7-Month-Old Jackson Chameleon Closing Eyes, Very Lethargic

J

Josh9

New Member
We have a 7-month-old female Jackson chameleon, who has been active and thriving since we got her in May. However, she began closing her eyes during the day a couple days ago and has been very lethargic as well. I have not been able to get her to eat or drink during that time.

I took her out of her enclosure this evening to examine her, and she perked up a bit. She opened her eyes, but they were still a bit more squinted than usual. When I put her back in her cage, she began opening her mouth like she was yawning and made a soft, high-pitch noise for a few seconds. She then made a clicking/croaking noise for a few more seconds.

She seems a bit unbalanced and unsure of her footing (almost disoriented). She was actually reaching to get back onto my hand when I put her onto a branch. For the past couple days, she has been at the top of the cage with her nose up against the top screen.

I have been trying to get in touch with a reptile vet for a couple days, but that has been very challenging due to the holiday. I am hoping to do so over the weekend but was hoping the expertise of this forum might be able to help in the meantime.

Background info is below. Thanks in advance!

Handling: Very rarely. Only when needed for cleaning etc…
Feeding: Free range for the most part. Crickets (fed ground corn), mealworms (fed Fluker’s high calcium supp), black soldier fly larvae as well as the resulting flies when some of the larvae don’t get eaten.
Supplements: All done through the gutloading above
Watering: Dripping plant runs continuously during the day (I have only seen her drinking from there a couple times), I use a dropper periodically and also mist by hand 2-3 times per day until everything is dripping with water.
Fecal Description: Mostly white. Same dark elements in it.
Cage Info: Exo Terra Glass Terrarium 18" x 18" x 24"
Lighting: Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamp (75W) and ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Mini Compact Fluorescent (13W)
Temperature: 78 at the top, 70-72 at the bottom. 65 at night.
Humidity: ~50-60%
Plants: Fiddleleaf Fig Tree (Ficus)
Placement: On table against wall of furnished basement. Away from windows, vents etc…
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
 
Handling: Very rarely. Only when needed for cleaning etc…
Feeding: Free range for the most part. Crickets (fed ground corn), mealworms (fed Fluker’s high calcium supp), black soldier fly larvae as well as the resulting flies when some of the larvae don’t get eaten. MEALWORMS ARE NOT RECCOMENDED. IT IS BEST TO SUPPLEMENT WITH FRESH VEG. / FRUIT
Supplements: All done through the gutloading above. THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE. YOU NEED TO SUPPLEMENT WITH CALCIUM EVERY FEEDING AND MULTIVITAMIN/D3 TWICE A MONTH
Watering: Dripping plant runs continuously during the day (I have only seen her drinking from there a couple times), I use a dropper periodically and also mist by hand 2-3 times per day until everything is dripping with water.
Fecal Description: Mostly white. Same dark elements in it.
Cage Info: Exo Terra Glass Terrarium 18" x 18" x 24" MINIMUM SIZE IS 24x24x48 AND SCREEN IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Lighting: Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamp (75W) and ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Mini Compact Fluorescent (13W) DITCH THE COMPACT. YOU NEED A LINEAR T5 HO FIXTURE.
Temperature: 78 at the top, 70-72 at the bottom. 65 at night.
Humidity: ~50-60%
Plants: Fiddleleaf Fig Tree (Ficus)
Placement: On table against wall of furnished basement. Away from windows, vents etc…
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
 
A vet visit is definitely the way to go, especially if it is a respiratory infection you’re gonna need antibiotics. But with what you said so far sounds like how an RI would be described. With the compact light she needs to be in such a specific spot for it to actually work correctly that the light switch to the t5 is important and might be blinding her or burning her depending on your setup (pictures please). Bacteria+heat+humidity=RI. It would help to have 30-50% humidity days and 75-100% nights with night temperature drop to about 60 degrees MAX with some ventilation. Misting at lights on and lights off would help the enclosure dry out during the day. And more plants that filter out mold and bacteria would help too. Her wanting your hand instead of the enclosure is a sign that something is bothering her in there. A fecal will most likely be necessary so try to save a sample for the vet, they can check for parasites. I hope the vet can see you soon!
Sickness first, but nutrition is also important. Feeding the crickets only corn will not give your chameleon much, if any, of her essential vitamins. This is what a Jackson’s supplement schedule usually looks like: a)Multivitamin once a month, calcium with d3 once a month, and calcium without d3 2-3 times a week OR b)Repashy lo-d once a month and EarthPro-A every feeding.
 
Last edited:
Ambilobe123 said:
Handling: Very rarely. Only when needed for cleaning etc…
Feeding: Free range for the most part. Crickets (fed ground corn), mealworms (fed Fluker’s high calcium supp), black soldier fly larvae as well as the resulting flies when some of the larvae don’t get eaten. MEALWORMS ARE NOT RECCOMENDED. IT IS BEST TO SUPPLEMENT WITH FRESH VEG. / FRUIT
Supplements: All done through the gutloading above. THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE. YOU NEED TO SUPPLEMENT WITH CALCIUM EVERY FEEDING AND MULTIVITAMIN/D3 TWICE A MONTH
Watering: Dripping plant runs continuously during the day (I have only seen her drinking from there a couple times), I use a dropper periodically and also mist by hand 2-3 times per day until everything is dripping with water.
Fecal Description: Mostly white. Same dark elements in it.
Cage Info: Exo Terra Glass Terrarium 18" x 18" x 24" MINIMUM SIZE IS 24x24x48 AND SCREEN IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Lighting: Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamp (75W) and ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Mini Compact Fluorescent (13W) DITCH THE COMPACT. YOU NEED A LINEAR T5 HO FIXTURE.
Temperature: 78 at the top, 70-72 at the bottom. 65 at night.
Humidity: ~50-60%
Plants: Fiddleleaf Fig Tree (Ficus)
Placement: On table against wall of furnished basement. Away from windows, vents etc…
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Click to expand...

Thank you for the guidance! We will make these adjustments ASAP assuming we can get through this weekend.
 
Shanar808 said:
A vet visit is definitely the way to go, especially if it is a respiratory infection you’re gonna need antibiotics. But with what you said so far sounds like how an RI would be described. With the compact light she needs to be in such a specific spot for it to actually work correctly that the light switch to the t5 is important and might be blinding her or burning her depending on your setup (pictures please). Bacteria+heat+humidity=RI. It would help to have 30-50% humidity days and 75-100% nights with night temperature drop to about 60 degrees MAX with some ventilation. Misting at lights on and lights off would help the enclosure dry out during the day. And more plants that filter out mold and bacteria would help too. Her wanting your hand instead of the enclosure is a sign that something is bothering her in there. A fecal will most likely be necessary so try to save a sample for the vet, they can check for parasites. I hope the vet can see you soon!
Sickness first, but nutrition is also important. Feeding the crickets only corn will not give your chameleon much, if any, of her essential vitamins. This is what a Jackson’s supplement schedule usually looks like: a)Multivitamin once a month, calcium with d3 once a month, and calcium without d3 2-3 times a week OR b)Repashy lo-d once a month and EarthPro-A every feeding.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I have now called 12-14 vets in the past few days. None of them are open due t the holiday/weekend or able to treat chameleons. The earliest I can have her seen is Monday, and I don't think that is soon enough. Opening the search to a larger area.
 
Josh9 said:
Thank you! I have now called 12-14 vets in the past few days. None of them are open due t the holiday/weekend or able to treat chameleons. The earliest I can have her seen is Monday, and I don't think that is soon enough. Opening the search to a larger area.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately you may need to drive a few hours to get to a good specialty vet. Try looking through this forum thread: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/area-by-area-country-vet-list.32880/

Note that the thread was started years ago, but it is a living thread that people do still post to. You might need to verify some of the older posts though.
 
The vet said she has an ulcer on her tongue and most likely a URI. We have antibiotics and a protein supplement to hand feed her until she perks up. Will make the enclosure and supplement changes once she does. Thanks again.
 
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