Possible adoption, does he look healthy to you?

[HouseofZoo]

Well, if everything goes as planned I will be bringing this guy home tomorrow afternoon. I've finished building his 2x2x4 foot cage and I purchased a nice schefflera for him today. Need to make a trip out to find some branches or vines somewhere.

The Reptisun 5.0 is ready to go as is his basking bulb. I'll be diying a dripper for him until we get the cages rearranged and then we will come up with a system that will do both cages at once. Our house gets extremely dry during the winter, so come that time I will need either a misting system or my ultrasonic humidifier running.

I'm hoping the picture sent to me was an old picture. But what do you recommend as far as hydrating him? I know with crested geckos you can give them a sauna. Would this stress a cham out too much? Basically you take a decent sized ziploc container and put some folded paper towels in the bottom and put lukewarm water in the bottom until there is a small flood on top of the towels. Place the gecko in and put the top on with a few holes in it. The idea is to create a sauna.

I also seen the suggestion of silk worms and horn worms, but I'm not sure anyone carries them near me. We of course have Pet Supplies Plus, Petco and Petsmart, but the most I've been able to find at the more owner/operator type stores are supers and, on the rare occasion, dubia. I do have dubia, how are those on moisture? I'm guessing less than a cricket?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Sauna is a bad idea for chameleons specifically - great for other lizards like geckos, but will just stress your cham out really bad. The better option is a warm shower. Put a plant in the shower and aim the shower head at the wall so that the spray just bounces off the wall in a mist toward your cham and the plant. The fine mist stimulates them drink and they will either do it directly, or from the droplets that collect on the plant's leaves. Use barely warm water, not hot!
Disclaimer: some chams freak out in the shower so make sure they won't be able to fall off the plant and hurt themselves.

Silks and hornworms usually need to be ordered online - a lot of the forum sponsors carry them. Don't know anything about dubia because there will be NO roaches in my home!

 

[HouseofZoo]

Don't know anything about dubia because there will be NO roaches in my home!

That made me LOL, I have a whole storage bin full in my front closet breeding away. My beardies love them, but my Jackson just stares at me with this look on his face as if he's saying "Really? You want me to eat what?"

 

[HouseofZoo]

Ok, so no sauna, I'm learning.

I will definitely try the shower though. I believe my fancy shower head has some mist setting that I never use, so I might try that also.

Also, can someone clear up some confusion for me? When sizing feeders and we're talking about the space between the eyes, are we talking the length of the feeder insect or the width (fatness) of the feeder? This even confused me with my beardies, but they're big enough to eat just about everything now.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

That rule is for the length of the feeder. Some of the soft bodied worms are an exception to the rule because they're easier to swallow, but in that case the width should not be bigger than the space. Chams can still choke on things so use your best judgement.

 

[HouseofZoo]

See, I'm clueless, so for like a superworm that's 1-1 1/2 inches this would be too large for him. I only use them as treats really because I know he loves them.

I'm supposed to meet with the people with the cham this afternoon. I'm super duper excited.

 

[joneill]

Please rescue him cos he is only going to deteriorate further in the current owner's care!

 

[HouseofZoo]

Possible Adoption has been Adopted!!!

I knew he was thin, but seeing him in person puts it into perspective. His small 16x16x20 cage reeks of cigarette smoke. They have potting soil in the bottom of the cage, a piece of driftwood, 3-4 small fake bush plants and a dead pot of pothos, well not completely dead, but not alive enough to make any difference whatsoever and everything is dry dry dry.

We immediately took him out and placed in inside of his new schefflera even though we didn't have his cage set up just yet. The schefflera is now in the cage wiht the basking light, reptisun 5.0 and free ranging crickets. I'm going to also hang a cup so he doesn't have to try very hard to eat. When my husband opened the door on his teeny cage and put his hand in the poor thing practically ran out of the cage onto his arm. So sad, even my husband, who hardly ever shows emotion, said "He's that friggin' big and THIS is his cage?"

Pictures will come when he's settled in.

 

[VeiledChams]

You have done a good deed. On behalf of your chameleon, I thank you for doing so. Give him the life he deserves

I knew he was thin, but seeing him in person puts it into perspective. His small 16x16x20 cage reeks of cigarette smoke. They have potting soil in the bottom of the cage, a piece of driftwood, 3-4 small fake bush plants and a dead pot of pothos, well not completely dead, but not alive enough to make any difference whatsoever and everything is dry dry dry.

We immediately took him out and placed in inside of his new schefflera even though we didn't have his cage set up just yet. The schefflera is now in the cage wiht the basking light, reptisun 5.0 and free ranging crickets. I'm going to also hang a cup so he doesn't have to try very hard to eat. When my husband opened the door on his teeny cage and put his hand in the poor thing practically ran out of the cage onto his arm. So sad, even my husband, who hardly ever shows emotion, said "He's that friggin' big and THIS is his cage?"

Pictures will come when he's settled in.

 

[DavidBuchan]

I'm hoping the picture sent to me was an old picture.

Why? It's clearly only going to get worse.........

I knew he was thin, but seeing him in person puts it into perspective. His small 16x16x20 cage reeks of cigarette smoke. ............... "He's that friggin' big and THIS is his cage?"

Pictures will come when he's settled in.

I hope you've got him in time........if the worst happens it's not your fault. Looking forward to seeing what does happen now someone with sense is in charge

 

[HouseofZoo]

Ok, so I took him up to the shower, but before doing so my daughter was kind enough to hold him so I could snap some pictures.

The tip of his tail

The one thing I can say is that he has one helluva grip, so hopefully we got him in time!

 

[jannb]

The very best of luck with him. I'd get a fecal in the next week or two. It's so sad that people can keep an animal that way.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

His limbs look straight so I dont think he has mbd. Which is very common in abused/neglected chams. He just looks like he hasnt seen a dripper or a mister for his entire life. I think he's going to look really good after a few months of tlc & extra hydration. Speaking of which, I'd get him some hornworms asap. He'll probably go crazy for them most chams love them because of their green color. It'll help get him hydrated quicker also.

I totally agree with JannB get a fecal run on him in a few weeks after he's been able to get hydrated and acclimatted to his new cage. He's too dehydrated at the present time anyway to be giving him any meds that could further compromise his kidneys.

Make sure that you quarantine him until after his fecal is done also. You dont want to infect your healthy jacksons if he is carrying anything.

 

[HouseofZoo]

We have his cage decorated now, but it's almost as if he doesn't know what to do with it. He hangs on the wall near the basking lamp despite there being several branches for him to access underneath it. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out if I do say so myself. I'm having trouble catching the water from the dripper in such a large cage though, so I'm gonna have to figure this one out.

I will post some updated pics of him and his cage tomorrow.

I want to thank everyone for the advice and encouragement in helping this guy out. I'm going on a hunt for hornworms tomorrow, if none are found I'll be ordering online, even though shipping may kill me (more than the worms themselves ).

Thanks again everyone, ya'll are truly a helpful bunch!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Glad he's in your caring hands now! I'm sure he will do great for you!

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

You're doing such a great job with him! I cant wait to keep getting updates on his progress! Best of luck!

 

[sdheli420]

you can also use an eye dripper to administer water (if he will take it from you) but ive used it fo dehydraited chams and you can give them a full drink quicker than them lapping it up from leaves..good luck!!!!

 

[HouseofZoo]

I tried the eyedropper method. He took to it a lot easier than my Jackson would have I can tell yah that. He still seems confused about his cage, but he is actually on a branch now. He hasn't been basking though. Here is a pic of his cage setup. Don't mind the crickets, I took them all out. My feeding cup wasn't as secure as I thought it was. REDO!

Any further suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

 

[Trundy]

You have done a good deed. On behalf of your chameleon, I thank you for doing so. Give him the life he deserves

I second this.... Get him hydrated and eating... and for sure get a fecal done... He isn't beyond help.. it's just going to be a long road... but the improvements you see in him , and the enjoyment you will get from seeing him up and healthy will make it all worth it... Please keep us posted... and best of luck...

 

[sdheli420]

cool cool, looks good so far..(maybe add a few more vines...??) but as for the free ranger crix..they only suck if left in there over night..usually during the day they will just hangout by the heat lamp..just take them out before lights off..dooin good!! keep it up, he will love you for it!