Need some advice

ecko2bg

New Member
I have had rango for 3 days and he will not eat and is not very active. He also keeps his eye closed like he is sleeping most if the time. Just worried and a first time owner.
 
I have had rango for 3 days and he will not eat and is not very active. He also keeps his eye closed like he is sleeping most if the time. Just worried and a first time owner.

We need a lot more information! Describe his setup, temps, humidity level. We can't even guess right now. See the sticky message at the top of the forum "how to ask for help" and answer the questions.
 
it is a flapneck not sure of age or sex they did not tell me that when we got it. and ive had it for 3 days. i have had it out of the cage once a day due to building its cage and then redoing it yesterday, and i picked him up from the floor today and he was ice cold so i put him back up on the vine near the heat. i put crikets in his cage and some wax worms in a dish. i put five crickets in and three wax worms. i havent been able to have a schedule do to him not eat ting but i have been putting the food every morning when i go to work. i got the gut load food from petco for the crickets and use that since i bought 500 crickets and dont want them dying. also feeding a bearded dragon not just my cham. i have the exo terra multi vitamin and have to get the calcium yet. followed the dusting i found on line. i have it saved just have to find it. i mist the cage two to three times a day. i have not seen it drink. rango has not gone to the bathroom yet. only previous thing i can tell you is when i went to get him and pick him out he was not moving around much in thier cage either. but the other one that was in with him was walking all over.
cage is 20wx24dx36h all screen. all the lights are zoo med basking light day time light and an infered light at night. i turn the basking light and day time light on at 6am and off at 6pm and turn the red light on to help keep the temp up. at the top of the cage the temp is 85-90 and bottom is 70-75 i have a themometer and hydrometer combo. the humidity is 60% when the fogger is running and 45-50% when its off and i have the fogger on a timer to run every half hour.i have fake plants and a real plant in the cage. the real one is a fern i got of a list of plants that are safe for them i cant seem to find the tag right now but will look. the cage its at the end of the couch in the corner. there are no fans or vents and the top is three feet from the floor.located in PA. hope this helps and the cause of this is that he does not seEM to have his eyes open alot seems like he is sleeping all the time. and he is not very active. he does move sround just noty alot. and some times he gets white spots on him.
 
i have had it out of the cage once a day due to building its cage and then redoing it yesterday
i got the gut load food from petco for the crickets
i have the exo terra multi vitamin and have to get the calcium yet. followed the dusting i found on line.
i mist the cage two to three times a day. i have not seen it drink.
when i went to get him and pick him out he was not moving around much in thier cage either. but the other one that was in with him was walking all over.
cage is 20wx24dx36h all screen.
an infered light at night. i turn the basking light and day time light on at 6am and off at 6pm and turn the red light on to help keep the temp up. at the top of the cage the temp is 85-90 and bottom is 70-75 i have a themometer and hydrometer combo. the humidity is 60% when the fogger is running and 45-50% when its off and i have the fogger on a timer to run every half hour.i have fake plants and a real plant in the cage. the real one is a fern i got of a list of plants that are safe for them i cant seem to find the tag right now but will look.
the cage its at the end of the couch in the corner. there are no fans or vents and the top is three feet from the floor.

There are several things going wrong here.

You may be handling him too often. He's trying to cope with a lot right now...changes in his environment and probably illness that was present before you got him. Most flapnecks are imports so they are already in less than perfect shape by the time they get to a shop. That he was inactive compared to the other cham at the store was a red flag that something is wrong. Chams should not sit with their eyes shut during the day.

Most commercial gutloads offered by pet shops aren't great. You can do a lot better by making your own fresh...fresh dark leafy greens, chunks of fruit, fortified cereal grains, bee pollen, spirulina. And, several of our forum sponsors offer really good ones that we know work.

What's in this "exoterra" vitamin dust you have? What was the schedule you found on line? Lots of poor info out there. Correct your dusting schedule to: dust with plain calcium each day, dust with calcium with added vit D3 once a week, and dust with a herp multivitamin once every month to 6 weeks.

NO infrared light at night! Chams require at least a 10 degree temp drop from day to night and they detect all visible light colors. He's being kept awake. If the room doesn't get colder than mid 50s he doesn't need heat at night.

Pics of your setup and your cham would help us too. If your cage isn't filled with enough foliage he won't be able to drink all that well and may feel so exposed to view he is just trying to shut out the world.
 
yeah i didn't want to handle him so much was just trying to make it better for him. not sure whats in it it doenst say but the guy there said it would be ok. will turn the light off. and just something i seen him do was hang upside down and some yellow slimy stuff fell out of his mouth and then he was very wobbly after that. will send a picture when i find my cord to my camera. but i know i need to get more plants in it
 
From your descriptions it looks like you don't have a UVB light, is that true?

It is extremely important to provide your chameleon not only with a basking spot, but also with a source of UVB - they need it to produce vitamin D, which is essential for calcium uptake. You need to get one ASAP and until then you can take him out for some natural sunlight if the weather where you live permits it.

As already mentioned - no light at night, not even infrared!

And please post pics of your setup and the chameleon itself - it will help to determine what's wrong.
 
I too am a new cham owner and mine is a flap neck.mine is malnourished and was dehydrated.All I have to offer is pour over these forums,and ask a lot of questions.i have received some really helpful info from the members here.Mine is on the mend and already looking a lot better.a drip system made all the difference and it happens almost in one day.eyes are not as sunk in and he is a lot more active and the color has improved.From what I gather,a variety of food is important as well.take a fecal sample to your vet to test for parasites.mine went in today and I should know something in a day or two.Most important,listen to the advice given by the members here.I hope he turns around for you,and best of luck.
 
R.i.p rango

I want to thank every one for their help unfortunately he did not make it through the night. I am going to research a lot more on here gathering all the info i can and get everything i could possibly need and have it all set up and ready for a new cham. The loss stinks but i m not giving up. Im also going to find another place to get one, not 100% but i think he was sick and they knew it because they said they give a seven day health guaranty but they don't on chams. So again thanks for all the info and help.
 
Sorry to hear that he did not make it and glad that you are not giving up on chameleon ownership. I would suggest a panther or veild for you that is captive bred and purchase from one of our site sponsors that will give you a health guarantee. From what I understand most Flapneck chameleons are wild caught and it is often very hard to acclimate them into captivity. I know you tried and did all you could. If you decide on another chameleon, we will be here to help you every step of the way. It is a learning experience and we all have to start somewhere. Again, sorry for your loss.
 
Sorry for your loss,but I commend your trying and not giving up.There is a lot to learn about these wonderful little reptiles.Best of luck to you!!!
 
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