Male WC Senegal taking naps, not eating =(

[Larsa]

I saw my picky lil eater take a nap today. Not good!!! 0.o He did take another earlier just now!!! I think he might have parasites although my vet said he didnt have any. He has these little black bumps on his skin that I mentioned to my vet and she said they are normal. ***Yeah yeah he's a WC, they are harder to care for, parasites, all that jazz however my BF impulsively bought him because he was cheap -_- so I need to take care of the lil guy and make sure he looks ok. He is feeding by me right now. He occasionally catched flies on his own and shoots his tongue out. However when he has a serious hunger strike I drip water on his nosey and when he licks the water i place a cricket or worm near him and he eats it. Heres my info:




Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Espio the male Senegal Chameleon -W.C., juvenile/young adult, 3.5 inches not including the tail, weighs 11 grams.
Handling - Almost never because he is shy. Boyfriend sometimes picks him up to manually hand feed him.
Feeding - Small crickets, house flies, small waxworms ( crushes head before eating! ) Usually up to 3 food items every other day, lightly dusted in calcium supplement without d3.
Supplements - Flukers calcium w. Vitamin D3- phosphorus free dusting powder; Repti Cal calcium powder without d3 for regular feeding
Watering - Mist 10 mins a day, Humidifier makes condensation on plant leaves, Little Dripper. He drinks a lot of water but cant stand getting his body wet. I always see him drink.
Fecal Description - Urate: mostly white with a teeny bit of orange/tan at end Feces: wet/slimy but solid, brown. Recently his urate is orange as a sign of dehydration but his eyes haven't sunken in.
History - BF ordered him online from Reptile City, he is wild caught and imported from Africa, still young, accidentally sprayed him with water one time which made him flare. He is kinda shy. Took him to the vet a few weeks ago and he received an antibiotic. Vet said he had no visible parasites, healthy gums, no blockage, and the small bumps on him could be a deformity. However the vet was pretty cheap ( $53!!?? expected waaay more from a herp doctor ) and want extra advice of help from experienced cham owners!! Caught him taking a nap today, very worried he is sick or just home sick.

Cage Info:
Cage Type -Tall mesh screen cage 18x18x24
Lighting - Reptisun UVB/UVA light, ZooMed Basking light, Night Heat lamp ( it gets 52F in my apt at night because its like 20F at night outside. ) All are on timers. Morning-8am UVB & Basking turn on, Night bulb turns off. Night-8pm Night bulb turns on, UVB & Basking light turn off
Temperature - TERRARIUM: Petco Thermometer says 75F-80F average in terrarium, basking spot is 85F and is almost 6.5 inches away from basking light itself. For his cooling spots he climbs in the umbrella trees in the shady corner, where he likes to drink water. Night Light keeps his temp around 60F-63F but never below or above that. IN WHOLE APT: average temp stays around 54F-78F
Humidity - Main humidity is caused by a Safety 1st Infant humidifier. TERRARIUM: Petco hydrometer says humidity is anywhere from moderate to tropical 50%-75% depending where we aim the humidifier. IN WHOLE APT: average humidity stays about 54-62%
Plants - Live-yes. 3 umbrella trees ( He LOVES them a LOT! ) and a small pothos. We also have a few plastic dangly vine plants in the corners. He has a lot of dried up thick sticks that he climbs which do not have any fungus growth on them. He does have a thin layer of coconut husk bedding because it promotes less fungal growth on the sticks.
Placement - It is located in my living room on top of a semi-tall cubical dresser. The bottom of his terrarium starts about 48 inches from the floor.
Location - Northeast Texas- dry winter season.


Current Problem - Cham has hunger strikes-seems interested in his flies but doesnt eat them He does have black/grey bumps on him but they are tiny mites? Saw him take a nap today-what could that mean??? He is so darn shy so I really try not to mess with him however I needed to take some pictures of him, they could maybe save his life if is happens to be sick. Can you guys also look at his joints, ankles, etc and spot any signs of MBD? He was very poorly hydrated and supplememted when we got him-his urate was pure dark orange when we first got him, I wanna help him get better and healthy I really want to help the poor lil guy ( feel sooo sorry for him ) and make him feel as comfortable as possible here in Texas. I feel like he is homesick. What do you guys think???

** thought about getting a crap load of tall plants together and letting him play on them in the sunshine if that would greatly help




Heres the pics!!! Click on them a few times, some of them are large and show scale detail. Do these lil bumps look like mites to anyone or is it just me???? And if so are there any bloody bite marks visible?

 

[Carlton]

A few ideas. Ditch the night heat lamp completely. Your room doesn't get cold enough to need it and it is keeping him from sleeping. It is also drying out his cage more than needed.

Do the black dots move? If not, they aren't mites. Rub them lightly to see if they come loose. They might just be tiny scabs from his travels.

Didn't see any mention of a herp vitamin dust. You need to dust food with a herp vitamin complex once a month to 6 weeks.

What do you feed your insects? The waxworms and flies are hard to gutload, so I would add another type of feeder that you can gutload better. Crix, small roaches and silkworms for example. There are good gutloads available including Cricket Crack and the Repashy foods from forum sponsors.

If the fecal exam didn't show any parasites he doesn't have enough to show up on the test. Every living thing has some, but they usually become a problem if the animal is already sick from other causes. You can always repeat the test just to be sure. It is simple enough to do.

If he drinks a lot every time you mist him he may be getting too dried out between misting. I would double check your humidity gauge. The type you have can be pretty inaccurate. The good thing is, he is drinking regularly and he's eating regularly. You don't need to crush the worms' heads BTW.

I doubt he's homesick! Chams live in the moment where ever they are.

 

[Larsa]

Thanx I actually do have herptivite but he just recently had his vitamin d3 powder and I wanted to wait maybe another week or so for him to take his multivitamin. Sometimes the black dots will appear in different spots but i didnt see them move. My apt can get 52F at night in this season so I only need it on on nights it will be cold, not every night. I still dont understand why he is taking naps during the daytime hopefully my pics helped

 

[thatoneguy]

those black dots are most likely bruised scales. do you guys leave the crickets in the cage with him? might be cricket bites. and hes probly sleeping during the day cause he cant sleep at night witht he night light. you could get a ceramic bulb online for like $14 it wont produce light and it will keep him warm if thats a concern of yours.
ALSO to put your mind at ease doesnt look like any signs of MBD so far. his skin will clear up when he sheds.

 

[Larsa]

No I dont have any crickets in there, I heard they bite and stress out reptiles. Hopefully he will shed soon :/ I will take out the night light then. Even if its chilly in here like 56F thats ok at night for a cham? Thats the room temp right now I have a digital thermometer set up in the middle of my apt its not near any windows or doors.

 

[Solid Snake]

56F is fine. 50F is a good safe cut off point, if it gets lower than that, use the ceramic heat emitter as stated.
Chams can be kept awake by the night time bulbs, that could be the cause of his daytime nap. They need total darkness for sleeping, its plausible to think he could just be really sleepy
Do away with it, and see if he still does it.
A nite time drop in temp(10F or so) can stimulate their appetite, and is good for them
I have had my temps go as low as 45F and had no issues.
Also as stated, I would only feed him wax worms as a treat, maybe once a week, or month even.

EDIT: I have never kept a senegal, but it looks female to me.

 

[thatoneguy]

looks like a male to me

 

[kinyonga]

You said "Took him to the vet a few weeks ago and he received an antibiotic"...what antibiotic was he on? Why?

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

56F is fine. 50F is a good safe cut off point, if it gets lower than that, use the ceramic heat emitter as stated.
Chams can be kept awake by the night time bulbs, that could be the cause of his daytime nap. They need total darkness for sleeping, its plausible to think he could just be really sleepy
Do away with it, and see if he still does it.
A nite time drop in temp(10F or so) can stimulate their appetite, and is good for them
I have had my temps go as low as 45F and had no issues.
Also as stated, I would only feed him wax worms as a treat, maybe once a week, or month even.

EDIT: I have never kept a senegal, but it looks female to me.

It's a male don't worry.

 

[Solid Snake]

It's a male don't worry.

Not worried, just didnt see a bulge Thanks for the clarification

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

With Senegals it's hard to see. I didn't start seeing it in Karma til' he was atleast a year old.

 

[Larsa]

thanks everyone! Ok I am keeping the night bulb off. I think winter is pretty much over but i will get a ceramic soon just in case. The vet gave him an antibiotic as a just in case thing. Although he didnt appear to be sick to her she just wanted to give him a little dose. It was such a tiny tiny amount but I hope it helped him. But for those black dot thingies, I hope they will go away when he sheds. Doesn't that typically take about 3 months until they shed?

 

[oliveblanche]

My WC Senegal looked like that when I got her, all beat up, black bumps I thought were dirt, after a few sheds she is brilliant and like brand new!

 

[Larsa]

well thats good! ^-^ Thanks!!! Hopefully he will shed soon, maybe thats why he isnt acting hungry