Help ASAP

[jojackson]

Try to provide an easier perch beneath the basking spot, one that runs by the dripper so it can get at the hose end.
Does look slightly dehydrated, are you gutloading the insects with fresh moist veg/fruit?
This helps hydrate.
Your feeder cup looks difficult for a small cham to feed from, perhaps you could use a shallower one, hung near the basking perch.
Crix will jump out, but other insects wont. Holding the head upright after drinking is normal.
Dont handle it everyday, its more stressful for younger animals and may be putting it off eating/drinking.
Climbing the ceiling wire might indicate it cannot get warm enough, hench my suggestion of a better perch for basking, but dont raise the temp, just make sure it can get close enough for it to actually be 80f there.

 

[pssh]

He's your pet, no amount of time should stop you from taking him to a vet. For all you know something serious could be wrong with him. If there are no obvious signs it could be internal. I think a vet visit is in order.

 

[baggedd5087]

Try to provide an easier perch beneath the basking spot, one that runs by the dripper so it can get at the hose end.
Does look slightly dehydrated, are you gutloading the insects with fresh moist veg/fruit?
This helps hydrate.
Your feeder cup looks difficult for a small cham to feed from, perhaps you could use a shallower one, hung near the basking perch.
Crix will jump out, but other insects wont. Holding the head upright after drinking is normal.
Dont handle it everyday, its more stressful for younger animals and may be putting it off eating/drinking.
Climbing the ceiling wire might indicate it cannot get warm enough, hench my suggestion of a better perch for basking, but dont raise the temp, just make sure it can get close enough for it to actually be 80f there.

His eyes are kind of sunken in but his urate is white. im gutloading the crickets with fresh apples, carrots ect. ill try that other stuff and see what happens. how many crickets should he be eating a day?

 

[baggedd5087]

He's your pet, no amount of time should stop you from taking him to a vet. For all you know something serious could be wrong with him. If there are no obvious signs it could be internal. I think a vet visit is in order.

ill see what i can do i wish this happened on like wednesday i have no class on that day and i really cant miss any classes all my finals are this week

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Try to use these supplements. they are very recommended and work really well.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...d-cage-cleaners/-/rep-cal-calcium-without-d3/


http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...cleaners/-/repcal-ultra-fine-calcium-with-d3/


http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...cage-cleaners/-/repcal-herptivite-supplement/

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."i got a syringe and when he hisses at it i stick it in his mouth and get a little water in him"...I hope you didn't get water into his lungs doing this. The picture you posted of him standing on his legs bothers me because of the way he holds his chest in.

You said he wasn't eating and kept his eyes shut...has this changed at all?
Does he keep his eyes closed when he's not in the cage?

Chameleons need exposure to UVB, as I'm sure you know. This allows them to produce D3 which then allows them to use the calcium in their diet.

Now..since most insects we use as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus its important to dust the insects before feeding them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder.

I also dust twice a month lightly with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder. This will ensure that the chameleon has some D3 without overdoing it and letting it get/produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB.

I dust twice a month lightly with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A to ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without overdoing it. Beta carotene (prOformed vitamin A) will not build up in the system, but there is controversy as to whether any/all chameleons can convert it to vitamin A. PrEformed vitamin A can build up in the system and excess prEformed can interfere with the D3 and push the chameleon towards MBD.

Gutloading/feeding the insects with a nutritious diet will also help your chameleon. I gutload crickets, superworms, roaches with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, etc.).

Appropriate temperatures aid in good digestion which will help with nutrient absorption.

Calcium, D3, vitamin A and phos. are all important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon and need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, look at your supplements, what you feed the chameleon and what you feed to the insects.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://adcham.com/

 

[jojackson]

At that age its growing fast, atleast half dozen small crix a day, very roughly.
Keep in mind its a large cage for a small lizard, lots of plants means lots of hunting to find those crix, energy expenditure, disproportionate to energy gain.
Perhaps every few days you could use a small tub with a branch and put some crickets in that for easier hunting.
meanwhile try the shallower cup with other feeders and organise the perch.
You learn to adjust as required.

 

[baggedd5087]

You said..."i got a syringe and when he hisses at it i stick it in his mouth and get a little water in him"...I hope you didn't get water into his lungs doing this. The picture you posted of him standing on his legs bothers me because of the way he holds his chest in.

You said he wasn't eating and kept his eyes shut...has this changed at all?
Does he keep his eyes closed when he's not in the cage?

Chameleons need exposure to UVB, as I'm sure you know. This allows them to produce D3 which then allows them to use the calcium in their diet.

Now..since most insects we use as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus its important to dust the insects before feeding them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder.

I also dust twice a month lightly with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder. This will ensure that the chameleon has some D3 without overdoing it and letting it get/produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB.

I dust twice a month lightly with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A to ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without overdoing it. Beta carotene (prOformed vitamin A) will not build up in the system, but there is controversy as to whether any/all chameleons can convert it to vitamin A. PrEformed vitamin A can build up in the system and excess prEformed can interfere with the D3 and push the chameleon towards MBD.

Gutloading/feeding the insects with a nutritious diet will also help your chameleon. I gutload crickets, superworms, roaches with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, etc.).

Appropriate temperatures aid in good digestion which will help with nutrient absorption.

Calcium, D3, vitamin A and phos. are all important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon and need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, look at your supplements, what you feed the chameleon and what you feed to the insects.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://adcham.com/

When i took that pic he was swollowing a drink of water, he is keeping his eyes open more now. and when i take him out his eyes stay open. and i didnt force water down his throat i made sure the water stayed in his mouth and let him drink it on his own

 

[baggedd5087]

At that age its growing fast, atleast half dozen small crix a day, very roughly.
Keep in mind its a large cage for a small lizard, lots of plants means lots of hunting to find those crix, energy expenditure, disproportionate to energy gain.
Perhaps every few days you could use a small tub with a branch and put some crickets in that for easier hunting.
meanwhile try the shallower cup with other feeders and organise the perch.
You learn to adjust as required.

Ya i cup feed 1/4 inch crickets. and ever since i got him he has only been eating about 3 a day and i put like 5 or 6 in his cup every day

 

[baggedd5087]

Try to use these supplements. they are very recommended and work really well.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...d-cage-cleaners/-/rep-cal-calcium-without-d3/


http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...cleaners/-/repcal-ultra-fine-calcium-with-d3/


http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...cage-cleaners/-/repcal-herptivite-supplement/

Im using the rep-cal calcium w/d3 and the rep-cal herptivite, i need to order the calcium w/o d3 cause i cant find it anywhere in town

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Im using the rep-cal calcium w/d3 and the rep-cal herptivite, i need to order the calcium w/o d3 cause i cant find it anywhere in town

Glad u have 2 of the 3 now order the 3rd one from the website i showed you

 

[jojackson]

Ya i cup feed 1/4 inch crickets. and ever since i got him he has only been eating about 3 a day and i put like 5 or 6 in his cup every day


Should have a better appetite at that age, again, possibly its not getting warm enough, climbing the ceiling wire trying to do so. Try another nice horizontal perch and see if it dosent bask more and its eating increase. Do double check the temp at the new perch though, not too close.
How often is it pooing?

 

[baggedd5087]

Ya i cup feed 1/4 inch crickets. and ever since i got him he has only been eating about 3 a day and i put like 5 or 6 in his cup every day


Should have a better appetite at that age, again, possibly its not getting warm enough, climbing the ceiling wire trying to do so. Try another nice horizontal perch and see if it dosent bask more and its eating increase. Do double check the temp at the new perch though, not too close.
How often is it pooing?

He is pooping everyday and i moved his vine closer to the basking spot his body is 86 f

 

[HairyScaryMark]

possibly its not getting warm enough, climbing the ceiling wire trying to do so.

The OP is from Colorado and I imagine it's quite cold there currently. I found one 60W bulb sufficient in a small mesh cage during summer but I've been using 3 bulbs on my adult cage (60 W directly over basking spot + 2 x 40W), until a clamp lamp de-combusted earlier this week and I don't believe it's excess to requirements. I'm going to change to 2 x 60W bulbs and add a natural light/plant bulb, which I think will work better from heating/ visual lighting perspective

He is pooping everyday and i moved his vine closer to the basking spot his body is 86 f

I doubt my last statement after reading this however. Is it consistently that sort of temperature at the basking spot? Also, what distance from the bulb are you measuring that? Can the chameleon realistic sit at that exact spot? I found the temperatures I measured changes notably when moving the sensors small distances underneath the bulbs.

 

[baggedd5087]

I doubt my last statement after reading this however. Is it consistently that sort of temperature at the basking spot? Also, what distance from the bulb are you measuring that? Can the chameleon realistic sit at that exact spot? I found the temperatures I measured changes notably when moving the sensors small distances underneath the bulbs.

Yes thats exactly where he is sitting i use my temp gun to measure that i got my temp gun from work and im a welder so i know these measurments are correct those temp guns we use are very precise it cost me 650 bucks. and yes its freezing here last night it was 12 degrees outside my window

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."When i took that pic he was swollowing a drink of water"...I figured that...but I still don't like the way he holds his chest in.

You said..."he is keeping his eyes open more now. and when i take him out his eyes stay open"...I wonder if it could be the UVB light that is part of the problem? Maybe you should turn it off for a couple of days?

 

[baggedd5087]

You said..."When i took that pic he was swollowing a drink of water"...I figured that...but I still don't like the way he holds his chest in.

You said..."he is keeping his eyes open more now. and when i take him out his eyes stay open"...I wonder if it could be the UVB light that is part of the problem? Maybe you should turn it off for a couple of days?

Ill try that luckily my 18" fixture just broke so ill buy one and leave it off for a few days. but wont not having uvb hurt him?

 

[jojackson]

Not for a few days or even a few weeks no.

 

[baggedd5087]

ok cool ill see if that is the problem im using a 18" reptiglo 5.0 im a broke college kid and couldnt afford shipping but im starting my new job on friday so ill get more money. so if thats the case should i get the reptisun 5.0?

 

[jojackson]

reptisun 5 is fine. the one you are using now should be fine too. *shrugs*