Jackson with infections and not eating.

[elizaann2]

Hello! See my response below in bold:

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male jackson chameleon, about 3 years old, was in our care for 2 years after rescued from previous owner.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? We were needing to handle him daily to give him iodine soaks or injections. Before he got sick, we handles him maybe once every 2 weeks. Completely understand the daily handling due to him needing medications. However, just regular handling I would advise against. Chameleons are shy lizards and consistant handling can be quite stressful. With Jackson's I have noticed they are actually fairly passive and either just hold still and dont move or they just turn slightly darker colors when stressed by handling. My other chameleon's dont have a problem getting all bright, puffing out their gular and if necessary gaping at me to tell me they don't want me to handle them. I have learned to pay very close attention to my Jackson's subtle body language and back off if any handling or anything is stressing him. I don't typically recommend handling any chameleon unless you are doing a body check on them to ensure they are healthy and to remove them from their enclosure for a vet visit or an enclosure deep clean.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He barely ate at the end but we fed him solely crickets and dipped them in calcium powder every few crickets. When he was healthy he was eating 3-5 a day once a day as we fed him with long tweezer tongs or placed the crickets on a leaf near him. We recently had bought him a feeder (magnetic and the crickets crawl on the mesh cage). He would eat from that but was sick starting before we started using that. He wouldn’t eat any mealworms or anything else. You will want to feed a variety of bugs to your chameleon (document attached), different bugs have different nutritional values and you can imagine it would be boring to eat the same thing every single day . For an adult chameleon you should be feeding them every other day 3-5 feeders. My schedule is below so if you want to use that for your next little guy or gal you can:
• Monday - Crickets
• Wednesday -BSFL
• Friday - Silkworms
• Saturday - Treat bug day (either wax worms or super worms)
• You will also want to gut load your bugs so they are healthy for your chameleon. This can be as simple as feeding appropriate fresh fruits and veggies to them. (attached document for you)
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Calcium powder, not sure exactly the brand but I remember it had a chameleon pictures on it. Usually every few days fed a calcium dusted cricket. If you still have the bottle I would love for you to share a pic so I can check it out. Not all supplements are great to use for our chameleons. You'll need a plain calcium for every feeding and then something that is a multivitamin with preformed vitamin A and a vitamin D3 supplement. This is what I use for my Jacksons:
• Every feeding - ReptiCal WITHOUT vitamin D3
• 1st of the month - Repashy LoD (this is a multivitamin and D3 all in 1)
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? We used to squeeze a spray bottle to let out a steady drip of water drops and he would drunk daily that way. Then we used a big dipper and he would occasionally drink from that as well. Before his infections we misted twice a day. We stopped misting all together the last 3 months per the direction of our vet. How did he get his hydration then if you weren't misting? Just the dripper? Chameleons are generally quite shy drinkers. Ideally for your next baby you'll have him/her hydrated enough that you do not see them drink. Depending on the temps you can achieve at night, a fog machine might be a good option for you as well. You will at least want to mist for 1-2 minutes each morning before lights come on, that way when your cham wakes up it can drink the droplets off the leaves, then install a dripper in the after noon, if you see him/he rush to drink you know you need to adjust something in your hydration strategy so you don't see this behavior. Mist again for 1-2 minutes after lights turn off. IF you can achieve temps below 68 degrees at night then a fog machine is excellent, have that go off in 30 minute sessions between 12-6 am and make adjustments where necessary.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He was never tested but usually brown or white poop. One time he had orange poop from what I saw on a leaf when we went to clean it out. We typically monitor our chameleon's hydration from their poop, you want their poops to be firm but moist and the urates (chameleon pee) to be white. Orange means they are dehydrated. I strongly recommend getting your chameleon tested for parasites when you first get them and then at least once a year to ensure they do not have any parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He used to be extremely malnourished when we got him and completely dark brown. He also did not shed once he got sick. Poor guy, it sounds like you did a good job taking care of him then, thank you for taking care of that little guy

 

[elizaann2]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? He used to live un a small glass cage with a mesh top before his current cage which us a 7 foot mesh cage (5 foot of enclosure space with a 2’ by 3’ width and length). All sides and roof are mesh with wood bottom. Beautiful, you gave him a nice big home. Just for future reference, the minimum cage size is a 24x24x48. If you are handy, and have the space, by all means go bigger like you did . Regarding mesh, hybrid or glass enclosures, we use them according to what kind of environment you are able to create depending on the area you live in. For example, I live in a very dry state, I need a hybrid enclosure to help hold in the proper humidity my chameleon needs. Extremely dry and or cold areas might do better with a glass enclosure as that will hold in humidity better and heat as well. Basically its a tool to help create the environment you need.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Lighting is set to 12 hours from 6am-6pm. 80W 110 volt for silver shiny one (powersun basking lamp). 60W 120 volt for blue UVA one (zoo med). You'll need a UVB light for your baby, without it they will develop health problems such as MBD. For you next cham you need a T5HO linear UVB hood and light. I'll attach an example of one here for you to check out for your next baby. Arcadia Pro T5 6%. The UVB light you will need will be either an Arcadia 6% or the ReptiSun 5.0. Baby needs the top branches to be 6 inches below that hood, make sure some branches are running linear with the light so they can choose how warm/cool they want to be and still get proper UVB.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Didnt measure the temps but the building he was in is consistently in the 65-68 range. We recently got him a ceramic lamp that we kept on at the bottom of his cage all hours of the day. We notice he came down to the middle of the cage a ton more once we installed the lamp. He used to be right up under the other lamp. You'll want to be careful with heat, Jackson's tend to over-bask. Constant high temps for chameleons can cause illnesses such as a temporal gland infection or even death if they get too hot. Temps are super important for reptiles too because they are unable to regulate their body temps like we do and they manage it by basking under a warm light or moving around to warmer/cooler areas to get to their desired body temp. For a Jackson's you'll want a temperature gradient in his enclosure with 76 degrees at the top of the enclosure (super important to not let it get any hotter than that) and at the bottom of his enclousure it shoudl be around 68 degrees. His basking temp should be 80 degrees, I would not recommend it getting any warmer than that because Jackson's can die from heat easily. At night your baby will need a maximum temp of 65 degrees in the enclosure, and ideally even down into the 50s. Many of us Jackson's keepers have AC units in the rooms our cham is in in order to maintain these requirements. Low temps at night are super important, as we found we provide these temps our Jackson's live to 7 or so years. We believe the higher night temps keep them from getting a deep good nights sleep and constant fatigue from not getting good rest eventually wears on their body and they get sick and die within a few years of their lives. You'll need something to accurately measure these temps at all times. I use the Govee Hygrometer sensors, you can find them here.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? No humidity usually in my understanding. He is in a building with AC all day. This is equally as important as temps. Jacksons' need their humidity levels anywhere from 40-50% during the day, at night they need 80-100%. High humidity levels and high temps creates respiratory infections, humidity levels that are too low can dehydrate your chameleon, cause eye issues etc.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? We recently bought him new plants before he died. They are 2 pothos, 1 brasil philandendron, 1 ficus benjamana, 1 schefflera. Beautiful, you'll want all live plants in your enclosure, no fake ones. If a fake plant is accidentally eaten it can cause impaction issues, which can be fatal. You'll also want to make sure that all the plants in the enclosure are safe for your chameleon, I'm attaching a list of plants we know are safe for you to review.
• 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? It is located in a high traffic area with dozens of people passing daily. No fans or air vents directly near it. Top of the cage measures 7’ from the floor. Chameleons stress easily, I would recommend placing your next on in a low traffic area. The height of his enclosure was perfect
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Located in hawaii. lucky

Current Problem - chameleon passed away and wanting to see if there was anything we did in caring for him that may have caused any issues

I'm attaching some resources for you below, check them out and let me know what other questions you have
Chameleon Academy: Website and Podcast and YouTube
Neptune the Chameleon: Website and YouTube

With the podcasts - there are quite a few done on Jackson's chameleons that I feel will be of particular interest to you.

Lastly, this is the care sheet I use for my Jackson's.

Let me know what other questions you have! If you do decide to get another chameleon please let us know! We would all love to support you in getting things set up and answering any questions/concerns you have along the way!

 

[elizaann2]

Just looking at your enclosure again, you will want to have your heat lamp set up on top of the enclosure for the next one, and as I mentioned before - no fake plants, you'll need to use all real ones.

 

[Madisonsb27]

Hello! See my response below in bold:

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male jackson chameleon, about 3 years old, was in our care for 2 years after rescued from previous owner.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? We were needing to handle him daily to give him iodine soaks or injections. Before he got sick, we handles him maybe once every 2 weeks. Completely understand the daily handling due to him needing medications. However, just regular handling I would advise against. Chameleons are shy lizards and consistant handling can be quite stressful. With Jackson's I have noticed they are actually fairly passive and either just hold still and dont move or they just turn slightly darker colors when stressed by handling. My other chameleon's dont have a problem getting all bright, puffing out their gular and if necessary gaping at me to tell me they don't want me to handle them. I have learned to pay very close attention to my Jackson's subtle body language and back off if any handling or anything is stressing him. I don't typically recommend handling any chameleon unless you are doing a body check on them to ensure they are healthy and to remove them from their enclosure for a vet visit or an enclosure deep clean.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He barely ate at the end but we fed him solely crickets and dipped them in calcium powder every few crickets. When he was healthy he was eating 3-5 a day once a day as we fed him with long tweezer tongs or placed the crickets on a leaf near him. We recently had bought him a feeder (magnetic and the crickets crawl on the mesh cage). He would eat from that but was sick starting before we started using that. He wouldn’t eat any mealworms or anything else. You will want to feed a variety of bugs to your chameleon (document attached), different bugs have different nutritional values and you can imagine it would be boring to eat the same thing every single day . For an adult chameleon you should be feeding them every other day 3-5 feeders. My schedule is below so if you want to use that for your next little guy or gal you can:
• Monday - Crickets
• Wednesday -BSFL
• Friday - Silkworms
• Saturday - Treat bug day (either wax worms or super worms)
• You will also want to gut load your bugs so they are healthy for your chameleon. This can be as simple as feeding appropriate fresh fruits and veggies to them. (attached document for you)
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Calcium powder, not sure exactly the brand but I remember it had a chameleon pictures on it. Usually every few days fed a calcium dusted cricket. If you still have the bottle I would love for you to share a pic so I can check it out. Not all supplements are great to use for our chameleons. You'll need a plain calcium for every feeding and then something that is a multivitamin with preformed vitamin A and a vitamin D3 supplement. This is what I use for my Jacksons:
• Every feeding - ReptiCal WITHOUT vitamin D3
• 1st of the month - Repashy LoD (this is a multivitamin and D3 all in 1)
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? We used to squeeze a spray bottle to let out a steady drip of water drops and he would drunk daily that way. Then we used a big dipper and he would occasionally drink from that as well. Before his infections we misted twice a day. We stopped misting all together the last 3 months per the direction of our vet. How did he get his hydration then if you weren't misting? Just the dripper? Chameleons are generally quite shy drinkers. Ideally for your next baby you'll have him/her hydrated enough that you do not see them drink. Depending on the temps you can achieve at night, a fog machine might be a good option for you as well. You will at least want to mist for 1-2 minutes each morning before lights come on, that way when your cham wakes up it can drink the droplets off the leaves, then install a dripper in the after noon, if you see him/he rush to drink you know you need to adjust something in your hydration strategy so you don't see this behavior. Mist again for 1-2 minutes after lights turn off. IF you can achieve temps below 68 degrees at night then a fog machine is excellent, have that go off in 30 minute sessions between 12-6 am and make adjustments where necessary.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He was never tested but usually brown or white poop. One time he had orange poop from what I saw on a leaf when we went to clean it out. We typically monitor our chameleon's hydration from their poop, you want their poops to be firm but moist and the urates (chameleon pee) to be white. Orange means they are dehydrated. I strongly recommend getting your chameleon tested for parasites when you first get them and then at least once a year to ensure they do not have any parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He used to be extremely malnourished when we got him and completely dark brown. He also did not shed once he got sick. Poor guy, it sounds like you did a good job taking care of him then, thank you for taking care of that little guy

Wow thank you so much for all that info!! Where do you usually get the different foods for the little guys? Its hard for us to find much of anything on island except crickets at Petco. How cold is too cold at night for the enclosure?

 

[Madisonsb27]

Just looking at your enclosure again, you will want to have your heat lamp set up on top of the enclosure for the next one, and as I mentioned before - no fake plants, you'll need to use all real ones.

Amazing thank you! So keep the ceramic and bulbs at the top? Should I keep the ceramic bulb on at night? And yes I got a ton of plants before Karma passed so when we are ready for another one we have the plants all ready for them

 

[Madisonsb27]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? He used to live un a small glass cage with a mesh top before his current cage which us a 7 foot mesh cage (5 foot of enclosure space with a 2’ by 3’ width and length). All sides and roof are mesh with wood bottom. Beautiful, you gave him a nice big home. Just for future reference, the minimum cage size is a 24x24x48. If you are handy, and have the space, by all means go bigger like you did . Regarding mesh, hybrid or glass enclosures, we use them according to what kind of environment you are able to create depending on the area you live in. For example, I live in a very dry state, I need a hybrid enclosure to help hold in the proper humidity my chameleon needs. Extremely dry and or cold areas might do better with a glass enclosure as that will hold in humidity better and heat as well. Basically its a tool to help create the environment you need.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Lighting is set to 12 hours from 6am-6pm. 80W 110 volt for silver shiny one (powersun basking lamp). 60W 120 volt for blue UVA one (zoo med). You'll need a UVB light for your baby, without it they will develop health problems such as MBD. For you next cham you need a T5HO linear UVB hood and light. I'll attach an example of one here for you to check out for your next baby. Arcadia Pro T5 6%. The UVB light you will need will be either an Arcadia 6% or the ReptiSun 5.0. Baby needs the top branches to be 6 inches below that hood, make sure some branches are running linear with the light so they can choose how warm/cool they want to be and still get proper UVB.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Didnt measure the temps but the building he was in is consistently in the 65-68 range. We recently got him a ceramic lamp that we kept on at the bottom of his cage all hours of the day. We notice he came down to the middle of the cage a ton more once we installed the lamp. He used to be right up under the other lamp. You'll want to be careful with heat, Jackson's tend to over-bask. Constant high temps for chameleons can cause illnesses such as a temporal gland infection or even death if they get too hot. Temps are super important for reptiles too because they are unable to regulate their body temps like we do and they manage it by basking under a warm light or moving around to warmer/cooler areas to get to their desired body temp. For a Jackson's you'll want a temperature gradient in his enclosure with 76 degrees at the top of the enclosure (super important to not let it get any hotter than that) and at the bottom of his enclousure it shoudl be around 68 degrees. His basking temp should be 80 degrees, I would not recommend it getting any warmer than that because Jackson's can die from heat easily. At night your baby will need a maximum temp of 65 degrees in the enclosure, and ideally even down into the 50s. Many of us Jackson's keepers have AC units in the rooms our cham is in in order to maintain these requirements. Low temps at night are super important, as we found we provide these temps our Jackson's live to 7 or so years. We believe the higher night temps keep them from getting a deep good nights sleep and constant fatigue from not getting good rest eventually wears on their body and they get sick and die within a few years of their lives. You'll need something to accurately measure these temps at all times. I use the Govee Hygrometer sensors, you can find them here.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? No humidity usually in my understanding. He is in a building with AC all day. This is equally as important as temps. Jacksons' need their humidity levels anywhere from 40-50% during the day, at night they need 80-100%. High humidity levels and high temps creates respiratory infections, humidity levels that are too low can dehydrate your chameleon, cause eye issues etc.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? We recently bought him new plants before he died. They are 2 pothos, 1 brasil philandendron, 1 ficus benjamana, 1 schefflera. Beautiful, you'll want all live plants in your enclosure, no fake ones. If a fake plant is accidentally eaten it can cause impaction issues, which can be fatal. You'll also want to make sure that all the plants in the enclosure are safe for your chameleon, I'm attaching a list of plants we know are safe for you to review.
• 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? It is located in a high traffic area with dozens of people passing daily. No fans or air vents directly near it. Top of the cage measures 7’ from the floor. Chameleons stress easily, I would recommend placing your next on in a low traffic area. The height of his enclosure was perfect
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Located in hawaii. lucky

Current Problem - chameleon passed away and wanting to see if there was anything we did in caring for him that may have caused any issues

I'm attaching some resources for you below, check them out and let me know what other questions you have
Chameleon Academy: Website and Podcast and YouTube
Neptune the Chameleon: Website and YouTube

With the podcasts - there are quite a few done on Jackson's chameleons that I feel will be of particular interest to you.

Lastly, this is the care sheet I use for my Jackson's.

Let me know what other questions you have! If you do decide to get another chameleon please let us know! We would all love to support you in getting things set up and answering any questions/concerns you have along the way!

Thank you!! Whats the best way to achieve the right humidity? I feel like its pretty dry where he is.

Also for the temperature, do certain watts create a lower temperature? Sorry not sure if thats a dumb question.

Thank you so so much for all this info! Im going to be studying up a lot this week

 

[elizaann2]

Wow thank you so much for all that info!! Where do you usually get the different foods for the little guys? Its hard for us to find much of anything on island except crickets at Petco. How cold is too cold at night for the enclosure?

You are very welcome! You can check out some of the places that support this form like Rainbow Mealworms. I get most of my bugs from Dubia.com. My silkworms I get either from Costal Silks or Frams Chams. My crickets I get from Josh's Frogs. I'd just be careful with getting bugs from Petco, they are known to not keep their bugs very clean and for putting uneaten crickets in reptile enclosures back in the cricket bin which is an excellent way to spread parasites.

I wouldn't go lower than 50 degrees at night just because that is what is put as safe on the care sheet I shared with you.

 

[elizaann2]

Thank you!! Whats the best way to achieve the right humidity? I feel like its pretty dry where he is.

Also for the temperature, do certain watts create a lower temperature? Sorry not sure if thats a dumb question.

Thank you so so much for all this info! Im going to be studying up a lot this week

Well for nighttime humidity a fog machine is excellent to achieve that. Others that live in a fairly humid area area able to achieve this by having their automatic misting system go off a few times in the night. I think the first step for you would be to get something to see where the humidity levels are at first and then deciding on either just a misting system or a fog machine...or both....

No worries, there are no dumb questions here . Yes, the higher the wattage the higher the temps will be. For a Jackson's a lower watt bulb for a basking light is generally preferred so they don't overheat.

You are very welcome! Please keep asking questions as they come up.

 

[MzLaurie]

hello sorry you had to go thru so much. I make sure my heat lamps have dimmer switches on them. The wattage definately changes the heat output. The higher the wattage the hotter the bulb. Also no hammocks! Chams nails tend to get caught in them and if the nail doesnt break in the struggle to get free then the entire nail can be pulled out and leave a bloody mess and the nail may never be replaced. The branches i like are rubber tree branches, dead ones of course, they taper and have nice curves and the widths can be small. If you go bioactive, plug the holes at each end with putty as insects will go in them to lay eggs, cacoon, etc. wash with warm soapy water before adding to cage. With flukers bend a branch and rubber tree branches you can make a nice jungle gym! Fav plant, swiss cheese (monstera). Stalks are heavy enough to handle a cham weight without bending. Best of luck on your future chameleon endevores.