Xantholophus Jackson's Horn Development & Weight

[TCMontium]

I have a male Trioceros jacksonii xantholophus for a year. When I bought him he was 8 grams and had very weird shaped horns. I could not learn how old he was but I guess he was approx. 6 months old back then. I guessed it from how small he was when I bought him.
Now, after a year with me he is 28-30 grams and his total body length without middle horn (from nose to tail tip) is 8,3 inches (21 cm). His horns (mostly middle horn) grew 0,6 inches (1,5 cm) straight. The tips of horns are still in the same shape though.

He stayed at 28-30 grams for a couple months. He does not eat much like panthers and I never see him basking under 25 watt basking bulb. Sometimes stays right under the ReptiSun T5 HO 5.0 UVB fluorescent (It gives him enough heat I guess?).

I want to know if his development is good. Is he smaller then a 1,5 years old male xantholophus should be? Are his horns too short? If there is a problem then what can be the cause of it?


When I bought him:

Now:

 

[Lathis]

Yes, he is very small, but he doesn't look gaunt. Are you sure about his age? 8g seems more like what he should weigh at 2 or 3 months. At 7 months, my Jax was 20g. I think my Jax is a bit on the small side for an adult male, and he is about 65g when healthy. Jacksons are not gobblers like panthers and veileds. What do you feed him, how much, and how often? What is your supplement schedule?

He does have derpy horns but that could be for any number of reasons, including damage from when he was very little. I sort of wonder, based on the quality of the horn growth since you have had him (in the second two photos) if he was malnourished as a baby. You can literally see the day you purchased him in the shape and size of the horns...

Have you had a fecal check for parasites? That could stunt growth, too.

 

[TCMontium]

I am not sure about his age. I just guessed it. He looked too big to me to be younger than 6 months old. Could he be younger or was he just too skinny?

I feed him 1-1,5 inches Locusta migratoria. They are as big as adult crickets I guess. He eats 1-2 locusts 3-4 days a week. He eats 3 somedays. Half of them are calcium dusted (Zoomed). I also give calcium with D3 (Zoomed) once every 3-4 weeks and Rep-Cal multivitamin once every 3-4 weeks, not in the same week of course.

He comes from disastrous European reptile whole-sellers or somewhere like that so I would not be surprised if he was malnourished. Every 1 of 3 reptiles coming from Europe to Turkey have health problems.
I never had a check for anything. There is no reptile vets in Turkey. But I wonder if even a dog&cat vet can check chameleon feces for parasites? Does the vet need to have knowledge about reptiles?

 

[Lathis]

He does look about 6 months old in the photo. I wouldn't guess any younger based on the length of his horns. A cat and dog vet should be able to do fecal check for parasites. It's the same process and usually similar medicines at a different dose. They should just need fresh feces. Most vets learn at least the basics about reptiles in school - you might look for a vet that specializes in birds and talk to them.

 

[TCMontium]

Thanks, I will try to find a good vet and check some feces then.