Help...wasting away

[mczoo]

My male 6 month old jackson with identical husbandry to my female same age is just not eating much and has intermittantly seemed like he is waisting away. today he was 8g not nine that i weighed him at a week ago. Despite my best effort he seems to dehydrate quickly ang has no appetite

For further information he is a six month old jackson xan. he and hopefully his "future girl" are in identical separate side by side cages with pvc sheet between them she is doing well and gaining like a horse (20g). the cages are 18x12x 24 screen with base with a drain he has a ficus and several fake vines and fake plant vines for cover. he has a reptisun 5.0 . he also has a basking light 60 watts (dimmer adjusted), ambient temps low 70's (i have a temp gun and standard thermometers) night mid sixties, basking no more than 80 degrees, humidity has been hard to keep above 60% but for the last 2 weeks it has been 60% and 85% after misting 3-4 times per day he was eating gutloaded cricket 4-8 of the 3/8 inch size daily until 2 weeks ago when he no longer ate in front of me. i tried silkies she scarfed them he ignored them last week i took him outside and he really perked up. he also ate a fly he saw a vet about 2 weeks ago and stool sample was negative he was diagnosed with dehydration..........Any thoughts

 

[Nicodemayo]

My first guess would be parasites but you said they came back negative. Maybe you should get a stool rechecked it wouldn't hurt. From what ive heard when chams are infested with parasites they dont eat much, loose weight and like you said, waste away. Once they take over their immune system its home free for them. Im curious to see what other users have to say. Best of luck to you

 

[Champhibians]

That would be a problem if the chameleon was not acclimated. But if he has lived in that enclosure for awile with no problem parasites should not be killing him. I would say the cage has to be still to dry. How long are you spraying for? Have you given him a shower yet? I try to give mine a shower every 2 weeks at least. Also this is what I do spray in the middle of the night. That will keep him from drying out over the night. I had a big problem with that untill I started doing it.

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

I think Nic is right on...a 6 month old jacksons at 8 grams...that is tiny. How is his stool? Was he CB? I would definitely get a fecal done once a day for about a week, parasites go through cycles and they need to in the right stage for the vet to see eggs. How has he been eating?

-chris

 

[mczoo]

he has had multiple showers. i mist for 4-5 minutes and usually he drinks. i rarely see my female drink but she grew quite well. i am uncertain of their age but i was told they were captive bred in florida and about 4 months old on feb 16th and shipped to the individual i bouhgt them from he owns an exotic pet store in western ohio and was at both columbus and cleveland reptile shows. last 3 months

When you say spray in middle of night what time do you mean like 4am or at midnight and then 7am???

Thanks for all the help.

 

[stevereecy]

he has had multiple showers. i mist for 4-5 minutes and usually he drinks. i rarely see my female drink but she grew quite well. i am uncertain of their age but i was told they were captive bred in florida and about 4 months old on feb 16th and shipped to the individual i bouhgt them from he owns an exotic pet store in western ohio and was at both columbus and cleveland reptile shows. last 3 months

When you say spray in middle of night what time do you mean like 4am or at midnight and then 7am???

Thanks for all the help.

Time and time again, wild caught animals are passed off as captive born. Thats why you should buy from a reputable dealer. Your dealer may have told you what he thought was the truth, and his seller may have done the same. The only person who really knows is the guy who facilitated the birthing, or the guy that pulled them off a tree branch. Odds are, you have a wild caught, and it has parasites. A good vet will check out the poop for $20 or so if you bring in a fresh sample. Meds might cost another $20 or so. I used to fear the cost of vets, but now I know its cheaper to do it right than to try to work around them.

You can try giving panacur since its cheap and readily available as a preventative, but it sounds like you're racing the clock and you need to know what the specific problem is. Your cham's immune system is compromised and Jackson's go downhill very fast.

Steve

 

[Champhibians]

he has had multiple showers. i mist for 4-5 minutes and usually he drinks. i rarely see my female drink but she grew quite well. i am uncertain of their age but i was told they were captive bred in florida and about 4 months old on feb 16th and shipped to the individual i bouhgt them from he owns an exotic pet store in western ohio and was at both columbus and cleveland reptile shows. last 3 months

When you say spray in middle of night what time do you mean like 4am or at midnight and then 7am???

Thanks for all the help.

Whatever time the middle would be between the first and last spraying. Is the vet you went to a herp vet, or just a vet. Because if he is a herp vet, I highly dought he would get a fecal wrong.

 

[mczoo]

he is considered the only herp vet in the area and is on the herp vet lists as well as a member of the local herpetology socoiety. The sample was small and 28 hous old though. i will post another thread about stool collection and get a sample to him soon

any other ideas??

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

There is no way that he could have done an accurate fecal when it is 28 hours old. You have to get him one that is within 4 hours, the newer the better. Also, when you do get it if you are not planning to go right to the vet you have to put it in the refrigerator.

-chris