Please help

[Lathis]

My parents and sis think its my fault. They think I handled him to much. When I first got him I would pick him up and put him on the edge of the cup to eat. Sometimes he would crawl around on my hand and arm. He never showed stressed colors when he was on my hand though. He always got lighter.

Handling is not what caused this unless he was acccidently squished or injured in some way, so you can stop worrying about that. It really does sound like he ate something he can't digest. It's very sad, but it happens. Baby Jacksons can be rather delicate.

Do you have substrate, like bark or dirt or cocofiber in the bottom of the cage? If so, some chameleons will eat that (either on accident or on purpose) and get blocked up - it's called "impacted".

 

[Aelsar]

No. Just papertowels. He did about a week and a half ago.

 

[Lathis]

That may have been his issue, but that's just a guess on my part. Like I mentioned, baby Jax can be very delicate, and yours is very very young. They are known for high mortality rates for one reason or anther until 4 to 5 months old. I'm really hoping your little guy pulls through

 

[Lathis]

Any update? I worried about your little Jax all night

 

[Aelsar]

He passed... Thanks for all of your support guys. I went up to turn his light off and he was laying in the branches on his side limply. I'm gonna burry him on Monday since there's a tropical storm hitting us this weekend. I wrapped him up and put him in the freezer until then. .

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

I'm so sorry to hear that. It is very tough.

 

[Aelsar]

Thanks... I feel totally unmotivated today.. It'll pass after a while though.... I'm not sure if I should get a new cham in a few weeks or just sell the tank and get a clownfish or something...

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Well marine aquariums are more time consuming, $ consuming and stressful than Chams. I was in the hobby for 10 years before I got out because of the crazy time commitment

 

[Lathis]

Give yourself some time. When you're ready, get a chameleon that is closer to 6-8 months old. They are much hardier at that age and the care is more forgiving. Poor little guy

 

[RobertAbramsky]

Im sooooo sorry to here of his death. He sounded like a great Cham u did a good job with him.

 

[Aelsar]

In a week or two I think I might get a glofish. They're small and cheap. In a month or two, maybe I'll be ready for another cham. Maybe sooner...I don't know. I just buried Tango in my backyard. Thanks for the support everyone. :/

 

[heather89]

I actually had this same situation happen to a cham I had. In case you do get another one and it happens again: I suctioned a fake plant in the shower and ran a warm shower over him for 20 minutes. I did this twice a day for a week (he was really, really dehydrated). Along with this I also would also use qtips to clean the area as best I could and try to stimulate some movement down there. The poor guy was probably 3 months old when it happened. He made it through it, but he got so dehydrated that one eye never healed and he was blind in that eye.

He was my first chameleon and unfortunately I learned a lot of hard lessons with him. My ex actually killed him after he fought for him in the divorce. That was 4 years ago, and it took me a full 4 years to get over the heartache of his death and guilt that it could have been prevented. Don't give up on chams forever, but take some time. Do more research. And like a previous poster said, find an established cham. 6+ months old next time.

 

[bambampa3]

I'm so sorry for your loss...

 

[Aelsar]

Heather89, I'm so sorry about that.

 

[Aelsar]

I have been looking around just for ideas. I found chams that range anywhere from a few months to a year or two. I also considered possibly getting a glofish and getting a cham in a month or two.

 

[heather89]

Heather89, I'm so sorry about that.

Thank you, Aelsar. And I'm so sorry for your loss. Don't get rid of your supplies, but take a little bit to recover. I'm sure you'll be clicking through the classifieds one of these days and see a cham that calls out to you that makes you want to open your heart again.