Jacksonii jacksonii healthy?

[aeolis23]

Current Problem – Recently I learned about hepatic lipidosis and now we’re starting to wonder if my friends Jackson male is fine or not (My friend is not on the forum). He recently had orange faeces (about 3 months ago), and it probably was caused by a too fatty diet. He changed his diet, and this is fixed now. Still, if we compare his body with pictures we find on this forum of other jacksons, we have the impression his consitution is a bit different. His arms and legs are ‘bigger’ and his spine is much more visible than with other jacksons. A few months ago, the vet already mentioned once he has the impression he is more ‘plump’ than he is used to with jacksons, but he didn’t see any harm in it and we didn’t think about it anymore.

Could anyone give us advice about his constitution/weight and/or overall health impression?
+ Could anyone take a look if his supplementation and general care/cage is ok, just to be sure?

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Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon – Jacksonii jacksonii, male, in my friends care for 1 year and 5 months.
• Weight – He almost never gets weight, so I can’t give you a weight curve. Now his weight is 176 gram.
• Handling – 2 to 4 times a week
• Feeding - Crickets (++++), grasshopper (++), roaches (++), morio (++), dolas (++), wasmoth larvae (++), flies (+), summer cought insects (+). No real schedule, whats available. Insects are fed with carrots (++++), apple (++), salad (+), tomato (+), pear (+)
• Supplements - Vita total (repco products) = calcium, vitamine and miniral total prep. 1-2 well dusted insects/day.
• Watering – Yes, I see him drinking. Since 4 months, he has a constant dripper available (1 drop every 10 sec) + Mister 2x1min/day. Before, there was only mister, which might have not been enough.
• Fecal Description – Orange faeces about 3 months ago, but now back to normal (white, well consistent) after adjusting his diet. He’s been tested and treaded for flagellates.
• History – When shedding, his skin loosens slowely (especially on his head, around his horns). The orange faeces, which are fixed now. When he is places in the bathroom where he can bask in the sun (behind glass), some days after he sometimes opens his mouth often. The vet said there is no respiratory problem.

Cage Info:

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  • Cage Type – Combo terrarium: Glass terrarium (135cm×85cmx45cm) with one of the glass doors replaced by mesh, so half of the front side is glass, other half is mesh + Partial ventilation area (grid) on the top..
  • Lighting - Repti-Glo 5.0 14 W + ExoTerra Natural Glow UVA 13W + Sun Glo 50W + LED cit model HP80 led light (for in vitro plant growth, used for indoor growing).
  • Temperature - Day: bottom 15°C, top 25°C. Lazer temperature measure device. Night: Never measured.
  • Humidity - 50-60%, small round humitity instrument to stick to the glass with humidity gauge.
  • Plants - Live plants. Non-toxic.
  • Placement – The terrarium is located in the living room in the middle of a wall, where there is movement around the terrarium on 3 sides. The top of the terrarium is about 2 meter above the ground. In shade. No fans or vents. Low traffic area.
  • Location - Belgium

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Recent pictures

His faeces about 3 months ago (20-11-2015)

 

[Lathis]

The feces look dehydrated and he does look chubby - almost bloated. I would look first at the supplement schedule, diet, and watering schedule of your friend's cham. Does your friend use a multivitamin every week? For Jax, you want to use plain calcium (no D3) several times a week and a multivitamin with D3 once a month. Jax are more sensitive to supplements that Veiled (Yemen) and Panther Chameleons and this could lead to edema.

His current diet doesn't seem heavily skewed to fatty feeders. If there is a real concern about his health, his vet should do a blood test. When my Jax was ill, a blood test confirmed liver failure, but he suffered from loss of appetite and significant weight loss, not bloating or edema.

 

[aeolis23]

The faeces in the picture was the bad one from 3 months ago. Because the faeces were orange (not just the urate), he adjusted his diet. My friend also added an extra dripper in the terrarium to give him a more constant access of water. Does this still needs other adjustments, or is this schedule ok? I already recommended him to shower his cham every now and then, to make sure he stays hydrated.

He uses the multivitamin almost every day, as he assumed this contains enough calcium. No other supplements. I'll give him the info he should buy plain calcium and adjust his dusting schedule.

Except that he opens his mouth sometimes when he came from a room with lower temperatures and that he looks chubby, there are no other symptoms we can see. I'm guessing the mouth opening isn't related to his constitution?

I'll definitely tell him about the blood test.
Any other tips or concerns?

 

[Lathis]

I would recommend that your friend change his supplementation schedule and reduce the use of the multivitamin and see if that makes a difference in the "puffiness" of his body. He could just be fat, too. If your friend feeds him a lot and his cham doesn't get any exercise, he can become obese. That would be a concern for overall health. How many insects does he eat in a day/week? Did the vet comment on his weight? Maybe it's time for a diet

 

[Seiryu]

Agree with Lathis. He looks a bit chunky and definitely slow down on the vitamins and food. Hard to say from the pics and since he is fairly overweight, but may be experiencing gout as well.

As for what type of Jacksons. He is actually a Jacksonii Xantholophus, not a Jacksonii, Jacksonii.

 

[aeolis23]

He eats about 3-4 adult crickets a day. The vet didn't comment on his weight, only on his "bodybuilder" constitution

Aha, so xantholopus! Someone told us jacksonii before, but we both don't see the different between these species

Do you need any other close up pics foe that gout suspicion?

I'll pass him all the info for sure. Thanks!

 

[Connorology]

Most supplement recommendations I have seen for Jackson's advise that you only use a multivitamin once a month, daily is way too much. Too much vitamin A can cause gout or edema (http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Lizards/Jacksons-Chameleon/), which may be what we're seeing here.

 

[leedragon]

take it easy with the carrots, they can give gout.

here watch this