Jackson Chameleon Lighting/heating

Hey everyone,

I am soon going to buy a Jackson Chameleon!, but i need some advise on what products to buy for lighting + heathing, I just bought the ESU Fresh Air Habitat, so i need advice to keeping the heat in it. (such as hot pads, incodesint light ect.)
thanx,

Will

Jackson's Chameleons

A simple web search will turn up a number of care sheets for a Jackson's chameleon.

Here are a couple thoughts that may not be in the normal care sheets.
1. cage furniture. Go to a HomeDepot or local nursery and buy a ficus tree that is several inches too tall for your screen cage. Then, clip the branches so that it fits in the cage. By buying a tree that's too big and clipping it back, you provide nice thick branches throughout the cage for your chameleon to climb on. Just put a ficus tree or two in the cage in their pots. Do not put any substrate on the floor of the cage. Keep the floor clear so that it is easy to wipe clean.

2. Lighting. Jackson's chameleons thrive outdoors. Put the cage outdoors whenever you can (any sunny day when temperatures are 74 or above). It's best if the cage can be outdoors 24 hours per day. Indoors use fullspectrum flourescents for UV and an incandescent for basking. A 40 watt bulb is probably sufficient for basking. Here are two tips to keep it from burning your chameleon: a. Make sure the chameleon can't touch the bulb; b. hold your hand under the bulb--if any part of your hand feels uncomfortably hot (like you don't want to hold your hand there much longer), then it is also too hot for your chameleon and will burn your chameleon's skin. If the bulb is too hot for you, it is too hot for your cham. Some reflectors for incandescent bulbs focus the light of the bulb and create a hot spot that can burn your lizard. This is why I always check new incandescent fixtures by placing my hand under them.

3. Temperature. Jackson's live in humid conditions at fairly high elevations. I can't imagine that you will ever need any more heat than what is created by the lights I describe above. Jackson's thrive with temperatures in the mid-70's to 80 degrees and will visit a basking area that gets over 80 degrees. If ambient temperatures go over 85, they start to struggle.

4. Humidity. Humid but not dank conditions with dripping water available for a minimum of an hour per day. Spray the cage once or twice per day, but don't rely on spraying for complete hydration. A dripping water source is important. Drainage is the problem you will need to solve.

Mike