Newbies adopting first chameleon, please help!

[TeamB]

We might be adopting a baby Cham when they're ready (I was told they're only about 4 days old right now).

The problem we have is my husband knows basic care of them from working in a pet store, but doesn't really know much on top of that and I'm a total reptile newbie. We have always wanted a chameleon though, but didn't know how to decide what type to start with, etc. Anyway, an opportunity to adopt one for 'free' came up the other day. And I say 'free' because obviously we will be purchasing all needed and required things to set up a great home up for the little guy/girl, so we realize while the Cham is technically going to be no charge, there will still be a nice chunk of money spent up front to get started.

We don't know what kind the babies are, but they have a litter of about 6 and we were told they are Jackson's, but the girl at the store also said they hatched from eggs and we know Jackson's are live bearers so we aren't sure. The story behind these little guys is that the store did not order any chameleons on a particular order but when the shipment arrived they had two that arrived with their order. I was told they were both female, but judging by the supposed egg laying Jackson, I'm going with they just don't know more than basic care for chameleons. So I'm not sure that is reliable. Obviously whichever one had the babies is clearly a female. Next, we were told one of the females was Veiled and the other a Jackson...again, not sure how knowledgeable they are above basic care of chameleons to be sure if this is correct.

So, would you guys be able to tell the type of cham these babies are from a picture of one of them? Also, if they are Jackson's, would you be able to tell what sub species at that early of an age? If so, I'll post one later when I'm able to get on our computer.

Also, please direct us to the best info. websites, food & supply sites, etc. I've read over the frequently asked questions and quiet a few other posts since yesterday trying to find out as much info as I can, but without knowing what type of baby Cham it is, I'm not sure if all the info still applies. Like we read veileds eat insects and some produce, but Jackson's don't, so how important is it to know what kind you have other than for planning it's living arrangements & feeding?


Thank you all for any help, advice, info & knowledge you're able to share, we truly appreciate it as we want our newest little member of the family to have the best care possible.

 

[Olimpia]

Hi and welcome!

Yes, if you post a photo we will do our best. It certainly is possible to tell if they are veileds or Jackson's at this age, and I'm sure the most experienced with Jackson's will be able to identify the subspecies. More than likely, though, it will probably be a T. j. xantholophus just from how much more common they are in the pet trade.

If we can identify what you have then we can fill in the details on what you need for each. The set-up will be very similar, but things like misting amount, humidity, heat, and supplementing amount will be a little different. But those are small differences, like not misting as much or using a less powerful heat bulb, etc.

 

[TeamB]

here is a photo of one of the babies. So far it is the only pic we have, but I'm hoping we're able to drive half way across Houston this evening to go see them in person and hopefully get a few pictures of them

Does anyone know what kind of baby this is? Yesterday I was told they were only 3 days old, so they were 2 days old in this photo.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/3bpics/7263259876/in/photostream


...sorry had to post link rather than picture, for some reason the picture wasn't showing up!

 

[Olimpia]

Ok, definitely a little Jackson's. So tiny!
I'll try to find you a good blog or site about them, because I don't have any saved on hand any more. But in the meantime, these guys love water and humidity. Mine used to get 10 minute misting sessions twice a day and would drink or soak in the water the entire time, he absolutely loved it. Lots of live plants to keep the humidity up, also. They like a basking temperature of about 83-85*F and an ambient temp of room temperature (~75*F) and a night-time drop. On cool nights I would open the window to his room and let him get a nice temperature drop into the 60's or even 50's (you may not be able to do this with a baby though, double-check before you try that with a little baby).

As for supplementing, they are very sensitive to too much of it, so it's better to be a little conservative. I used to give plain calcium a few days of the week, no calcium with D3 (because mine had access to natural light for several hours outside a week), and multivitamins every 4-6 weeks or so. I focused more on gutloading my insects with a strong diet instead. Others may have a slightly different schedule but this worked well for my male.

Member xanthoman is a bit of the Jackson's expert on here. If you send him a PM he will be more than happy to help you with any questions you may have.

 

[TeamB]

awesome, thank you so very much!

Also, what age do breeders usually allow them to be adopted at? The current caretaker at the pet store told me she just wants to keep them 2 weeks to make sure they're healthy before she lets them go to their new homes. However, today on my friend's facebook page (the friend who is the head manager at the pet store) a friend of her's who also said she wanted one when my friend posted that picture I shared, had tagged my friend in a picture of her's with a reptile tank set up

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3bpics/7263379786/

with the caption "Ready to bring home my new baby on Saturday!"

I thought a screened enclosure or at least mostly screen was best? Her's appears to be all glass. Basically, I'm not sure this girl knows anymore about chams than we do, nor does the current caretaker seem to...so why does she get one early? I just want our little one to get the best care possible, and it seems like our baby will get equal or better care in our home. Hope that makes sense.


I'm also curious if there are any knowledgable members in the North East Houston area who might be willing to help us out...maybe even foster our baby until it's old enough to join our home and be in our care? Because we truly do want what is best for the cham.