Help

[bfisher31]

Today I woke up and went to mist my jacksons cham cage like any other day. Today I noticed a tiny drop of blood coming out of his mouth; (. So I fed him a cricket, while he was eating the cricket his lower jaw looked like it was hanging lower than it should. Can anyone help me please?

 

[camimom]

Can we see photos please?


Are you sure it was blood?

Do you use repashy all in once calcium plus?

 

[bfisher31]

I'm almost 100% sure its blood. It was right on the side of his mouth and theres nothing in his cage that color that he could've gotten into. I use just the regular calcium powder without D3. I'm going to try to take him to the vet on my day off, unfortunately the only vet that will see him is an hour away. Wish me luck everyone. Ill post a picture when I get off work.

 

[bfisher31]

Well everything seems normal, no more blood. Hes eating regularly still. Im going to take him to the vet still just to be on the safe side

 

[rionjames]

Def keep us updated! has he/she been acting strange the last few days?

 

[Kasey]

My chameleon's jaw has been hanging slightly open as well. The only thing that I can think of that would have made him do that is when the vet opened his mouth up to check for bacteria. I'm afraid he's not doing well. He seems dehydrated, but I bought him a new, expensive automatic mister. I set it to spray every 3 hours for 60 seconds. I've been feeding him gutloaded crickets and dusting them with calcium and vitamins every other day. He has a heat lamp and a UVB lamp. I keep the heat lamp on all the time, though, because the vet told me my chameleon was getting too cold at night and it was shutting his digestive track down. He's been moving around more for a week, but for the past two days he's back on the ground. I'm worried...

 

[kplatvoet]

Jackson's are prone to mouth rot- the vet should be able to check- there is a gland at the corner of their mouth that traps food and becomes infected (I'm not an expert- so maybe one will correct any errors but it sounds like it may be the problem- getting him to a vet for treatment is the best plan.
Kasey your vet is wrong chameleons need colder temps at night -for digestion- I hope an expert will help you too- but I think you might need a different vet who knows more about chameleon care- you should fill out the how to ask for help form and start your own thread - the vet may have given you more bad advise.

 

[Lathis]

Jackson's are indeed prone to infection in the corners of the mouth. It's called a temporal gland infection. A droopy lip can be the first sign that something is going on. I've been through this myself:



https://www.chameleonforums.com/pouty-lip-poor-muscle-tension-lower-jaw-jacksons-cham-109074/



No lights at night. Jackson's can handle pretty cool temperatures. Unless you house drops below 50*F, it's fine so long as he has a basking spot that is about 83*F during the day.



Jackson's also need a lot of water. If you are only misting for 60 seconds at a time, it may not be long enough to trigger his drinking reflex. Do you have a dripper?



Loss of appetite, lethargy, and a droopy lip all point to an underlying infection. Low level dehydration is probably also an issue. You need to get a vet experienced specifically with chameleons.



Also, you are using WAY too many vitamins. Jackson's are easily over supplemented. Regular calcium (no D3 and no phosphorus) 3 times a week on crickets - lightly and a multivitamin with D3 only once a month. Too many vitamins or D3 can cause a lack of appetite, edema, and other health issues.

 

[Kasey]

The vet I went to even checked for bacteria in my chameleons mouth. He said there was a minimal amount and that I shouldn't be worried. He had small signs of MBD, so the vet gave him two shots; one for calcium and the other because he was dehydrated. The next thing I'm suppose to do is take his droppings to the vet to be checked for parasites, only it's not digested all the way and I can't tell if the food has passed through or regurgitated. I'll take him to another vet, though. Thank you for the advise.

 

[Lathis]

Sorry, I am confusing the OP with another poster...



Still, my thoughts apply to both of you!