Having Problems... Getting Very Upset!

[Jonahs Dad]

I feel the same way about pet stores. We just "rescue" animals; whether it be dogs, cats, hermit crabs...and whether it be on the streets, other owner and yes pet stores. Not all pet store workers are bad.

I just felt bad for him. He has a little brother he was sharing a cage with, and if I could take him I would, but I know I can't.

Thanks for the boost. I'm going to try and give him a good life. He isn't even named yet... We wanted to get him as a surprise to my son, he is out-of-town. The deal was all A's for his final an he achieved, so we could go back on the deal. It worked out well so I can get his "routine" down and when he gets home he can step in and help.

I called the vet. Is a fecal test required? I think with the fecal and a check up it will be right at $100. Does that sound right? I might see if Petco can flip the bill since it is in the 14 days of purchase. I will not return him, I will keep him and take care of him. Hopefully you guys are willing to help me.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[laurie]

I feel the same way about pet stores. We just "rescue" animals; whether it be dogs, cats, hermit crabs...and whether it be on the streets, other owner and yes pet stores. Not all pet store workers are bad.

I just felt bad for him. He has a little brother he was sharing a cage with, and if I could take him I would, but I know I can't.

Thanks for the boost. I'm going to try and give him a good life. He isn't even named yet... We wanted to get him as a surprise to my son, he is out-of-town. The deal was all A's for his final an he achieved, so we could go back on the deal. It worked out well so I can get his "routine" down and when he gets home he can step in and help.

I called the vet. Is a fecal test required? I think with the fecal and a check up it will be right at $100. Does that sound right? I might see if Petco can flip the bill since it is in the 14 days of purchase. I will not return him, I will keep him and take care of him. Hopefully you guys are willing to help me.

Thanks,
Jason

We are more than happy to help you. Most of us are very dedicated chameleons lovers, who just want to help other keepers have healthy chams, and a good experience with their cham. Petco will only pay for their vet. But try that first. You may luck out and petco will have a good vet. Any vet should be able to do a fecal.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

After looking at the newer photos his limbs look ok.

In terms of your supplements, you will need to order the plain calcium with no D3. That is what you will use everyday. The. Use the calcium w/ D3 and multivitamin each twice a month ( I see both of those in your picture). The other two supplements I have never used, so I can't say on those. I only use the rep-cal brand

 

[Jonahs Dad]

Thanks!

There is a vet listed on the HerpVet Connection. I already called.

 

[Yowzercham]

very nice set up...he looks like he is in good hands. Good luck...may take a while for him to adjust from poverty petco to the Hilton@ at your house!

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Yeah no need to stress out. We can provide all the help you need outside of a formal vet visit. He looks pretty good. I think he will make a great pet and grow up to be healthy.

 

[Jonahs Dad]

Thanks again, everyone!

Yesterday afternoon and this morning were good. He ate (1) medium/large cricket yesterday afternoon. I was a little worried if he ate too much so late in the day. This morning he ate (3) medium crickets. I guess i could have given him more, but I didn't want to overdue it. I'll see if he eats this afternoon.

We went back to Petco yesterday and another guy there, I'm presuming another manager too, got a little defensive and said Petco is not responsible for the vet visit. I refereed to the 14 day "return policy". I said I am not bringing him back, but they should help me with the cost IF he is sick or not. He was actually a little more knowledgeable, but I did mention the substrate and the bowl of water shouldn't be in the cage. He said I should have bought a bearded dragon instead. I was like that is not what we wanted. He pulled out the care sheet and said the temp gradient should be from 100-70 and 70-90% humidity. I told him all my research says 90 temp. max. and humidity 40-60%; he said 88 was too low for him and my humidity was too low. We left kinda on a truce and he did ask for my to come back and see what the vet says, and he will change the set-up if need be.

 

[Jonahs Dad]

After looking at the newer photos his limbs look ok.

In terms of your supplements, you will need to order the plain calcium with no D3. That is what you will use everyday. The. Use the calcium w/ D3 and multivitamin each twice a month ( I see both of those in your picture). The other two supplements I have never used, so I can't say on those. I only use the rep-cal brand

Cool. Man you had me worried.

I bought all his supplements from Petco. I noticed the first (2) both are calcium and D3. The smaller he told me everyday and the larger (from left to right) 2x a week, and the multi 2x a month. I will be by an exotics store Friday and will pick-up some calcium for everyday use. I'll just mix in the smaller container into the larger as I use it. Should that be ok? The last container is tropical fish food that I'm using in the gutloading process. One of the Petco guys said he uses it for the food itself and is supposedly helps with the coloring of the cham. I'm not sure that is true or not.

 

[Jonahs Dad]

very nice set up...he looks like he is in good hands. Good luck...may take a while for him to adjust from poverty petco to the Hilton@ at your house!

Thanks, I hope he adjusts well!

 

[Jonahs Dad]

How old do you think he is? I'll try to measure him if he lets me.

I'm just figuring how many crickets he should be (or attempting) to eat a day.

 

[christineacero]

I wouldn't use fish food for gutloading. Fish food has too much protein to feed to your chams. Fresh fruits and veggies are the best way to go. Leafy greens are your best option, such as dandelion greens, arugula, endive, and lettuce. Spinach is okay on occasion as well.
I've never heard of anything that you can give a chameleon to "help" with their coloring, since their color is based on hormones and how they're feeling. The guy who told you to do this gave you false information.

 

[Jonahs Dad]

I wouldn't use fish food for gutloading. Fish food has too much protein to feed to your chams. Fresh fruits and veggies are the best way to go. Leafy greens are your best option, such as dandelion greens, arugula, endive, and lettuce. Spinach is okay on occasion as well.
I've never heard of anything that you can give a chameleon to "help" with their coloring, since their color is based on hormones and how they're feeling. The guy who told you to do this gave you false information.

Ok, thanks. I will discontinue using it today.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Yeah just veggies for gutload. You may have to order the plain calcium from a site sponsor, most local shops don't carry it on hand. Go figure, the one you use the most is hardest to find. I wouldn't mix supplements, could cause problems

 

[Jonahs Dad]

That is what I've been using. I've only fed the crickets twice. Each time I gave them garlic onion (kinda like chives) I have fresh in the garden, an apple slice, some spinach, lettuce and one pellet of that fish food. Like I said I will discontinue the fish food and throw away the smaller calcium and will not mix them. It is only money, right? Ha! I will order the calcium I need will he be "ok" until I get it in?

 

[Rodcham]

He will be fine, sounds like you are on track for a happy, healthy cham
The ppl on here know what they are talking about and listening to them is the best advice you can get.

 

[Sundragon]

I'm glad he's doing better! Just needed to get acclimated to his new home I bet. I'm also glad you found a good vet in your area. He's going to have a great home with you. You sound a lot like me in that we bought the chams for our kids but they're probably more for us since we couldn't have them as kids ourselves.

Please do post updates on him.

 

[Jonahs Dad]

Thanks guys!

I will keep you guys posted on "?", maybe I'll drop a line when my son comes back and names him. The leading names so far are: Gumby (for Tulane's old mascot)((son's choice)), Milo (my choice), Pascal (wife's choice). Who knows what he will end up as a name.

What do you guys do when on vacation?

PetSmart had Exo-Terra calcium only so I picked that up.

 

[Jonahs Dad]

How old do you guys think he is?

What should be his food intake/schedule?

Is he old enough to let a few smaller crickets out so he can free feed?

Thanks!

 

[christineacero]

How big is his enclosure? I prefer to free range my crickets because my girls like to hunt, but if he's tiny and in a large cage, he might have trouble finding the food. I'd do a mixture of cup feeding near his favorite branch, as well as free ranging a few and see how he does with it. Babies shouldbe fed twice a day, juvies once a day and adults usually once every two days

 

[christineacero]

So I just looked again at your pictures you posted and he looks big enough to be able to get around an 18x18x36 inch cage no problem, so I'd free range some crickets in there.