Hinzfamily
New Member
I have pretty much read every thread on here that relates to female Jackson's at this point. I have tried to correct everything in my Jackson's set up that I can on my own. I am posting this because every time I think I have the perfect setup for her, I read something else and realize I am doing something wrong. I will list my concerns in greater detail at the bottom but a short summary is that I think she is too stressed out right now, and she isn't eating. I am wondering if it is my setup and if there are any tweaks I can do to make her less stressed and start to eat.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Jackson, Female, around 9-12 months (total guess), 2+ weeks.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Only the first day we got her ( just a bit before we put her in her cage ).
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? crickets, superworms, mealworms, wax worms., First day she ate about 8 crickets, about 3-4 the next few days, and then went on a three day hunger strike. I tried meal worms with no luck. I then got her to eat three super worms right out of a cup in my hand. That was a week ago and I haven't seen her eat since. She will not cup feed, won't eat out of my hand, and I have put crickets and worms in her cage for her to hunt and she wont eat them that way either
. I feed the crickets squash, apples, spinach, and kale, along with a dry gutload I made from a recipe off this forum.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? reptical (calicum 3 times a week no d3 (but she isn't always eating them), plan on d3 and multi once a month.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have an automatic mister that goes off every three hours for 60 secs. I also set it off manually for about 4 minutes once in the afternoon. I didn't see her drink the first week and was concerned that she had some orange in her urine. The past 4-5 days she is drinking a lot, but I haven't seen a poop or urine.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. She has only pooped three times since I got her, and hasn't since last wednesday. At that time it was a hard oval black object, with white and a bit of orange urine.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I bought her at pet smart. After reading some stories and looking at other female cham pics, I was concerned she might be pregnant. I am really not sure now, as sometimes her belly looks huge and other times it does not. The pet store gives me different information about her every time I talk to them. I believe she was at the pet store somewhere between 2-4 months, and she was already a green color when they got her. She lived in a tiny glass tank with lots of fake foliage, and only ate crickets. One of the ladies at the pet store told me they took her out all the time and she would sit on their shoulder. I find this very hard to believe, along with everything else they have said.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? reptibreeze 18x18x36 screen
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? zoo med 24in 5.0 uvb (hangs over the edge of my viv. I bought it big in case I upgrade the size of the viv. 60 watt house bulb for heat.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? backing 80-85, rest of viv between 68-72. I have a digital zoo med probe reader in the basking area and 3 other strip temp gages in other areas.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? humidity between 48-52% during the day, min of 38% at night, max gets up to 90% during misting. I have a digital probe reader for humidity.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Gardena and Pothos and varies fake vines.
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? Her cage is in a spare bedroom, we keep the door closed. There is no traffic except to check on her. I go in there about 4 times a day to feed or check her temps and/or clean her cage. Her cage is on a table that sits about three feet off the floor.
Location - Where are you geographically located? we are in maryland
Current Problem - She seems very stressed out. I am thinking this based on her coloring. She starts off the day light green, and then turns dark green and black during the day. She also is NOT eating at all. The last time she ate was wednesday. I have tried EVERY bug and worm I could get my hands on. I am gut loading these critters with better food then my family gets, only for her to totally reject everything I give her. She ate fine the first 3 to 4 days I had her. Then went on a three day hunger strike. She then ate 3 super worms out of a cup in my hand last wednesday and NOTHING since.
She is not sleeping during the day. She moves around the cage a bit and seems to still goto her basking spot even though she isn't eating. She mostly just hangs out on her branches or in the Gardena plant. She is drinking a good bit now, but I haven't seen a poop or urine since her drinking picked up.
I am leaving for 8 days and have a friend coming over two times a day to take care of her while I am gone. I have set up another viv with lighting, two plants, fake vines and branches in case she has some babies while I am gone. I also have a stash of flightless fruit flies for the babies (if there are any).
Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong or you have any ideas how to get her to eat. Should I try the flightless fruit flies? Also please comment on her coloring and if you think this means she is stressed. Are there any suggestions on how to reduce her stress?
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Jackson, Female, around 9-12 months (total guess), 2+ weeks.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Only the first day we got her ( just a bit before we put her in her cage ).
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? crickets, superworms, mealworms, wax worms., First day she ate about 8 crickets, about 3-4 the next few days, and then went on a three day hunger strike. I tried meal worms with no luck. I then got her to eat three super worms right out of a cup in my hand. That was a week ago and I haven't seen her eat since. She will not cup feed, won't eat out of my hand, and I have put crickets and worms in her cage for her to hunt and she wont eat them that way either
. I feed the crickets squash, apples, spinach, and kale, along with a dry gutload I made from a recipe off this forum.Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? reptical (calicum 3 times a week no d3 (but she isn't always eating them), plan on d3 and multi once a month.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have an automatic mister that goes off every three hours for 60 secs. I also set it off manually for about 4 minutes once in the afternoon. I didn't see her drink the first week and was concerned that she had some orange in her urine. The past 4-5 days she is drinking a lot, but I haven't seen a poop or urine.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. She has only pooped three times since I got her, and hasn't since last wednesday. At that time it was a hard oval black object, with white and a bit of orange urine.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I bought her at pet smart. After reading some stories and looking at other female cham pics, I was concerned she might be pregnant. I am really not sure now, as sometimes her belly looks huge and other times it does not. The pet store gives me different information about her every time I talk to them. I believe she was at the pet store somewhere between 2-4 months, and she was already a green color when they got her. She lived in a tiny glass tank with lots of fake foliage, and only ate crickets. One of the ladies at the pet store told me they took her out all the time and she would sit on their shoulder. I find this very hard to believe, along with everything else they have said.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? reptibreeze 18x18x36 screen
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? zoo med 24in 5.0 uvb (hangs over the edge of my viv. I bought it big in case I upgrade the size of the viv. 60 watt house bulb for heat.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? backing 80-85, rest of viv between 68-72. I have a digital zoo med probe reader in the basking area and 3 other strip temp gages in other areas.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? humidity between 48-52% during the day, min of 38% at night, max gets up to 90% during misting. I have a digital probe reader for humidity.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Gardena and Pothos and varies fake vines.
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? Her cage is in a spare bedroom, we keep the door closed. There is no traffic except to check on her. I go in there about 4 times a day to feed or check her temps and/or clean her cage. Her cage is on a table that sits about three feet off the floor.
Location - Where are you geographically located? we are in maryland
Current Problem - She seems very stressed out. I am thinking this based on her coloring. She starts off the day light green, and then turns dark green and black during the day. She also is NOT eating at all. The last time she ate was wednesday. I have tried EVERY bug and worm I could get my hands on. I am gut loading these critters with better food then my family gets, only for her to totally reject everything I give her. She ate fine the first 3 to 4 days I had her. Then went on a three day hunger strike. She then ate 3 super worms out of a cup in my hand last wednesday and NOTHING since.
She is not sleeping during the day. She moves around the cage a bit and seems to still goto her basking spot even though she isn't eating. She mostly just hangs out on her branches or in the Gardena plant. She is drinking a good bit now, but I haven't seen a poop or urine since her drinking picked up.
I am leaving for 8 days and have a friend coming over two times a day to take care of her while I am gone. I have set up another viv with lighting, two plants, fake vines and branches in case she has some babies while I am gone. I also have a stash of flightless fruit flies for the babies (if there are any).
Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong or you have any ideas how to get her to eat. Should I try the flightless fruit flies? Also please comment on her coloring and if you think this means she is stressed. Are there any suggestions on how to reduce her stress?
