NEWBIE: Need info on neonate Jackson's Chameleon care

[kplatvoet]

Don't thank me -thank the guy who did the video who's name I don't even know - what I do know is that my Jackson (Sherlock) was a week and 1/2 half when I got him and without that video and this forum I don't think he would have made it -(he only 3 months so he's still not out of the woods but when I see him hunting down stapple flies on his hind legs like a ninja I have high hopes for him)

 

[Saldarya]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to give me your advice. I really, really appreciate it I'm soaking up all of the info and trying to do the best I can for my little guy. I just wanted to make sure everyone knows their time and thoughts are much appreciated!

As asked before, where are you in LA. If we are nearby, I can help you out with small food such as isopods, crickets, roaches, etc....

Lemme know.

Bobby

 

[amswanton]

As asked before, where are you in LA. If we are nearby, I can help you out with small food such as isopods, crickets, roaches, etc....

Lemme know.

Bobby

Oh, sorry bout that! I live in Slidell, LA so it's a couple hours away from you. Do you raise your own feeders? I can't find any pinhead crickets for anything around here and I really wish I had some to give to the little guy. How do I PM you? I haven't figured out how to do that yet lol

 

[Saldarya]

Oh, sorry bout that! I live in Slidell, LA so it's a couple hours away from you. Do you raise your own feeders? I can't find any pinhead crickets for anything around here and I really wish I had some to give to the little guy. How do I PM you? I haven't figured out how to do that yet lol

Click on my name in the upper left of this post, and you will have an option to send private message. Shoot me a PM and maybe we can chat. Yes, I raise a number of different feeders. Would love to help you out.

Bobby

 

[Lovereps]

Based on this information, I think I definitely have a problem. His new cage should arrive tomorrow (2 day shipping) and I moved him the day before yesterday into a 20 gal glass terrarium (which I know isn't good but I figured it's better than a 3x3 plastic container with no room to move or regulate temp) being very careful about positioning of lights (with the basking light only on a tiny corner of the enclosure so it doesn't affect ambient temp side) and keeping the enclosure moist and humid. I have been able to successfully keep the humidity between 50-60% for the past day and the daytime ambient temp between 72-75 with a nighttime temp of 68-70.

A terrarium, if designed for reptiles, like ExoTerra and Zoo Med make are perfectly fine. In Europe, there are probably more chams in glass reptile enclosures designed with proper airflow than there are in screen cages.
I'm very glad he isn't in that tiny container anymore.
Plants offer chams a place to hide--which is their natural instinct--and so they feel more secure and less stressed.
An added bonus of plants is that they do help keep the humidity higher.
You don't want a constantly wet cage, as that will cause molds and bacteria to thrive and will harm your cham.

Problem is I haven't seen any changes in his behavior with the temperature change. I'm very concerned because he hasn't moved more than 3 inches away from the spot I put him in in the cage initially, over a day ago. I put him right next to where I put the flies to make sure that he ATLEAST eats, which he is doing that VERY well. But his basking spot is on the opposite end of the enclosure and since he doesn't really move much less climb, he hasn't been in the basking spot AT ALL. I'll have to wait to check his poop/urate next time he goes... In the past it has sometimes has a little orangeish color to it but he was in that plastic container so i'll see what it starts to look like now that he isn't in that anymore. I put a fake plant/vine looking thing in the enclosure but he doesn't show any interest in it and the rest of it is open with no plants... I'm going to go buy a plant today and I will be putting it in the enclosure as soon as possible though.

The more plants, the better for him and for increasing humidity. Please be sure to wash the leaves with dish soap and water to remove pesticide/fertilizer residues.
Safe plant list links are at the bottom of this page:https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/

I'm just REALLY, REALLY worried now that you said it's not normal for them to sleep alot during the day and not move around much. One other thing i'm concerned about... Ever since I got him, he seems to keep one of his eyes closed alot of the time. I read that this could be a sign of an eye infection but there are no other signs, like discharge or puffiness or swollen or anything like that. What do you think I should do about that? It's just really strange because he LOOKS fine but there are other signs of problems. Let me know what you think.

I can't say if it is the problem but is very easy for these little guys to become dehydrated.
Lethargy and eye irritation can be symptoms of dehydration and too low humidity.
See if he is drinking enough and add enough plants to get the humidity between 70-85%.
Jackson's can be a little slow to drink. I find that creating a fine mist in the air with a hand spray bottle helps to encourage them to drink but try to avoid spraying him directly.
In nature they drink droplets of water off of plant leaves.
He should be drinking more than once a day.

Another possibility is that the UV light is too strong for him.
I have been told by several experienced breeders to use a UVB bulb that has already been used for about 6 months so that its UVB output is weaker.
Increasing the distance from the light to him will have the same effect as a weaker bulb or even adding an extra layer of screening beneath the light will significantly reduce the amount of UVB that he receives.

 

[amswanton]

The more plants, the better for him and for increasing humidity. Please be sure to wash the leaves with dish soap and water to remove pesticide/fertilizer residues.
Safe plant list links are at the bottom of this page:https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/

I can't say if it is the problem but is very easy for these little guys to become dehydrated.
Lethargy and eye irritation can be symptoms of dehydration and too low humidity.
See if he is drinking enough and add enough plants to get the humidity between 70-85%.
Jackson's can be a little slow to drink. I find that creating a fine mist in the air with a hand spray bottle helps to encourage them to drink but try to avoid spraying him directly.
In nature they drink droplets of water off of plant leaves.
He should be drinking more than once a day.

Another possibility is that the UV light is too strong for him.
I have been told by several experienced breeders to use a UVB bulb that has already been used for about 6 months so that its UVB output is weaker.
Increasing the distance from the light to him will have the same effect as a weaker bulb or even adding an extra layer of screening beneath the light will significantly reduce the amount of UVB that he receives.

So, how do you wash the plants with dish soap and water without tearing up the plant? Leaves are pretty delicate so I imagine it would be kind of difficult to wash them... wouldn't they just rip right off? lol And it would take FOREVER to wash each leaf one by one. How do people normally do this?

I think he is definitely dehydrated because his last couple urates have had an orangeish color to them... I have been spraying the cage really good and he has PLENTY of opportunity to drink but I haven't actually seen him do so in a while. Do I need to syringe it to him or something to make sure he is getting some water?

I haven't been able to get the plants yet but i'm going to do it today and I also went ahead and bought a cool mist humidifier to set up for his enclosure to help get the humidity up. I have a question about the humidifier though... What kind of water should I put in it? Spring, distilled, filtered tap, tap w/ reptile water conditioner?

Now, about the UVB bulb... He absolutely LOVES this thing! lol Seriously, he does everything he can to get as close to it as he can, ALL THE TIME! Is this normal behavior? Considering he is trying SO hard to be close to it, I imagine this couldn't be the problem, could it? Or, does he just not know any better? I'm not sure what to make of it. And the bulb is always at least 6-10 inches away from him, depending on where he is in the enclosure... Is that about how far it should be?

 

[kplatvoet]

I use filtered water because mine gets clogged up -we leave lots of lime in the water I have a filter in my fridge so I fill it from there - I use a Britta knock off for my sprayer- same issue but they hate cold water -

 

[kplatvoet]

I wash my plants by filling a 5 gallon pickle bucket with water and dunking multiple times -i use put weed cloth over the dirt and then rocks so he can't eat dirt . I also re pot with organic soil but my husband grows stuff so its not like I have to buy it .

 

[kplatvoet]

I also put a little dish soap in the bucket - my guy had some orange no matter how hard I tried till he turned about 2 months so just keep up as best you can-

 

[ChamyLove]

I don't keep Jackson chameleon, so i cant answer all your questions, but to catch water, i like to use a large sponge.

 

[amswanton]

I wash my plants by filling a 5 gallon pickle bucket with water and dunking multiple times -i use put weed cloth over the dirt and then rocks so he can't eat dirt . I also re pot with organic soil but my husband grows stuff so its not like I have to buy it.

I also put a little dish soap in the bucket - my guy had some orange no matter how hard I tried till he turned about 2 months so just keep up as best you can-

This sounds like a good idea for cleaning, i'll give it a shot, thanks

Good to know my little cham isn't the only with with the orangeish urate problem... Glad to hear you cham is all better now though

 

[kplatvoet]

My daughter loves the poop report daily on how much orange-we've been good but I've been having trouble with my monsoon mister (if you every buy a auto mister get it from one of the sponsor not a monsoon). I've tried a bunch of feeders the one thing my guy likes is staple flies from mantisplace.com I get 500 at a time I keep the little mesh bag in the fridge and just hatch a few at a time -they don't keep well but shipping is 7 bucks and 500 are 3 dollars. I heard they stay alive for 30 days if you hatch them all but I haven't figured out how to then feed them with out flies escaping so I have a bad hatch rate. The hotter it is the lower the hatch rate so you might have trouble with them .

 

[Lovereps]

How is the little cham doing?
Has he shown any improvement?
Has he become more active?
Eye open more often?


I wash plants in the kitchen sink using the sprayer, so I can get both sides of the leaves without blasting the soil away.


If the urates are fresh and orange, then it is lack of enough water.
The urates can turn orange if they are dried out.
You can use a small dropper and see if he will drink from it but you have to be careful not to drip onto his nostrils, at his young age.

kplatvoet, you're far from alone with the mister experience, which is the reason so many here buy the Mistking or Aquazamp. They cost more but are very reliable.

Is the basking spot 75-80 degrees?
If not, he may be trying to get a little warmer.
Jackson's chams absolutely love to bask.
Typically, they angle themselves and turn darker to ensure maximum absorbtion of the sun's rays.
The bulb might be far enough away to be safe but excessive UV causes eye troubles.
I've been told by a number of people who've bred chams to only use an older 5.0 UVB bulb which is putting out less UVB than a new bulb
Some people put an extra piece of screen in between the bulb and the cage if the bulb is too strong, since the screen blocks some UV from getting through.
Just so you know, you don't want the light to pass through any plastic or glass before reaching him. Both of these absorb the majority of the UVB which makes them useless for reptiles.

 

[kplatvoet]

On misters - both mist king and the aqua one are actually both cheaper- I keep checking to see if there's an update on how he's doing- on orange uraits I didn't mean to imply they were good - just that he should keep trying - I've seen your replies and comments in this and other threds and I know you know your stuff