3 month old Jackson's Chameleon sick!

[ilovevolcomstone]

My chameleon, Karma, isn't doing so well. I think he is dehydrated. He's three months old and about 2 inches big. Two days ago, I noticed that he has been sleeping a lot during the day and not responding well. Yesterday, I paid special attention to him to make sure he was hydrated, and offered him some crickets, but he didn't respond. Everytime I mist him, he freaks out and tries to bite me (which he never has done before), so I take the opportunity and put water in his mouth. Two times, I even got the chance to put crickets in there. So, he has eaten 2 crickets and has drank plenty of water. He still cannot grip or walk well. Recently, he will just freak out and bite his tail, and I have no clue what is wrong with him. Last night he started shedding again for the second time in his life. I remember the first time he shedded about a month ago, he didn't really know what was going on and looked really depressed, kind of like he does right now.

I feed him gut loaded crickets, mist him all the time, I have a drip system, I have a 50W 120V bulb, and a 26W 10.0 UVB bulb. Right now he is sitting on a moist paper towel with the light right next to him, and I am keeping an eye on him.

I am really worried about him, so I made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow at 2:30. He said that it would cost $40 for the physical, and about $20 for the fecal testing if needed.

Is there something I can do to help him, and should I cancel the appointment? Or leave it up to the vet?

 

[Nicodemayo]

From the looks of it you have the right idea. One thing that you didn't mention was dusting his crickets. Dusting is essential to prevent undernourishment. I wish some other users would learn from you and make vet appointments right away. Some people poke around and mess with them before finally facing the fact that a $40 visit could save their chams life. What other insects besides crickets are you incorporating into its diet?

edit-be sure to keep him well hydrated if you can. Use a small dropper to drop water into his mouth if you need to. If the vet notices severe dehydration he'll probably prescribe an hydrating solution packed full of electrolytes to give him by hand.

 

[ilovevolcomstone]

I have dust for the crickets, but everytime I dust them, they die extremely fast, so I get frustrated and just gut load them and feed them oranges. And I'm just feeding him crickets. They are the easiest things to feed him that I can get a hold of in the pet stores. Thanks.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Montane species are very sensitive to all supplementation you should try supplementing (feeding) the insects instead of the dusting them .

 

[dodolah]

don't cancel the vet.
post a picture of your enclosure and your chameleon so we can help you better.

 

[ilovevolcomstone]

i feed the crickets this stuff called calcium plus by t-rex.

 

[Nicodemayo]

Sounds to me that he has MDB. Although you claim to have proper lighting, its useless if your not incorporating calcium and other vitamins and minerals into the diet. Chams need a variety into their diet and although crickets may be the easiest feeder to acquire, feeding solely crickets without proper dusting wont make the cut and your chams health will reflect that over time. Sounds harsh but this is why chameleons are considered an advanced reptile to keep becuase the extra work they require.

 

[ilovevolcomstone]

i actually dont have my camera with me, and if i did have my camera, it would for sure not be able to take a good picture of my chameleon. haha. but right now, he is in a 19 (length) x 20 (height) x 10 (width) screened enclosure. i believe

 

[ilovevolcomstone]

Alright. I guess I will still bring him to the vet tomorrow, and just make sure in the future to give him proper nutrients and dusting the crickets. What other insects, etc can I feed him? I talked to someone before that had some chameleons and they told me to just stick to crickets while he is young, and when he is bigger, to feed him more of a variety of food.

 

[Justin Carl]

I would keep it mixed up while he is young. I did this with my panther and found that he has yoe to go on a feeder strike.
Try flies and roach nymphs.

 

[ilovevolcomstone]

okay. right now he is acting really wierd. his back legs arent crawling with the others, his mouth is open, and he occasionally tries to bite his tail. he also went from straight up black to really light green, almost white. now he is a medium brown/light green pattern and is just sitting there. im confused

 

[ilovevolcomstone]

I borrowed my roommates camera and uploaded pictures on webshots.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562219103XDWBQa

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

okay. right now he is acting really wierd. his back legs arent crawling with the others, his mouth is open, and he occasionally tries to bite his tail. he also went from straight up black to really light green, almost white. now he is a medium brown/light green pattern and is just sitting there. im confused

It sounds like he may have an impaction. Your vet will be able to treat this. If it were MBD you would likely see other traditional symptoms, such as bow leggedness. However, it could be MBD, or even multiple issues. Do take him to the vet, while there bring up the possibility of impaction, and MBD, and ask about supplementation. The open mouth and biting his tail may be due to pain caused by impaction. Losing the use of his back legs is also a sign of impaction, and usually goes away after the impaction is taken care of.

Don't panic. These issues should all be very treatable. To ease his discomfort, you can try soaking him in a warm bath. Here is a good thread for you to read. Begin at the beginning, because toward the end of the thread we ended up discussing something else entirely. But in the beginning of this thread there are even photos of one of the member's cham who lost use of his back legs due to impaction. The impaction was cured. https://www.chameleonforums.com/dead-backend-7022/index2.html

 

[ilovevolcomstone]

Thank you! Unless im wrong, i think you forgot to post the link to that thread...

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

I borrowed my roommates camera and uploaded pictures on webshots.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562219103XDWBQa

I ADDED THAT LINK JUST NOW. SORRY. You wouldn't believe how often I do that! Here it is again: https://www.chameleonforums.com/dead-backend-7022/index2.html

I just wrote and posted below. DO read that thread I linked to. In the beginning of it you will see a photo of a cham that is in a position almost exactly like yours. Your photos were out of focus, but from what I could see the legs didn't look rounded (such as in MBD). I would vote for impaction. The black coloration does not look good. Try to keep him as calm and stress free as possible. Don't have a lot of people around him. You may wish to quietly give him a warm bath to soothe him. The instructions for bathing are in the thread I linked to below. Let us know how he does, and let us know how the vet visit goes tomorrow. I'm rooting for both of you!

 

[ilovevolcomstone]

hahaha its fine. i'm reading it right now. but what is impaction? i looked up MBD and that is due to a calcium deciency or something...thanks!

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Keep in mind that impaction (if that's what it is) is either from something he ingested, or a symptom of another underlying problem.

 

[sharkey]

i've got a couple of things:

1) what size crix are you feeding? my 3 mos olds eat 1/8 - 1/4 inch crix. if they are bigger then the problem could easily be impaction. just b/c they fit it into their mouth doesn't mean they can digest that huge amount. i also still give my babies fruit flies - much smaller food. be very careful b/c if he is hungry he will try to eat too big food.

2) where are your lights situated? jackson's are a 'cool' cham - nothing like the others that most people here have. they don't tolerate temps in the high 90's - they even like night temps to drop to 70s. i don't heat my babies since the temp in the room they are in is so high (i am in fl and it is hot here). i wonder if your baby is too hot? can you measure the temp w/a thermometer to make sure?

i hope your baby gets better quick! they are such adorable creatures. your pics are fuzzy but the colors/pattern looks the same as mine. mine also are sometimes solid black/brown or white although recently some are turning olive green.

i'm glad you are going to the vet - good luck

 

[sharkey]

2 more things

1) i (gently) suggest that you get the baby off the paper towel and onto/into his plant so that he can hide and not worry about being eaten by a predator while he feels sick. this should decrease his stress and is more 'natural' for him. if he can't hold on to the plant then maybe you can turn the plant on it's side and put the baby 'in' the branches/leaves while his body is still on the ground. this offers him some protection.

2) about dusting - i understand the concept but there is also the possibility of over doing it - especially for babies. just like vitamines can be toxic to humans in large doses they can be lethal to animals. if the feeder insects are fed a healthy diet then they should in turn provide an ALMOST complete diet to your baby. dusting them while he feels sick may make him stop eating. you do need to determine your own dusting schedule, but i am not big on every day dusting b/c i am very careful about gut loading and letting my chams have sunlight. your crix are dying during the dusting process b/c you are covering them too much. in the beginning i would put the crix in a container and shake it like a spray paint can - killed the crix pretty rapidly. my new technique is to put crix in a cup, add a pinch of dust and then 'swirl' the cup - no shaking. now the crix don't die.

my fingers are crossed for your baby

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Sharkey raises some good points. I know you're under some considerable stress right now, but it would be great if you could sometime soon post the answers to these questions located on this administrative post: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

That way, some of the more experienced folks here can help you keep from having this issue crop up again.

Oh, one more thing. Do you have a heating pad? The typical kind made for humans. If so, then plug it in and warm it up tomorrow (on a medium setting). Then, when you get your cham ready for the vet, place the heating pad in a cardboard box (with the cord hanging out), place a thin towel or bunched up paper towels over the heating pad, and place your cham on that. Close up the box. When they are sick it is important to keep them good and warm. When you get to the vets, plug in the heating pad cord while you wait for your appointment. Plug it in again when you get into the examination room. I did this with a critically ill Meller's and he actually came through the vet appointment rather well. A fairly healthy cham can cool down on the way to the vet, and will likely fall asleep. But a critically ill cham can have problems with the trip if not given extra care.