my little man seems lethargic

kmc80

kmc80

New Member
I have a 6 month old male jackson. He seems kind of depressed but he's eating and drinking normally. He just keep his head down on the vine like he's tired. I've never seen him sleep during the day though. He is shedding...could that be it? I've heard it's not pleasant for them. There are other days that he paces back and forth in his basking spot...almost like he's bored. I just hope he's not coming down with something or overly stressed. :confused:
 
i dont have much experiance with jacksons, but it may just be shedding. If you havent lately perhaps you should bring him to the vet

PS: google is a magical tool of knowledge
 
Ok, here's his info...

-Jackson cham, male, 6 months. I've had him for a month
-I handle him once maybe twice a week for a few minutes. I'd like to gradually work up to more often and for a longer time.
-I feed him gut loaded crickets twice a day usually. As many as he wants.
-I dust the crickets with Flueker's Calcium with vitamin D about every other feeding.
-I mist in the morning with warm water. I also use The Little Dripper through out the day. I always use filtered water. He drinks a lot!
-His poops are like bird poop with a solid dark uh....log for lack of a better word. I've never tested him for parasites but I got him from a reputable breeder

I've been feeding him medium sized crickets, is that too big for a 6 month old? The small ones always escape. I dont want to cause an impaction though.
 
IMHO you should be dusting with a phos.-free calcium at most feedings and only twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3. He may be developing a nutrient imbalance.

What UVB light do you use?
 
For lighting I use a 100 watt UVA/UVB light. My other cham is doing just fine in the same conditions. Thats why I'm thinking impaction. Perhaps the crickets are too big??
 
To me, it sounds like he's gettin waaaaay too much D3. People that breed them a lot recomment it once every 3-4 weeks, perhaps even less. They are particularly sensitive to supplements, which is why I never supplemented mine as much as my panthers.
 
Ok, I'll stop with the D3 for a while. He drank a ton this morning but has not eaten. There's a cricket smorgasbord in frront of home right now and he shows no interest :(.
 
It's a Zoo Med Power Sun 100 watt UVA, UVB and heat lamp in one. The bulb is on a stand it's positioned 8-10 inches above his basking area which stays around 90 degrees.
He's been eating. I've seen hime use the bathroom and everything looks normal. He just looks depressed and tired. Today I noticed him closing one eye. He switches them off though....first it's the left eye, then both are open, then the right eye is closed.....
Any thoughts??
 
Yeah...I'd target 83 for the basking temp...

With Jacksons, you might need to worry about keeping them cool rather than keeping them warm.

If you live where it regularly gets into the 90s, you need to have a plan to keep him cooler.

Going back to the original post. I don't think you can accurately judge your chameleon's activity based on what you see when you are standing there. Mine play "statue" when the realize that I'm watching...they can do that for quite a while....

If you are convinced it's necessary to stalk your chameleon, you might want to set up a webcam to monitor him. You can't really rely on what they do when you are in the room.
 
After reading up on D3 overdose I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I'm going hydrate him as much as possible.
 
Do you know how to give showers? My Jackson's LOVED showers, and would just happily stay in one for 20 minutes or more if I let him.

Here's how I give showers when my guys need help shedding or extra hydration. Now, it may look super technical (with the super high-tech dog shampoo bottle holding the nozzle!) but it's easy lol. I like this method, personally, over using the actual shower head and bouncing water off the walls. I fill the pump with hot water and it'll spray out luke warm if the nozzle is set on a fairly gentle mist. One 5 gal pump will easily last the 20 minutes.

chameleonshower.jpg
 
Olimpia said:
Do you know how to give showers? My Jackson's LOVED showers, and would just happily stay in one for 20 minutes or more if I let him.

Here's how I give showers when my guys need help shedding or extra hydration. Now, it may look super technical (with the super high-tech dog shampoo bottle holding the nozzle!) but it's easy lol. I like this method, personally, over using the actual shower head and bouncing water off the walls. I fill the pump with hot water and it'll spray out luke warm if the nozzle is set on a fairly gentle mist. One 5 gal pump will easily last the 20 minutes.

chameleonshower.jpg
Click to expand...

I do the same thing. I never spray with the shower but love using the shower to mist in. I keep a tree in or near both my showers. It works great!
 
I was thinking about giving him a shower today. I dont have the pump that you have but I'll figure out a way to make it work. I just hope I caught the problem in time :( . Thanks everyone!
 
Ok, so now he's not eating or drinking at all. I've given him showers though and I'm constantly misting. He looks even more depressed and closes both eyes during the day.....
I have a female chameleon in the cage with him. They both usually stay in their special areas of the cage. However, the past couple of days I noticed her walking all over him...literally. She'll climb on him like he's a branch to get to a cricket. She'll even get as close to his face as possible without actually touching him like she's having a stand off. She's never done this before. I've even moved her to different parts of the cage and she gets right back up there in his face. Is it possible for a female to dominate a male like that?? Their the same age and he's slightly bigger but could that be the cause of the problem? :confused:
BTW, I got them form FLchams and the breeder said I could keep them together. Otherwise I would'nt have done that. :(
 
You said..."I have a female chameleon in the cage with him"...too bad you didn't mention this before instead of just saying that she was being kept under the same conditions. This could be a big part of the problem (along with too much D3 and temperatures that are too hot)...especially since she is all over him. IMHO you need to separate them right away and correct the husbandry...hopefully its not too late.
 
I thought it was implied when I said under the same conditions...sorry for the confusion. I adjusted the D3 and the heat. I agree, it's time to separate them.
 
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