chameleon not acting normal

[Vince]

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Home made screen/wood. 2' x 2' wide by 3.5' high
* Lighting - Reptisun two 18" one 5.0 and one 10.0 For basking i have a 75 watt soft white. (normal household bulb) They are on timers. Turn on at 7:45 and turn off at 8:30. The days keep getting shorter though.
* Temperature -75 degrees normal temp 80 to 85 degrees basking spot. I do not have a air conditioner so his temps did raise for about a week to two this summer. I did raise his basking light though. I use a digital thermometer/hydrometer.
* Humidity -His levels go from 55 to 70 percent. I use a humidifier to make sure i reach these levels.
* Plants - I use live plants i have two pothos and a schefrella.
* Placement - In my bedroom. Minimum traffic. I have a towel on the side of the cage that gets the traffic.
* Location - Where are you geographically located? I live in Marquette mi.


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - A male jacksons. A year and 4 months now. Raised him from birth.
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Never just to take him from his cage to the out side cage in the summer. I took him out today to observe to see if i noticed anything abnormal. Other than that just for cage cleaning.
* Feeding - I feed him roaches and supers as a staple, he also gets silkies when available, butter worms, phenixworms, and crickets. He was fed everyday pretty much as much as he would eat until a year old. Now he eats every other day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
* Supplements - I use rep-cal calcium every other feeding. Rep-cal calcium with D3 once a month unless he has been outside a lot. And finally, reptivite once every other month.
* Watering - He has a auto mister runs 4 times a day. 3 times at 10 minutes and 1 time at 5 mins. I also hand mist in the morning because i have never scene him drink from anything else but the drops from the mist bottle. I buy culligan water from walmart.
* Fecal Description - Brown poo, his urates are normally mostly white. Lately they have been showing a little orange. He hasn't been drinking as well as normal just the last couple days. He does drink just don't seem to take the normal amount. He has never been tested for parasites i know i am a terrible person and i will do this asap.
* History - I raised him from birth. He has always been real active and strong.
* Current Problem - Just not acting himself. He has sat under the basking light all day. (Its not that cold.) But it is colder than it has been. The temps here in mi just dropped significantly the last week or two now.
He also, has been spending a lot of time under his 5.0 UVB when not under the basking. I just changed the UVB bulbs a week ago now. I have noticed he has a fat roll around his neck only when he scrunches himself up though. Could he be lazy and over weight? I know i need to do a fecal and should take him in for a good check up but for me to go to reputable vet i would have to drive for six hours. I do have an OK reptile vet here in Ishpeming Mi. but not real reputable. I just wanted to see if anyone can pick something out that i am doing wrong before i go somewhere. He normally is real active. The only other thing i can think of is he did a partial shed a while back. I can tell what part of his body didn't shed because it is kind of Grey/dry looking. Maybe he is uncomfortable? I just wanted to ask because i don't want to be just wishfully thinking. He seems to get lazier and lazier everyday.
I have some zilla humidifying spray suppose to help with dry skin but i don't want to use it till i know it is a good product.

Thanks for any help

 

[hallenhe]

I see nothing obvious. They'll slow down a bit from what you're used to in age, and with the onset of winter (I'm in Michigan, too; every cham I've had slows down when the day lengths get shorter, to the extent of being active pretty much only from 10 am - 3 pm in midwinter). It doesn't sound too ominous, but I would take him in to a vet for the sake of peace of mind; mine will do a blood test to make sure liver and kidneys are functioning well, and make sure there are no problems with hydration.
Lower temperatures shouldn't really be a problem with a Jackson's.
Good luck with him!

 

[Vince]

Thank you,

Just wanted to ask, how well does your chameleon take to being poked for the blood test. Is this something that should just be done by a vet that i know is reputable?

 

[jannb]

Take him to the vet. Don't wait. These little animals go down fast. Just make sure you have a good chameleon vet.

 

[Vince]

I think that is what it has came down to. I do not want to wait till the last minute. I just wanted to see if there was anything i was obviously doing wrong.

 

[AJA]

I am sure you know this, but chamelons mask their 'weakness' as best they can to avoid some hungry predator (you, sorry but you are a potential predator) from coming along and making an easy meal out of him.

You say he is getting weaker and weaker every day. You can't fiddle around with these guys. When they start to crash you need to catch it ASAP to prevent the nose dive.

You can second guess everything you do and ask 100 people on this forum, but the longer to wait the worse it gets for him. Get the guy to the vet, bring in a fresh fecal if you have one.

To me, you are over supplementing. I have no idea if this is causing the issue or not. Print out what you wrote on his husbandy and bring it to the vet.

Good luck to you and him.

 

[Vince]

I am sure you know this, but chamelons mask their 'weakness' as best they can to avoid some hungry predator (you, sorry but you are a potential predator) from coming along and making an easy meal out of him.

You say he is getting weaker and weaker every day. You can't fiddle around with these guys. When they start to crash you need to catch it ASAP to prevent the nose dive.

You can second guess everything you do and ask 100 people on this forum, but the longer to wait the worse it gets for him. Get the guy to the vet, bring in a fresh fecal if you have one.

To me, you are over supplementing. I have no idea if this is causing the issue or not. Print out what you wrote on his husbandy and bring it to the vet.

Good luck to you and him.

Thanks for the reply. Over supplementation has always been a concern. I know that jacksons don't require as much supplementation as a veiled. I always try do give minimum on the insects but who knows. I need to get a blood test asap. He still has a real strong grip and good appetite just need to act on this situation tomorrow.

 

[hallenhe]

I'm a bit squeamish about it, so the vet always does the blood test in another room, but he always brings the cham back seemingly no worse for wear and not looking particularly traumitized. (Mine gives me the results within 15-20 minutes, too; wish my own doctor was as speedy!)

 

[Vince]

I'm a bit squeamish about it, so the vet always does the blood test in another room, but he always brings the cham back seemingly no worse for wear and not looking particularly traumitized. (Mine gives me the results within 15-20 minutes, too; wish my own doctor was as speedy!)

Yea i will defiantly be a little weary when my guy gets poked too.

 

[Vince]

Well i can get him in today to see a vet but the vet i have found for today doesnt do that many exotics. She said she has done snakes and iguana's but did not say she has done chameleons. I can get him into another vet that does see quite a few exotics tomorrow or the next day. What should i do? I would like to get a blood test done.

My cham did take a huge drink this morning and looks like he may be a little more energetic but, i would still like to do the check up. I noticed today that one of his back ankles may be a little swollen, but he doesn't seem to be favoring it.

 

[Vince]

OK never mind the last thread. I just got a call from the vet that i could get into today and they recommended the other one that i can get into tomorrow because they have more experience. Thank goodness for honesty, i really was unsure of taking him there.
He seems to be more alert today he took a huge drink and one roach down already.

 

[Vince]

OK i talked to the vet today and made an appointment for tomorrow. The lady said she wants to give him a examination and run a fecal. She said she would do that before a blood test. How ever she said she would do a blood test if that is what i wanted. But she would have to send the results out. She said she can get a lot from a fecal without having to poke. Couple key things i remember were she wants to check for parasites, and bacteria. She said she runs a couple different tests.
My main concern is she has never done a blood sample on a chameleon. She has lots of experience with exotics but not chameleons i guess. Is this a real delicate process that should only be done by someone who has done it before? She said she would do it, and everyone has recommended me to her even another vet that deals with reptiles.

 

[Vince]

OK i talked to the vet today and made an appointment for tomorrow. The lady said she wants to give him a examination and run a fecal. She said she would do that before a blood test. How ever she said she would do a blood test if that is what i wanted. But she would have to send the results out. She said she can get a lot from a fecal without having to poke. Couple key things i remember were she wants to check for parasites, and bacteria. She said she runs a couple different tests.
My main concern is she has never done a blood sample on a chameleon. She has lots of experience with exotics but not chameleons i guess. Is this a real delicate process that should only be done by someone who has done it before? She said she would do it, and everyone has recommended me to her even another vet that deals with reptiles.

Going to make me make this decision on my own eh?

 

[jojackson]

Talk to her about your concern.

 

[Vince]

Talk to her about your concern.

Yeah i just wanted to hear it from someone else i guess. Could some one please give me some insight on where do they take the blood from (what part of the body?) do they heal well, do i have to worry about infection?

Just some insight would be nice especially since she hase never done a sample on a cham.

 

[Vince]

Well she said if she was going to do a blood test it would be through the vein in the tail. Is this the right way to do it??? Also, she said she would have to send it out because they dont have the equipment to read such a small sample there.

I have came to the conclusion that I am not going to do a blood test unless the problem worsens. I hope to do a fecal test tomorrow, depending on if i get the feces.

Also i wanted to ask, can anyone tell me the average weight of an approximately year old male jacksons? My guy weighed in today as 100g. I thought this was heavy for his age. I asked if i should try to feed him less, or less of fattier foods and she told me no, she likes what he is getting. Is 100 grams in the ball park for his age?

 

[hallenhe]

Through the vein at the base of the tail is what they've done for mine. Can't help with weight.

 

[Carlton]

Rather than wonder about the weight (it probably varies a lot based on individual body size and diet), look at body condition. Look at the base of the tail. The cross section from top to bottom should be oval, not completely round (too fat). If you see the tendons defined along the tail base probably a bit thin. Seeing ribs isn't reliable either. You should be able to see them as the cham stretches while climbing. Also look at the casque. A cham in good condition should have a full plump looking casque partially due to hydration and body fat.

 

[Vince]

Rather than wonder about the weight (it probably varies a lot based on individual body size and diet), look at body condition. Look at the base of the tail. The cross section from top to bottom should be oval, not completely round (too fat). If you see the tendons defined along the tail base probably a bit thin. Seeing ribs isn't reliable either. You should be able to see them as the cham stretches while climbing. Also look at the casque. A cham in good condition should have a full plump looking casque partially due to hydration and body fat.

Thanks for the advise. With what you had said i can tell he is in good shape.
I am just real skeptical about believing everything this vet said. She did do what she could but clearly does not deal with many chameleons.

 

[Vince]

I forgot to say that she did find a sore on his toe. One of his nails on the back foot is hardly there and there is a sore on the underside of the nail bed. I will try to post some picks but i don't want to bother him today. The vet visit was a little stressful on him.
Anyway, she recommended i soak his foot in Beta dine solution (NO SCRUB) And to dilute it with water. Is this a good method or is there something else that i could maybe apply? She didn't want to use something that was applied because she was worried if he ingested anything it would be possibly bad. With that being said, if he is going to ingest anything wouldn't he have just as good of a chance when he is soaking in it?