Male Jackson URI is very dark almost black

[TJKbeachbum]

I have a 72 gallon glass bow front tank that has a male and female 6-12 months old. I do have a divider down the middle so they are not in contact but they can see each other. I have a 5.0 UVB light and 75wt red bulb that I leave on 12 hours a day. I mist the plants with a misting bottle a few times a day and I just stated gut loading the crickets. I am going to build a large screen cage for the both of them and but a divider down the middle so they will not be able to see each other or have any contact. I took him to the vet about a week ago and he is on baytril and seems to be doing better but he is super dark. I have seen him eating but not drinking very much. She seems to be eating more and drinking more with no problems. Does anyone have any advice so he will get better sooner rather then later and why is he so dark? Thanks for all your help

 

[DrRhymes]

Does he look dehydrated? I have heard baytril can be hard on their kidneys so I would make sure that he is well hydrated. Can you post a picture.

 

[TJKbeachbum]

The vet says he does look dehydrated, I new to this world so it a little hard for me to tell. What would you suggest to keep him hydrated a mister is what the vet says but I dont have the $150 for it at the moment to we have been misting with a spray bottle. I will post a picture as soon as I can. Thanks

 

[Bush baby]

The vet says he does look dehydrated, I new to this world so it a little hard for me to tell. What would you suggest to keep him hydrated a mister is what the vet says but I dont have the $150 for it at the moment to we have been misting with a spray bottle. I will post a picture as soon as I can. Thanks

In the past i've had great success rehydrating Chams using plain Pedialyte. I've done it with Veiled Chams by talking a syringe full of it and shooting it into the chams mouth, several times a day. The issue is, Veileds readily gape when you pick them up, so it wasn't an issue getting the Pedialyte into his mouth...Jacksons don't readily open their mouths.

Bottomline- Pedialyte is the way to go.

 

[TJKbeachbum]

Thanks that sounds like a good idea, we have been using a syringe with water but I will try that.

 

[kinyonga]

What is the basking temperature in the cage?
Is he showing any reaction to the female?

 

[TJKbeachbum]

The basking temp is about 80 to 85. We bought the two of them together and they seem to be fine with each other. At night sometimes one of them would rest their head on the other ones back and they seem to like to be close. The vet said "they might just be trying to get to the best spot in the tank to get close to more heat etc..." but they would do it when the light was off so there is no need to try to position for the ideal spot. I also think that I came home one day and say them mating. The vet said she did not think so but I dont know how much I believe what she has to say, she said that Jacksons lay eggs and could have a problem with them getting stuck inside her. I informed her that they give live birth. She also had to run to google and look up a couple things. hmmmm

 

[Lovereps]

Some chams need to be sprayed for 5 minutes before they will drink---and Jackson's tend to fall into that category.
Increasing the duration of the mistings should help. Adding more mistings can help too, of course.
Another thing to do is to add a dripper to the cage. It doesn't need to be fancy--a clean milk jug or soda bottle with a pinhole poked into the bottom will do the trick--or you can buy a Little Dripper for something a bit spiffier looking.
Jackson's do love to bask and often will turn very dark while basking.
Bush Baby is right that Jackson's don't gape very easily. The females do tend to be a little grouchier and better gapers.

 

[AnvilsHammer]

The vet said she did not think so but I dont know how much I believe what she has to say, she said that Jacksons lay eggs and could have a problem with them getting stuck inside her. I informed her that they give live birth. She also had to run to google and look up a couple things. hmmmm

I would shop around for a vet then. If a vet is feeding you information and that information is for sure incorrect try finding another herp vet in your area. You wouldn't go to a heart doctor that believed your heart was in your stomach, don't take your chameleon to a vet that doesn't know about your chameleon.

Although the vet could have had a brain fart and just forgot. Due diligence would be to shop around for another vet.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

The first thing to consider when dealing with a sick Cham is to ask:

"Why did it get sick?"

It is uncommon for a reptile to just get sick to put it simply. You could have the best vet and meds but without correcting the issue the meds won't help. So logically what might be different between the two chams so close to each other?

If it is not husbandry, then you look at the individual animals. Are they recent imports and if so then one could have a parasitic issue. Such issues tax the animal which can cause a secondary problem, which can take the form of a URI if they have a weakened immune system.

How long have you had them would be a good question as it allows folks here to troubleshoot issues. I can think of a number of issues that would weaken a montane species.

Hydration: the pediatric liquid is ok and I've also used poweraid diluted 50/50 with water. For an average jackson I'd go 1cc twice a day. It's not a huge amount for an adult but enough to deal with dehydration slowly.

Set up a simple drip system with something below to catch the water since you have a fish tank. Make sure the chams can not get stuck in it.

Ventilation and air flow can have a huge impact on chams and URIs. I have fans on timers for example that help add some airflow indoors. In a glass tank that can be a factor, but if it was then why don't both chams have it? That is an example of troubleshooting. Info allows others to assist.


Is this glass tank catching any sunlight by chance? Even if it is only for say 30 mins? The reason I ask is that with just 30 mins of sunlight hitting a glass tank you will have a wild temp flux ( kinda like cooking a pet) and if that is only hitting one side of the cage it could only affect one Cham.... See where I'm going?

Hope that gives you some ideas

 

[Carlton]

I have a 72 gallon glass bow front tank that has a male and female 6-12 months old. I do have a divider down the middle so they are not in contact but they can see each other. I have a 5.0 UVB light and 75wt red bulb that I leave on 12 hours a day. I mist the plants with a misting bottle a few times a day and I just stated gut loading the crickets. I am going to build a large screen cage for the both of them and but a divider down the middle so they will not be able to see each other or have any contact. I took him to the vet about a week ago and he is on baytril and seems to be doing better but he is super dark. I have seen him eating but not drinking very much. She seems to be eating more and drinking more with no problems. Does anyone have any advice so he will get better sooner rather then later and why is he so dark? Thanks for all your help

I have had some chams who are getting Baytril for something turn very dark while others did not. I assumed it was that individual's stress response to the med and the handling. Not all chams tolerate stress equally. I have also had some individual chams react quite badly to Baytril regardless of species or gender. If I have one that really just shuts down shortly after starting Baytril I call to see if there might be other options to Baytril that are less harsh. Then stop the Baytril and use the other option. There could be some undiagnosed problem lurking in that particular cham adding to their stress reaction. Because you have just recently started gutloading there is probably some nutrient deficiency problems adding to his problems.

The first thing I do is get rid of any other stressors including disturbance around the cage, being in view of any other chams, increased hydration to help flush the Baytril through the system faster, and a slight temp increase to make metabolism a little easier.

 

[TJKbeachbum]

They are not in direct sunlight at all, they are far from the windows and the blinds are closed all the time. They do seem to lighten up at night when the light goes off. I have had them since December 28 and the pet store was not sure how old there are but said they were under one year.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

They are not in direct sunlight at all, they are far from the windows and the blinds are closed all the time. They do seem to lighten up at night when the light goes off. I have had them since December 28 and the pet store was not sure how old there are but said they were under one year.

Hmmmmm.

1 you have only had them for a little more than a month.

2 you already have one with a problem

3 age and origin are unknown

I'd hazard you have a combination of nutritional and possible parasitic issues to at least treat for. Anytime you purchase a new Cham unless you really have solid info on where it is from or how it was cared for you just start off with assuming you have work to do. The URI could be just a secondary symptom.

 

[Carlton]

They are not in direct sunlight at all, they are far from the windows and the blinds are closed all the time. They do seem to lighten up at night when the light goes off. I have had them since December 28 and the pet store was not sure how old there are but said they were under one year.

Many cham species turn a lighter color when they sleep so that isn't necessarily a good indicator of health. Pet shops tell buyers what they want to hear...that their exotics are captive bred and young. Unless they bought them directly from a breeder or hatched them at the store there's no real proof of age either way. Chances are they are imported, as there aren't many captive bred jax around for pet shops to buy wholesale.

I still think your first move is to separate them so the dark stressy male has a bit less to handle. He isn't feeling well so he's not eating or drinking just when it is most important. Baytril can reduce appetite. I would also question why he's getting Baytril...did the vet actually test for the URI or do any bacterial cultures to make sure there is a need for it? If not I think I would stop giving it to him and focus more on getting him into a better setup on his own and getting him drinking. One other thought...some chams do react more to their reflections off of glass enclosures and jax show their stress by turning a more intense dark green. Also does he show any lighter diamond shapes on his sides or is he completely and uniformly dark?

 

[SMCNARY]

This was mentioned but I think it should be stated again. Chams are in constant stress if they can see other chams all the time.(with very few exceptions ) and this could affect your male in a very negative way. Blocking out the view so that they can't see each other is a must.