Help Henry!

K

kirstilouise24

New Member
Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Screen
* Lighting - one small heat lamp and a larger "artificial sunlamp" as the man at the store called it.
* Temperature - I'm not sure the exact temperature... but i leave the heat lamp on at all times, although it has been getting a bit warm in my room lately...
* Humidity - It isn't really humid at all...
* Plants - No live plants, just plastic ones for him to crawl around on.
* Placement - The cage is on the floor at the foot of my bed with no vents or fans. It is NOT in a walk way of any sort.. it is about 2.5 feet tall and wide
* Location - In the woods of Oregon... very green area


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - I'm actually not positive of the sex, but I assumed he was male for some reason... the man who sold him to me may have told me. I was told he would still grow a bit so he was young but almost full grown--I haven't noticed any growth, however. I have had him for about seven weeks.
* Handling - I hold him about once every 3 or 4 days...
* Feeding - I toss two crickets in every day around 11 a.m.. He typically eats them within an hour, but he hasn't eaten lately. there are 3 in his cage right now just crawling around that he hasn't even tried to get.
* Supplements - 2 crickets twice a week with calcium.
* Watering - I typically spray water with a mister for a few minutes until he looks satisfied... if I am in a hurry, I put 3 or 4 ice cubes over the top of his cage and let it drip for him and then spray some more when I get home.
* Fecal Description - Creamy white jelly-ish... never been tested.
* History - he is usually pretty lively... as much as a chameleon should be... typically when I put him on my arm he will crawl up it pretty quickly and look around the whole time...
* Current Problem - he won't open his eyes and is moving very very slowly... when I arrived home he was laying on his side at the bottom of his cage--I actually thought he was dead, but he is doing much better since then, however not looking great. I live quite a ways away from a vet, but I am willing to drive the distance if I have to, I would just like to try to get him well myself first.
 
Here's a photo... notice the back foot hanging off... I'm very worried.
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You said you use "one small heat lamp and a larger "artificial sunlamp" as the man at the store called it"...what brands and types (spiral, compact, long linear tube, etc.) are they? Is one a UVB light?

You said..."I'm not sure the exact temperature... but i leave the heat lamp on at all times, although it has been getting a bit warm in my room lately"...you need to know the temperatures.

You said..."No live plants, just plastic ones for him to crawl around on"...it would be better if you had real plants that are non-toxic and well-washed (both sides of the leaves).

You said..."The cage is on the floor at the foot of my bed with no vents or fans. It is NOT in a walk way of any sort.. it is about 2.5 feet tall and wide"...it would be much better if the cage was not on the floor.

You said..."I'm actually not positive of the sex, but I assumed he was male for some reason... the man who sold him to me may have told me. I was told he would still grow a bit so he was young but almost full grown--I haven't noticed any growth, however. I have had him for about seven weeks"...what species?? Can you post a picture please?

You said..."I toss two crickets in every day around 11 a.m.. He typically eats them within an hour, but he hasn't eaten lately. there are 3 in his cage right now just crawling around that he hasn't even tried to get"..two may not be enough depending on the size of the crickets and the species of the chameleon.

You said..."2 crickets twice a week with calcium"...crickets have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous so its important to dust them at most feedings to make up for it. You will need more information on supplementing once we know what species your chameleon is.

Yopu said..."I put 3 or 4 ice cubes over the top of his cage and let it drip"...ice cubes make cold water and will cool your chameleon off...a simple dripper can be made from a deli cup by poking a very small hole in the bottom of it so that it drips at the rate of one or two drops per second. Just fill it and place it so it will drip on the plants.

You said..."Creamy white jelly-ish... never been tested"...you are describing the urate (urine)...there should be a brown sausage like piece too. If there is none, then your chameleon could be impacted...or it could be because its not eating. Do you have a substrate in the cage?


You said..."he won't open his eyes and is moving very very slowly"...some lights can cause eye problems.

You said..."when I arrived home he was laying on his side at the bottom of his cage--I actually thought he was dead, but he is doing much better since then, however not looking great. I live quite a ways away from a vet, but I am willing to drive the distance if I have to, I would just like to try to get him well myself first."...I would get it to the vet unless you can make changes that solve the problem right away. Its not good that its laying on the floor of the cage. Could be the light...could be overheated...could be sick...you haven't given us enough information to know....but it needs to be resolved very quickly or you will have a dead chameleon on your hands.
 
A bunch of things need to be done to improve his health...

For starters, we need more specific info. Temps (basking and general), brand/model of lights (are you using a coil type bulb?), any substrate being used, etc.

Next:
-the cage needs to be placed higher. Definitely not sitting on the ground.
-he needs to be fed more crickets, as well as fresh greens (dandelion, collard, arugula, etc.) and the crickets need to be fed fresh greens as well (referred to as "gutloading")
-crickets need to be dusted with calcium as well as vitamins around 3 times per week

As a last-moment kind of thing, you can try giving him/her Repta-Aid Critical Care Formula from Fluker's, which can be bought at Petsmart. It's completely safe, so even if it turns out that it wasn't needed, there's no harm in it.
 
He's a Jackson chameleon... he has horns so that means he's male, right? and I am going to put him off the ground... he is by a window which I hear may be bad as well. I'm quite annoyed right now by the man who sold me this because of the things he's told me. He owned a reptile store so i FIGURED he was qualified to tell me what I had to do. He said I only needed to dust him with calcium twice a week. :mad: anyway... for some reason my pictures aren't working, but he is now very disoriented... it's like he's trying to grab behind himself... like he doesn't know what way is up and what is down--very disoriented and i'm pretty sure it's an eye infection. He has opened his eyes a couple times, but his left won't open as much as the right... plus i assume it would explain his confusion.
 
and the "artificial sunlamp" is a repta sun 5.0, full spectrum. the heatlamp is a 40 watt fluker and i just blinded myself with it to find that out. yay for being an idiot, huh?
 
You will get a lot of misleading info from people at pet stores, from what I have experienced. Some people do say that dusting twice a week is okay, I even have a book that says so, but generally it is recommended that you do more.

As for your next steps, you should go out and buy a digital thermometer and hydrometer so that we can further help you. :)
 
Yes, but as stated already, lights should be completely out for him at night time for him to sleep.

--missed what you just said, sorry!
 
Last edited:
You said..."He's a Jackson chameleon... he has horns so that means he's male, right?"...he's a he.

Turn off the heat light for now...I think he could be overheated. Although he needs to warm up he can't take it too hot for too long. I still need to know what the brand and type of lights are that you've been using.

You said..."he is now very disoriented... it's like he's trying to grab behind himself... like he doesn't know what way is up and what is down--very disoriented"...this is not good. could be a number of things...but I'm not a vet...and can't tell you for sure.

You said..."i'm pretty sure it's an eye infection. He has opened his eyes a couple times, but his left won't open as much as the right... plus i assume it would explain his confusion"...certain bulbs can cause photo kerato conjuctivitus which is why we need a description (type) of the bulb and the brand.

Chameleons can crash and die quickly...so you need to solve this quickly...as I said before.
 
It's a male Jackson's and he looks terribly dehydrated and thin. Jackson's need a higher humidity, and cooler temps than some other chameleons that pet stores are familiar with. Their natural homes are in cooler, wet mountain jungles and forests.

First, if it's too hot for you in the room, it's too hot for your cham. I'd get rid of that heat lamp immediately. It's okay, actually beneficial for the temps to drop at night into the high 60's. Let him cool down at night and sleep without the light. As others mentioned - please tell us more about the 'sunlamp'. How hot does the basking spot get during the day?

He needs to be re-hydrated. Mist him well, very well, and set up a drip system - even a plastic cup with a hole in it will work. If possible, get him on a plant in the shower and let the water gently fall around him (use cool water only).

TBH, he doesn't look very good, and that foot just hanging plus the closed eyes is very worrying. Jackson's are tough to care for properly sometimes.
 
looks like at least a one year old male to me, you werent too specific about your lighting, but i would ditch any sort of heat emitter or infra red setup, and switch to a single 25-40 watt uva basking setup (in addition to your uvb of course), you cant just guess on your temps, you can get a digital temp probe for under $10, it wouldnt hurt to build him a small mesh basking cage so you can conveniently get him some real sun , he looks severely dehydrated , he should be misted about 6 times a day minimum, his enviroment looks way too dry ,more live plants would greatly increase his feeling of well being , a good way to help stabilize and increase the humidity is to screw an acrylic panel to the back of his cage (preferably inside),there is a lot more to it than just dusting a couple of pet store crickets twice a week, he needs a dusting regimen of severall different types of dusting , and he also needs a varied diet of several different types of properly gut loaded feeders, just feeding him petstore crickets is bound to eventually cause health & appetite issues , jacksons are particularly subject to impaction & overheating & dont like as bright of light as many other chams, so substrate & cfls are not recomended, he may (probably) has other issues, so a fecal and trip to a herp vet is also recomended, i could go on, but i would work on those issues first , jackson's are not genarally considered good starter chams, and i suspect the person you got him from may not have been entirely up front with you (or even known himself) about what is required for his care. that is why it is incumbent upon every potential pet owner (especially when it comes to chams) to do their own research & draw their own conclusions, and not just rely on what one other person (who may or may not know) has told them
 
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