Jackson sleeping during day...

[birdlm]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Jackson chameleon, male, unknown (only 3.5" body). In care for 2 months.
Handling - no more than 2-3 times a week
Feeding - feeding crickets 4 in the morning, with cricket quencher as gut-loader. Currently put in grasshoppers
Supplements - only use cricket gut-load. I have Sticky tongue farms miner-all, Calcium and D-3, but haven't used it with gut-loader.
Watering - Humidifier on high. Misting 3-4 times a day. Don't always see him drinking.
Fecal Description - Brown/black droppings. Sometimes white/orangish more liquidy. Never tested for parasites
History - Came from Hawaii 3 months ago. Sent to us by father in law. Was a wild chameleon

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen cage. 22"x15"x15".
Lighting - 1 Zoo Med 5.0 UVB light, and low voltage heat lamp during the day. Lighting is on from 8:30AM - 7PM
Temperature - The room is on average 75 - 80 degrees, hotter closer to heat lamp. Lowest overnight temp is 70degrees Guess based on temp reader 1 room over on A/C.
Humidity - 32 - 60 % humidity. Humidifier on high during day to maintain levels. Using humidity reader which stays in comfort zone most of the time.
Plants - one live plant, ficus benjamina. WE have a larger fake ficus downstairs that we will let him crawl on for hours on some days.
Placement - Cage is located in an open closet, with a small fan to create air movement. Top of cage is 4' off the ground.
Location - Located in Colorado's Foothills. It is a dry climate.

Current Problem - The Jackson has been eating and moving with no problems during the day. 2 days ago I noticed the Chameleon hadn't eaten his crickets in 2 days, due to the number and was sleeping more. His eyes look fine. I thought maybe he got bored with crickets and caught some grasshoppers to change it up. He has still not eaten and is sleeping most of the day. If I take him out of the cage he will crawl around more. His coloring is a normal green and his eyes do not look sunken.

PLEASE HELP! What could be wrong with my chameleon.

 

[carol5208]

A sleeping cham during the day is not a good sign no matter what species. I do not know anything about a Jackson's. That coupled with not eating does not sound good. I would find a good vet and have him checked out and tested for parasites. Don't wait too long. Also, when you say you have not used the supplements as a "gutload" what do you mean? You know that you are to dust the feeders, not feed the supplements to them right? You should be using Calcium without D3 on just about every feeding and then a multivitamin twice a month or so along with Calcium with D3 a couple a times a month also.

 

[Elizadolots]

What is the temperature under the bulb? It seems like you might be a bit warm all around.

You might want to work on getting him to drink. Dripping water right on the nose will often stimulate that. I would have a dripper going whenever the lights are on.

Do you have a vet that's familiar with chameleons? Wild Caught animals often have parasites. Your pet would probably benefit from having a fecal exam done.

 

[birdlm]

Just the crickets eat the gut load. I was saying I don't dust them, but if he starts eating I will start to do that. He moved a little bit this morning to another spot in the cage.

 

[birdlm]

Dripper!

Dripper must have been key. He must have been so dehydrated. When I brought the dripper up he analyzed it for a few minutes and hasn't stopped drinking yet, even with me holding the tube in the cage.

 

[carol5208]

oh that is great news! I didn't realize that you were just misting until I saw Elizadots post. I run a dripper ALL day long in my cage. Misting is never enough as far as I am concerned. Also, what I was saying is yes the crickets eat the gut load but you dont sprinkle the supplements on the gutload you do it to the feeders. I have seen other people on here who were told by pet stores to feed the supplements to the crickets and it is wrong!

 

[birdlm]

Hopefully that helps. The problem with our dripper is that we have hardly any control over the dripping or it stops mid-day. The chameleons cage is often flooded. Any ideas about how to stop that? Or is it a faulty dripper.

 

[Manik6]

yeah sometimes mine will do that so i just open it up a bit more. even though it drips fast its better than not dripping at all. as far as the flooding u need to plan out a drainage system. there are lots of ideas here so just do some research and go with whatever you like. im about to start workin on mine after i get off of here but for now i just use a sponge to clean up after each misting. saves on napkins. and use a bowl or something to catch the water from the dripper. also just because the eyes arent sinking in yet doesnt mean your in the clear still. the eyes wont start sinking till they are damn near close to dying. i just lost my female jacksons and i believe if i would have taken to the vet as soon as i saw the decrease in appetite she would probably still be here today. i did the same thing trying to experiment with different feeders but the only one she actually ate were bb flies but it wasnt enough. dont take this lightly. make a vet appointment asap but do your research on vets with chameleon experience. good luck

 

[Manik6]

also the cricket quencher isnt a gutload. its only a water source so u have to buy the one that looks like a bunch of grain and mixed up stuff.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...The chameleons cage is often flooded. Any ideas about how to stop that? Or is it a faulty dripper.

Howdy,

Here's a few posts regarding drainage:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/lll-drain-pan-drainage-36941/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/screen-cage-water-tray-lllreptile-36085/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/new...-substrate-trays-water-trays-built-fit-35507/

 

[Elizadolots]

It's so fun to watch them drink from the drippers. I'm sure that will be a big help.

Dave Weldon has provided great information on drainage systems.

If you need something less involved and you or someone you know can do a bit of wood work, a simple stand could be built for your cage with an big opening in the top (so, the cage covers the opening completely). Drill holes in the bottom of the cage over the opening, put a plastic bin under the opening to collect the water. If it fails to fall where you want (water is uncooperative that way) put something heavy, like a rock in the center of the cage above the opening...that will pull the water away from the edges.

Your cage is short enough that this could be done without a substantial increase in the amount of room space required.

 

[xanthoman]

Supplements - only use cricket gut-load. I have Sticky tongue farms miner-all, Calcium and D-3, but haven't used it with gut-loader. Never tested for parasites
History - Came from Hawaii 3 months ago. Sent to us by father in law. Was a wild chameleon. Lighting - 1 Zoo Med 5.0 UVB light, and low voltage heat lamp during the day. Lighting is on from 8:30AM - 7PM
Temperature - The room is on average 75 - 80 degrees, hotter closer to heat lamp. Lowest overnight temp is 70degrees Guess based on temp reader 1 room over on A/C.

assuming you mean fluker cricket quencher, it is not a very good gutload, it is mostly a hydration product, along the same lines i think fluker orange cubes are a better + safer product. / st farms minerall (indoor formula) already has d3 in it , it is a great product which i reccomend , but if you are using additional d3? then you are likely over supplementing with both calcium & D3. stf indoor miner-all with d3 (as a dusted supplement) is optimized to be used with the used with stf vit-all (as a gutload or dusted supplement.) its not just a matter of getting enough of everything, its also a matter of not getting too much, and, just as important, keeping everything in the right proportional balance. personally if you want to use stf, i would sparingly dust with miner-all 1-2x a week and feed no more than one batch of feeders dusted or gutloaded with stf vit-all no more than 1x a month. no other supplementation would be required, and the rest of the time you would be better off hydrating your feeders with a selection of cham friendly fruits, veggies, and greens. you didnt really specify what your basking lamp was, but i would ditch it, and substitute with an ordinary household bulb of no more than 40watts. basking is not just a matter of heat, uva, (which gu-10 black heat light, infra red, or ceramic heat emitters dont provide) is thought to curb depression (a definite issue in a wc montane trying to acclimatize to a captive enviroment) and stimulate appetite. also, for $20 you can get a zilla digital thermometer/hygrometer with probes on 56"leads and know exactly what your temps & humidity (at the basking spot & inside the cage are) without guessing. so just to recap: too much calcium (likely), too much d3(more likely), not really sure whats happening with your gutload and multivite regimen, but sounds like it could likely use improvement. currently, no uva for basking, and temps are probably not optimized, combine that with trying to acclimitize a wc montane, in a less than dialed in enviroment and you have got your hands full. i would nip everything in the bud right now, get your cage dialed in, and your supps in order , so he will be in as strong of shape as possible, for when you have to have him treated for parasites, which he almost certainly has if he is wc. i would save his very next fecal & and submit it to your cham vet for a fecal float. if he is going to have to go through a medicinal regimen, then the more important all of these other issues become. probably not good to keep him in close proximity to the ac. sleeping frequently during the day is a sign that things are amiss, if you wait to figure out what they are, and then correct them, it will probably be to late. jmo

 

[xanthoman]

sorry, tried to edit while it was loading (prehistoric cell phone internet connection) and created a double post

 

[legacy115833]

Hopefully that helps. The problem with our dripper is that we have hardly any control over the dripping or it stops mid-day. The chameleons cage is often flooded. Any ideas about how to stop that? Or is it a faulty dripper.

i personally stopped using storw bought drippers and switched to disposable cups with a whole in the bottom made with a insulin needle. it allows you to put in just as much water as you want so it will drain completely and not flood the cage i usually put a few ounces of water in 1 or 2 times daily and it will run for hours dripping nice and slow

 

[Elizadolots]

Flucker's makes a "gel" product that is advertised as nutritionally complete. I think it would be okay for a "standard" food, if the crickets to be fed are removed to a separate container and given 24 hours with healthy veggies and stuff.