New Rainbow Jackson

Gmatt

New Member
Hello everyon,
I purchased a Jackson Chameleon on Tuesday, today being Thursday he has not eaten any crickets. Details about us:
I was told age is 3 months
Wild caught (I know WC please don’t judge I did not know he was wild caught until I spoke to the manager of the facility and I was already ready to bring him home) but anyway I was told he has been at the facility I got him from for 1 month and told he is 3 months old.
Cage: screen size LG reptibreeze, liv cham safe plants and some fake
Water: dripper and I hand spray 3x daily
Temp and humidity gage: I was told that Jacksons like it cool at night and to turn off the heat source as it only gets found to about 66-68 Manager recommended 65 degrees will be fine. So 12 hr on 12 hr off same with strip UVB.
Food: crickets free range.
I am at work all day and he has plenty of time to be alone. I limit to only spraying and putting crickets in cage.
Problem: he has not eaten anything yet. Was told he may not eat for 2-3 days. I am worried he will not begin to eat.
I am going to get some wax worms, in hopes it will jump start him to eat.
Any suggestion?????
Thank you, very concerned and worried.
 
Temp and humidity gage: I was told that Jacksons like it cool at night and to turn off the heat source as it only gets found to about 66-68 Manager recommended 65 degrees will be fine. So 12 hr on 12 hr off same with strip UVB.
Your daytime ambient temperatures should anywhere between 68-75 degrees. You need to still provide a basking spot that hits the low 80s (80-85F). If the warmest he ever gets is around 66-68 degrees during the day, he is likely way too cold. Warming him up to the proper temperatures will likely lead to a hungrier chameleon.

Nighttime temps should be around 65F and below. The lower you can get these night temps, the more resilient your cham will be. 65F, even then, is really warm for them. In their natural range, night temps range around the mid 50s. So feel free to cool your cham down significantly at night, just make sure your cham warms up during the day.

To better assist you, fill out the form below with as much detail as possible--such as the brand of supplements you are using. Hopefully one of the other jacksonii keepers can help you. @JacksJill and @Lindasjackson

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
Three months of age is rather young to be selling a chameleon. Since he is WC that age may be incorrect, I hope. If he was actually 3 months old I would not be using a basking bulb yet. At a young age they shouldn't have a basking area over 78 F, it can be warmer when they mature.
If you have pictures and the information above I can give you an idea of the age and sex. Females can have 3 horns.
 
Your daytime ambient temperatures should anywhere between 68-75 degrees. You need to still provide a basking spot that hits the low 80s (80-85F). If the warmest he ever gets is around 66-68 degrees during the day, he is likely way too cold. Warming him up to the proper temperatures will likely lead to a hungrier chameleon.

Nighttime temps should be around 65F and below. The lower you can get these night temps, the more resilient your cham will be. 65F, even then, is really warm for them. In their natural range, night temps range around the mid 50s. So feel free to cool your cham down significantly at night, just make sure your cham warms up during the day.

To better assist you, fill out the form below with as much detail as possible--such as the brand of supplements you are using. Hopefully one of the other jacksonii keepers can help you. @JacksJill and @Lindasjackson

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Rainbow Jackson,Male,got him 3 days ago was told 3 month old
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I have only handled him once or twice.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Small crickets free feed, carrots, Flukers Hi ca cricket
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Flukers with D and with. Out D 4 days with 2 days without
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Hand spray 2x daily a lot at night, water dripped, I put ice cubes on top of the cage in random places also. I turn off the heat at night. 12 on 12
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I have not seen any fecal droppings, Not tested
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. From a highly recommended place in N.H. He was with them for 1 month and the person did not know where he came from.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? All screen. 16x30
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Bar uvb 12hr on 12 hour off
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Between 70-80 day 65-66 at night
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? about 88 humidity
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? A small ficus tree
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Not too much traffic but maybe I should move it, No children at work all day.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Massachusetts

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Not eating
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Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
Pics
 

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Hi and welcome! He’s beautiful! He does look cold but do what @Mendez and @JacksJill tell you so he can grow up to be a strong healthy boy! Also remember to remove any uneaten crickets each night or they may bite your chameleon while he’s sleeping.
 
Note: your jacksonii is a lot older than three months. Judging by the size, he is fully grown (though he might still grow a little more). This places him at closer to a year in age. Though @JacksJill can confirm this.

  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Small crickets free feed, carrots, Flukers Hi ca cricket
Flukers High Calcium Cricket diet is unnecessary--especially since you are dusting your insects with supplements before feeding to help balance the calcium to phosphorous ratio. I recommend to keep dusting your insects, but stop giving your crickets the Flukers diet. Feeding your insects is actually quite simple. You can go to the grocery store and pick up a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains and you'll be good. Or since you only have one chameleon, you can feed them a commercial gutload such as Repashy Bug Burger which has everything you need to make your bugs nutritious. Here's the gutload chart with the correct ratios that you can follow, but commercial gutload might be simpler. Also, a variety of feeders is best. Instead of just crickets, you can get dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, etc.
1634412007224.png

1634412114597.png


  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Flukers with D and with. Out D 4 days with 2 days without
How often are you using Flukers with D? This should be used once a month. And even then, it should be used in moderation. Using calcium without D3 should be used at every feeding, especially so with crickets, dubia roaches, and superworms. You also need a multivitamin or he will end up with eye and tongue issues. What I suggest, to keep things simple, is to buy a supplement that includes both multivitamins and D3. This could be Repashyy Calcium Plus LOD or Reptivite w/ D3. These supplements can be given once a month. It makes it simpler to supplement because you essentially kill two birds with one stone with both the multivitamin and D3. You still will need to give plain calcium every feeding.

I have to go right now, but I'll come on later to finish. Really quick though, is the humidity 88% all the time, or does it drop during parts of the day? Also, you can close off the sides of the cage with corrugated plastic, shower curtain, etc to help reatin humidity.

@Lindasjackson, if you're online, could you help this person with cage design? You have a nice cage that I'm sure this person and their chameleon could benefit from.
 
Note: your jacksonii is a lot older than three months. Judging by the size, he is fully grown (though he might still grow a little more). This places him at closer to a year in age. Though @JacksJill can confirm this.


Flukers High Calcium Cricket diet is unnecessary--especially since you are dusting your insects with supplements before feeding to help balance the calcium to phosphorous ratio. I recommend to keep dusting your insects, but stop giving your crickets the Flukers diet. Feeding your insects is actually quite simple. You can go to the grocery store and pick up a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains and you'll be good. Or since you only have one chameleon, you can feed them a commercial gutload such as Repashy Bug Burger which has everything you need to make your bugs nutritious. Here's the gutload chart with the correct ratios that you can follow, but commercial gutload might be simpler. Also, a variety of feeders is best. Instead of just crickets, you can get dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, etc.
View attachment 312591
View attachment 312592


How often are you using Flukers with D? This should be used once a month. And even then, it should be used in moderation. Using calcium without D3 should be used at every feeding, especially so with crickets, dubia roaches, and superworms. You also need a multivitamin or he will end up with eye and tongue issues. What I suggest, to keep things simple, is to buy a supplement that includes both multivitamins and D3. This could be Repashyy Calcium Plus LOD or Reptivite w/ D3. These supplements can be given once a month. It makes it simpler to supplement because you essentially kill two birds with one stone with both the multivitamin and D3. You still will need to give plain calcium every feeding.

I have to go right now, but I'll come on later to finish. Really quick though, is the humidity 88% all the time, or does it drop during parts of the day? Also, you can close off the sides of the cage with corrugated plastic, shower curtain, etc to help reatin humidity.

@Lindasjackson, if you're online, could you help this person with cage design? You have a nice cage that I'm sure this person and their chameleon could benefit from.
Hi, I’m here. So to keep your guy happy and feeling safe you want a forest edge style enclosure so imagine a forest edge, it’s foliage is thick and it opens onto a clearing. Below are some pictures of my enclosure which is the same size as yours. I just chose a full ficus tree that fit my cage and added a couple of pothos in any thin spots. Make sure you have plenty of horizontal branches for him to climb on. You can supplement real branches with wooden dowels from Lowe’s but they prefer real ones from trees. Are you using a T5ho fixture with a reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%? That’s what you need for him. Then you’ll need a 60 watt halogen or incandescent bulb for basking. His basking branch needs to be 8-9 inches below those lights and his uvb light should span the width of his cage and position it right over his basking branch. The heat lamp you can angle so the spot of light is an oval rather than round if you know what I mean. You’ll want his basking temp to be between 78-80. You’ll need a misting system, we all recommend the mist king. You’ll schedule several 1-2 minute misting sessions throughout the night. You want your humidity to be 50% or so during the day but at night you want it to be 80% or above. If the misting isn’t enough you may want to invest in a humidifier with a retrofitted pvc piping that pipes the mist into the top of the cage. This you would run at night if temps are under 67. They are pretty cheap to do. I have included a pic of my set up below. You can wrap 3 sides of you cage with a shower curtain and cut it to size. I attached mine with command strips around the top making sure my Cham had no access to the sticky side of the strip. You’ll need temp/humidity gauges in at least a couple layers of your enclosure to keep track of temp and humidity. A govee gauge is great. They sell them on Amazon for about 11-12 dollars and they connect to your phone so you can easily check them. Now I’m not sure if you can get the readings at work but you can easily get the info at home. If you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask.
 

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Hi, I’m here. So to keep your guy happy and feeling safe you want a forest edge style enclosure so imagine a forest edge, it’s foliage is thick and it opens onto a clearing. Below are some pictures of my enclosure which is the same size as yours. I just chose a full ficus tree that fit my cage and added a couple of pothos in any thin spots. Make sure you have plenty of horizontal branches for him to climb on. You can supplement real branches with wooden dowels from Lowe’s but they prefer real ones from trees. Are you using a T5ho fixture with a reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%? That’s what you need for him. Then you’ll need a 60 watt halogen or incandescent bulb for basking. His basking branch needs to be 8-9 inches below those lights and his uvb light should span the width of his cage and position it right over his basking branch. The heat lamp you can angle so the spot of light is an oval rather than round if you know what I mean. You’ll want his basking temp to be between 78-80. You’ll need a misting system, we all recommend the mist king. You’ll schedule several 1-2 minute misting sessions throughout the night. You want your humidity to be 50% or so during the day but at night you want it to be 80% or above. If the misting isn’t enough you may want to invest in a humidifier with a retrofitted pvc piping that pipes the mist into the top of the cage. This you would run at night if temps are under 67. They are pretty cheap to do. I have included a pic of my set up below. You can wrap 3 sides of you cage with a shower curtain and cut it to size. I attached mine with command strips around the top making sure my Cham had no access to the sticky side of the strip. You’ll need temp/humidity gauges in at least a couple layers of your enclosure to keep track of temp and humidity. A govee gauge is great. They sell them on Amazon for about 11-12 dollars and they connect to your phone so you can easily check them. Now I’m not sure if you can get the readings at work but you can easily get the info at home. If you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask.
Thank you @Lindasjackson! You are a lifesaver! I really appreciate it!
 
Hello
Thank you all soooo much for your expert advice. I only has him in my care for 3 days. I think he was much younger than I was told. His body was just barley 3“ in length. The change must have been too much for him. Sadly my poor little guy did not make it. Again I appreciate the time everyone took to respond to my plea of help. :(
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. If you ever want to try again, let us know. We can help you get everything 100% dialed in and then point you to a reputable breeder so you never have to experience this again. Unfortunately, when you get a cham from an unreputable breeder, the chameleon loses its resilience in subpar care. Don't be discourage. You can still own a little treeceratops. Just let us know, and we can help you out. I do want to stress the importance of getting your husbandry dialed in first. Better to fix it now instead of down the road with a vet visit.
 
Thank you. I am so sorry this happened to this beautiful living creature. I will be giving it some thought on weather I can try again.
Thank you.
 
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