Jackson's Chameleon problems

[Zach9644]

I just ordered my jackson's chameleon from www.backwaterreptiles.com 8 days ago. about 4 days ago he started going lower and lower in his cage til he was at the very bottom yesterday morning, laying on the floor. I took him to the vet and she gave him medicine for parasites, but also note that he hasn't pooped since I got him. So she couldn't get a stool sample but gave him the medication anyways. it seems to be helping, but I just wanted more opinions.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Jackson's chameleon, male, and approx. 3-5 months. hes been in my care for 8 days.
Handling - just when I transported him to the vet, the first day I got him, and when i give him his medicine
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? just crickets at the moment. morning and night at a total of 5 to 10 crickets depending on his mood
Supplements - repticalcium D3, vet told me everyday for seven days, and then once a week afterwards.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I msit twice daily along with twice daily with a dripper system. yes he is drinking.
Fecal Description - no poop
History - captive bred at backwaterreptiles.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen, (though is in a smaller 10 gal tank thats a combo right now because the vet advised it so he doesn't fall) and the screen cage is 18x18x36
Lighting - zoo med mini combo deep dome lamp fixture with zoo med basking spot lamp 100 watts and reptisun uvb compact fluorescent. and it is on from 8:30 am to 9:30 pm
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
80's at basking spot, mid 70s in the middle of the cage, and low 70s at the bottom of the cage. and the lowest night temp I've seen was about 68. zoomed temperature and humidity gauge.
Humidity -around 60% during the day and 80% at night. twice daily misting and dripper system.
Plants - no live plants. but planning on getting pothos
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? in its own room at the moment so he can be alone. but I usually keep him in my room. low traffic. hes in the smaller tank but hes 4 feet off of the ground. and when hes in his normal cage its about 4 feet aswell.
Location - West Virginia

 

[kplatvoet]

Is that with 3D for 7 days - I think that is way too much- hopefully an expert will chime in - but I would think that much 3D is not a good idea.

 

[Lathis]

If you new chameleon is ill after only 8 days in your care, that points to something being wrong with him BEFORE he arrived. Have you contacted the vendor? You need to and let them know what is going on. Did he come with a health guarantee or warranty?

Is your vet experienced with chameleons specifically? They are very different from other types of reptiles. A lot of vets, even exotic vets, don't see a lot of chameleons in their practice.

Do you know exactly what medicine he was given? Are there continued dosages at home?

Jacksons are supposedly more sensitive to supplementation than other types of chameleons. That is why the recommended vitamin/D3 cycle is about 1/2 of that for veileds and panthers.

Generally for a healthy Jax:

• Calcium with no d3 or phosphorous - 3x per week
• Calcium with D3 - 1x per month
• Multivitamin - 1x per month

Nothing really jumps out as egregiously wrong with your care information below. You will need to start offering a variety of insects in addition to crickets (silkworms, hornworms, superworms, dubia roaches, etc). Real plants are a must eventually too.

3-5 months is young for a Jax. A lot of breeders here have talked about baby Jacksons as being sensitive to unexpected deaths until about 5 months. Do you know his size and weight?

I hope your little guy pulls through okay.

 

[Zach9644]

yes, i have been in contact with the vendor, though they haven't really said much. the health gauruntee was a 7-day guaruntee, but since I've been informing them of whats going on, if my chameleon does die, It might not be voided. and I believe she has experience with chameleons.

the medicine he was given was calcium Gluconate which is the injection. and the by mouth medicine is Panacur. and yes, continued treatment at home.

and I do have just calcium without d3 so I'll just switch to that. I was a little if-y when she said with vitamin d3 because of everything I've read.

and sorry. I think I got the age wrong I was just estimating off of the top of my head. but I went to this site

http://animals.pawnation.com/figure-out-age-chameleon-11592.html

and I believe his age is more like 5-7 months. he is about 7 inches long. from nose to tail.

and sorry I do not know the weight. I can't remember.

 

[Lathis]

Great, sounds like you're on top of it. Keep him really well hydrated on the meds. I sent you a private message, too. Just FYI for you, no response needed.

Keep us updated and we want photos!

 

[Zach9644]

I'm getting ready to give him his dosage of medicine for the day and I'm going to give him some water too. How many mililiters would be good? I have a surenge that the vet gave me that goes up to 1 mililiter. Would 0.5 mililiters be fine or should I go more or less?

 

[Lathis]

I'm getting ready to give him his dosage of medicine for the day and I'm going to give him some water too. How many mililiters would be good? I have a surenge that the vet gave me that goes up to 1 mililiter. Would 0.5 mililiters be fine or should I go more or less?

I would just drip water on his nose for a bit and try to stimulate him to drink rather than try to force him to drink with a syringe. If you do administer water by syringe, do so at very small amounts at a time. It's easy for a chameleon to aspirate (inhale) water that way.

 

[Zach9644]

Okay. I'll try that first. He's acting much better. He actually climbed up one of the vines I have in the tank. Instead of just laying on the ground. We actually delayed giving him his medicine for a bit because he was moving around so much. He's only ate one cricket today though. But hopefully he'll gain enough energy to eat a few more today. Thanks for all your help

 

[Lathis]

I'm not sure about panacur, but baytril, another common medicine, can reduce a chameleons appetite. Not eating isn't too much to worry about while he's on the medicine. Just ensure he has plenty to drink to stay hydrated.

 

[Zach9644]

I've upped his dripper schedule already. It's more like 3 or 4 times a day now. I tried to upload a pic from earlier today, hopefully it works. he was moving over to get some water that was dripping. I didn't get a pic of him when he was in the vines but hopefully he'll be up there soon again !

 

[Zach9644]

Here's a picture of his normal cage set-up.

 

[Lathis]

Here's a picture of his normal cage set-up.

A couple of thoughts:

• More plants! You should add something bushy in a pot so that he has something hide really well if he wants. An umbrella plant (schefflera arboricola) or a golden pothos (epipremnum aureum) are both good options. I found mine at Home Depot or Lowes for very cheap this summer - right now, they may or may not have any in stock.
• A few more vines or sticks at various heights in the cage would be much appreciated. Jacksons are very active chameleons. Mine climbs around all day. It's a bad time of year to go stick hunting, but I like to include real sticks for my Jax so he has the option of plastic or wood to climb on.
• Is that bowl for drinking or to catch water from the dripper? Most chameleons won't drink out of bowls but are very happy to poop in them.
• Do you have a UVB bulb?

Your Jax is soooo cute! What's his name?

 

[Zach9644]

I will definitely be adding a live plant as soon as I can find one! And it's been unseasonably warm lately, I actually stuck a live stick in his "hospital tank" he loves it. He's showing great improvement in his mood. So I can easily find real wood to add and I'll definitely get more plants, real and fake. And it's just to catch the majority of the water that falls. I know he'll only drink from water rolling off the leaves and vines. Yes, I do have a UVB bulb. The light fixture is just a combo basking and UVB deep dome fixture.

Thank you And his name is Jarvis

 

[Lathis]

Jarvis! That's perfect

 

[Zach9644]

Thank you what are your jax's names? And I'll be posting some more pics later. Before and after the medication pictures

 

[Lathis]

Thank you what are your jax's names? And I'll be posting some more pics later. Before and after the medication pictures

My Jax is Ferdinand. He's just the best

 

[Zach9644]

I bet he is my jarvis is a little fighter though . And How old is ferdinand? And speaking of age, was my guess of about 5 to 7 months the right age for Jarvis? I emailed the vender and they said 14 months, but I thought that was a little old for his size.

 

[Lathis]

Ferdinand is 18 months. Since about a year old, he has been about 6" in the body and maybe another 5" in the tail. At one year, he was 45g and now he's 55g. I expect him to get a bit heavier, but probably not any bigger.

Jax are tough little guys. That's why they have the horns. Hopefully Jarvis will continue to improve.

 

[Zach9644]

Okay, I just remembered that the vet said 22 grams. And Jarvis is considerably smaller than that. Maybe 3 1/2 inches body and 3 1/2 - 4 inches tail. And I hope he continues on this path of improvement as well. If He does ill be able to move him back to his normal cage by this weekend, maybe earlier he made the majority of his improvement today. After laying down for about 45 minutes in the heat from the basking light, he got up and started crawling around everywhere. And didn't really stop for really long periods of time until he decided it was bed time

 

[Lathis]

How is Jarvis doing? Much better, I hope...