Need Help - New, Sick Jackson's

[Luthien]

Hello all... have been wanting chameleons for a very long while now, and I have been lurking on the forums but only today have anything that I need/can contribute!

This morning I purchased a pair of Jackson's chameleons at a reptile expo. I had an empty cage that I was wanting to keep a chameleon in, so when I saw the pair for $100 I couldn't resist. I breed other reptiles (crested, leopard, and pictus geckos) an wanted to enter the realm of chameleons. I talked to the breeder for quite a while and he said they are 3 months old. The paid was housed together at the expo, and when I asked about it he assured me they would be fine living together. The female is very lively, however since we brought him home the male does NOT seem OK. Upon further research I discovered they should not be housed together...tomorrow I am buying second setup to split them up. The female is VERY lively, constantly displaying, even walking on top of the male.....he literally just sits there limply, eyes closed.

I know this could be just a case of the male being very stressed out. However, he seems VERY skinny and his eyes have only opened a couple of times today. When we misted him he drank it up....and moved around a bit but quickly returned to his lethargic state. We showered him with lukewarm water, and he then climbed onto my hand (with his eyes closed he thought it was a stick). His hands\tail are not even grasping fully when he is sitting? He did move closer to the basking lamp, that has a basking temp of 80 degrees. Resting temp of 74, night temp of 65-70. His cage is filled with chameleon-safe plants and is a full mesh with UVB and Basking lamp.

Please help....I just purchased him today but I already love him so much. I know it is not !y fault if he is sick...but I just want to do anything I can to make the little guy better. Thank you in advance.

 

[Devokid]

Please fill this out: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

That will let us identify the issues. You are correct, they most definitely should not be housed together.

He sounds pretty sick, I would take him to a vet right away. Do you know if they were captive born or wild caught?

 

[Luthien]

Here is a picture of the little guy.

 

[Devokid]

He looks dehydrated and ill. I would get him to a vet as soon as you can. If you have any poop from him, that would be good to have tested.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

In the meanwhile, I would up his basking temp to 84-85.

 

[Luthien]

CHAMELEON: Male Jacksons, 3 months old, captive-bred. Bought him today.
HANDLING: Minimal, only what is necessary.
FEEDING: He has not eaten yet, but a couple of gut-loaded crickets are in the cage...the female ate.
SUPPLEMENTS: nothing yet but will dust food when he eats
WATERING: Misted the tank with a spray bottle about 6 times today. Also gave him a rain bath since he appears dehydrated. When he first got home we watered him and he drank a lot, after that he did not drink again, even in the shower. Tomorrow will buy an auto-mister for more humidity.
FECAL: no fecal matter yet.
HISTORY: the breeder had other amazing specimens that seemed very healthy. This Jacksons seemed fine, just a little stressed at the show but has really started acting sick. Female is wonderful but VERY feisty/intrudes on him.

CAGE: 18X18X36 screen cage
LIGHTING: not sure of brand, but using 25w basking lamp and UVB lamp.
TEMP: Basking 80 degrees (will raise), resting 74, night 65-70. Schedule
will be 12 on, 12 off. He seemed to like the basking light.
HUMIDITY: No way to measure right now.
PLANTS: Real plants, chosen from a chameleon-safe list online. There are 3 palms, and two other plants from the list along w/ cottonwood sticks. All washed off well.
PLACEMENT: basement, low-traffic area. Cage is on table 2 feet off the ground. It is in a room with a ceiling fan that stays on.
LOCATION: Wichita KS

problem stated in first post. UPDATE about am hour after his shower it appears he has moved in the cage a bit and his tail is now curled up properly. He is grabbing on to his branch with all hands! There is a herp vet in Wichita and I will definitely bring him there on Monday. Anything you guys suggest to help him until then?

 

[ataraxia]

Hi, his cheeks appear to be sunken. I agree with the above post that he is probably ill.

This would be nothing directly related to your care at this point. This is something that has been developing over time. The breeder stating they are ok together tells me. The breeder themselves are incompetent care givers.

Till you are able to take him in to a vet.
1. Shower him 3-5 times a day for as long as you see him drink.
2. If you see any feces. Put it in a ziplock baggie and keep in a cool place.
3. Separate m/f ASAP

Good luck

 

[Luthien]

Im sorry to say that the little guy passed away during the night I am going to put full attention towards the wonderful female and try to contact the breeder. Thank you all for your help.

Also, does the care regimen sound OK for the female? My one question is about the fan in the room...will it dry her out?

 

[christineacero]

I'm so sorry the little guy passed so quickly! I would definitely get in contact with the person you purchased him from. If I were you (because I'm super anal about my pets), I would schedule a visit with a good herp vet to do a once-over on your female. Save some poop and have her tested for parasites. Because the male was so ill, I'd be concerned about the state of female. I'm not saying shes sick by any means, but if your vet can give you an "all clear" then you can confidently move forward with your new little girl! Good luck!

 

[Luthien]

Thank you for the advice....I am planning on taking her!!

 

[Lovereps]

Awww, so sorry that the little guy passed.

Shame on the seller who certainly should have taken him to a vet, rather than unloading a sick cham on you. Truly shameless behavior

I also have to add that I don't believe that he was 3 months old.

At 3 months, male Jackson's are colored the same way your female Jackson's is; brown and white.
None of the Jackson's I've bred had babies who ever turned green before 5 months.

If you can, have someone responsible watch her for a few minutes so you can re-clean the cage.
Even if it is just cleaned with hot soapy water and then rinsed well, this might prevent her from getting infected with whatever made him sick, since she may have only been with him for a very short while.

Fecal samples are used to detect a variety of parasite infections.
For samples--the fresher the better--- but if she poops today, you can save it in a baggie in the fridge until the vet visit, since she may not go again before her vet visit.
If she gets the all-clear from the vet, he still may want another sample in a few weeks to rule-out parasites.

For misting systems, some prefer the Mistking and others the Aquazamp--as both have a reputation for being reliable.
Mistking is sold by the maker and by others, such as Josh's frogs and LLLReptile, while Aquazamp is only sold by Aquzamp.
All of them have links here https://www.chameleonforums.com/index.php?page=sponsors

You will be glad to use a misting system for her, since it can be tough to keep the humidity levels in the range that Jackson's prefer (60-80%).

I can relate to a love of Jackson's--they are cute and sweet-natured creatures.

Here is the forum caresheet for Jackson's which should help guide you on her care https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

Almost forgot about your question...the ceiling fan may or may not make it too dry for her. The only real way to know is to get a humidity gauge, preferably an electronic one, as they're usually more accurate than the analog gauges.