My new Jacksonii Willengenesis and Triceros Johnstoni ..Any tips to raising these?

aimhigher38

New Member
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I raised Panthers for over a year now with success so I recently picked up these Jacksons to try something different. I know they need lower temps and higher humidity....But any tips that Jackson owners can give me are greatly appreciated....

One breeder said I didnt need a basking lamp if my room stays around high 70-mid 80's and all I need is a UVB lamp....any truth to that?
 
Nice pickups! I have some willengensis coming next week but I have never seen johnstoni available anywhere. Where did you find these? As for care I heard pretty much the same as you have already said. Hopefully there are some replies from experienced keepers. I would think they would have similar care to xanths but i could be wrong about that. There are many threads on here discussing their care.
 
Where did you get johnstoni?? did they have females also?

There was a breeder in Northern Cafornia that breed these...He only had 3 males that he hatched out and I think his mating pair recently passed so he decided to sell off the males since he could no longer find a female.
 
Jackson Raising

No need for basking light
UVB/UVA light
Humidity should stay at about 75-100 (they live in rainforest)
my little guy loves his mealworms and jumbo crickets, also the Miner-all d3 with the "very berry" flavor, he loves haha.
jackons need lots of water, thats about it.
 
No need for basking light
UVB/UVA light
Humidity should stay at about 75-100 (they live in rainforest)
my little guy loves his mealworms and jumbo crickets, also the Miner-all d3 with the "very berry" flavor, he loves haha.
jackons need lots of water, thats about it.

I only have jacksoni xantholophus but I do things differently. My Jackson loves his basking light. I just use a 60w incandescent bulb @ 82 degrees. He loves to get warmed up then walk around. There should be a temperature grade from around 72-82 degrees.

Be careful with jacksons and D3. They need very little in addition to their UVB bulb and are prone to problems if oversupplemented. Dust only every 4-6 weeks with regular D3 powder. If he is getting natural sun, no additional D3 may be required.

This video is standard in Jackson care, definitely worth the watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKTbUaOQ0aA
 
What a great looking cham. I am so close to pulling the trigger on these - always wanted to work with them but could never find them. Now that I see they are available, I don't have the room. Wish I hadn't seem this post...
 
There was a breeder in Northern Cafornia that breed these...He only had 3 males that he hatched out and I think his mating pair recently passed so he decided to sell off the males since he could no longer find a female.

Johnston's chameleons are an awesome species. They were my first species that I ever bred. They were also the first species I worked with that were highly sensitive to oversupplementation and a species that John Annis (sp?), I believe the first editor of the old Chameleon Information Network (CiN), wrote an article about, an article I would definitely recommend getting ahold of. About the same time (maybe in the same issue; I have to dig out my old issues), he wrote about vitamin A (preformed) overdose. As did I, he also had issues with T. johnstoni developing edemas caused by vitamin overdose. I should point out though that even though he demonstrated, with the help of a vet, that you can cause edema through too much preformed vitamin A, he also pointed out that vitamin D3 was suspect in causing the condition too. Although I don't know whether he and the vet (forgot his name) followed through with additional experiments involving D3, many keepers' experiences have demonstrated that D3 can easily cause the condition too if given in excess. All of this is simply to point out that you should use caution with supplements with this species, if you aren't already "in the know".

Also, the breeder you bought them from must have known what he/she was doing to raise his neonates to adulthood, especially given their sensitivity to supplements. Unfortunately, all of the neonates that I hatched did not make it, though in my defense, that was back in the mid 80s to early 90s, before we knew as much as we do now (with still a lot to learn) about supplementation. I would like to know if the breeder hatched any others and if so, what their fate was. I would really love to have a chance to work with the species again but at the more affordable prices they used to be offered at. :D

One thing I really remember about johnstoni was their extremely strong grip. In fact, the first time I held a panther chameleon, after being used to johnstoni, I was really surprised how weak its grip was compared to Johnston's chameleons.

By the way, I also love that subspecies of Jackson's chameleon, but I've never worked with them.

Perry
 
John Annis (sp?), I believe the first editor of the old Chameleon Information Network (CiN), wrote an article about, an article I would definitely recommend getting ahold of.

Pretty sure that was the correct spelling. Should be journal #9 for both of those articles.

Aim Higher, gorgeous looking animals. I'm way jealous of that SMOKING johnstoni!
 
I only have jacksoni xantholophus but I do things differently. My Jackson loves his basking light. I just use a 60w incandescent bulb @ 82 degrees. He loves to get warmed up then walk around. There should be a temperature grade from around 72-82 degrees.

Be careful with jacksons and D3. They need very little in addition to their UVB bulb and are prone to problems if oversupplemented. Dust only every 4-6 weeks with regular D3 powder. If he is getting natural sun, no additional D3 may be required.

This video is standard in Jackson care, definitely worth the watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKTbUaOQ0aA

I agree 100% with both points. If a j.j. is anything like a xanth, it will love a basking light. The temperatures should be about 10 degrees cooler than for a panther or vieled, but a basking light is still desired.

Also, focus on gut loading your insects and use much less supplementation than with your panthers. In general, montane species need very little supplementation. Over supplementation is your concern.
 
Johnston's chameleons are an awesome species. They were my first species that I ever bred. They were also the first species I worked with that were highly sensitive to oversupplementation and a species that John Annis (sp?), I believe the first editor of the old Chameleon Information Network (CiN), wrote an article about, an article I would definitely recommend getting ahold of. About the same time (maybe in the same issue; I have to dig out my old issues), he wrote about vitamin A (preformed) overdose. As did I, he also had issues with T. johnstoni developing edemas caused by vitamin overdose. I should point out though that even though he demonstrated, with the help of a vet, that you can cause edema through too much preformed vitamin A, he also pointed out that vitamin D3 was suspect in causing the condition too. Although I don't know whether he and the vet (forgot his name) followed through with additional experiments involving D3, many keepers' experiences have demonstrated that D3 can easily cause the condition too if given in excess. All of this is simply to point out that you should use caution with supplements with this species, if you aren't already "in the know".

Also, the breeder you bought them from must have known what he/she was doing to raise his neonates to adulthood, especially given their sensitivity to supplements. Unfortunately, all of the neonates that I hatched did not make it, though in my defense, that was back in the mid 80s to early 90s, before we knew as much as we do now (with still a lot to learn) about supplementation. I would like to know if the breeder hatched any others and if so, what their fate was. I would really love to have a chance to work with the species again but at the more affordable prices they used to be offered at. :D

One thing I really remember about johnstoni was their extremely strong grip. In fact, the first time I held a panther chameleon, after being used to johnstoni, I was really surprised how weak its grip was compared to Johnston's chameleons.

By the way, I also love that subspecies of Jackson's chameleon, but I've never worked with them.

Perry


He told me these were his 3Rd generation of Johnsonti babies...I not quite sure that that means if that means this is his 3rd batch. This breeder also breeds Quads,Veils and Xantholophus
 
I agree 100% with both points. If a j.j. is anything like a xanth, it will love a basking light. The temperatures should be about 10 degrees cooler than for a panther or vieled, but a basking light is still desired.

Also, focus on gut loading your insects and use much less supplementation than with your panthers. In general, montane species need very little supplementation. Over supplementation is your concern.

I played around with and without a basking lamp for both my Johnsoni and my willengensis and they both loved to bask so I decided to have both a basking lamp and UVB lamp in their enclosure.
 
Johnston's chameleons are an awesome species. They were my first species that I ever bred. They were also the first species I worked with that were highly sensitive to oversupplementation and a species that John Annis (sp?), I believe the first editor of the old Chameleon Information Network (CiN), wrote an article about, an article I would definitely recommend getting ahold of. About the same time (maybe in the same issue; I have to dig out my old issues), he wrote about vitamin A (preformed) overdose. As did I, he also had issues with T. johnstoni developing edemas caused by vitamin overdose. I should point out though that even though he demonstrated, with the help of a vet, that you can cause edema through too much preformed vitamin A, he also pointed out that vitamin D3 was suspect in causing the condition too. Although I don't know whether he and the vet (forgot his name) followed through with additional experiments involving D3, many keepers' experiences have demonstrated that D3 can easily cause the condition too if given in excess. All of this is simply to point out that you should use caution with supplements with this species, if you aren't already "in the know".

Also, the breeder you bought them from must have known what he/she was doing to raise his neonates to adulthood, especially given their sensitivity to supplements. Unfortunately, all of the neonates that I hatched did not make it, though in my defense, that was back in the mid 80s to early 90s, before we knew as much as we do now (with still a lot to learn) about supplementation. I would like to know if the breeder hatched any others and if so, what their fate was. I would really love to have a chance to work with the species again but at the more affordable prices they used to be offered at. :D

One thing I really remember about johnstoni was their extremely strong grip. In fact, the first time I held a panther chameleon, after being used to johnstoni, I was really surprised how weak its grip was compared to Johnston's chameleons.

By the way, I also love that subspecies of Jackson's chameleon, but I've never worked with them.

Perry

I also noticed that the Johnstoni are not as active as my Willengenis or my panthers... they move a lot slower. Were yours the same way back then?
 
I also noticed that the Johnstoni are not as active as my Willengenis or my panthers... they move a lot slower. Were yours the same way back then?

They didn't really strike me as being inactive, but I've never had willengenis to compare them to. However, xantholophus I've kept didn't seem as active as the johnstoni. To me, the johnstoni seemed similar to quads as far as activity level goes. I also think that a chameleon's contentment can also play into how active or inactive it appears. With a full stomach and a favorite perch, some individuals might seem a little more sedentary. On the other hand, a hungry animal on the hunt for a meal, a female looking for a nesting site, a male looking for a mate, or a chameleon not pleased with its surroundings might seem like a very active individual. Most of the johnstoni I had were very calm (not shy), and most people I think would view those individuals as being less active than the very timid ones I kept.

Perry
 
He told me these were his 3Rd generation of Johnsonti babies...I not quite sure that that means if that means this is his 3rd batch. This breeder also breeds Quads,Veils and Xantholophus

Wow! If they really were his 3rd generation of johnstoni, that's pretty impressive. For me anyway, that's unheard of. :) If he had a working "formula" for raising them, then it's a shame that the method he used wasn't shared on a forum such as this (not to my knowledge anyway) before the species became very hard and/or expensive to acquire. :( Like with many species, if we could have just figured things out on how to raise multiple generations (while johnstoni were still widely available), many more of us would have had the opportunity to work with this amazing species.

Perry
 
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