sick jackson chameleon :(

[lovesreptiles88]

My chameleon is 1 1/2 years old, the temp in his cage is 85 and humdity is between 50-70. last saturday he seemed just fine, on sunday he was acting strange and on monday I could definetly tell he is sick. He wont hardly move and for risk of him falling off a vine i put him on the bottom of the cage, I did manage to have him drink some water today but im still concerned about his health. I'm not quite sure whats wrong, the last time he ate was a few days ago and im thinking maybe he is having a hard time digesting some crickets but im not 100% sure. Also he keeps his eyes closed most of the time, any suggestions?

 

[gingerr]

Are you giving him supplements with his crickets?

 

[lovesreptiles88]

yeah I gutload the crickets with Flukers calcium.

 

[Solid Snake]

View attachment 57173

any suggestions?

Yes

Please fill this out, in detail:

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• 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?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

 

[carol5208]

yeah I gutload the crickets with Flukers calcium.

what do you feed the crickets? gutloading is what you feed them, not what you dust them with.

 

[lovesreptiles88]

Type of Chameleon: Jackson Chameleon, I had him for 8 months

Handling: couple times a week

Feeding: I gutload the crickets with Flukers orange cube cricket diet and flukers cricket quencher with calcium. I feed him at 10 am and usually put 5 crickets at a time in.

Watering: My Chameleon never used the dripper sometimes I see him drink off a plastic leaf but he mainly drinks straight out of the water bottle that I spray his cage with which is sometimes 4-6 times per day.

Poop History: I just cleaned the cage again but the most recent were White/dark brown/black but he didnt go in the past 2 days. Was he ever tested for parasites? I would have to say no on that..

History: I got him at 9 months old last november, I bought him online.

Cage type: 4 feet tall by 2 feet width and length, screen encloser

Lighting: ReptiSun 5.0 UVB bulb - 18” with Zoo Med UVB Hoods, for heat lamp I use Deep Dome Clamp Lamp with Exo Terra Day Glo 75 watt heat bulb.

temp/humidity: day temp 80-84 and between 50- 70 humidity, to measure the temp and humidity I use flukers digital thermometer. The night time temp is between 65-70 when all lights are off.

plants: Right now i use all plastic plants and exo terra moss at the bottom of the cage and vines aswell.

placement: I keep him in my room away from vents and windows and in a low traffic area.

Location: Michigan.

Problem: Past couple days he seems very week. He refuses to eat since a couple days ago, though I did manage to get him to drink today. He hardly is moving around at all since sunday and yesturday I put him on the bottom of the cage because he almost fell off the vine he was on an his eyes are closed a lot the only time he opened his eyes are when I got him to drink.

pics:

 

[melonman]

Some things i see is substrate in the first pic from what ive rrad here on the forums is no substrate.....aswell as maybe he could use more foilage...(im no expert but some things i see is those )

 

[Psychobunny]

I would not use Flukers orange cubes if I were you.
You can make a gut load that is much better, just chop up some romaine or kale, apple, oranges, squash (any kind) a little carrot.

Also, if your jackson is too weak to climb or even walk, he is likely also too weak to eat and you may have to force feed him some slurry with a dropper and get him to a vet ASAP.

What was the last thing he ate?

Is he wild caught?
Chams, and esp jacksons, can be sick for a long time and you would never know because they dont show it until it is serious.

 

[Solid Snake]

Type of Chameleon: Jackson Chameleon, I had him for 8 months

Handling: couple times a week

Feeding: I gutload the crickets with Flukers orange cube cricket diet and flukers cricket quencher with calcium. I feed him at 10 am and usually put 5 crickets at a time in.I would get rid of the flukers stuff, its no good.
TikiTiki sells a montane mix of Cricket Crack. Look into that. Then start using actual orange slices to hydrate the crickets, and look at sandrachameleons blog to learn what other fruits and veggies to add:https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/659-green-leafy-goodness-gutloading.html searching for gutloading info will pull up TONS of stuff that will be helpful in this area.

Watering: My Chameleon never used the dripper sometimes I see him drink off a plastic leaf but he mainly drinks straight out of the water bottle that I spray his cage with which is sometimes 4-6 times per day.
My advice is to keep a dripper going, just about any time the lights are on.
Have it drip onto leaves, where he can drink from.

Poop History: I just cleaned the cage again but the most recent were White/dark brown/black but he didnt go in the past 2 days. Was he ever tested for parasites? I would have to say no on that..

History: I got him at 9 months old last november, I bought him online.

Cage type: 4 feet tall by 2 feet width and length, screen encloser

Lighting: ReptiSun 5.0 UVB bulb - 18” with Zoo Med UVB Hoods, for heat lamp I use Deep Dome Clamp Lamp with Exo Terra Day Glo 75 watt heat bulb.

temp/humidity: day temp 80-84 and between 50- 70 humidity, to measure the temp and humidity I use flukers digital thermometer. The night time temp is between 65-70 when all lights are off. Is that 80-84 the ambient temp? Or just at basking? They need a temp gradient, so they can choose their temperature. Jacksons over heat easily, so giving a 70-75F low end temp, and a basking of no more than 84-85F is important.

plants: Right now i use all plastic plants and exo terra moss at the bottom of the cage and vines aswell.The moss is more trouble than its worth, and breeds bacteria and nastyness. I would take it out. I really recommend getting at least a pothos in there. This will do him a world of good, in lots of ways. They are super cheap, and impossible to kill. Get one.

placement: I keep him in my room away from vents and windows and in a low traffic area.

Location: Michigan.

Problem: Past couple days he seems very week. He refuses to eat since a couple days ago, though I did manage to get him to drink today. He hardly is moving around at all since sunday and yesturday I put him on the bottom of the cage because he almost fell off the vine he was on an his eyes are closed a lot the only time he opened his eyes are when I got him to drink.

What supplements are you using if any?