ALEX NEEDS HELP!

[lubben]

UPDATE: Alex ate 5 crickets today
This was the first time in the past several days
I had to basically put the crickets directly in his mouth

 

[JacksJill]

What about the UVB light that's being used @JacksJill?

I assume that's a T8 bulb. Not my favorite but will do ok in a smaller cage. T5 would be better but probably not the source of the problem. Some outdoor sunlight weekly would easily makeup the difference.

Does that mean phosphorus free calcium?
Yes plain calcium no D3 2-3 times a week very lightly.
Do I need to feed him calcium w/ D3 if I’m using calcium plus loD

No other D3 is necessary if you use the LoD every 2 weeks lightly in place of one of the calcium doses that week.
So every other Monday I use the LoD or plain calcium and Wednesday and Friday I give plain Ca.
I suspect all the calcium you have given him in the past has slowed his digestion and constipated him a bit. I would expect him to poop multiple times a week.
Sorry do you have a vet? Those bumps and swellings could be from an infection, cancer or gout. They don't seem typical of gout. A vet would be better to help you if antibiotics or blood work are necessary.

 

[JacksJill]

Glad you could get him to eat. If you can hand feed him and only use plain calcium for the next month so the excess D3 and Vit A can clear out of his system he might start eating on his own again.

 

[lubben]

l

 

[lubben]

I assume that's a T8 bulb. Not my favorite but will do ok in a smaller cage. T5 would be better but probably not the source of the problem. Some outdoor sunlight weekly would easily makeup the difference.

No other D3 is necessary if you use the LoD every 2 weeks lightly in place of one of the calcium doses that week.
So every other Monday I use the LoD or plain calcium and Wednesday and Friday I give plain Ca.
I suspect all the calcium you have given him in the past has slowed his digestion and constipated him a bit. I would expect him to poop multiple times a week.
Sorry do you have a vet? Those bumps and swellings could be from an infection, cancer or gout. They don't seem typical of gout. A vet would be better to help you if antibiotics or blood work are necessary.

I have been giving him outdoor sunlight as much as possible. Im moving south this summer and he will be able to get more sun because it will be warmer.

I have a vet but she seems to know very little about chameleons.
when I went to her with issues she said nothing about supplementing or nutritional issues.

Glad you could get him to eat. If you can hand feed him and only use plain calcium for the next month so the excess D3 and Vit A can clear out of his system he might start eating on his own again.

I have some liquid that my vet gave me once when he hadn't pooped for a long Time. It is a liquid that I can put on the crickets. its called "lactulose". could I use that, along with extra hydration, to help clear his system?

Do you think his issues with his vision and coordination will stop with proper supplementing?

in the future, when his system clears, should I only be giving Plain Calcium and Calcium Plus LoD? or should I also be giving him Reptivite w/o D3 or some other supplements?

 

[lubben]

@JacksJill
thank you so much

 

[JacksJill]

Lactulose can be beneficial for now but cutting back on Calcium and getting your other supplements in order should work long term.
So no reptivite

 

[lubben]

You need to get your supplement schedule under control. There are a couple ways to do it but I use a schedule of phos, free calcium 2-3 days a week lightly and Repashy Calcium plus loD every 2 weeks in place of a calcium dusting.

sorry I asked you about this in my last post because. I didn't see this until just now.

 

[lubben]

Lactulose can be beneficial for now but cutting back on Calcium and getting your other supplements in order should work long term.
So no reptivite

awsome! thank you again!
ill work on clearing his system then start giving him the LoD every two weeks and phos free calcium 2-3 times per week!

do you know the specifics about what vitamin surpluses/deficiencies are causing is issues with coordination and vision?
are they both caused from too much D3?

he had waaaaay to much D3 for the first 6-7 months of his life, 3-5 times per week in his calcium.
then I started giving him calcium plus LoD and reptivite, but I think way to much of that too

 

[Briansant]

What are some supplements that have vitamin a?

 

[lubben]

What are some supplements that have vitamin a?

I believe most people use Reptivite.

 

[Briansant]

I believe most people use Reptivite.

I use reptivite but never checked for vitamin a lol

 

[lubben]

I use reptivite but never checked for vitamin a lol

if youre having issues I would make a new three and give more info

 

[lubben]

Lactulose can be beneficial for now but cutting back on Calcium and getting your other supplements in order should work long term.
So no reptivite

do you know anything about the swelling on his left cheek?
it looks like it may be a temporal gland infection, but it looks a little too high up on his cheek.
here's some more photos
pictures

 

[lubben]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?

Alex is about 1 year old. He is a male jackson chameleon

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?

I handle him pretty frequently. I have a tree by the window in my room that I carry him to every day or two. I do not frequently just handle him for a long period of time, I usually just take him to his tree.
I also mostly hand feed him. I sometimes do that while i'm holding him

• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?

My chameleon has eaten crickets, meal worms, and occasional wax worms for most of his life. Recently i have been feeding him some silk worms.

• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?

So… I kind of screwed up. I was not ever aware of the importance of vitamin supplementing until about 2 months ago.
For the first 6-8 months of having alex i only dusted his insects with calcium +D3.
I was then told he may be vitamin A deficient. I was told to supplement him with some liquid vitamin A to give hima boost. After doing that I began supplienting him with
Reptivite without D3 (once every 3 weeks)
Repashys calcium plus LoD (2 times a week)
Calcium without D3 (every feeding)
Calcium with D3 (once every 2 weeks)
I only did this for about 2.5 weeks and then stopped because of the issues hes been having this past week

• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?

I use both an automatic mister and I hand mist him. I do see him drinking and he is showing no signs of dehydration

• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?

Never tested for parasites
His feces have always looked healthy. His urate has always been white.

• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Alex has never been a big eater. He usually would only really eat 2-3 insects and usually not every day.
He also along with that only poops about once a week.


Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?

Screen cage
18 x 18 x 36

• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?

Lights are on from 8:30-8:30
I have a 125 watt heating bulb that is on a dimmer so its not too hot
I have a 18 inch, 15 watt, 18 bp, tropical UVB

• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?

Day, basking spot is 85-90 at the very top, he usually hangs out 2 inches below that spot
Night temp is between 60-70 degrees
These are measured with an electric thermometer

• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?

I have no way of measuring humidity. I live in Monterey so the natural is relatively humid and his cage always has a little visible moisture

• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?

I have two live plants and some fake vines as well.
One plant says “anthurium in deco” and the other says “HB Pothos Golden”

• 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?

Cage is next to my closet. My room is constantly about 69-71 degrees with no fans. My house heating comes from the flooring

• Location - Where are you geographically located?

I live in Monterey, CA
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

So, i have four problems

1
(not really concerned about this one anymore because its not getting worse or bothering him. I think it has been solved but I thought id share to give whoever willing to help as much info as possible)
For most of Alex's life he has developed hard bumps on his tail. I was told that it was from too much D3 so I stared supplementing him with calcium without D3 and it seems to have stopped progressing. The bumps don't seem to bother him.

2
Over the past 4ish months Alex's vision started to deteriorate.When he was young he could shoot a normal distance, close to a foot was the longest I ever saw.
He has a very hard time aiming at insects, it has gotten to the point where he has to have the insect right in front of his face and he still can't get it unless I kind of put it on his tongue.

I have even caught him shooting his tongue at LITERALLY nothing.
(here's a video of that) https://drive.google.com/open?id=1m9UyrjGH50r8HMlt-ikSz4k3BLzjg8WG

I was told this issue was because of a lack of vitamin A so I began supplementing him and after 2-3 weeks he showed no sign of improvement. After that is when issue number 3 (see below) started to happen.

3
for the past week-ish he has started acting very lethargic. He has been eating much less.
He has been spending a lot of the day hanging upside down from his back legs/tail.
At night on a few occasions I have found him all the way at the bottom of his cage laying down. He seems massively uncoordinated. Today he was using his back leg to grab his own head when he was trying to move very fast out of the way of the sprayer.
He has little reaction to ANYTHING I do to him. For example, when I handle him he does not really grab my hand. Another example, (for issue number 4 see below) he totally lets me touch his face without really reacting as most chameleons do.
I think he may have some loss of sensation, emphasis on Maybe. I picked him up when he was sleeping on the very bottom and he didn't wake up.

4
His left cheek is swollen. It sticks out much farther than his right and looks very round. It is very soft to the touch. I only noticed it yesterday so I am unaware if it is getting increasingly worse. (see photos comparing left and right and inside of mouth)View attachment 267531

View attachment 267521View attachment 267522View attachment 267523View attachment 267524View attachment 267525View attachment 267526View attachment 267527

SOME EXTRA PHOTOS OF THE SWELLING ON HIS CHEEK
MAY BE A TEMPORAL GLAND INFECTION --STILL NOT SURE
EXTRA PHOTOS
PLEASE HELP

 

[lubben]

please tag anyone you know to have experience with Jacksons!

 

[JacksJill]

@Mawtyplant she may have dealt with this in her collection

 

[lubben]

SOME EXTRA PHOTOS OF THE SWELLING ON HIS CHEEK
MAY BE A TEMPORAL GLAND INFECTION --STILL NOT SURE
EXTRA PHOTOS
PLEASE HELP

@Mawtyplant

 

[Mawtyplant]

hmm since supplementation topic is already covered, I think I will avoid adding extra info (basically I'm usually always agree with Jacksjill and Kinyonga)

I think you should check on your basking (In fact.. I think you should close your basking for the next 2-4 day and open it only 3 days a week for 3-4 hours each days. Jacksons are highland Sp and their system sometime react bad about constant basking. His system might need a little cool down!

Continue feeding mostly silkworm -≥ they are good, will keep him hydrated, low in fat and contains serapeptase, an anti-inflammatory - helping with inflammation, I don't remember how but its good anyway and! its probably the only feeder with a good Preformed Vitamin A.

You might want to consider adding bee pollen dusting to his prey! its full of mineral and might help with bacterial or immune system fighting

Now! I assume this chameleon is Wild caught? you should bring the poop to a vet for fecal testing asap, no matter what you will do, if he do have parasite it alway gonna slap the system and you will always fail to provide him adequate nutritional balance (because parasites ofter interferes with normal nutriment absorption and always stress out the animal. So your problem can be here

About the lumps I've never seen this in a young chameleons.. can be many things from tumor to past injury when he was really young hard to tell but if it don't grow..

I encourage you to give him some natural morning sunlight too! lot of benefit with my Jacksons I use a high uvb output so I think he might enjoy

good luck and keep us updated!

 

[lubben]

hmm since supplementation topic is already covered, I think I will avoid adding extra info (basically I'm usually always agree with Jacksjill and Kinyonga)

I think you should check on your basking (In fact.. I think you should close your basking for the next 2-4 day and open it only 3 days a week for 3-4 hours each days. Jacksons are highland Sp and their system sometime react bad about constant basking. His system might need a little cool down!

Continue feeding mostly silkworm -≥ they are good, will keep him hydrated, low in fat and contains serapeptase, an anti-inflammatory - helping with inflammation, I don't remember how but its good anyway and! its probably the only feeder with a good Preformed Vitamin A.

You might want to consider adding bee pollen dusting to his prey! its full of mineral and might help with bacterial or immune system fighting

Now! I assume this chameleon is Wild caught? you should bring the poop to a vet for fecal testing asap, no matter what you will do, if he do have parasite it alway gonna slap the system and you will always fail to provide him adequate nutritional balance (because parasites ofter interferes with normal nutriment absorption and always stress out the animal. So your problem can be here

About the lumps I've never seen this in a young chameleons.. can be many things from tumor to past injury when he was really young hard to tell but if it don't grow..

I encourage you to give him some natural morning sunlight too! lot of benefit with my Jacksons I use a high uvb output so I think he might enjoy

good luck and keep us updated!

my chameleon is not wild caught. I got him from a local pet store.
I will try keeping him cooler for the next few days and see how that effects him.

should I get a mineral supplement?
how often should I put bee pollen on his food? im assuming that's just an occasional thing for when his immune system could use a boost.

What would make you think he has a parasite? is it just his poor nutritional condition? are there any signs I should be looking for