Help my Jackson looks depressed??

[Borat G R]

progress

Got home gave him his meds, fed him and while putting his cream on the sores, they were falling off, ewwwww... but his skin is looking much better. He is stronger now then yesterday. So we are feeling much better tonight them we did this morning... and so is he...

YAY!

 

[Borat G R]

Update

It is about a week since my last post regarding Borat's health.

We are happy to say that he is doing A LOT better. We are not at 100% yet, but so much better.

He went to the vet again yesterday for a follow up. Even the vet was impressed with his progress. The vet told me how chameleons recover at a very s l o w rate and he is doing real good.

His sores are all clearing up, the cream seems to work fast... So he still gets the cream every day and he gets the antibiotics every other day now. Next Friday we are going back to the vet, for another follow up.

He's still not moving around the cage too much, he does get around though, but not like normal. He still drinks his water every morning and then he poops, we have seen him lift his leg to poop, pretty funny. We are force feeding him everyday still, we wish he could eat on his own, but hopefully soon. It gets harder each day to feed him, because he is getting so much stronger.

I ordered Phoenix Worms, Butterworms and crickets from Mulberry Farms. I read somewhere that Phoenix worms were very active and that could help him want to eat. He is definitely watching them, so hopefully he eats one on his own soon.

He still has his eyed closed sometimes, but NOT all the time. More often then not, he keeps his head up, like normal. Before he was resting his head on a rope/vine.

We also put his cage on top of a double utility sink and hooked up a humidifier with the PVC. I lent my camera out, when I get it back I will post a picture of the new set up.

So we are very pleased with how things are going and just can't wait till he is back to his beautiful, happy and health self.

 

[Jordan]

Glad to hear he is making progress. Have you tried hand feeding or placing a bug on the branch he is on to see if he goes for it? Wiggly stuff and flying stuff usually get their attention. Chameleons look weak but are a handful when healthy. Hope Bogart continues to improve.

 

[Borat G R]

Jordan

I have tried to put the squirmy phoenix worms, butterworms, wax worms, and meal worms in front of him in many ways... But he does not have any interest. But when we force feed him, he has no choice but to swallow. My boyfriend saw him shoot his tongue out on a leaf yesterday to get water?? So we are happy to say his tongue works... So we did not feed him yesterday, in hopes that he will be hungry today and eat on his own. I left 5 crickets in his cup, so when I get home I am praying that at least one will be in his belly. He really is the cutest Jackson I have ever seem, but I am prejudice. What types of flying things can I get? I think I have read moths? They sell them? My crickets are living a great life now, I am gut loading like crazy. I got WER Gutload Montane Chameleon Formula and using lettuce, apples, pears, carrots and stuff. So as soon as Borat eats these crickets, I think he will do great. What are your thoughts on the humidifier? We got one that is a warm humidifier but I have noticed there are also cool ones... He seems to love it? Is the warm one bad or good for him?

Also is it a good sign that every morning he wakes, suns, then poops then drinks? In that same order... We think so but...

Thanks for you help and support.

Michelle Jason and the .

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Don't be too concerned that he wont take the worms...some chameleons just dont like them or they go through phases of not liking them.

 

[Borat G R]

ChameleonsTree

Do you have any suggestions on what may spark his interest in eating own his own again? Do you think it is a smart idea to NOT force feed him in hopes that he gets hungry and eats on his own. We think so, but we are not experts. Also, what are your thoughts on the warm air humidifier?

THANKS

 

[Heika]

When my male panther got sick, I force fed him for a very, very long time.. somewhere around a month, maybe a month and a half. It takes chameleons a really amazing length of time to get better. I force fed Spencer every other day and then tried giving him bugs on the off day. Eventually, he did eat on his own and he is thriving today. I think it took around 3 months for him to really seem to be back 100%. You might want to try feeding him farmed blue bottle flies. www.grubco.com sells the larvae.

I think a warm air humidifier is asking for trouble. They grow bacteria pretty quickly, and it would be like blowing bacterias into the air for your chameleon to inhale. Maybe a cool mist humidifier if you really need to increase your humidity.

Heika

 

[Borat G R]

the blue bottle flys?

http://grubco.netstorekeeper.com/

is that it the Fly Larvae?

 

[Heika]

One of the things that really kinda freaked me out when I was force feeding live insects to my panther was the fact that he didn't chew them. I had concerns about the amount of damage that a live insect could do before it succumbed to stomach acid. You may want to either crunch them up and make a bug slurry or remove heads. Moths are a great feeder. Zoomed makes the Bug Napper, and during warm months, it catches tons of wild moths. If that isn't a possibility, you can allow wax worms to turn into moths and feed those, but they don't flutter around nearly as well as the wild ones.

Heika

 

[Heika]

the blue bottle flys?

http://grubco.netstorekeeper.com/

is that it the Fly Larvae?

Here is the link to them:

http://grubco.netstorekeeper.com/index.cfm?Product_ID=10

You may want to find someone to share your order with. Each container has a LOT of larvae. Basically, when you get them, crack the lid just a little bit for increased air flow and then wait for them to pupate and then turn into flies. Remember to press the lid all the way down before they turn into flies...

You can buy the Super Sampler from them too, which only has a couple containers of larvae. That way, you don't have to get four trillion flies, and the rest of the feeders are pretty good too. Of course, I am one of those people who think that mealworms are not an evil feeder when used as part of a varied diet. Plus, there are waxworms in the Super Sampler that you can allow to turn into moths.. http://grubco.netstorekeeper.com/index.cfm?Product_ID=2

Crickets went to waste when Spencer was sick. At the time, he was my only chameleon, and I ordered them in a thousand at a time. I gave most of mine away to a person who kept bearded dragons after he hadn't eaten on his own after a couple weeks.

Heika

 

[Borat G R]

then wait for them to pupate and then turn into flies -

so they do that while in the container?

 

[Heika]

Yes, they do. Just keep them warm.. house temperature warm. You don't have to feed them at all. When the flies start hatching, put the entire container in the freezer for 3 or 4 minutes. It will slow the flies down and you can shake a few out into your chameleon's cage. Be prepared.. once they are in there, you won't be able to open the door on the cage until they are gone or they will escape. Only feed a few at a time, like 3 or 4. If your chameleon eats those, then put in 3 or 4 more. They will live in the container for several days without any food or water.

Heika

 

[Jordan]

I would just keep doing what you have been. Eventually he will start going after food again. Force feeding and offering easy meals.

 

[Heika]

I would just keep doing what you have been. Eventually he will start going after food again. Force feeding and offering easy meals.

Just curious, Jordon. Are you recommending that they continue to feed cat food and gatorade? Or do you think that offering new pray items that the chameleon hasn't had yet and may stimulate feeding behavior is a bad idea?

How many chameleons do you own? What are their ages and species? I am just trying to figure out what your experience is before I change my own methods based on what you have learned by keeping chameleons.

I am far from the most experienced keeper, but I can talk about what has been successful for me. Can you tell us about the recipe/method you used to keep your very sick chameleon alive? What was wrong with it? How is the chameleon now?

Heika

 

[Jordan]

I have not seen gatorade or cat food mentioned any where in this thread. Have you? I have made no referance to any type of a liquid food to force feed. Have you?

I noticed that there had been an update. Jason and Michelle made referance to him still not eating on his own. I asked if they had been offering these feeders in close proximity. They said yes. They had already made statements in regards to trying new feeders. I said to keep force feeding and seeing if he would take easy meals. Doing what they had been doing. This includes looking into to new feeders since that is something they have already been doing.

Maybe you should read the whole thread. Tell me when you see cat food or gatorade. I do not know what you are talking about.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...I have not seen gatorade or cat food mentioned any where in this thread...

Howdy Jordan,

I think what Heika was referring to was the other thread started by Borat where the catfood and gatorade was mentioned.

...Can I cut up a cricket to put into the cat food / gatorade mix that I am also feeing him?...

I think there was a concern that Borat might tie the two threads together )) and get into a knot . Anyway, it sounds like Borat should probably continue to see if the chameleon will open-up and take a tossed feeder or at least take one that is a little bit more force-fed. I've used the Grubco flies and some of my critters loved them for a short while and others ignored them. You just don't know until you've tried'em. I found that putting the entire contents into a larger, clear jar made it easier to see what was happening with hatching etc. The 1 minute freezer trick works great to stun them before shaking a few flies into the chameleon's enclosure. I accidently shook-out about 20 flies for one of my veileds and he ate all of them before I got home from work. He hasn't been very interested in them ever since . Like Heika said, 3-4 is a much better choice. I'd try them more often if I didn't have to order them online...

 

[Heika]

I have not seen gatorade or cat food mentioned any where in this thread. Have you? I have made no referance to any type of a liquid food to force feed. Have you?

Actually, yes, I have read this one and the other one.

My questions to you remain, Jordon.

Heika