Fergus

[Kerridawn79]

Fergus is roughly a year and a half got him when he was small from a pet zoo. Lately he has been listless for about 2 weeks eating sparingly when he devours meal worms and wax worms dusted 1x a week with repticalcium and crickets gut loaded with cricket gel like crazy. About 7 wax 10 meal and i would say 5 large (3/4in) size crickets a day or every other day. He usually sheds ever 2weeks and his eyes are the worst at shedding usually takes longer. He has a mister set 2hrs to spray 2minutes. He is in a 3'tall by 18" wide glass terrarium with mess roof and drain tube at the bottom for the excess water to drain.He has the lighting in the picture one is uvb not coil style. He does get handled a lot at least 3 times a week since he was brought home . I can put the guy to sleep while holding him so I dont think he is stressed. In front of windows so he gets direct sunlight through them as well. Lately his eyes keep crusting over and his appatite is not his usual. I will drop warm water over his eyes to ease the crusting as well he will drink maybe once out over 4 times that i do drop water. His plants are platic and a live ficus tree that has been there since day 1. Urates are normal white and brown but far less than usual due to not eating as much. Is he unhealthy or going through a growth stage than is not as common like breading stage? He is male has huge spurs on back feet.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

He needs a better diet and a vet.

 

[jannb]

Poor little guy. He needs a vet ASAP. Where do you live? I might be able to refer a good chameleon vet.

If you fill out the ask for help form linked below we can help you correct anything that might be wrong with the way you are keeping him but for now he needs a good vet.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[OldChamKeeper]

This has nothing to do with breeding needs. He's in rough shape just from the photos. Let Jannb help you since she is here offering, you can't ask for better help.

 

[Remkon]

Sorry to hear your cham isn't doing to great.
I'm not a veiled expert like JannB and I think you should take him to a vet.

Here's some things that I think need your attention based on the things you wrote:

Lately he has been listless for about 2 weeks eating sparingly when he devours meal worms and wax worms dusted 1x a week with repticalcium and crickets gut loaded with cricket gel like crazy.

Dusting calcium (without D3) should be done every feeding.
1x every week instead of calcium without D3 you should do calcium with D3
1x every other week change instead of the calcium without D3 you should use multivitamins.

If your multivitamins has D3 you can skip the calcium with D3 and just use calcium instead.

About 7 wax 10 meal and i would say 5 large (3/4in) size crickets a day or every other day.

I would try to get a larger variety of feeders.
I would also use waxworms as a treat rather than using them as staple.
Mealworms you can also use as a treat or completele remove them from the diet since they don't have a high nutritious value and can cause impaction in your chameleon.
Gut loaded crickets are a better staple, dubia roaches will be a better staple but not all chameleons take dubia straight of the bat.
Feed silkworms, hornworms, phoenixworms, waxworms, stick insects, grasshoppers etc. as a variety on his diet.

In front of windows so he gets direct sunlight through them as well.

The window will filter out the UVB and your cham will not get any UVB from that. If you can take him outside sometimes that's good for him but putting him in front of a window will fulfill his need for basking without giving him the UVB he needs.
He will need a good UVB lamp in his enclosure that needs to be swapped out every ~1 year... Judging from the picture I think your UVB lamp may be to far from the basking spot, since it's a tube light you should probably have it around 12"-14" inch away from where your chameleon sits to bask.

Personally, if I had a veiled. I would probably go for an 70-100 watt HQI or mercury vapor lamp and have UVB and warmth in 1 spot, putting an extra lamp for daylight lighting.

He does get handled a lot at least 3 times a week since he was brought home .

Chameleons generally don't like being handled, if he comes out of his cage odds are he does it because being in there is worse to him than being handled.
The cage could be to small (and I do think 18" is to small for an adult male) or there can be other things bothering him in there (lights that annoy him, not enough foliage etc.).

He has a mister set 2hrs to spray 2minutes.

If you can I would spray him for longer periods or at least give him 1 of the periods to be of 5-ish minutes. He will need the time to clean his eyes and drink.

Here's a link to the caresheet:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/

 

[Kerridawn79]

Poor little guy. He needs a vet ASAP. Where do you live? I might be able to refer a good chameleon vet.

If you fill out the ask for help form linked below we can help you correct anything that might be wrong with the way you are keeping him but for now he needs a good vet.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

I live in Alaska and have searched for a vet with no luck on a knowledgable one of chameleons. As for the diet I have tried to have him eat fresh veggies and fruits which he just lets sit there . I did clean out his cage with a diluted bleach solution and removed the ficus. His cask is the way it is from when I first got him he liked to lay to close the the light. Just a fyi on that . He is more active and is eating more since I removed the ficus. As well I have been using the turtle eye drops to help flush his eyes. His normal personality is starting to show back and he is more active in cruising up and down his cage.

 

[Kerridawn79]

I will try to get a more of a variety of bugs for him to munch. Being in Alaska we are at the mercy of the petstore as well I will double check the lighting and look for a bigger cage in the mean time. Thank you everyone fir your input it is really appreciated

 

[jannb]

We have two members here from Alaska that take their chameleons to the vet. I will get the names of their vets for you.

 

[AlaskanReptile]

Sorry to hear about your guy. I know how you feel as far as trying to find a good vet in Alaska, I never really did when I was still up there but made do with what I had.

I have a vet or two that were decent with reptiles but need to know where in Alaska you live (If you are in Juneau then a vet near Fairbanks isn't really an option, you know?)

 

[jannb]

If you are close to Anchorage one member here uses:
College Village Animal Clinic
2036 E. Northern Lights Blvd.
Anchorage, AK 99509
907-274-5623

 

[Chachi]

I will try to get a more of a variety of bugs for him to munch. Being in Alaska we are at the mercy of the petstore as well I will double check the lighting and look for a bigger cage in the mean time. Thank you everyone fir your input it is really appreciated

You can order every one of the insects that have been suggested. Remkon addressed every one of your problems and no one could have said it better. It is imperative that he have uvb. If you use real sun, the type of ray he needs does not go thru glass. As for the cage issue if you cant find or afford one (again, you can order on the web) go to a hardware store and purchase a kit to make a screen for a window and some screws and modify the one you have. Even if you think he is better, he is not going to thrive on the diet and living arraignment he has now

 

[AlaskanReptile]

If you are close to Anchorage one member here uses:
College Village Animal Clinic
2036 E. Northern Lights Blvd.
Anchorage, AK 99509
907-274-5623

How convenient! I couldn't remember if I had added that vet or not to the list on here. That was who I used when Thalin had his parasite scare, and was who I was going to mention if the OP was in the anchorage area.

However fair warning to the OP, the vet for Collage Village is much more well hearsed in snakes last I knew but is definitely acceptable for chameleons in the most basic sense.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

We have two members here from Alaska that take their chameleons to the vet. I will get the names of their vets for you.

So..note to self. "If ever hiding from the law, be warned Jannb will most likely find you since that has to be easier than finding a Herp vet in Alaska" damn....

 

[Kerridawn79]

H

You can order every one of the insects that have been suggested. Remkon addressed every one of your problems and no one could have said it better. It is imperative that he have uvb. If you use real sun, the type of ray he needs does not go thru glass. As for the cage issue if you cant find or afford one (again, you can order on the web) go to a hardware store and purchase a kit to make a screen for a window and some screws and modify the one you have. Even if you think he is better, he is not going to thrive on the diet and living arraignment he has now

Sorry to hear about your guy. I know how you feel as far as trying to find a good vet in Alaska, I never really did when I was still up there but made do with what I had.

I have a vet or two that were decent with reptiles but need to know where in Alaska you live (If you are in Juneau then a vet near Fairbanks isn't really an option, you know?)

Wasilla

 

[Kerridawn79]

he has a tube 5.0 uvb bulb as well as a haligen for heat. We had just replaced the bulbs shortly before his change in behavior. We change them every 6 month or if one burned out. He basks at the top of his cage which is 3" away from the top thats why his casque looks burned at the tip. His mister is set now to mist for 2 minutes on the hr . Other than changing up his food he is stable just not as active as usually is. I am on the hunt for the different types of food . As well a new terrarium. Thank you for all your help and we will def do a follow up with the vet in Anchorage.

 

[Chachi]

Good job.
I lose my mind over mine. Its insane what these guys can do to a person. I have a sick jacksons and i spend all my time worrying about lights, food, feeding the food, temperature, humidity and blood chemistry and ambient vs basking temperature and.everything else . You gotta be an expert in several different subjects or disciplines to be an amateur chameleon owner!

 

[Decadancin]

You gotta be an expert in several different subjects or disciplines to be an amateur chameleon owner!

That is a good title for the Chameleon Forums !

 

[BKO Overdrive]

Its not insane what they do to us, but rather dont you think we are just a group of people that actually really care for such a demanding reptile?