New Chameleon!!! But i have a few Questions.

[sebastianthechameleon]

Hello, i have a new addition in my family. It's a Jackson chameleon who just got his/her horns in. The pet store said 4-5 months but i disagree to the full extent. This little guy seems to be very shy at the moment. Some of my questions are:

How is old is he?:
The pet store said 4-5 months but i disagree to the full extent. I have a veiled that is 7 and maybe 4 times the size.

Gender?:
The pet store said that the chameleon is too young to decide the gender but definitely seemed very wrong. The chameleon may be too young but they had no idea what they were talking about. The person who helped us told us to probe it in a couple months. Personally, i like the other ways of finding gender.

Others?:
He seems very shy. He/she is sleeping a lot and basking a lot. He/she is not eating much. I have provided crickets and super worms but he/she seem to want none. He was only handled when i needed to rearrange some foliage inside the inclosure. I feel stress from me isn't the issue. Is this common? My other veiled was very excited and social when i first got him; he was moving a lot and eating. This Jackson is not moving a lot or eating. We have set a rain schedule and a light schedule. Please help i am a little confused on what is happening.

Here are some photos of the little guy - Sorry for the doubles
BTW: The twisty tie in the photos 3-5 was removed, it was to sharp so do not worry about that

 

[Theveiled]

Im thinking male. As for age im not sure. how high is the humidity? can you post a pic of the setup? how are you going to dust the feeders?

 

[Theveiled]

oh and I think jacksons are smaller than veileds so you cant based his age off of the size of your veiled

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Hi, can we see the whole cage? It appears there is not much foliage. Montane species tend to prefer lots of foliage. Here is my viv which has a 4.5 month old jacksonii as well, same age and about same size as yours.. I found a small jacksonii in Hawaii a few months ago which was the same size as my guy but had smaller horns like yours. All chameleons seem to grow at different rates, and certainly every species grows at different rates. Veileds grow quite large and quite fast.


Jacksonii love slugs and snails! Mine will refuse crickets and most types of worms. Mine will only eat mealworms, dubia roaches, slugs, rolly pollies (sow bugs), and snails so far.... He is very adventurous and tries things once, but prefers the items mentioned.

Also, with less plant life in the cage, he may feel vulnerable and refuse food. Many chameleons will only eat when they feel secure....which is accomplished by having lots of foliage. Jacksonii are very sociable and tame/calm, but will require a week or so to settle into a new environment.

Jacksonii also do not need nearly as much supplements as veileds either, you will want to cut supplementing in about half compared to what is recommended for a veiled. Calcium lightly at most feedings is fine, calcium with d3 is okay once every two weeks, and multivitamin should be once per week while subadult and only twice per month when adult. Here's one guide: http://reptiles.guru/chameleon/ultimate-chameleon-care-guide/

 

[sebastianthechameleon]

Hi, can we see the whole cage? It appears there is not much foliage. Montane species tend to prefer lots of foliage. Here is my viv which has a 4.5 month old jacksonii as well, same age and about same size as yours.. I found a small jacksonii in Hawaii a few months ago which was the same size as my guy but had smaller horns like yours. All chameleons seem to grow at different rates, and certainly every species grows at different rates. Veileds grow quite large and quite fast.


Jacksonii love slugs and snails! Mine will refuse crickets and most types of worms. Mine will only eat mealworms, dubia roaches, slugs, rolly pollies (sow bugs), and snails so far.... He is very adventurous and tries things once, but prefers the items mentioned.

Also, with less plant life in the cage, he may feel vulnerable and refuse food. Many chameleons will only eat when they feel secure....which is accomplished by having lots of foliage. Jacksonii are very sociable and tame/calm, but will require a week or so to settle into a new environment.

Jacksonii also do not need nearly as much supplements as veileds either, you will want to cut supplementing in about half compared to what is recommended for a veiled. Calcium lightly at most feedings is fine, calcium with d3 is okay once every two weeks, and multivitamin should be once per week while subadult and only twice per month when adult. Here's one guide: http://reptiles.guru/chameleon/ultimate-chameleon-care-guide/

View attachment 163692

He seems to keep sleeping in a very deep sleep. I am a little concered for his health. The cage has alot of leaves and i ordered more just now. I ordered more vines and more places for him to crawl about. I am warming up the house right now and moving him into a better more (leafy) enviroment with no current residence Should i be worried about any health issues he might be currently fighting?

 

[Zen Reptiles]

He looks healthy so if there is a problem, you are likely able to stop it now before his health deteriorates. It's likely that odd behavior might be due to improper care from the pet store. When you say he is sleeping often, how often? How long have you had him in your care?

Don't warm the house up too much, room temperature is great for montanes like jacksonii. Aim for 65-75 temp throughout the cage from bottom to top, with an 80-83 basking spot. Too much heat could be a reason he is sleeping.

I would strongly suggest finding a few slugs from a clean area, feeding them some lettuce/cucumber/melon to clean out their digestive system for about 12 hours...then see if he goes for them. Any chameleon I've ever had who refused food, always went for slugs.

 

[sebastianthechameleon]

He looks healthy so if there is a problem, you are likely able to stop it now before his health deteriorates. It's likely that odd behavior might be due to improper care from the pet store. When you say he is sleeping often, how often? How long have you had him in your care?

Don't warm the house up too much, room temperature is great for montanes like jacksonii. Aim for 65-75 temp throughout the cage from bottom to top, with an 80-83 basking spot. Too much heat could be a reason he is sleeping.

I would strongly suggest finding a few slugs from a clean area, feeding them some lettuce/cucumber/melon to clean out their digestive system for about 12 hours...then see if he goes for them. Any chameleon I've ever had who refused food, always went for slugs.

He is sleeping all day unless have to add more foliage or new renovavtions to the reptarium. We got him THIS tuesday.

 

[sebastianthechameleon]

and night***

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Sleeping all day is unusual...... How is his breathing? When he breathes does he ever open his mouth? Does he ever make a *click* sound? Do you see any bubbles coming out of his through when he opens his mouth?

If this is the case, we are looking for a respiratory infection which will require vet assistance.

Some products that have helped me in the past are https://www.amazon.com/Reptaid-Supp...e=UTF8&qid=1470358057&sr=8-1&keywords=reptaid and https://www.amazon.com/Oxbow-Carniv...qid=1470358096&sr=8-1&keywords=carnivore+care

 

[zordtaz]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/baby-jacksons-growth.59613/

Here is post in case you want to compare age of Jackson. Go to last page. He will have from birth until now

 

[serenaj25]

Hello, i have a new addition in my family. It's a Jackson chameleon who just got his/her horns in. The pet store said 4-5 months but i disagree to the full extent. This little guy seems to be very shy at the moment. Some of my questions are:

How is old is he?:
The pet store said 4-5 months but i disagree to the full extent. I have a veiled that is 7 and maybe 4 times the size.

Gender?:
The pet store said that the chameleon is too young to decide the gender but definitely seemed very wrong. The chameleon may be too young but they had no idea what they were talking about. The person who helped us told us to probe it in a couple months. Personally, i like the other ways of finding gender.

Others?:
He seems very shy. He/she is sleeping a lot and basking a lot. He/she is not eating much. I have provided crickets and super worms but he/she seem to want none. He was only handled when i needed to rearrange some foliage inside the inclosure. I feel stress from me isn't the issue. Is this common? My other veiled was very excited and social when i first got him; he was moving a lot and eating. This Jackson is not moving a lot or eating. We have set a rain schedule and a light schedule. Please help i am a little confused on what is happening.

Here are some photos of the little guy - Sorry for the doubles
BTW: The twisty tie in the photos 3-5 was removed, it was to sharp so do not worry about that

View attachment 163684 View attachment 163684 View attachment 163685 View attachment 163686 View attachment 163687 View attachment 163688 View attachment 163689 View attachment 163690

hi, most chameleons take 3-5 days to fully get used to their surroundings. my chameleon was very shy in her first day too. just be patient and try leaving the room when you offer the crickets. my chameleon was shy to eat in front of me at first so maybe giving him/her a little bit of time to adjust and eat by itself is a good idea. as for the gender I am not quite sure how to tell in the jacksons chameleon but in veiled chameleons you can look for an extra toe in the hind feet so maybe this is also the case for the jacksons? hope this helps