Broken Spirit

[MarkJD]

Hello All,

Havnt really posted here before but always browsed the forums when i could.

I had two young Jackson Chameleons up until recently. They where CB and born in Jan. They died within 6 days of each other the smaller of the two going first. I have no idea what was the cause because one minute they where active and eating fine. Their waste was fine, they didnt appear dehydrated and didnt show any signs of stress or illness. As with chameleons its often fast and quite morbid when they die and this was the case.

Im not sure exactly what happened i have a friend who has numerous years experience with chameleons and keeps his in absolute prime condition offer me advice aswell as come and look at them. He couldnt really put his finger on it and i feel they are too small for a postmortem.

Moving on these where not my first chameleon species i did have a Male Yemen for three and a half years and i had always appreciated Jacksons and was delighted that i managed to get some. They are quite rare to come across here in Ireland.

Im just stuck in a rut at present as i feel it was totally my fault but because im not sure exactly what went wrong with them i feel like i shouldnt get another Cham incase the same thing happens. I had things right with temperature aswell as humidity and always made sure they had a well ventilated room aswell as plenty of water and appropriate sized food. The fact they showed the same conditions in their last days leads me to beleive it was something i did wrong.

What would you all suggest? iv been told to maybe try another Yemen or Panther to try pick my confidence back up as they are a bit hardier but also require the same care, attention and level of keeping that seperates chams from it all. But i dont want the same thing to happen, i think if it was to happen i would find myself completely giving up and out of the hobby.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[gary1621]

I not sure what to say other than i'm really sorry for your loss.

It could have happened for a number of reasons and i wouldnt totally blame yourself.

There are always a lot of 'what ifs' and 'it could have been' in this sort of situation.

I would take comfort in knowing that the friend of yours couldnt suggest a reason, this means you were doing nothing obviously wrong!

It could have been an issue with the chams breeding
It could have been a problem with your batch of feeders

I'm sure others will offer their suggestions, but i wouldnt give up completely. Do some more reading, get that confidence back up so you can enjoy your next cham, look into a local vet that is familiar with chams. Maybe start with one, so you can focus on it, once you know all is well branch out into maybe getting another.

 

[Julirs]

Hey Mark-the babies of the livebearing species are often very, very, VERY difficult to keep alive.

Two things do come to mind, Jacksons babies need cooler temps and higher airflow than many babies, so if your temps were too high, or if you had them in a confined glass enclosure, or both, that could have caused the problem.

 

[reyesjoshuacruz]

dont beat yourself up, even experienced keepers have trouble raising montanes, esp live bearers. Most expect to loose some even in a healthy clutch.

Also for whatever reason it seems like the age most pass is around 5 months.

seems like you were right around there

 

[MarkJD]

Thanks All

Thanks for the kind words and support. I wasnt aware that it was such a problem with some of montane species. I did keep a close eye on temperatures especially during the day due to the hot weather we have had over here. Always made sure they had enough misting and humidity. It even came to a stage where the Basking bulb was off all day or only receiving 1-2 hours in the morning and then it being turned off.

It was as you mentioned though probably the cause of their decline but it was so sudden and quick.

If i do decide to get another chameleon is there any you would all suggest. I was thinking maybe a Panther how do they tend to get on as youngsters?

 

[dirrtybirdy]

edited post

 

[Pure]

Mark from what I've gathered here very young panthers are a bit sensitive, but 3-4 months old shouldn't be much different than a 3 month old veiled. So as long as you stay away from anything younger than 3 months old you shouldn't have a problem. And most will tell you to stay away from any breeder that will sell a baby panther that young any ways.

I'm pretty sure some more panther experienced keepers can confirm and add to what I said.

 

[xanthoman]

once again, not enough info, can you post pics of your setup, what (specifically) was your lighting feeding, supplementation routine, what did you gut load with, where did you get your feeders, what (specifically ) was your watering, misting, routine, and did you actually watch them drink ?, SOME thirsty xanths will actually stare at dripping water for hrs and still decide not to drink, ( just because the cage is frequently wet, does not mean they are drinking) veileds are tough (relatively speaking), their conditions are a lot easier to achieve and maintain , and they are alot more able to deal with it when they are not met(than a jacksons), also , just because their feces (pooh), looked normal does not mean it was ok, the only way to really know, is with a microscope and personally i feel it is almost a neccessity for many of the more fragile chams. Every decent cham keeper feels a profound sense of loss when they lose a cham , but i think this seems even more intense, when you lose one of the montanes or more delicate chams, because you have to give a bigger piece of yourself, in order for it to work ,when you give that much of yourself and fail any way , it just intensifies the sense of loss