My Early Birthday Gift

More bad News

Speedy died, he was alright 15 minutes ago, walking, eating. He died as i went to mist, i saw him turn pale immediatly and just............ one night before his first visit to the vet, i believe this is a sign, that i should only have had one jackson. Yang is still eating, moving, drinking. I think he was stressed by my Mom, he loved me. And if my mom is stressing them, i guess she shouldnt be allowed in my room. I buried Speedy next to Ying, and tommorrow i guess i'll go and buy some chameleon or related statue for their grave..

 

Did you house Speedy with Yang ? as I said before Chameleons eat and act normal even when near death, they hide illness very well to the point where its to late to get them help, so you have to be careful and watch for anything that might seem odd, it probably wasnt your mom making them hiss, they are probably really stressed out.

I am so sorry to hear about Speedy, poor little thing, hope Yang carries on doing well for you, I know your doing what you can, and its good that you where willing to look after all these little guys, but they would of needed to be housed seperately and out of sight of each other, but now you have Yang I would isolate him from your water dragon and leave him alone to settle in, good luck and keep us posted, would love to hear how Yang does.

 

I am so sorry and upset to hear of your second loss. Don't blame yourself - I'm sure there's nothing you could have done,. you did your best taking them in to start with. If it's a sign of anything, it's a sign that the breeder or pet store didn't care for them as well as they should have done. So many of a clutch may not make it to hatching or may die after coming out of the egg, but these losses should be a minimum, and since chams lay so many eggs I'm guessing that the few survivors were lucky.

Do your best for Yang, as you did for the others, and hopefully this one will make it for you. Well done for doing what you could for Speedy and Ying, it just wasn't meant to be. They will be well remembered I'm sure, and just think of them over that rainbow bridge, happy and peaceful now they are at rest.

Keep smiling.

 

The story so far...

Yang, he is the sole survivor, his entire family separated and dead. (I've taken care of his mother and father, they were both bought soon after the birth of them all) he will survive, he's eating, and seems to be comfortable with his vivarium. (He only climbs on the sides, not the branchs, unless hunting and looking for water) He loves me, he come to my hand at first sight, and his passion for climbing and hunting thrills me. He's doing okay, i think hes started to try to match the color of my room (Mint green) I hope thats okay. Heres only one question i have left, will a 30 gallon chameleon cage be able to keep him for life? I was wondering because i was thinking of buying him a cages by design custom cage.

 

We don't really work in gallons over here - can you give me the measurements of the cage?

Well done again on all your hard work, and good luck with Yang. His story is a sad one, but at least he is a fighter and a survivor. I hope he stays in your care for many healthy happy years to come.

 

I dont have a ruler present, but i'll estimate,

2 feet from top to bottom
1 foot and a half width
And 2 feet length-wise.

 

I have a 2' Meller Cham... and I'm currently building him a 5.3'x28"x30"... I hope it works... Good luck there Bill... That ****s really bad. Happy Birthday by the way... How old did you turn? And did you take a look at that caresheet I found?

 

Bill, you will need a cage bigger than that, preferably made out of mesh,. for our veiled cham (when we get it!) we have an aluminium mesh cage that measures 2'x2' x 3' (floor x height), but bigger is even better. I know Donna (aka. Steel Rip) has a cage for hers that measure 2'x2' x 4'.

 

I have found out Yangs secret to survival. He has two sides, gentle little jackson chameleon, and the vile, mean, and harsh dominant one. I couldnt spot him in the cage, so i put my finger in, and then he puffed up his chin gave me a mean look, then *chomp* It didnt hurt, hes so tiny that i didnt feel anything. I still havent gotten a reall measurement on the cage, but i didnt ask something that i knew i'd need to ask. How big will be get? cause if hes this mean and dominant imagine a giant version of that chomp.

 

Awww, I think you must of just startled him and thats why he bit you, mine puffs his beard out and blows all his body up sometimes if im messing in his cage, I think its if I take him by surprize, they can look pretty mean huh, yet other times i can do what I want in his cage and he doesnt bother him

Chameleons are more of a look at lizard than handling, you probable want to leave handling to when just cleaning out his cage, as they dont like it at all, some will tolerate it but they still dont like it, maybe if he continues to be grumpy, when he is bigger just leave him to get on with things, and admire him from his cage, Im so glad he is doing well for you, keep us updated on his progress plzz, would love to know how he is getting along, and would love some pictures

 

I'm sure he won't continue to be aggressive - he is still young and settling in,. he needs time to adjust to his new home. Even though he has been with you for a few? weeks he is still getting used to everything. Also, imagine something in size comparison of you to him approaching you.. scary huh! He is still getting used to you as well, and still learning to trust you. As with all animals you need to gain his trust and that will take time.. have you tried giving him some of his favourite foods from tweezers? Try offering him a wax worm or something similar,. hoepfully he should learn that you are the nice person who feeds him, not someone who will hurt him.

When you are around him or his enclosure, move slowly, and don't create too much noise, as this will frighten him and that will only make the adjustment period longer.

Chams grow quite sizeable,. I'm not sure on the actual size of an adult Jacksons, but body size is around a foot in length?? The recommended cage size for one adult is 3-4ft in height and 2' x 2' floor space.

Hope this helps,. and Bill, we are still waiting for pictures of Yang!!!

 

I've been watching him, and i have recorded everything he does in a day.
6:20 am- Wakes up, drinks from dripping water

10:30 am- Eats, drinks, hangs out

2:45 pm- Drinks, poops, walks up side down

6:50 pm- Still upside down

9:30 pm- Sideways, eating,

10:30 pm- On a branch, drinking, giving me looks and pooing

Pretty boring, but to him, it must be the time of his life.

 

Poop is a GOOD thing!!

 

It's nice to see that your cham is doing better!! I'm happy for you and him! good job! we want pictures though!