Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just sold my Veiled Chameleon today and im about to buy two sub adult Jackson chameleons. Number one, I know the temperature requirements are different and I currently have a sun glo 125 watt full spectrum bulb from exo terra that i had been using for my veiled.

Will it work on the jacksons if i back it up higher from the cage? If not what kind of lighting should i get for these guys?

Second question. I am getting a male and female with intention to breed them down the road. Can i house them together in a 40 gallon tank? IF not what kind of setup will i need!?

please reply!

Jax may get too hot with the Sunglo bulb. I haven't used one so am not an expert on it. A safer bet for jax would be a ReptiSun 5.0. It will produce good levels of UVB without overheating or burning. Also, many montane chams avoid the intense light for more of the day and may not spend as much time soaking up the UV they still need if the light is too intense. You can use an ordinary house light bulb for a basking spot and regulate the basking spot temp by moving the bulb closer or farther from the cage. Put the 2 lights next to each other so the cham gets both exposures at the same time. The UV light will really help your live plants.

A 40 gal tank is not an appropriate setup for most chams, even a single one. Too small, too hard to provide a temp and humidity gradient, the glass is a stressor, and air exchange is more complicated. Don't expect to house them together even in a cage. Unless you have a very large cage (6'x6'x10') the pair can stress each other, the male will constantly pester the female, they will compete for the best basking, drinking, feeding, and hiding spot in the cage and one or the other may end up sick. Chams are loners. They would only share a space during a brief courtship and breeding and separate soon after. You could build a large cage and divide it visually down the center. That way both sides of the cage can share UV lighting, misting, etc. When you want to try breeding you can remove the barrier temporarily. Lots and lots of live bushy plants to give hiding areas, help stabilize humidity, and provide water. Depending on your house climate you may also need to raise humidity with a humidifier. Get a good electronic humidity gauge. You will also need to make sure you can provide at least a 15 degree drop in temp at night.

Very informative as usual.

Just wanted to comment on all the help you give to others,
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PHEve / Eve

Blush...thanks for the thanks! It means a lot.

do you think a single 36 inch flourescent over a tank 36 inches in length would do the job? Or what about the compact flourescents out?

Some compacts are causing photokeratoconjuctivitus (snow blindness) in reptiles

Here's the site with the information...
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/uvinviv.htm

As Carlton said Tanks are a poor choice for most chameleons but this really goes for jacksons. I would suggest that you purchase the larsest screen cage you can find or better yet build your own and build it tall( 6 to 8ft.and at least 4x4 for a base) it's not that hard or expensive. As far as lighting goes You would be better off using regular old florescent bulbs and make up for the lack of uvb by housing your chams outside during the warmer months. Your chams would probably get more uvb in one week outdoors than they would get in a whole year from one of those overpriced things anyway. As I suggested to some one on the monitor forum if you really want to find out how good those bulbs aren't, find a book on growing pot. Those guys know their lighting. A friend of mine once showed me one of those books years ago and I was amazed at what I learned about lighting just as I was amazed at how little the reptile industry doesn't know about lighting.

should have made this clearer before this is NOT a tank, 40 gallon screen reptarium from apogee, but good advice to all and i appreciat it

Thanks for the clarification! The size of the Reptarium is still an issue. Not really large enough for even one adult jax, no way could they share it for the same reasons listed above. It's just too small IMHO. Larger cages offer a gradient of temp and humidity, and will accommodate larger bushy plants for drinking, climbing, hunting, and hiding. Larger cages end up being easier to manage as you can do more with them and the cham can move around more naturally. If you have trouble finding your cham in the cage it's about right. Now a 90 or 120 gal Reptarium would be great for 1 jax! You could put 2 side by side with a visual barrier between. Another thing to consider about the Reptariums...the zippers tend to fray and jam if they are used long term. You'll be opening the cage basically every day to clean, feed, etc. and this will eventually wear them out. Zoophobas and sometimes a large crix will chew through the mesh. Most of us use Reptariums as temporary housing (for juveniles or isolation, or for basking sessions outdoors).

With all the Reptariums I've had and still use, I find the more the zipper is put to use, the easier it opens and closes. The first week or two is usually when I break zippers. After the mesh starts to stretch out and relax, the stress is off the zipper when opening and closing. And believe it or not, I havn't had any insect chew through since I've been planting the Reptariums I have currently ( going on two years I beleive? ). I will say that the Reptariums I've bought recently seem to be very brittle compared to my older ones, which have been sitting outside for most of their carreers. It may just be a coincedence, but something to consider I guess.