Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a Jack about 3 months ago from petsmart. To make a long story short, I had the WRONG set-up since I brought him home. It seemed to start after he shed his skin for the first time since Ive had him. Since then, he will not eat on his own, I have been having to open his mouth & feed him. The past couple of days he has become very lethargic. He does not open his eyes except for a few seconds & then he closes them. He does not seem very attentive, as he seems to just grap for something to hold onto instead of looking at what hes grabbing. I put crickets in with him, but they would end up dying on their own. I do have a drip system for his water. I've been feeding him cut up super worms, but like I said, he doesnt eat on his own=( The past week or so, Ive been placing him on a tree in the house, but he doesnt seem to move at all. There are no vets that really know anything about chameleons around here. I REALLY need some help/advice! Thanks in advance!

>> Standard automated response to new forum member:

Please list the entire, exact specs of your setup so we can help you.

You said your setup was all wrong since you brought him home. Is it still wrong? He sounds pretty far gone, but there is always hope. Do you have a vet?

I had him in a 20 gal aqaurium w/ both uva/b flour light & "heat" lamp on top w/ vines & branches to climb on. now I take him out & place him on the tree like I said & put him back in at night..till I can get a screen cage. He seems weak. when he holds onto something, it seems like he doesnt hold on very tight. No vet in the area =(..he does open his eyes, but not like he usta when I first got him.

did you mist him or did you rely totally on the drip system. NEVER BUY A CHAMELEON FROM A CHAIN PET STORE!!! they start off in horrible condition as it is, not to mention all the employees there dont know the first thing about their care.

chameleons prefer fresh air circulation which is not achieved well in a glass tank.

jacksons are from a humid environment, hawaii. they need to be misted generally twice daily to keep proper humidity levels and to keep them well hyrdated. your jacksons sounds pretty far gone, sad to say, try misting him several times daily with luke warm water. dont provide live food as this may stress him out even more. just mist him and make sure to try and keep him well hyrdated.

do not use a heat lamp, it is not necessary for jacksons, so avoid it. the uvb is ok. make sure the cage is clean, and just continue to mist, all you can really do is hope now. but if it has gone for 3 months without regular mistings, and the proper environment, it may just be too late.

on a side note, i did not mean jacksons NEVER need a heat lamp for basking, however, in summer time your home is probably fairly warm, and any additional direct heat may lead to further stress/dehyrdation, so at this time, it is best to avoid it.

Man I hope you get a normal cage for that little guy soon. If you can buy a humidity gage and a thermometer for temperature reading. Jacksons need between 75 and 85 % humidity with a temperature of 72-80 degrees tops. Jacksons like it nice and cool and humid. He might be suffering from dehydration so put him on a tree in the shower and bounce the water off of the walls so it creates a light mist onto the tree. This will most likely get him to drink and get some humidity. Use cool/luke-warm water for this. Hope this helps.

It sounds that you, like many, have been the victim of wrong info from chain petstores.

You do need to tell us the entire setup: what type of lighting, duration? water system, temps, humidity, supplements, type of cage??? Is he in a screen or glass tank?? He needs to be in a screen cage.

BEfore he stopped eating were you gutolading his feeders (feeding the crix fruits, veggies or just some store bought stuff? He may be dehydrated, he may have MBD from improper/lack of supplementation. Too many things for us to speculate so please give us as much info as possible and include a pic of him and setup if you can.

It sounds like he is in pretty rough shape and not having a vet is not a good thing - even if it is to humanely put him down. I have linked you to a listing that might help you out.
herp vets by state

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I try to have the lighting on for no more than 12 hours a day..going to buy a timer today though & try to build a screen cage. Thanks for the doc list, but I'm not close to any of them..seeing how theres only 4 for the state anyways =(

I'll try to get the wife to help me post a pic on the page

Chameleons need to be stimulated to drink in captivity by simulating rainfall, the stimuli in nature. Just having a drip system available does not guarantee a chameleon will drink from it, and most often a chameleon will not seek out water from a localized drip unless it is very thirsty.

Most chameleons respond to being sprayed gently, but heavily with very warm water (it will cool a bit as it passes through the air) that falls on them like rain until they relax, close their eyes and begin lapping motions. At that point the drip system can be positioned so that it drips onto the chameleon's head and runs into the mouth. The chameleon will usually drink deeply for around a minute, but sometimes longer. The flow rate from the drip system should be rapid, approximately 30-40 drops per minute, and the water warm. This procedure must be performed daily. If this method does not work, then the caretaker must find another method that stimulates a drinking response so that the chameleon is OBSERVED drinking a significant amount of water at least every 2 to 3 days. If this does not occur it is likely that kidney failure will be the eventual cause of death. This is the unfortunate fate of more than half of all captive chameleons.

Some of the symptoms associated with kidney failure are anorexia (not eating), lethargy, sunken or closed eyes, and a weak grip, all of which your chameleon is now displaying. If this chameleon has not been ingesting a sufficient quantity of water as described above, then it is likely that this is the primary disease. Kidney failure is always fatal, but the chameleon suffers as the disease progresses from the gradual build-up of uric acid in it's blood that can form painful needle-like deposits in the joints. The chameleon may suffer for several weeks before it finally expires from the combined effects of kidney failure, starvation, and dehydration. A veterinarian can humanely euthanize your chameleon to end it's suffering, and all vets should know how to perform this procedure. If the vet you see needs a consultation, have him or her contact the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian veterinarians at www.arav.org.

Thanks for your input.

if it does not make it, do not feel terribly bad about what happened, it really isn't entirely your fault, although you should have done more research before or shortly after the purchase to get a better understanding, i blame pet store chains like pets mart that are out to make a buck without any concern of the animals well being, they misinformed you and sent you home with little to no info, and unfortunately this is the side effect.

should you decide to stick with chams, i strongly recommed veileds, they are much easier on care, and you can find many very nice captive bred species from independent breeders that will tell you EXACTLY what you need to know to keep them successfully.

Im sad to say, that he did in fact die tonight =(
I did buy it from Petsmart & the fact sheet that they gave me was half-a-page long with big spaces between lines. I was told that jacks were the hardiest of chams. I dont blame them totally of course, but a big portion of blame I feel goes to them. I feel disgusted with myself & about the whole thing. I would indeed like to get another cham in the future, but I will DEF. do more research next time.