I live in Hawaii, where Jackson's Chameleons thrive in the wild. Someone thought it would be a good idea to drop off a male and female for my twin three-year-old boys to have as pets (I think the C.j. xantholophus subtype but don't quote me on it). Obviously they cannot take care of chams, so I have taken on that role. I never planned to have them or wanted them, but since we got them about three months ago, my maternal instincts have set in and I spend a lot of time tending to them -- which is huge since I am completely scared (like panic attack) about geckos.
So the boy is Mickey and the girl is Minnie (my kids named them haha). No idea how old they are, but Minnie had nine babies about three weeks ago. We were on vacation -- my mom took care of them for about a week and then released them in the wild because we couldn't find anyone to take them (not even pet stores) since they are a dime a dozen around here.
They seemed okay -- Minnie was initially really brown (they were in the same cage), but after they were separated, she seemed good. Mickey has always eaten well, Minnie not so much but improved after introducing mealworms and now eats pretty good, too. She had an abscess that the vet drained. She is on antibiotics. Since then, she has not been eating though. She still drinks water (but not as much as before). I am worried about both of them because although they are still active, Minnie stays hidden in the branches all the time and Mickey is rubbing his eye against the side of the cage! What the heck is that all about? It's very disturbing, as I think he's gonna gauge his eye out. I only saw him doing it once, but that was enough for me to freak out. The vet said I need to do some bugcatching in the yard to vary their diet more, but other than that, I have no idea what to do.
Any advice you have would be helpful. Thanks.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Aluminum with PVC green bottom. 24"L x 16"W x 30"H. Here is the link: http://chameleonsonly.com/Screen-Enclosures.htm
Lighting - They live outside in our backyard. They are against the wall of the garage and under an eave so they don't get rained on directly. I take them into the yard for direct sunlight exposure in the early morning hours for about 2 hours. They seem to really like it.
Temperature - I do not measure temps. But if they survive less than a mile away from our house in the wild, my guess is that the temps are okay.
Humidity - I think the average humidity here is around 65-75%, depending on the "season".
Plants - Each cage has a ficus benjamina, curly ficus, and hibiscus plant in it.
Placement - They are sitting at ground level under an eave next to the garage (which fronts our backyard). There really is only activity around them if we are having an outdoor dinner party or if the boys are playing in that area, which isn't often.
Location - Honolulu
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - I think they are C.j. xantholophus. No idea how old they are, but we have had them for a little less than three months.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Never. The only time they are touched is when we took Minnie to the vet and when my husband gives her the antibiotics twice a day. I am scared to touch them!
Feeding - They eat crickets and mealworms. I am trying to get silkworms but they are really hard to get around here. I put about 4-5 crickets in the cage each day. I think I am gutloading them -- if that means that I feed the crickets stuff like potato, cabbage, lettuce, carrot, apple, etc.
Supplements - I dust them with reptivite.
Watering - Since they are in the yard, I just bought a nozzle for the hose and put it on a really fine mist and hold that over both cages. The aluminum screen catches some of it and creates drips. Otherwise, the mist goes in through the fine mesh. I water for about 10 min, 3x/day. I can see them drinking, although sometimes it takes Minnie awhile to engage.
Fecal Description - Dark brown cocoon-looking poop that sometimes looks a little stringy when it starts to get old. White stuff, too -- I think that is the urates? They have not been tested -- the vet didn't ask to do it either.
History - No idea.
Current Problem - Mostly that I don't know what I'm doing and if they are okay. How long can they go without eating? Drinking? My husband said when he gave Minnie the antibiotics this morning, she had cotton mouth and it seemed stringy-like. But then I saw her drinking water today (although less than usual). She did eat about 5 mealworms so her tongue is extending fine. Mickey has that eye-rubbing issue and seems to have a tiny black mark on the bottom of his mouth.
Here are some pics. I hope I can upload them correctly....
When we first got them. Note: they are in a homemade cage and NOT the cages they live in now.
When Minnie got her owie (yes, I have three-year-olds haha):
These are from today:
(She opened her mouth at me after I took this so I stopped. I also suck as a photographer because I don't know how to make my camera focus on the subject and not on the cage!)
So the boy is Mickey and the girl is Minnie (my kids named them haha). No idea how old they are, but Minnie had nine babies about three weeks ago. We were on vacation -- my mom took care of them for about a week and then released them in the wild because we couldn't find anyone to take them (not even pet stores) since they are a dime a dozen around here.
They seemed okay -- Minnie was initially really brown (they were in the same cage), but after they were separated, she seemed good. Mickey has always eaten well, Minnie not so much but improved after introducing mealworms and now eats pretty good, too. She had an abscess that the vet drained. She is on antibiotics. Since then, she has not been eating though. She still drinks water (but not as much as before). I am worried about both of them because although they are still active, Minnie stays hidden in the branches all the time and Mickey is rubbing his eye against the side of the cage! What the heck is that all about? It's very disturbing, as I think he's gonna gauge his eye out. I only saw him doing it once, but that was enough for me to freak out. The vet said I need to do some bugcatching in the yard to vary their diet more, but other than that, I have no idea what to do.
Any advice you have would be helpful. Thanks.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Aluminum with PVC green bottom. 24"L x 16"W x 30"H. Here is the link: http://chameleonsonly.com/Screen-Enclosures.htm
Lighting - They live outside in our backyard. They are against the wall of the garage and under an eave so they don't get rained on directly. I take them into the yard for direct sunlight exposure in the early morning hours for about 2 hours. They seem to really like it.
Temperature - I do not measure temps. But if they survive less than a mile away from our house in the wild, my guess is that the temps are okay.
Humidity - I think the average humidity here is around 65-75%, depending on the "season".
Plants - Each cage has a ficus benjamina, curly ficus, and hibiscus plant in it.
Placement - They are sitting at ground level under an eave next to the garage (which fronts our backyard). There really is only activity around them if we are having an outdoor dinner party or if the boys are playing in that area, which isn't often.
Location - Honolulu
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - I think they are C.j. xantholophus. No idea how old they are, but we have had them for a little less than three months.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Never. The only time they are touched is when we took Minnie to the vet and when my husband gives her the antibiotics twice a day. I am scared to touch them!
Feeding - They eat crickets and mealworms. I am trying to get silkworms but they are really hard to get around here. I put about 4-5 crickets in the cage each day. I think I am gutloading them -- if that means that I feed the crickets stuff like potato, cabbage, lettuce, carrot, apple, etc.
Supplements - I dust them with reptivite.
Watering - Since they are in the yard, I just bought a nozzle for the hose and put it on a really fine mist and hold that over both cages. The aluminum screen catches some of it and creates drips. Otherwise, the mist goes in through the fine mesh. I water for about 10 min, 3x/day. I can see them drinking, although sometimes it takes Minnie awhile to engage.
Fecal Description - Dark brown cocoon-looking poop that sometimes looks a little stringy when it starts to get old. White stuff, too -- I think that is the urates? They have not been tested -- the vet didn't ask to do it either.
History - No idea.
Current Problem - Mostly that I don't know what I'm doing and if they are okay. How long can they go without eating? Drinking? My husband said when he gave Minnie the antibiotics this morning, she had cotton mouth and it seemed stringy-like. But then I saw her drinking water today (although less than usual). She did eat about 5 mealworms so her tongue is extending fine. Mickey has that eye-rubbing issue and seems to have a tiny black mark on the bottom of his mouth.
Here are some pics. I hope I can upload them correctly....
When we first got them. Note: they are in a homemade cage and NOT the cages they live in now.
When Minnie got her owie (yes, I have three-year-olds haha):
These are from today:
(She opened her mouth at me after I took this so I stopped. I also suck as a photographer because I don't know how to make my camera focus on the subject and not on the cage!)
