with humidity.

 

[ChamoNate]

Humidity is actually good, i just need to know how to get him to eat, but i am getting a dragon strand cage soon and i plan to redo the entire thing

 

[Timorbob]

Man I think you're just too worried, just chill out a little. Throw a few crickets in his cage & let him hunt for them & I'm sure he'll be just fine. I sometimes feed my male and female by hand with tweezers but most of the time I just throw some crickets in their cage & they hunt 'em down. Every cricket disappears by the next day. It's just natural. Nobody's hand-feeding them in nature. Don't get so stressed out. Sit back & watch 'em do what comes naturally!

 

[ChamoNate]

Ok that is basically what i decided, all the crickets seem to stay around the top corners of the cage, every time i come into the room he has never touched them and they are still there, do you think maybe he is just to scared to eat when i come into the room? Maybe if i just throw them in there and stay out of the room for the day and check them that evening they will more likely be gone

 

[jamest0o0]

So I'm all for bioactive substrate, but every substrate and pretty much everything that isn't water soluble can cause impaction. The confusion with impaction is that it seems to mostly happen with animals that are sick, need more water, or swallowed something too large to be passed. The problem with substrate that isn't bioactive is that it can fill with harmful bacteria. Eco earth is all around pretty useless on its own as well.

 

[hopps31]

They take time to adjust to any new surroundings, it can take up to a month to settle in. When settling in they tend to not eat as much. Also don't watch him eat, mine never eat while I watch them. If you decide to free range the crickets I would put a carrot or some sort of small safe veggie at the bottom of the enclosure so the crickets can nibble on that instead of your cham.

 

[ChamoNate]

Ok so i Will try to not be around him when he eats anymore, ill see how much he has eaten ast the end of the day, so eco earth is not a good substrate of choice for a bioactive viv? I mean i know it has no nutrients but were not aiming for the chameleons to eat any of the substrate anyway right? Its supposed to be the safest form and most passable form of substrate you can use, plus it stays moist and can be made bioactive, these are just reviews that I've read but i do know it definately helps retain humidity. Is there any other suggestions for better bioactive substrates?

 

[kinyonga]

The feeding cup needs to be opaque if you're going to use one.

Free ranging the insects should work. Are you gutloading them and feeding them well before putting them in the cage?
I would put a shallow dish of chopped up greens and veggies in the cage for the crickets to eat too. Make sure you keep the dish clean and replace the greens and veggies often so they don't rot or dry out.

 

[ChamoNate]

I gutload with commercial gutload and i also try to use fruits and veggies but haven't found a real sound way of doing that just yet, will the crickets really find that tub of veggies? All i ever see them do is stay at the top of the cage. I have never gut loaded more than just 24 hrs, I've had a leopard gecko for 7 years and he looks absolutely stunning and I've never really significantly gutloaded his crickets but i have fed them commercial gutload, seems to work just fine

 

[jamest0o0]

@ChamoNate I meant no nutrients for plants and beneficial fauna/flora. There is also minerals in dirt and the people at Arcadia believe part of many animal's diet comes from substrate. Not a lot, but grains of it stuck to insects and such. I didn't mean don't use it for bioactive, I just meant plain eco earth without anything else mixed in doesn't do much, but collect debris and bacteria. I like using eco earth mixed in to create a 'rainforest floor'

 

[kinyonga]

@ChamoNate said..."I gutload with commercial gutload and i also try to use fruits and veggies but haven't found a real sound way of doing that just yet, will the crickets really find that tub of veggies? All i ever see them do is stay at the top of the cage. I have never gut loaded more than just 24 hrs, I've had a leopard gecko for 7 years and he looks absolutely stunning and I've never really significantly gutloaded his crickets but i have fed them commercial gutload, seems to work just fine"....

I've put plastic jar lids of chopped up greens and veggies dusted lightly with phosphorous-free calcium powder in most of my cages for years and the crickets have no problem finding them. (In veiled chameleon cages I use peanut butter jar lids and the veileds come to the dishes to eat the greens and veggies too.) I feed and gutload the crickets, superworms, etc with greens (dandelion greens, make, endive, escarole, collards, etc) and veggies (carrots, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, etc.) I use no commercial gutloads. I've done this for many years. My leopard geckos lived to be over 19 years old and my veiled females over 6 years and my male prehensile tailed anole over 12 years, just for example. I always figured that the insects should be looked after well to keep the reptiles healthy. I'm not saying this is the only way to do things but it's worked well so I've never changed it.