Should I buy her?

[Lamour]

My local pets mart (i think, or petco) has had a female jackson for awhile now. It is their first chameleon the store has been allowed to sell.

I feel bad because the girl I always get crickets from said they had her set up correctly (a dripper and such) but corporate made them remove the things she needed and put in a stupid waterfall and junk so it would look better or something.

I'm just wondering what differences in care would a female jackson need versus my male veiled. Do they need different temps/humidity or other things? Also, would I need a lay box or anything if she has not been with a male and since they lay live babies anyways?

I'm not sure if I'll get her because I can tell she has health concerns that would need to be cared for. She had a swollen eye, it seems to have gone though. She was sleeping during the day a couple times I visited. So before I purchase her (on sale because she is expensive for a sick little girl) I have to think if it's worth the vet costs or not

But I figured I'd post this and find out the different type of care she would need just to be prepared.

 

[Ulrich]

I suggest a brief research before getting her. Your care appreciated, but the longer Chams stay in a petshop, the more health issues can occur later. If I get a Cham from a petshop, I make sure it is not longer than a few days in their 'care'.
To briefly answer your question: Jackson's are montane species and need much cooler temperatures than veileds (around 65-75 ambient, max 85 for basking). And they need far more humidity (around 80). They are more or less opposite to a veiled in terms of husbandry.

 

[Elizadolots]

If you have the resources to take her in, I would always advocate for bringing the animal home. I don't even look anymore because suddenly there are chameleons at all my Petcos and PetSmarts....and if I don't see them it lessens the pain because I cannot take them home.

As noted, Jacksons need cooler temperatures and more humidity than veileds.

Your supplement schedule is probably fine for a Jacksons. They can thrive with less supplements, but people have kept them for many years with the exact same supplement schedule.

That's not rocket science.

One analogy I use is that it's like the difference between Microsoft and Apple...whatever you are used to seems "right" the other seems "hard".

If you do decide to take her in, I think you should be prepared for a batch of live babies (meaning, you need a baby bin you can get together quickly). You don't know her history with males (regardless of what the store says) so you can't be sure she hasn't been exposed. They do this "retained sperm" thing that means you can't assume that just because she hasn't been with a male for a month she can't make babies.

You just need a place you can put the babies with sticks for them to climb on. An old aquarium with some sticks and leaves would work for the short run and, as it's not a sure thing, that's probably good enough.

 

[Lamour]

Yeah I always have to check on her when I go there because I feel so sad for her. I have a crested gecko and it needs high humidity and a bit lower temps as well so I think my room will be ok. Will people from CF grab up any babies she has pretty fast? I wouldn't have room for them (sadly, babies are so cute though!) and I don't have any idea how to care for newborns yet.

A completely unrelated question but right now my chams cage is by the vent. It is always closed so it doesn't matter but if I switched my gecko cage with it and put the gecko under the vent could I use it to cool the gecko off more or would it just make the entire room cold?
It is perfect for my cham but a little hot for my gecko in my room. Not enough to hurt it but just thought it may like to be a bit cooler.

 

[mcbdz]

Hello Lamour, I so understand how you feel. I feel so sad for a pair of veils at our local pet shop because their cages are way to small and I know they don't get correct care. This can go against a lot of peoples beliefs but, you also need to think about what will happen if you get the chameleon. I hate this because it is a bad thing no matter what but, if you by it from them they will just replace it with another one. It is a supply and demand thing. If they can't sale them they will not see it being in their interest to carry them but, when you "rescue" them they make money and keep getting more. You can't rescue them all. I hate that also, cause no matter what, there will be some animals to suffer. Just needed to through that out there to think about. Please don't bash me. I always want to help them too.

 

[Decadancin]

Yeah I always have to check on her when I go there because I feel so sad for her. I have a crested gecko and it needs high humidity and a bit lower temps as well so I think my room will be ok. Will people from CF grab up any babies she has pretty fast? I wouldn't have room for them (sadly, babies are so cute though!) and I don't have any idea how to care for newborns yet.

A completely unrelated question but right now my chams cage is by the vent. It is always closed so it doesn't matter but if I switched my gecko cage with it and put the gecko under the vent could I use it to cool the gecko off more or would it just make the entire room cold?
It is perfect for my cham but a little hot for my gecko in my room. Not enough to hurt it but just thought it may like to be a bit cooler.

Unless the room is on its own thermostat, I wouldn't open it! You wouldn't be able to regulate the temp and could cause more issues than you want. Also, some plants (I think I remember some of your posts about caring for plants) will drop leaves and not react well to a vent near them! Some ficus and other common ones do poorly near vents.

As for the initial question, I know how you feel! (I think most of us do!) Also, I don't believe anything pet shops say, and know that you will only hear what they want you to hear. Their goal is to sell you stuff! There could be more problems than are visible.

 

[squeekz1992]

My local pets mart (i think, or petco) has had a female jackson for awhile now. It is their first chameleon the store has been allowed to sell.

I feel bad because the girl I always get crickets from said they had her set up correctly (a dripper and such) but corporate made them remove the things she needed and put in a stupid waterfall and junk so it would look better or something.

I'm just wondering what differences in care would a female jackson need versus my male veiled. Do they need different temps/humidity or other things? Also, would I need a lay box or anything if she has not been with a male and since they lay live babies anyways?

I'm not sure if I'll get her because I can tell she has health concerns that would need to be cared for. She had a swollen eye, it seems to have gone though. She was sleeping during the day a couple times I visited.

My petsmart said the same thing. They all have reptiles, and they set up the enclosure properly and their "District Manager" said they had to put boththe adult Jackson's into the little teenytiny 5 gallon that they put babies in. I was really upset.

At first I was kind of pissed that these educated reptile owners had the set up screwed to crap, but then they told me what I said above, and then I was pissed at the District manager, who shouldn't even be the manager, because he worked at Barnes and Noble a week before he was district manager at petsmart.

I told the girl to tell him to go to B&N and get a book on how to properly care for chameleons aha.

I hate that the employees who care can't do anything without losing their jobs.. I have gone back several times to check on them and they have gotten significantly worse..it just breaks my heart..