New chameleon, something is wrong!

h22turbo

h22turbo

Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Jackson's Chameleon, not sure how old. 4-5 months maybe? He is 6 inches long, 3 inches from nose tip to vent.
  • Handling - None...
  • Feeding - He has not ate anything in 3 days, but I have offered him crickets, dubia, and superworms. They have been in his cage since the first day.
  • Supplements - crickets were dusted with Calcium + D3, but dust has "wore off" since he hasn't ate anything...
  • Watering - Mist with a spray bottle 3 times per day. I have seen him drink water drops once.
  • Fecal Description - None. He hasn't pooped in the 3 days I've had him!
  • History - Bought him from a local pet store. He was in a 20 gallon glass aquarium with a ReptiSun 5.0 florescent tube above him and a basking light. I did notice fecal in the bottom of the aquarium they had him in, but it was all old and dry. There was a few crickets running around his cage when I bought him.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - ZooMed ReptiBreeze "Medium" 16x16x30 Screen Cage
  • Lighting - ZooMed ReptiSun 10.0 T5 High Output Florescent Tube above him, 60 watt incandescent bulb for basking spot.
  • Temperature - Basking spot is 85 degrees, bottom of cage is usually around 72-75 degrees, overnight temps are low 70s high 60s, temps measured with a thermometer that has a probe. Bought from WalMart... It tells you humidity, inside (temp at main display) and outside (temp at probe) temps.
  • Humidity - Humidity usually stays in the 60s.
  • Plants - Live Grape Vine in his cage.
  • Placement - Located in the living room. It is near a fan. I sit it next to his cage to keep air movement (and also blow away any cigarette smoke). Top of his cage is about 5 feet from the floor.
  • Location - Located in the USA.... West Virginia

Current Problem - My chameleon hasn't ate anything since I bought him, he hasn't pooped, and I've also noticed his eyes closed (like he is sleeping) sometimes through the day. He doesn't do it often, but I have seen it before. He is not very active. Any time he does walk around his cage, he is doing the rocking/dance thing they do. He doesn't bask. He has never went to his basking spot. He usually stays in one spot and doesn't move at all through out the day.

I'm very worried about him! I have bearded dragons and also breed my own crickets, dubia, and superworms.... so I do know about reptiles, uvb lighting, temps, feeding, etc etc.

About 6 months ago I rescued a veiled chameleon from a small local pet store that was shut down due to horrible conditions and animal neglect. The owner had him for 3-4 months in a 5 gallon glass tank, no UVB light, and only fed once a week. Anyways, the little guy died on me and he was acting the same exact way my jackson's chameleon is doing!

I don't know what to do or what I'm doing wrong with chameleons!!!!!!! Please help!

Thanks!
 
I would say that the UV is too strong for a Jackson. Also where yours is the high output one too it's likely too much. I used 5.0 t8 tubes with my Jacksons.
 
Miss Lily said:
I would say that the UV is too strong for a Jackson. Also where yours is the high output one too it's likely too much. I used 5.0 t8 tubes with my Jacksons.
Click to expand...

I have the ReptiSun 10.0 Mini Compact Florescent (13 Watt) Blubs, and I also have an old Exo Terra 160 Watt Solar Glo Mercury Vapor Bulb, but it's about 8 months old and I doubt its much count!
 
Give him a bit more shade by adding foliage to one site of the top and see if he is still closing his eyes. That way, you can eliminate irritation from lighting as an issue. If after that, he is still closing his eyes during the day, you'll want to take him and fresh droppings to the vet for a check up and parasite fecal test. If it is the lights, you can use the lower intensity bulbs or keep the additional foliage.

I think 85 might be a smidgen too high for a younger jax - you might consider dropping it down to about 83 for the basking spot. The rocking/dancing move, not moving about much, and not eating are signs that he is still settling into his new home and is nervous - this is very, very common. So long as he is staying hydrated, don't worry about him not eating for a bit longer. I think my jax didn't eat until day 8 - I was definitely freaking out. I do think you need to set up a dripper for him - he may not drink enough in front of you if he is nervous.

He looks alert and healthy in your photos. Hopefully, he is just settling in.
 
Still no progress from my little jackson's chameleon... he hasnt ate anything and hasnt pooped. crickets and dubia are still roaming around his cage and I mist it 3 times per day....

He has been closing his eyes "day sleeping" a lot lately, so I raised my UVB bulb up higher. So far, it hasnt helped any! Here is a picture of his cage setup now...

spike

spike

spike

Same setup as before, just raised the UVB bulb up higher and put his cage in a different location which is higher up and less "traffic".

Ugh, I hope he doesnt die on me...
 
IMHO, cage is too "open" to view so he's intimidated by all the strangeness around the cage. Maybe draping a towel or sheet over a couple of cage sides would help. The fan may help move smoke away but it will also speed up evaporation and dry the cage out faster. Cigarette smoke is an irritant so he may be reacting that that. As already mentioned, probably too warm, maybe too dry more of the time than you realize, and the light may be too intense. Remove most of the feeders...unless you have fresh gutload in the cage with them they have already lost their gut contents and any dust you put on them. Also, too many moving around can be confusing for a stressed out cham to focus in on.

Then there's the possibility that he already had health problems before you got him, and now everything is catching up with him.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone!

I moved his cage to a different "low traffic" area thats also higher up. I started removing feeders daily instead of leaving them in his cage. I was trying not to disturb him as much as possible. Any time I get in his cage, he freaks out.... sometimes snaps at me, and he's even fell off his branches before. It's like he is weak and doesn't have much of a grip. He still has not ate anything, still has not pooped, and I usually see him halfway on a branch... halfway about to fall off, barely holding on, with his eyes closed during the day.

I live in southern West Virginia and there is NO reptile vets anywhere close. The nearest one is 1-2 hrs away and I've heard (from friends that have taken their reptiles there) they really don't know much about reptiles and not very good.

On the plus side.... my 2 bearded dragons are doing great! the male is in brumation and my female needs to go on a diet because she's so fat! My dubia roaches are breeding like crazy, superworm beetles are breeding good, and I have baby crickets hatching as I type this! Ugh.... only thing driving me crazy right now is why my little jax isn't acting and eating right :(
 
How long are you misting him for each time? You definitely don't have enough foliage and you need to get rid of the 10.0, you need a 5.0.
 
h22turbo said:
Placement - Located in the living room. It is near a fan. I sit it next to his cage to keep air movement (and also blow away any cigarette smoke).
Click to expand...

Not sure what exactly is going on with the chameleon, but I DO KNOW that you definitely SHOULD NOT BE smoking in the same room as your chameleon. They have very fragile lungs, kind of like birds. Smoke is an irritant in the air just like Carlton said. It can really damage your chameleon's lungs in the long term. This is why it's definitely suggested not to smoke around your chameleon or the cage. Candles, burning incense, aerosol room sprays, and other things that put chemicals into the air are also not good, just like the smoke. You are trying to mimic their natural environment to the best of your ability.... Cigarette smoke is definitely not part of that bigger picture.

I do agree with others though that you should be using a 5.0 bulb and not a 10.0 bulb. Lots of species of chameleons can handle the 10.0 and it's actually a good bulb for a 24 x 24 x 48 cage, but Jacksons Chameleons don't need the higher UVB output nor do they need much heat for basking as they are a montane species. I would also agree that adding more foliage to hide in would be beneficial to your setup. You have lots of stuff in there right now, sure, but from what I can tell, there's really nowhere to go to actually GET OUT OF the light if he wanted to because the foliage isn't thick enough in any given spot to do so. There's also not really anywhere he can go hide if he doesn't want to be seen by you.

On the bright side of things, your chameleon really does look pretty healthy, judging by only what I see. Good colors and appears alert. Hopefully a few adjustments to your setup will get him to feeling normal again.
 
a little good news today! I put 2 superworms, 4 dubia, and 4 crickets in his cage about 30 mins ago and he ate a superworm!

I mist his cage 3 times a day with a spray bottle & ill soak one side of his cage down until theres water dripping off of everything. I leave the other side alone. I would say I mist it for 1-2 mins each time. I'm going to buy a cool mist humidifier and make a fogger/sprinkler for his cage soon. until then I manually mist it & setup a water bottle on top as a dripper.

Im so happy he ate something... even though it was just a superworm! I wish he would have ate the dubia! he hasnt ate anything or pooped since the day I got him and that was 7-8 days ago!
 
He looks dehydrated too me, sunken around the eyes. Get horn worms or silkworms to help with the hydrating. Try and get him to drink and spray the whole cage, not half. oh and the 10.0 uvb doesn't really matter
 
Alex21 said:
He looks dehydrated too me, sunken around the eyes. Get horn worms or silkworms to help with the hydrating. Try and get him to drink and spray the whole cage, not half. oh and the 10.0 uvb doesn't really matter
Click to expand...
In a cage that small and that open, a 10.0 UVb may matter quite a bit for a jax. If the cage was taller not so much. You don't need a 10.0 for a jax.
 
I added more fake plants to help with shade/cover and raised the 10.0 florescent tube up more. the closest he can get to the uvb is 8 inches and that's just a small little vine. he's usually around 12 inches away....

he hasnt ate anything else... other than that one superworm and hasnt pooped.
 
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