Is my Jackson Stressed?

hmmm ... hi everyone i just got my jacksons-xantholophus chameleon... he seems stressed ... i put him in a secluded area and i try not to walk by him unless its for feeding ... this is our first chameleon so im not too sure what a stressed chameleon looks like ... most of the time he looks like the pic below .. occasionally he'll turn pretty brown though ... he's been eating 2-3 crickets a day... and i try my best to keep it humid and comfy for him ... his new screen cage comes in tomm ... does neone have any suggestions about what to do to make him comfy?? im also not sure how old he is ... he has small horns n the pic is about his actual size ...they didnt tell me at the reptile show ... he's so cool i just want him to be happy!! anyways thanks a bunch!!

horney... shh hes sleeping

can you tell me what u have in his cage? do you have a uvb bulb for him? what supliments u give him? can he eat more that 3 crickets a day? or u just dont give him more?
and when did you get him?

i just got him this week ... he just doesnt eat more than 3 a day ...they're gut loaded and they're pretty big... i give him more but he wont eat it until the next day or i'll just take them out so that they dont bug him ... his setup is coming tomm morning so for now i try to expose him to sunlight ... i do have some lighting for heat tho... and ive been misting and dripping water for him so that he is hydrated ... im getting my cage, the uvb setup, vitamins, and some live plants ... hopefully that will help him be less stressed ... thanks for the help!

The screen cage will help a ton and proper UVB as well, he shoudl be eating more thatn that though, how old is he?

My adult male east a doz a day but he is very large

You may also want to have the vet do a fecal for you to make sure he is parasite free.

Screen cage, UVB, humidity, I haev 2 habba misters both set at 1 minute every hour so he us getting 2 mins every hour of misting, I also drip for 8 minutes am and pm.

He shoul dbe a brite greenish, to bluish but with some yellow, never browish

The brown you mentioned makes me think he could be in a glass cage freaking out about his own reflection thikning another male is reight in front of him and his territory

i'm not too sure how old he is but he's pretty small ... nowhere near full grown ... his horns are pretty tiny too i dont know if that has anything to do with age though ... hes in a little screen enclosure right now ... theres nothing to see his reflection in ... he hasn't been green ... not all green at least ... hes been tinted yellow ... is he supposed to be all green ... even at a young age?heres a picture of him sleeping... thanks for the suggestions....

Originally posted by babixruckus
i'm not too sure how old he is but he's pretty small ... nowhere near full grown ... his horns are pretty tiny too i dont know if that has anything to do with age though ... hes in a little screen enclosure right now ... theres nothing to see his reflection in ... he hasn't been green ... not all green at least ... hes been tinted yellow ... is he supposed to be all green ... even at a young age?heres a picture of him sleeping... thanks for the suggestions....

Younger chams are often darker and they color up with age, he does look pretty young 4-6 months Id guess

Sicne he is not in glass and you are misting and dripping, it sounds like you are doing all the right things.

When you get the UVb that may help, they do need UVB and a basking area that the UVb will provide

I think he shoudl be eating more, closer to 6-8 crix a day depending on the cricket size, smaller crickets but more of them are actually more beneficail that larger crix and less of them, so try reducing the size of the crix to see if he will eat more.

He looks like he will develop a very nice yellow neck line and aroudn the eyes.

Are the dark areas on his face really there or is that just shadows from the camera?

Look at his stools, the dark part should be completely black and the white pure white, if the white part looks yellowish or the black looks really brown it could mean parasites.

Do you know if he was wild caught or captive born?

he's pretty young. Not an adult by any means and quite honestly he doesn't look good. Your best bet would be a trip to the vet for a fecal and a check on the side of his face. This can't be a dog vet either, it has to be an experienced reptile vet or you are just wasting your money.

Give us an idea of the temps, humidity and lighting and maybe we can offer some advice. Good luck.

he was captive born ... i didnt notice that dark spot on his face until i took that picture ... ive been a bit concerned about it but i can't find anything that looks similar to that dark spot on his face ... i can't find many reptile vets around here ... anyone know of any? I took that picture the first day i got him ... im going to try and take him to the vet ... hopefully he'll be okai ... the temperature is about 70-80 in the morning and 65 in the evening ... i mist it for humidity ... poor guy ... i hope he'll be healthy soon ...

Im not sure where you are in Oregon or if this list is updated often but here is a good start to finding a reptile vet in your area:


http://www.herpvetconnection.com/oregon.shtml