New Cham owner

IchabodCrane

New Member
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Hi I’m new to this forum and new to Cham parenting, as well, and just want to make sure I’m giving this little man the best home/care possible!
This is Hank. Male, Jackson’s Chameleon. I adopted him 2 weeks ago, unsure of his age, but he appears to be full grown at about 9”. I’ll tell you about his current care (he seems to be doing really well).. I appreciate any feedback regarding changes I should make to keep this little man happy and healthy!

ReptiBreeze mesh enclosure 16”x16”x30”... currently building a larger mesh enclosure because this one is too small...
1- UVB and 1- heat lamp approx 6” approve terrarium.. as you can see in the pic, he’s right next to a window, too, which he LOVES.
Live plants (snake plant, hibiscus tree, various crotons)
Basking spot: 78-83 degrees
Bottom of cage: 63-68 degrees
Humidity: varies 50-100%
I’ve been feeding him 5-8 crickets a day and dust them with calcium 2-3 times a week.
Misting 3-5 times per day because of the dry winter air right now and he always seems thirsty. He drinks every time I mist him so I try to do it often. Should I get him a fountain?
He is super friendly and very active. He seems to love all of the plants I have in there and LOVES looking out the window during the day. He never hesitates to eat or drink and is having regular bowel movements. He color is bright green and healthy.
Please let me know how else I can make Hank happy!
 
A couple offerings of advice:

Make sure he has a linear UVB bulb. I use the reptisun t5 ho 5% uvb. Many people recommend Arcadia. The coil bulbs in the dual-dome fixtures do not provide adequate uvb and it is highly concentrated in one area, which can lead to eye problems and does not provide a spectrum of uvb throughout the cage.

Looking good with the foliage in the cage. I advocate having at least one pothos plant as well (personal preference). They are super hardy, help filter air, and are helpful at retaining humidity. You will definitely need some more branches/vines. They would be most functional if they are placed slightly diagonally and/or horizontally. You can construct a descending pathway with these... kind of like Tetris :)

If you are building another mesh cage, I recommend enclosing 3 sides of the cage with something like plastic shower curtains to retain humidity and prevent water from splattering on the walls.

Feeders should be dusted before every feeding. You should rotate between calcium without d3, calcium with d3, and a multivitamin. I do believe most say to use the d3 and multivitamin twice a month. Also, look into a variety of different feeders for your Cham.

Regarding hydration and humidity - do not get a fountain. They harbor bacteria much too easily. An automatic mister is ideal. I provide humidity and hydration by 4 means: hand spraying 2-3 times daily, turning on a well-placed dripper twice a day, a humidifier aimed at the cage, and the occasional steam shower. Might be redundant, but, make sure you are using filtered water :)
 
A couple offerings of advice:
Feeders should be dusted before every feeding. You should rotate between calcium without d3, calcium with d3, and a multivitamin. I do believe most say to use the d3 and multivitamin twice a month. Also, look into a variety of different feeders for your Cham.
:)

Careful there!! This user has a Jackson's chameleon, which has completely different supplement needs than tropical species. I would not recommend giving advice if you are not familiar with the species. We don't want to spread potentially dangerous misinformation.

From this forum's caresheet: "As a montane species (native to higher altitudes) Jackson's have decreased supplementation requirements compared to tropical species due to metabolism differences. Use calcium (without D3 or phosphorus) twice a week, a multivitamin once a month, and calcium with D3 once a month."
 
The biggest problem you currently have, OP, is that your cage is substantially too bare. Your chameleon has no where to hide and very limited options for lateral movement. The key to a chameleon's enclosure is for it to be like a densely planted forest. Chameleons need privacy and the ability to hide. Without significantly more foliage cover, your cham will get stressed out very easily.

More critically, as you have it setup right now, he has almost no where to go. Just that singular branch at the top, which is not nearly enough for an animal as active as chameleons. To remedy this, what you need to do, is to add many more horizontal branches, vines, walkways of your choosing. Chameleons are arboreal with specialized feet to grip branches. Keep this in mind as you improve the contents of his enclosure. Choose branches with varying width and texture to allow him to stretch the muscles in his feet.

Put simply: many more branches and more plants! (y)(y)
 
Careful there!! This user has a Jackson's chameleon, which has completely different supplement needs than tropical species. I would not recommend giving advice if you are not familiar with the species. We don't want to spread potentially dangerous misinformation.

From this forum's caresheet: "As a montane species (native to higher altitudes) Jackson's have decreased supplementation requirements compared to tropical species due to metabolism differences. Use calcium (without D3 or phosphorus) twice a week, a multivitamin once a month, and calcium with D3 once a month."

You are correct, which is why I phrased that section very vaguely. Not trying to give a prescription here. Thanks for detailing the proper care regarding supplementation for this species.
 
A couple offerings of advice:

Make sure he has a linear UVB bulb. I use the reptisun t5 ho 5% uvb. Many people recommend Arcadia. The coil bulbs in the dual-dome fixtures do not provide adequate uvb and it is highly concentrated in one area, which can lead to eye problems and does not provide a spectrum of uvb throughout the cage.

Looking good with the foliage in the cage. I advocate having at least one pothos plant as well (personal preference). They are super hardy, help filter air, and are helpful at retaining humidity. You will definitely need some more branches/vines. They would be most functional if they are placed slightly diagonally and/or horizontally. You can construct a descending pathway with these... kind of like Tetris :)

If you are building another mesh cage, I recommend enclosing 3 sides of the cage with something like plastic shower curtains to retain humidity and prevent water from splattering on the walls.

Feeders should be dusted before every feeding. You should rotate between calcium without d3, calcium with d3, and a multivitamin. I do believe most say to use the d3 and multivitamin twice a month. Also, look into a variety of different feeders for your Cham.

Regarding hydration and humidity - do not get a fountain. They harbor bacteria much too easily. An automatic mister is ideal. I provide humidity and hydration by 4 means: hand spraying 2-3 times daily, turning on a well-placed dripper twice a day, a humidifier aimed at the cage, and the occasional steam shower. Might be redundant, but, make sure you are using filtered water :)


DEFINITELY using filtered water and we are getting a filtering system for our shower soon so we can steam shower him. I also have a humidifier set up next to his cage in order to keep the humidity above 50% thank you so much for your recommendations I’m def going to add these things.. I especially appreciate the tip regarding the terrarium I’m building
 
Careful there!! This user has a Jackson's chameleon, which has completely different supplement needs than tropical species. I would not recommend giving advice if you are not familiar with the species. We don't want to spread potentially dangerous misinformation.

From this forum's caresheet: "As a montane species (native to higher altitudes) Jackson's have decreased supplementation requirements compared to tropical species due to metabolism differences. Use calcium (without D3 or phosphorus) twice a week, a multivitamin once a month, and calcium with D3 once a month."

Really really appreciate this!! Thank you!!!
 
The biggest problem you currently have, OP, is that your cage is substantially too bare. Your chameleon has no where to hide and very limited options for lateral movement. The key to a chameleon's enclosure is for it to be like a densely planted forest. Chameleons need privacy and the ability to hide. Without significantly more foliage cover, your cham will get stressed out very easily.

More critically, as you have it setup right now, he has almost no where to go. Just that singular branch at the top, which is not nearly enough for an animal as active as chameleons. To remedy this, what you need to do, is to add many more horizontal branches, vines, walkways of your choosing. Chameleons are arboreal with specialized feet to grip branches. Keep this in mind as you improve the contents of his enclosure. Choose branches with varying width and texture to allow him to stretch the muscles in his feet.

Put simply: many more branches and more plants! (y)(y)

I am an avid gardener so I have PLENTY of non-toxic plants to add to the terrarium, I’ll do that immediately thanks for the advice!
 
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