Jackson chameleon help

[Danibonita215]

My male Jackson chameleon's head is blue on top! This happened randomly and I am unsure what is going on. Does anyone know what this could be? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Species - male Jackson chameleon about 4-5 months old have had him about a month
Handling - I handle maybe once a day
Feeding - He eats 10-12 crickets a day I also provide grass hoppers. I will dust with calcium.
Supplements - I am new so I am currently not using any
Watering - mist the cage 3 - 5 times a day. I have never seen him drink on his own. I have to use an eye dropper to administer water. I offer it 3 times daily as well as still keep a water bowl in the set up.
Fecal matter - slimy with a combo of brown and white

Cage - I have two set ups...the set up In my classroom is 4ft high and 2 ft sides. This has real and fake plants with large pieces of wood for him to climb. It's is also made completely of mesh.
The second set up is a fish tank with a mesh top. (This is for two days and is only until my second cage comes in.

 

[pigglett79]

First, you will need to fill out this form

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Next, please post pictures if you can to allow everyone to see what it looks like and determine what it might be. There are many possibilities such as bacterial or fungal infection, thermal burn etc.

 

[Lathis]

My Jax's head is blue all the time, but the more upset he gets about something, the bluer his head turns

Definitely fill out the form recommended by Pigglet and attach some photos. We will help you get all sorted out!

 

[Danibonita215]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Jackson chameleon , male, about 5 months old, I have had him about 1 month.
Handling - Maybe once a day
Feeding - I feed my Cham 10-12 crickets a day. I put 6 in in the morn and 6 in the evening. The crickets eat a blend of wheats and oats blended with fresh fruit.
Supplements - the only supplement I use as of right now is calcium on the crickets. I also feed the crickets wheat and blended fresh fruit. I am new and learning
Watering - Currently I spray the tank 4-6 times a day. I have never seen him drink from the bowl or off the plants or cage. is I use an eye dropper to administer water 4 time a day
Fecal Description - brown with white, slimy looking. And no never been tested.
History - None I am aware of

Cage Info:
Cage Type - the school cage is mesh 3 ft high and 2ft x 2ft, the cage at home is a glass fish tank with a mesh cover
Lighting - I have the exo terra heat/Uv combo bulb. I also have a black light for night
Temperature - the top of the cage is at 78 degrees
Humidity - Not sure like I said I am new at this
Plants - I have one real plan in the cage at school it is a the rest are fake
Placement - when in the classroom by my desk away from the door and in a quiet area. At home he is in the living room by a window.
Location - cocoa Florida

Current problem - blue on the top part of his head

I am going to a repticon today and will purchase what ever is necessary to make my Cham healthy. Any suggestions let me know please.

 

[Mijah139]

you will need calcium+d3 and a multivitamin as additional supplements

 

[Lathis]

Thanks for the info. A couple of things (a really long post):

• It's good you are getting a mesh cage for home, too. A glass vivarium would be okay, but a fish tank just doesn't have enough air flow to keep him healthy.
• The size of the cage is a bit small. Jax are very active chams and need a lot of space. Can you get him a bigger cage for home (at least 24x24x48) and give him time to free range on the weekends? If you seem him pacing or climbing constantly in circles, that is a sure sign he feels trapped.
• Get rid of the water bowl. He won't drink from it.
• It's good that you mist him several times a day. Jax like a lot of water. You should get a dripper, too. He is more likely to drink from active, dripping water.
• Jax need cooler temperatures and higher humidity than some other types of chameleons. Don't worry about him being cold at room temperature (even down into the low 60s at night) so long as he has a basking lamp. Humidity should be at least 50% with higher spikes after misting.
• I prefer to use two separate bulbs - one regular house light bulb for basking and one long tube for UVB. I don't know much about the combo lights, but I like the idea of my Jax being able to regulate how much of either light he gets.
• Get rid of the night light. Chameleons don't need it. It should be pitch dark at night.
• The feces sound good. They should be a moist brown jelly bean with a white runny part. If you start seeing yellow or orange instead of white, that is a sign he is dehydrated. Even constant low humidity can lead to low-level dehydration, hence the need for humidity.
• Do you have dirt, wood chips, or cocofiber on the bottom of the cage? If so, remove it. Substrate breeds bacteria and gets nasty. I have a bare bottom cage that can be wiped clean easily.
• Jax are very active climbers. He should have TONS of branches and vines to climb all over every part of the cage.
• Plain calcium (without D3 and without phosphorous) should be given with almost every feeding. I always dust crickets and superworms. You will need to get at least one other supplement. Only once a month, he will need a multivitamin with D3.
• Crickets are a good base feeder. Other feeders that you should add to his diet include superworms, silkworms, hornworms, and blue bottle flies (he will FREAK OUT, Jax love flies). I am also breeding snails and isopods for my Jax. Try to make any one feeder no more than 40% of his diet. Mine is about 40% crickets, 40% various worms, 20% other.

I'll start a new post with links to the stuff I bought for my Jax that you can look into. There are TONS of great resources here on the forum. I definitely could not have offered such a high level of care for my cham without the people here.

As for the blue head, I can't really see anything from the photo - but attached is a picture of my Jax this morning (please ignore all the dead bugs in the door track, ha!). He head is always noticeably blue. Unless yours is a different issue, I don't think that's something to worry about.

 

[Danibonita215]

Thanks a ton. It looks exactly like what you have. I also just asked my husband about the cage and it is a reptibreeze 24x24x48 I was in accurate. I will definitely look Ito everything you mentioned! Thanks so much this is very helpful and I am happy to have found this site.
The bottom of the cage has repti bark (wood chips) as for the sublime t what do you recommend, how often, and do I dust everything on his food or put it in a dropper for his water? Thanks again,
Danielle

 

[Lathis]

Great resources here on the forum:

These are the gospels of your new bible:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lKTbUaOQ0aA

Do a lot of searching on the forum, too. Lots of good information here.

Some of the items I mentioned in my post above. I'm not saying that these are the best or anything like that - this is just what I have experience with. There are tons of options on the market.

• Pure Calcium no D3 (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...-and-vitamins/-/repashy-supercal-nod-3oz-jar/)
• Multivitamin with D3 (http://zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=3&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=5)
• Screen Cage - I bought my first cage through LLLReptile (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...ges/-/24-x-24-x-48-inch-aluminum-screen-cage/). I have been really satisfied with the quality of everything I have bought from them.
• Dripper - I bought a Little Dripper at the local pet store (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...ers-and-humidifiers/-/zoo-med-little-dripper/)
• Mister - I also have an automated misting system. It's expensive but amazing! (www.mistking.com). If you get a mister, you will likely need to install some sort of drainage system, FYI.
• UVB Hood and Bulb (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/light-fixtures/-/24-fluorescent-hood-fixture/) and (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...por-bulbs/-/zoo-med-18-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/)
• Silkworks and Hornworms (http://www.coastalsilkworms.com/) or (http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/)
• Blue Bottle Flies (pupae) - they last about 3 weeks in the fridge (http://www.mantidpets.com/shop/arti...WDR7VFWhEm8b4OpDGhR&shop_param=cid=12&aid=50&)
• Superworms - you can get at any big petstore. Avoid mealworms; they have a low nutritional value compared to superworms.
• Gutloading - you mentioned you feed your crickets a grain/fruit mix - feed it to the superworms, too. You should add a gutloading product to that. I use Bug Burger plus fresh fruits/veggies/greens, and have been really pleased with it and it's easy (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...-more/cricket-food/-/repashy-bug-burger-16oz/).
  

 

[melble68]

Supplement w/ calcium no D3 every day. Twice a month calcium w/ D3. Twice a month multivitamin. If you are able to have any extended time outside in our wonderful FL weather, you can do away with the calcium w/ D3. I have an enclosure outside that mine panther will go in this spring. When he's outside it will be calcium everyday, and multivitamin 2x a month.

I alternate Mondays w/ the calicium w/ D3 and the multivitamins.

Do away with the black light at night. complete darkness and a cooling down period is the right thing to do.

Get yourself a dripper and figure out how you are going to deal w/ drainage. There are lots of threads dealing w/ custom drainage systems. Take the bowl out.

You need to monitor the basking temp for him. Get a IR heat gun so you can spot check different areas of your enclosure. 78 is low for his basking spot. I got one from Home Depot for $30 bucks.

Get yourself a humidity sensor also. That is also something very important. We're also lucky here in FL. We have access to year round good plants. I'm a huge fan of live plants. Shefflera, ficus, and pothos are all good ones to use. Get rid of the fake's. The live plants will also help w/ some constant humidity control.

I would be a bit concerned w/ moving him back in forth between the two locations because of the stress. How often is he going back in forth? I assume you are a teacher?

I can't help w/ the blue head, but there are lots of peeps w/ Jacksons around here. They'll chime in.

 

[melble68]

Thanks a ton. It looks exactly like what you have. I also just asked my husband about the cage and it is a reptibreeze 24x24x48 I was in accurate. I will definitely look Ito everything you mentioned! Thanks so much this is very helpful and I am happy to have found this site.
The bottom of the cage has repti bark (wood chips) as for the sublime t what do you recommend, how often, and do I dust everything on his food or put it in a dropper for his water? Thanks again,
Danielle

Get rid of the bark for sure. dust lightly right in the bag that you buy your feeders in. Dust just the one's you are going to feed to him. Shake and bake kind of a thing. You don't want to over dust your feeders, sometime you can do it so much that they'll suffocate.

 

[Lathis]

Thanks a ton. It looks exactly like what you have. I also just asked my husband about the cage and it is a reptibreeze 24x24x48 I was in accurate. I will definitely look Ito everything you mentioned! Thanks so much this is very helpful and I am happy to have found this site.
The bottom of the cage has repti bark (wood chips) as for the sublime t what do you recommend, how often, and do I dust everything on his food or put it in a dropper for his water? Thanks again,
Danielle

What I do:

Pure calcium dust (no D3) on all the "crunchy" insects (crickets, superworms, roaches, etc). This ends up being about 3 days a week. Soft worms usually don't need to be dusted. Silkworms are naturally very high in calcium.

On the 1st of every month, I use a multivitamin WITH D3. I put it on his favorite food (superworms) so I know he gets his dose.

Alternately, you can use 3 supplements:
- Multivitamin w/o D3 (1st of every month)
- Calcium w/o D3 (several times a week)
- Calcuim WITH D3 (15th of every month)

Some people prefer this. Currently, I am using the Reptivite WITH D3 and plan calcium. Jax are very sensitive to supplements, and it is easy to overdose them on D3. Dust lightly with everything - don't make "little ghosts".

I suggest adding a designed gutloading product (like Bug Burger) to what you feed your bugs. I was only feeding my bugs fresh fruits/veggies/greens and noticed that my Jax started having issues with his tongue (his tongue was "floppy" and he couldn't shoot it out very far). After a lot of research and some really good advice from people here, I think it was a vitamin deficiency - maybe B-vitamins, but I'm not 100% sure. Since I added the Bug Burger to my gut loading system, the tongue issues have gone away.