Jackson's chameleons

christineacero

christineacero

New Member
I've got my eye on a pair of Jackson's from my local reptile guys and I was wondering if any of you could give me some info on them (I already know the standard stuff from the care sheets and having a species that is very similar in husbandry). The kind of info I'm looking for is personal experiences and such. Although any useful info would be fantastic!
 
A couple of things off the top of my head:

  1. Were you planning to house them together? They will need completely separate enclosures.
  2. Being in Ontario, humidity is going to be an issue for you, especially in the winter, and Jax need higher humidity that other chams. In addition to a misting system, you should invest in a really good ultrasonic, cool mist humidifier. I have an Air-O-Swiss 1.5-gallon with a silver ion mold killer and filter. Cost a fortune, but it works like a dream; every other humidifier I have ever had quit working after a year.
  3. Jax are smaller chams, but they can be very active. Go ahead and get them the largest size cage you can.
  4. Find a vet with chameleon experience NOW before you need one. Ask them about typical costs for visits and fecal tests. Nothing is worse than a medical emergency and finding out the nearest vet is 2 hours away or is going to cost $100.
  5. Make sure you budget plenty of money - it can cost several hundred dollars to get everything you need if you are starting from scratch.
  6. Have a really good time setting up the enclosure! Tons of branches, plants, vines - make it as "jungle like" as you can.
  7. Buy certain bugs in the smallest batches you (silkworms, hornworms) - they jusy get too large too fast.
 
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I already have 2 female T. Sternfeldi's as well as 11 babies so I'm not new to chameleon husbandry :D. I already have a fogger on my adult sternfeldis cage and I have another one that I currently have on the babies. I also seem to have a plethora of ballasts and uvb bulbs...

All I need to buy is another enclosure and 2 basking bulbs. Do they need a basking bulb in the summer? And no, I was not planning on housing them together. I'm planning on keeping them side by side with something to block them from seeing each other in between.

I also already have a reptile vet that lives about 5 minutes away that I have already dealt with when one of my females developed an RI. As far as enclosures go, would the medium reptibreeze be sufficient (16x16x30) or would you go bigger?
 
You are far more experienced than I realized - my apologies if anything offended! Care is probably very similar to your rudis, but I don't know anything specific about their care to let you know if/how it differs from Jax. I had my Jax in 24x24x48 screen cage before upgrading him to a very large custom enclosure. For a full grown Jax, I would think 16x16x30 would be too small.

Have you posted pics of your rudis? I would love to see them!
 
no offense taken! As I said, any info is appreciated! I have a few different threads with some photos of my chams. Here's one from a month ago, but they're the best shots of my babies so far:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/happy-1-month-birthday-wee-ones-129525/

This is the most recent shots of one of my adult females:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/enjoying-sunshine-130273/

And here is another thread with some baby photos as well as some of my other female:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/updated-photos-t-sternfeldi-babies-128972/

Enjoy! :D
 
From what I've been able to tell rudis and jacksons are very similar in care - I just moved my jackson to a 21 x 16″ x 44″ from a smaller cage and she does like the space and males are more active- I think they like a nice size cage - I got my jackson as a baby and she wouldn't do the cup feeding thing she seemed to like the hunt -Now, she seems to always be in the same place in the cage when I get home from work but when I'm home she's all over the place so I think she's just messing with me.
I think that the worst thing with jacksons that so many people have problems with babies -and some of the best keepers have problems with adults that come out of no where. I think it's linked to the fact that most of the ones that we get here in the states are from wild caught in Hawaii - the wild population come from 70 something that were let loose in the 90's or 80's half dead - so who knows how inbred they actually are. With Canadian jacksons I'm not sure if that is an issue or not - mine has such a lovely personality but she does cause me more worry- she's gets upset if I change a leaf in her cage but she'll eat from my hand without being snotty- and could care less about being handled -
 
kplatvoet said:
From what I've been able to tell rudis and jacksons are very similar in care - I just moved my jackson to a 21 x 16″ x 44″ from a smaller cage and she does like the space and males are more active- I think they like a nice size cage - I got my jackson as a baby and she wouldn't do the cup feeding thing she seemed to like the hunt -Now, she seems to always be in the same place in the cage when I get home from work but when I'm home she's all over the place so I think she's just messing with me.
I think that the worst thing with jacksons that so many people have problems with babies -and some of the best keepers have problems with adults that come out of no where. I think it's linked to the fact that most of the ones that we get here in the states are from wild caught in Hawaii - the wild population come from 70 something that were let loose in the 90's or 80's half dead - so who knows how inbred they actually are. With Canadian jacksons I'm not sure if that is an issue or not - mine has such a lovely personality but she does cause me more worry- she's gets upset if I change a leaf in her cage but she'll eat from my hand without being snotty- and could care less about being handled -
Click to expand...

Excellent info! I've read and talked to a lot of people that say they prefer not to be handled, which is totally fine with me! I mean, who doesn't like having an amazing creature crawling around on them though? But seriously, I have one female sternfeldi that I have never held, because she absolutely hates my guts! lol

So if they aren't keen on being handled, how do you get them outside for sunshine in the summer? I'm interested for my snotty sternfeldis sake as well...:p
 
christineacero said:
Excellent info! I've read and talked to a lot of people that say they prefer not to be handled, which is totally fine with me! I mean, who doesn't like having an amazing creature crawling around on them though? But seriously, I have one female sternfeldi that I have never held, because she absolutely hates my guts! lol

So if they aren't keen on being handled, how do you get them outside for sunshine in the summer? I'm interested for my snotty sternfeldis sake as well...:p
Click to expand...

My jackson isn't a fan of being held, however he tolerates my taking him outside to his outdoor cage. As soon as I open the cage he runs in to get off my hand though. When he comes out to free range, I just attach a vine to his cage that goes to his trees so he can go out on his own. I do have to bring him back in to his cage at times (when he doesn't go back on his own) and he tolerates me sliding my hand under him and lifting him up.

He is super curious and friendly just doesnt want to be handled. He is happy to sit near me and watch me or site and look out the window. He has also learned to stop half way across his vine when he wants food and I will feed him there, then when he is done he continues to his trees.

He seems to have more character than my panthers and is fun to watch roam around and he sometimes uses ninja moves to eat his food. its really cute. And that head bob they sometimes do is also pretty cute.

I also love to see him go nuts for snails, those are his favorite food.
 
pigglett79 said:
My jackson isn't a fan of being held, however he tolerates my taking him outside to his outdoor cage. As soon as I open the cage he runs in to get off my hand though. When he comes out to free range, I just attach a vine to his cage that goes to his trees so he can go out on his own. I do have to bring him back in to his cage at times (when he doesn't go back on his own) and he tolerates me sliding my hand under him and lifting him up.

He is super curious and friendly just doesnt want to be handled. He is happy to sit near me and watch me or site and look out the window. He has also learned to stop half way across his vine when he wants food and I will feed him there, then when he is done he continues to his trees.

He seems to have more character than my panthers and is fun to watch roam around and he sometimes uses ninja moves to eat his food. its really cute. And that head bob they sometimes do is also pretty cute.

I also love to see him go nuts for snails, those are his favorite food.
Click to expand...

what kind of snails do you feed him? What about the shells??
 
I breed h.aspersa for my Jax, too! He actually fell off a vine once while freaking out about a snail. It's hilarious how excited he gets!
 
now my interest is peaked about these land snails. Are they difficult to breed???

Also, I'm now looking at terrariums and Drs Foster and Smiths website has the xlarge reptibreezes on sale for $99. Is 2x2x4' too large for a juvenile jacksons? (they look about 4-6months old...around 5 inches long from snout to vent)
 
That is not too big if you can feed them. They will usually find the food, but you will probably have to put more food in than you would in a smaller cage if you are just dumping food in. I know mine loves to roam and he enjoyed being in a 2x2x4 while he was growing up. He would eat from my hand, so I didn't have a problem getting him his food.
 
I'd like to know where to get the snails? Can I take them from my garden to breed them? How long does it take and how are the babies born?
 
Cait0420 said:
I'd like to know where to get the snails? Can I take them from my garden to breed them? How long does it take and how are the babies born?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can start with a wild batch. (I tried that at first and failed, but don't blame the snails, I was just clueless.) You will need to set up two bins - one for the wild adults and a "clean" bin for eggs. Wild snails host a lot of parasites, so you want to use them as breeders but not feeders. They should start laying eggs within a few weeks if conditions are right - then transfer the eggs to the "clean" bin before they hatch. It takes another few weeks to get to about dime sized, which is perfect for my Jax. They are poop factories, so expect to be cleaning ALL the time.

Either Pigglett's blog or Sandrachameleon's blog discusses this....between the two of them, you'll be set.
 
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quick tipsI

Keep cooler than most 78-80°f is perfect. Basking spot of 84°f. Keep higher humidity (50-70%), with time for perches to dry. Jax can get foot rot easily from constantly wet surfaces. Watch when closing your cage door. They have a knack for getting their tail in the way, if you aren't careful. Careful not to stress pregnant females (some may be pregnant when buy), as they can 'release' babies early. Hope this helps. Their babies are hilarious to watch. Like mini triceratops.
 
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