New Owner of Jackson Chameleon

Tiny

Tiny

New Member
Hi,

I am a new owner to a Male Jackson Chameleon.
Age unknown (we caught him in the wild).
We feed him store bought crickets, 2 or 3 every other day.
I have done a ton of research online and I am worried, I just don't know enough.
I am very attached to my "Buddy" and want to make sure we do everything possible to give him a long and happy life.
I will give a break down of what it has been like for the last week, any, and I mean ANY advice is appreciated!

Thank you!

First day we brought him home, he ate 4 crickets, I heard they can over eat and kill themselves. And since he is originally from the wild, we started giving him 2 every other day.
Is it true they can over eat?

We set him up in wire mesh cage. We have one live plant and a few fake. We set of a couple different wood sticks for him to crawl on. I know I need more "folige" for him, is there a paticular type they perfer?

We were told we didn't need to buy a heat light or uv light because we are in Hawaii, and we set his cage near the window. However after a few days of him doing almost nothing, we found a "hot" light to put over his cage. He really seemed to enjoy it at first. Then a few days later I noticed he sit there with his mouth open. He was drinking and didn't recently eat so I searched it and it said he could be too hot. So now, we only use the light in the evening and when its cold (yes, Hawaii does get cold). I'm nervous he is not getting the correct amoung of exposure to the sun.
More details what we can do about this?

We spray his cage down with a mist a couple times a day, but he HATES the watet. He crouches and tries to run away (hes not the fastest runner). Is this normal? We noticed he is drinking the water off the plants, and once my bf was able to drip the water right into his mouth.

Also, he is PACING like a mad man. He is going in the same circles. Is this ok? Is he upset?

He seems to be missing half of one of his front claws. It may have been hurt in the wild and it healed, or he was born with half a claw. Is there any thing "special" he may need because of this? I noticed he still climbs the walls of his cage, but has a hard time when that claw is needed.

Sorry, I am going on and on. I pretty much just need good advice.

Thanks everyone!
Tonya
 

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He won't die from over feeding and 4 every other day isn't enought. Try ten or more 5 times a week
He will need UV as the UVB won't travel threw the window
 
OMG!! Thank you!! And I thought we were feeding him too much! Yikes, Im going to have the bf feed him now!
 
Looking after WC chams is very diffrent as there used to eating when they want, if you have a garden or a balcony I would house your new little guy there for large parts of the day, putting him in the window he may over heat as it will work like a greenhouse being walmer threw the glass plus like I say he isn't getting any uv rays witch is a must either artificial or real but real is much better and as for the claw if he's lived with it in the wild he must be ok but wouldn't hurt to get him checked, he may also be carrying petisides and infections so he could do with a vet check and fecal
 
Thank you Chameleonkev.

What is a WC Cham? We have a Jackson Chameleon, is this the same?
We considered putting him on the balcony, but it gets really really hot out there with direct sunlight most of the day. I know I over heat out there.
We may just need to put him near an open window.
If he had pestisides/infections, would it be contagious to Humans?
I will do research tomorrow to find a vet that can take a look at him.

Thank you again!
 
Sorry, WC is wild caught chameleon. In the wild they generally carry illnesses and its not going to affect you in any way, it's normally from eating wild crickets and such witch carry all kinds of infections and if its hot on the balcony put a damp towel over a third of the Viv so he had a cool spot, 4 hours a day would get him good uv but a open window would work to
 
Unfortanetly, we work during the day so I wouldn't be able to control how long he's in the sun. I'm going to have to go with the open window (except weekends).
Will it cause too much stress if we are moving his cage everyday?
 
No I do it with my montane species( xanthphlus jacksons what you have is in the montane family) when the wether is walm enought in the uk
 
THANK YOU!!!

Would you be able to comment about water? I use a spray bottle and mist him and all the plants 2 or 3 times day but he really hates the water. I have seen him drink the water, but only twice. I'm sure he's drinking when I'm not watching but I'm scared he's not getting enough hydration.
 
If you think that make a dripper, get a old coke bottle or something and peirce a hole in the bottom with a ear ring, just one hole is enought and sit it ontop of the Viv full of water and it will constantly drip water at a good slow pace through out the day so you little fellow will have water available all day long
 
Thank you David. I can use all the advice videos and blogs!
Buddy (our Jackson Chameleons name :) seems happy, he eats drinks and roams. I'm just nervous we're not doing something correctly.

We put I'm by the back window thismorning before we left for the day, I hope he likes it and can handle. Its a littlle tricky in Hawaii right now, you never know. What the weather is going to be.
He is going to get a lot of natural sun light, so I am excited for this.
The bf put qite a few crickets in his cage last night and I could still hear a few today.
Thank you both for your advice. Now I will sit here at work worried for my buddy lol.
 
chameleonkev said:
If you think that make a dripper, get a old coke bottle or something and peirce a hole in the bottom with a ear ring, just one hole is enought and sit it ontop of the Viv full of water and it will constantly drip water at a good slow pace through out the day so you little fellow will have water available all day long
Click to expand...

I was just reading someone elses thread about puddles at the bottom of the cage and needing to setup proper drainage for the chams cage.
Will I need to do something similar because I will be setting up the drip system?
I haven't noticed any puddles yet, but I he's not getting a constant flow of water yet either...
 
Tiny said:
I was just reading someone elses thread about puddles at the bottom of the cage and needing to setup proper drainage for the chams cage.
Will I need to do something similar because I will be setting up the drip system?
I haven't noticed any puddles yet, but I he's not getting a constant flow of water yet either...
Click to expand...

I don't need much of a drainage system for mine, but for a Jacksons I think you will at least want some sort of big 'drip tray'........they do like it nice and humid :)
 
DavidBuchan said:
I don't need much of a drainage system for mine, but for a Jacksons I think you will at least want some sort of big 'drip tray'........they do like it nice and humid :)
Click to expand...


Yikes, I'm not sure how we are going to do this lol.
But for my buddy we will figure something out!!
Thank you
 
Unless your home is air conditioned or dehumidified, it may be humid enough for him.
They prefer 60-80% humidity.
Here's an excellent caresheet for Jackson's:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

If his cage is the one in your avatar, then please add some more leafy plants for him to hide behind.
It will help him to be less stressed and keep the humidity more stable.

You can get an appliance drain pan like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-20752-3...361916796&sr=8-1&keywords=appliance+drain+pan
If you drill a hole and attach a drain hose leading to a bucket, you're all set.
 
Lovereps said:
Unless your home is air conditioned or dehumidified, it may be humid enough for him.
They prefer 60-80% humidity.
Here's an excellent caresheet for Jackson's:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

If his cage is the one in your avatar, then please add some more leafy plants for him to hide behind.
It will help him to be less stressed and keep the humidity more stable.

You can get an appliance drain pan like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-20752-3...361916796&sr=8-1&keywords=appliance+drain+pan
If you drill a hole and attach a drain hose leading to a bucket, you're all set.
Click to expand...


Thank you! We know he needs more plants. I've been trying to research what he would prefer. My bf thinks he has enough, so its nice to hear someone else agree with me.
We do not have AC, and it is always very Humid here (HI).
I will definetly read the links you attached. Thank You!
 
:d

chameleonkev said:
Looking after WC chams is very diffrent as there used to eating when they want, if you have a garden or a balcony I would house your new little guy there for large parts of the day, putting him in the window he may over heat as it will work like a greenhouse being walmer threw the glass plus like I say he isn't getting any uv rays witch is a must either artificial or real but real is much better and as for the claw if he's lived with it in the wild he must be ok but wouldn't hurt to get him checked, he may also be carrying petisides and infections so he could do with a vet check and fecal
Click to expand...

It was amazingly easy to find a vet. We have an apt. coming up soon, hopefully thid vet is great!
Thank you for the advice! :D
 
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