Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was planing to build a terrarium for a jackson and was woundering if it would be alrite. i have never owned a jackson so if u know of a good internet site for jacksons that would be a great help.well my plans so far were to get a 20 long for the water portion in the front of the cage and then build a glass front extending from top of the tank and the back and sides will be screens. the portion where the jackson would be is 30''longx2'deepx3'high in back of the 20 long there will be some kind of tub holding the dirt substrate, logs and plants. i also wanted to put a slow water fall/drip system comming from the back of the enclosure and dumping the water back in to the 20 long. the water will be filterd, but i was woundering how safe having a tank of water in the cage is? would the jackson fall in the water and drown? and would the jackson try to eat the fish? haha i duno just trying to make sure my jackson dosent die. please let me knwo if i have overlooked anything. thanks

mike

The first rule of Chameleon husbandry is to avoid glass tanks. You need a cage. Chameleons languish in tanks, and the constant stress of seeing their reflection will eventually lead to a decline in health. They don't understand glass and will try to walk through it constantly. Also, Chameleons easily drown in water. Even when it is one inch deep. However, you don't have to worry about them eating the fish. You really shouldn't try to keep any other animals at all with the Chameleon.

Here is a site with a lot of good info on Jackson's:
http://www.geocities.com/chamjacksonii/

I recommend doing a lot of research before you buy. Keeping a Chameleon can be expensive and very time consuming, trust me. Be prepared to be very attentive to the needs of the lizard. Actually, in my opinion Jackson's aren't nearly as easy to keep or as hardy as Velied or Panther (epxensive) Chameleons, which I think are best for beginners. You may want to consider one of those instead.

Also, you need no soil or substrate in the cage, just a bare floor. Soil harbors bacteria galore, especially when it has rotting Chameleon feces and dead crickets in it. A bare floor will eliminate a lot of problems. And you don't need a waterfall, as tempting as they are. They aren't worth the problems they can cause. You want a big cage with a potted tree or plant(s) in it. Here are some more sites to check out:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://www.adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/

And here is a great site for cages. NOTE - avoid fine mesh cages. Use PVC coated wire:

http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/reptile/

Fine mesh (window-screen) cages pull out Chameleon toenails, which don't grow back. I have seen this happen many times. Broken toenails can also lead to horrible infections.

If you have any more questions, please let us know. And don't listen to people who work at well-known large Pet Store Chains.