Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am a new cham. owner, and am just learning how to care for him. when we got him the guy said he was the easiest cham he ever had... well now that i brought him home, he is not eating and is getting skinny when before he was kinda fat... he isnt as active as he was before, and i am really nervous he is going to die... i love him so much, i would hate to lose him.
he has been being fed crickets, we have a drip system for him that runs all day.. the heat stays around 70 drgrees, and he has a UV light, to all my knowledge those are the essentials... if there is anything you have to offer me,,, please post, im begging you, i will be heart broken if he dies... thanks everyone

HI THERE, THE TEMPS SEEM A LITTLE LOW WITH MY JACKSONS I HAVE AN AMBIENT TEMP OF ABOUT 77 AND A BASKING SPOT OF ANYWHERE OF 80 TO 8. I USE A 60 WATT LIGHT BULB FOR THAT. ARE YOU MISTING HIM AS WELL? I MIST MY A LEAST 3 TIMES A DAY. AND THE UV IS ON FOR 12 HOURS. DO YOU HAVE HIM IN A SCREEN CAGE? GOOD LUCK MATT

I know i have to work on the heat thing, i got a new light, with heat and Uv, so im hoping that will help. I do mist him 3 times a day, and he has the drip system all day long and the UV light is on at least 12 hours a day. and i had a screen cage for him the whole time, i just cant figure out what im doing wrong, i think for some reson he doesnt like the crickets, because he is all of a sudden so skinny, so we r going to get some new foods today.... thanks for your help, if u have any more suggestions, please post

When you say new light with heat and UV, are you referring to a Mercury Vapor Bulb (powersun, etc.?) If so, depending on the size of your enclosure, and the fact that you have a young Jackson's - that will produce way too much heat unless it is quite a distance from the cage. I woould just get a stronger incandescent that you are using, or GE makes a small 60w halogen (Edison series) that puts off a fair amount of heat as well as nice light.

some people get confused with that one...
Also, have you taken him to the vet? he may have picked up parasites from his food... and did you say you dusted the crickets? how often & with what?
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0.2 Vacationing Kitties (Puddy, PeeWee)
1.1 Veiled Chameleons (Charlie & Emma)
0.1 Collard Lizard (Jimmie)
0.1 Leopard Gecko (Lily)
0.0.1 AWOL Leopard Gecko (Eddie)
1.0 AWOL Kitty (Mikey)
0.7 Guardian Angel Puppies (Sandy, Floppy, Lily, Crash, Tigger, Lady, Lassie)
0.1 Amazing Fiance =o)

I only put the power sun light on him for a few hours, he was really cold, even though it wasnt cold in the room, it worked, he warmed up and i took the light off him, he is doing much better,,, esppecially after i increased the heat in the room... i also got him some wax worms and some meal worms... he hasnt seemed to figure out what to do with them, but ill give him some time... the meal worms eat the cricket water stuff, but im not sure if thats ok for the wax worms... Thank you so much matt, i was really scared i was going to lose Indi. Alainna =)

you are vey welcome.do not over do it with the wax worms i only offer them as a treat once in awhile matt

JUST WANTED TO MAKE A CHANGE THAT WAS A BASKING SPOT OF 85 DEGRESS. IF YOUR CHAM IS NOT EATING THE CRICKETS OFFER HIM SOME OTHER THINGS SUPERS,SILKWORMS,WAXWORMS(ONLY AS TREATS) AND MEALWORMS.MY JACKSON GETS TIRED OF CRICKETS FROM TIME TO TIME.

A couple other "essentials" for you. Make sure there is a temp drop of at least 15 degrees at night. Unless your room gets down below 60 F at night there should be no heat or lights on the cage (chams can see the color spectrum so they will be kept awake). What is your humidity level? You should keep track of it carefully with an electronic hygrometer. Even with drippers and spraying you may be surprised at how dry the cage gets especially in our winter when our houses are heated. You may find you need a cycling room humidifier aimed at his cage to keep it in the proper range. 50% humidity is too low. Make sure there are places in the cage for him to get out of the PowerSun light if he needs to. Using lots of live plants will help humidify the cage too. He may have been showing the combined stresses of the move to a new home, changes in cage setup etc. and started to go downhill. If you can, check back with the guy who sold him to you to see if the setups are really different.