Worried about my Grabby!

[lyanlynn]

I'm new to owning a chameleon and she's a Jackson's Chameleon. I knew the were hard to care for when I got her, about a week and some days ago, but I wanted her anyway. I was wondering if anyone could take a look at the pics and tell me what could be wrong. I normally get her to eat at least one mealworm a day. She has several loose crickets in her home, but I'm not sure if she's been munching on them or not. She is normally darker than she is in the pics. She's not green though. She's shades of tan to almost black. She has bark substrate, a water dish (although she doesn't touch it), a fake plant/tree thing, a coiled vine, and moss. She's got a moonglo uv bulb. She shy's away from light. She seems to like sitting on my fingers. When I moved, she rode on my hand and on the steering wheel for most of the way. She usually closes her eyes and goes to sleep when I hold her. I let her play in a thin line of running water at least once a day so she can get wet and drink it. I also mist her home, which she hates. She seems a bit skinny to me, even though she eats. Ijust want to make sure she's ok.

 

[BocaJan]

To begin, I think you should fill out this https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ questionaire. There are many unanswered questions in your post, and from what I can tell your Jackson is going to go downhill unless you change his habitat. A really good read is http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/ Although this says veiled chameleons, most all of the information will work for your Jackson. We have several Jackson breeders on the forum and I'm sure they will chime in. Below I have made some comments.

I'm new to owning a chameleon and she's a Jackson's Chameleon. I knew the were hard to care for when I got her, about a week and some days ago, but I wanted her anyway. I was wondering if anyone could take a look at the pics and tell me what could be wrong. I normally get her to eat at least one mealworm a day.

A much better worm to feed would be a super worm or silk worms. They are the most nutritious and have less fat then other feeders. Crickets are a good staple with supplements of the worms.

She has bark substrate, a water dish (although she doesn't touch it), a fake plant/tree thing, a coiled vine, and moss. She's got a moonglo uv bulb. She shy's away from light.

If you read the Kitty article you can see that substrate and a water dish are big no no's. They are breeding grounds for bacteria and substrate can cause compaction, plus the difficulty in keeping it clean. The recommendation for cages (screened cages PLEASE) is nothing. Paper towels laid flat on the bottom will help absorb your misting and make it easier to clean up poop although many folks don't bother with the paper towels.

The only recommended UV bulb is a linear bulb. Anything that is twisty or in the shape of a light bulb is not recommended due to eye issues. Here is an article that will tell you why they are dangerous for your cham.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

She seems to like sitting on my fingers. When I moved, she rode on my hand and on the steering wheel for most of the way. She usually closes her eyes and goes to sleep when I hold her. I let her play in a thin line of running water at least once a day so she can get wet and drink it. I also mist her home, which she hates. She seems a bit skinny to me, even though she eats. Ijust want to make sure she's ok.

She does appear to be a bit dehydrated. Her eyes are sunken and not popped out like most chameleon's eyes should be. Take out that water dish because she won't drink from it, and put in her cage some live plants. Chams need places to hide and to regulate their temperatures. Mist 3-4 times a day, making sure you have all the leaves, both real and fake, wet. Real plant leaves will retain the water for a longer period of time. Chameleons get their water from leaves and branches. They do not recognize water sitting in a dish. Most chams don't like to be misted on directly (although some do). As you mist the plants, they will recognize that there is water and start to lick their lips. This is a good sign. Keep it up for at least 3-5 minutes. I adjust my mister so the mist is fine and I don't soak my floor. LOL

Other things you will need is a basking lamp (a clip on fixture with a 60w household bulb works great!), a thermometer/hydrometer (something you can measure the temperature and humidity) and 3 different supplements with which you lightly dust the feeders. They are Calcium (without D3), Calcium (with D3) and Herpivite (a vitamin supplement). Use Calcium w/o D3 every day, Calcium w/D3 2x/mo (don't use the regular Calcium when you use this) and Herpivite 1x/mo. (no calcium on this day either).

I hope I have answered some of your questions. There will be many others that will chime in I'm sure.

Good luck with your new Jackson. Chameleons bring many owners pleasure. It is easy to become addicted to your new friend! Also, welcome to the forum. There is a wealth of information here and many knowledgeable people who can answer almost any question posed. Sometimes we even tell you to take your cham to a vet. I think all you need to do is to change some husbandry issues and you will have a happy, healthy critter to love.

 

[Julirs]

OK-where to begin? Please do not take offense, but if you want this animal to live you must make MANY changes. First of all, what are you housing her in? Ideally she should have a screen cage about 18X18X36. Next, remove the substrate, they can eat this and become impacted and die. Remove the water dish, they will not drink from a water dish. You must have a UVB bulb. Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 linear tube-no compacts. You need proper supplements, you need a thermometer as they are temperature sensitive. You need a basking bulb, not a moon-glo anything as they associate white light with basking heat. YOU NEED TO LET HER GET ADJUSTED. Chams are not handling animals and the holding as well as the holding her under the faucet thing are stressing her out. Mist 3X daily getting all of the plants (You need live plants) nice and drippy so she can drink from them. When she closes her eyes when you are holding her that means she is stressed beyond logic thought. Make sure the temps in her cage are low 70's with a basking spot in the low 80's.

 

[BocaJan]

Hey Julirs, you said in one paragraph what I said in a book! LOL.

 

[lyanlynn]

Thanks everyone! I asked the girl at the pet store and I got most of everything she suggested. Alrighy, so no aquariam...screen only. I can work on that. And, no bark or water dish. She needs live plants and no moon-glo bulb. I'll have to get her another light. I bought a dayglo basking, but it died as soon as I turned it on. I donated the basker with black light to Licky, my bearded dragon. So, her closing her eyes is stress, not sleep. Hmm. Okay, I think I can handle all this. I'll have to work on it slowly, but surely. Any particular types of plants that would best for her? She's only climbed on her fake one once where I could see her. The rest of the time she's on her coiled vine.

 

[Julirs]

Petstores are terrible about setting up chameleons! For now take out the substrate-and go buy a Pothos-wash it good in dish-soapy water and rinse-either cover the dirt or repot in Organic soil. Get the UVB light ASAP.

 

[lyanlynn]

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - 10 gal glass aquarium
* Lighting - 40 watt tube, moon-glo bulb (suppose to simulate night time lighting with temp)
* Temperature - I don't have a thermometer
* Humidity - it could be more humid
* Plants - one fake plant, well leaves attached to a rock thing
* Location - right now it's on the floor beside a vent


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Grabby, Jackson's Chameleon, little over a week, female
* Handling - couple times a day
* Feeding - no schedule, loose crickets in cage, at least 1 mealworm a day...ordered phoenix worms for her
* Supplements - no supplements
* Watering - I have her drink from the faucet once or twice a day, mist cage a couple of times a day
* Fecal Description - I've seen her poop once...it looked like poop, not quite like a sausage like my bearded dragon's
* History - I know nothing about her history
* Current Problem - I'm worried about her weight, eating habits, overall health

 

[BocaJan]

Right now get that terrarium off the floor and up onto a dresser or table. Something next to a window would be good. Daytime temps should be in the 70-75 range with a night time 60-70. The temps under the basking lamp should be about 90. Until you get a screen cage don't use a basking lamp.

Again, get her off the floor! They like to be high, like up in the trees.......

Take whatever you have that you aren't going to use and return it to the pet store. They are notorious for selling people the wrong things. I think they will be happy when you have to come in and replace your cham. There have been many posts about pet stores here. Grrrrrr

 

[summoner12]

Right now get that terrarium off the floor and up onto a dresser or table. Something next to a window would be good. Daytime temps should be in the 70-75 range with a night time 60-70. The temps under the basking lamp should be about 90. Until you get a screen cage don't use a basking lamp.

Again, get her off the floor! They like to be high, like up in the trees.......

Take whatever you have that you aren't going to use and return it to the pet store. They are notorious for selling people the wrong things. I think they will be happy when you have to come in and replace your cham. There have been many posts about pet stores here. Grrrrrr

This is a Jackon we're talking about here. You don't need temps in the 90s for her. Jacksons like it cooler and humid. I am not an expert on Jackson... I do have a male and I keep his basking lower than 90 and his ambient I try to keep around the mid 70s and I keep his cage very humid with a humidifier and I mist quite frequently.

Where are you located Lyanlyn?

 

[BocaJan]

Sorry, I forgot it was a Jackson. Still, get it up off the floor.

 

[summoner12]

Sorry, I forgot it was a Jackson. Still, get it up off the floor.

lol yes that is important. I wish I could help with more jackson tips.... I just keep mine cool and humid. He eats and poops and climbs around with no real issues so I figure I am doing something right.

 

[Lizardlover]

the higher the better

 

[gegeland]

Correct me if i am wrong, the aquarium hood is trapping all the stale air in the tank. If you aren't going to be using the light like someone else suggested, it might help to take off the tank cover and replace it with some kind of screen so she can at least get a little ventilation.

 

[summoner12]

Correct me if i am wrong, the aquarium hood is trapping all the stale air in the tank. If you aren't going to be using the light like someone else suggested, it might help to take off the tank cover and replace it with some kind of screen so she can at least get a little ventilation.

Yeah that cage is all wrong and the cause of any issues you may have.

 

[Sang]

also, she does look fairly small for a jackson, at that size she is probably 4-6 months old....


definatly change her housing Asap, as others have mentioned, take care of these things and you should notice a change in personality.

high humidity.
cooler then most chams *they are montane*
females are live bearing, they don't lay eggs.


dark colors are stressed colors, bright greens-lime greens are ideal, with a mixture of darker hunter greens and whites on females are good indicator of healthy colors.

 

[lyanlynn]

This is a Jackon we're talking about here. You don't need temps in the 90s for her. Jacksons like it cooler and humid. I am not an expert on Jackson... I do have a male and I keep his basking lower than 90 and his ambient I try to keep around the mid 70s and I keep his cage very humid with a humidifier and I mist quite frequently.

Where are you located Lyanlyn?

I'm in Lumberton, NC. It's right at freezing now. I built a screened cage for her today, but I'm not sure how to keep it humid. I know in glass I could do that, but not with screening.

 

[lyanlynn]

dark colors are stressed colors, bright greens-lime greens are ideal, with a mixture of darker hunter greens and whites on females are good indicator of healthy colors.

I don't think I've ever seen her green at all. I read somewhere that it is uncommon for the females to be shades of tans and browns. I want to make sure that's okay.

 

[toddmkeller]

You can hang some plastic sheeting (trashbags or whatever) on a couple sides of the cage. Having live plants with soil will help keep up the humidity as well as having a humidifier. Make sure the air moves around in the room because you can run into bacterial issues if you don't have airflow (which can lead to bigger issues like URI (Upper Respiratory Infection) Do you have a hygrometer and a thermometer in your cage? If not its really something you will need as a chameleon keeper, especially a montane species... anyway

I hope this helps

Todd

 

[lyanlynn]

I built this for her today. I think she might actually like it. I gave her a warm stream of water shower and she seriously enjoyed it. After I got her to drink a little water, she lightened up and opened her eyes. She stayed under the stream for a long time. I know I still have to add some stuff to her new home, but she already seems to be enjoying herself. Any recommendations for a bottom? I don't think the screening is going to work very long. I didn't put a top on it and I don't think I'll need one. Suggestions welcome!

 

[kinyonga]

I'm concerned with the look of her eyes. I am also concerned that she is gravid.

Is she pooping? How often are you handling her?

You said..."She has bark substrate, a water dish (although she doesn't touch it), a fake plant/tree thing, a coiled vine, and moss"...both the moss and the substrate could cause impaction...so I don't recommend either.

You said..."She's got a moonglo uv bulb. She shy's away from light."...is that a compact?