Jacksons Chameleon acting sick - please help

Mom

Mom

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Hello, I have a Jackson's Chameleon I recently just purchased from the pet store. When I brought him home and set his cage up, my chameleon instantly starting eating the small crickets I put in his cage (he is small and I'm assuming he is 5-6 months). It is now day four and my chameleon now just sleeps all day and feels limp. I haven't seen him eat unless he did so while I was gone, though he seems to be acting sick and I am worried.

He also has been keeping his left eye closed for long periods of time lately. Both eyes open, but at soon as he settles in his spot he closes it, shortly after that he falls asleep.

His cage has a waterfall with running water that drips down on leaves, I also mist his cage with a spray bottle a few times a day. I also recently bought a new uvb and heat bulb for his light/heat source. I had a few plants in the cage, but I removed some (thinking he was stressed) and now only have a bamboo plant with some fake tree vines running throughout the cage. His cage is a lot like a cylinder with a dome top. It stands about 3ft tall and is a little over 12 in. in diameter. I believe it was called a chameleon Catina (or something like that).

I hope someone can offer advice that can help. Really worried I'm going to lose this little guy. Thanks in advance.
 
Are you gut loading your feeders? Are you dusting them with calcium? I know that you neglecting these things after only having him for a few days would not have caused his to deteriorate this fast, but you have no clue how he was being cared for before you purchased him. I think it's safe to assume he was getting sick before you purchased him. My advice to you is to take him outside for some natural sunlight (weather permitted), and dust his crickets with calcium. If he doesn't perk up in a few days, take him to the vet.

Btw, are you able to take him back for a refund? I know we feel the need to save these poor animals once we buy them, but you really shouldn't be forking out money for vet visits after owning him for a mere few days. As i mentioned before, he was probably sick when you got him. As a survival mechanism, they are good at hiding their illnesses.
 
His cage is made of plastic, but his door is all screen and magnetic. His dome up top is also open and has a metal grate that the lamp sits on. I use calcium and dust his crickets each time. I am not sure what his temperature is in the cage, though my house is never really cold until the evening. I keep my vents closed until I am ready for bed. I did take him outside today to get some natural sunshine. Both eyes stayed open and he moved around the branches a little. He was green and looked healthy.
 
I also forgot to mention that buy the crickets from the pet store. I'm not sure what hey feed them, but the crickets look pretty fat. I still buy small crickets as well.
 
I agree he most likely was ill before you got him. If it is too hot in there for him though, that could be a contributing factor. The top is a plastic dome and I am wondering where the ventilation is in there. I would return the whole set up and get what you need from the caresheet I provided for you.
 
I think the heat would escape from the screen door, as well as there is a hole at the top of the dome because that is where the cord runs out for the lamp. But the enclosure could be the problem. I have a repti breeze screen cage, but it's not in the greatest condition so I purchased this new one. Maybe I should go back to a screen cage?
 
So I just checked on him one more time before bed and he was hanging upside down holding on with his tail and back feet sleeping. I think he fell but was still holding on in the back. I went to move him to a more secure area in his enclosure just in case he does that again, he didn't open up his eyes at all and kinda felt limp again but he is green. I don't know if that's normal behavior when they sleep? Are they hard to wake up?
 
You really need to see what types of temps you are maintaining and what your humidity levels are. Both of these are very important to maintaining your chameleon's health.
 
Okay thank you, I will definitely purchase one. I guess I would find something like that in a pet store? Is there a specific kind you recommend that test temp and humidity?
 
Thank you for the help. I'm going to purchase one asap.

An update on my chameleon; he found his way towards the bottom of the cage last night and slept on the bamboo. This morning I turn on his uvb and heat, but he still isn't moving much. He woke up and looked around a little bit closes his eyes again. There was even a small cricket crawling on his horns and he had no interest. I also plan to go out and get meal worms today to see if a change in his food might help.
 
Another update, my chameleon woke up and started heading downward towards his cage before he stopped and opened his mouth. He stood there with his mouth open for a few minutes before closing it and heading back up towards he top branch. Now he is doing this on the top branch. This time I was able to take a picture.
 
Chameleons will yawn from time to time and that is ok. It is when they keep their mouths open for extended periods of time that you need to be concerned. One of the most likely causes, is they are overheating. They will open their mouths to try and cool down. The other would be some sort of respiratory infection and they are having trouble breathing. Other signs to look for with a RI are: holding their nose straight up in the air, a popping or wheezing noise when they breathe, excess saliva in their mouth.
 
He only had his mouth open for a few mins the first time. The second time I misted him and he seems to be okay now. He is still sleeping on the top branch. I have two different lamps and might try this other one. This other lamp is a 5.5" clamp lamp where as the other lamp only says Max 60 Watts, type A or smaller lamp. I don't know what that means.
 
The lamp on the left is the one I was using, the lamp on the right is the 5.5" clamp lamp. I am now using the lamp on the right with a 60w uvb and heat bulb (it's a blue bulb). I will update if my chameleon's behavior changes. Thank you for all the help so far, very much appreciated!
 
As you may have learned, sleeping during the day is not normal behavior and usually indicates illness. Incorrect lighting and temps can cause problems also. You need to find out your temps both ambient and basking
 
Uvb bulbs are usually not 60 watt. Are you sure that is a uvb bulb? What is the brand? Uvb bulbs are usually 5.0, 10.0 etc
 
I don't knkw the brand because I threw away the box after purchasing it (really stupid for me to do that). All I know is that it is a blue bulb, and the pet store told me that he needed a uvb light and heat, and this bulb gives him both. I'm going to call the pet store now and see if they can tell me why brand.

The most recent update is worse. My chameleon now won't even open his eyes when I pull him out of his cage. I took him outside to get some natural sunlight and he was very weak in my hand. He didn't grasp my finger firmly and felt like he was unbalanced. So far he still hasn't eaten and I haven't seen any poop in a few days.

Here is a picture of gim outside, and as you can see he is just lazyly hanging on which worries me. He's not even trying to grab hold.
 
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