please Help

[MollyGreen]

i just got a new male jackson chameleon 2 days ago from the petstore (approximately 4 months old) because i saw that he was being abused by the female jackson of whom he shared a 10 gallon aquarium with. It had become so bad that they had to take him out of the cage to eat from their entire cricket stock. He tollerates being held all too well. however, the abuse the female but him through was enough to make him close his eyes during the day. after i got him into his cage he drank, and went to sleep at the appropriate time, he didnt close his eyes during the day anymore. However, he seems very slow and doesnt want to hunt. He drinks ALL the time but doesnt eat any food unless we are holding it in front of him. Does any one have any suggestions as to this situation? Im not sure how much he should be eating as small as he is and also, how to get him to eat. The temperatures and humidity are all right on par. Any suggestions would be greatly aprecciated. Thank you

 

[ChromaChameleons]

Does he look underweight??
He may be off his food because he is stressed due to the new environment. If he is not emaciated, then maybe a bit of patience is in order. Also consider offering some slower food, like silkworms or butterworms.

 

[Trace]

Considering how fragile ovoviviparous babies are; (they are notoriously hard to raise in captivity) I don't think you can play the wait and see game. The closed eyes, excessive thirst, anorexia and gentle attitude are not normal behaviours for a chameleon. I would seek medical help.

You say your temperatures and humidity are on par... what are they?

t

 

[MollyGreen]

I am seriously considering taking him to the vet. I decided to stay home from spring break to ake sure he was ok. He now keeps hi eyes open and yesterday i got him to eat. Its a little creepy but....me and my boyfriend found that he is slow and accepted the fact that in order to survive he needs slower food and so w ripped off theback legs of the crckets and put them in water for a lttle bit and then placed themon the leafin front of him. This caused him to eat 5. Which is a huge improvement t yesterdays '1". And we moved him in front of the window to gve him some natural light. Hes in a 38 gallon reptarium (too big?) and we placed it nice and high so he feels comfortable. In there is a shaffrella umbrella plant and some vines and some silkplants. The humidty is between 40 and 60 depending on when i mist him. Ive been mistin him around 3-4 times a day and he drnks off of every leaf and when the dripper is on he drinks from that as well. The temperature in his baskng is at 80-85.7 (digital reading) and normal temp is in the 72-74 range he doesnt bask . Ive tried increasing the temps , moving the basking farther away, giving him normal lite. he just seems a little 'slow'. Its not an immediate problem, ivejust never had a jackson chameleon and compared to my huge female vieled he just doesnt seem to be thriving.

 

[MollyGreen]

i forgot to mention his fecal is formed with an egg white like ness arond it and a small bit of orange is in the urate. It also seemed t have some small moving dots that i suspect to be parasites.

 

[BIGGUN]

Get a fecal smear done at least, today if you can (if not that means tomorrow is out also so you'll have to wait two days 'til Monday). If you think they are parasites you need to make sure and have them treated. That could explain the orange in the urate and his behavior. The longer you wait the harder it is on him.

Good luck and keep us posted,
Kevin

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Julie,

A couple of quickie notes...

Sunshine is a good idea. To get the benefits beyond just solar heat, make sure that there isn't any glass or plastic between him and the sunlight to allow the natural UVB to reach him.

The wiggly things in his poop are likely some kind of nematode(s). A vet can ID them to make sure that the right drug is prescribed - likely Panacur.

 

[Trace]

Hi Julie!

I'll echo what Dave and Kevin already said and getting a fecal done should be your first priority. I'll bet he'll start feeling sssoooo much better almost immediately.

A few points I want to touch on though:
1: Having him by the window is a nice idea, and it does naturally raise the ambient temperatures a bit, but they might be too high for a jacksonii particularly if the sun is shining directly in. Your readings seem good (80/85 high and 72/74 low) but maybe they are higher than that at certain times and those can be lethal to the cooler temperature species like the jax. As Dave said, beneficial UVB is blocked by the window glass. Can you bring him outside at all?
2: Humidity should be AT LEAST 70% but aim for 80%. This can be achieved with a cool mist humidifier positioned close to his cage.
3: While they aren't the most nutritious feeder around, house flies can get any fussy eater started. I get my maggots from Grubco (www.grubco.com) but I'm sure there are other suppliers.
4: Some deworming meds like the Panacur may cause a slight drop in appetite. Make sure he is well hydrated during the course of the meds. They can also be hard on the kidneys so providing plenty water is a good thing. Giving your chameleon a nice hydrating shower will also be beneficial at this point.

Good luck with your little guy; he is mighty cute. Keep me posted too.
Cheers,
t

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."me and my boyfriend found that he is slow"...slow how??

 

[grubbsgrub]

I'm her boyfriend. He wasn't a very active hunter and he didn't seem to recognize the food we offered him unless we made it immoblie in some way. Apparently he is doing better, but I haven't seen our little guy in two days