I think my guy is on his way out...help!

M

mark01

New Member
Hi Folks
First post here, and I'm really glad I found this forum.

I have a flap necked chameleon that I saved from a bird attack.
I've had him for about 6 months.
He is in a ventilated enclosure, with a 10% reptiglo UVB fluorescent tube.
Heating source is a red 75w lamp, that keeps his basking area at about 40C.

In the last week and a half, I've seen him deteriorate. His eyes are sunken, his ribs are visible, he appears to have two bumps over his hind legs near the tail, on either side of the spine.
He hasn't eaten in 4 days, not even moths (his favorite)
His movements are sluggish and very jerky, it looks as though he has no strength.

Any ideas?

Cheers
Mark
 
I think you are keeping this animal WAY too warm!
I would remove the basking light completely and get this guy to drink.
I have no idea what is wrong, how old the animal is ... or for that matter a whole lot about keeping this species ... but I know those temps are wrong.

-Brad

edit: dilepis (although very common in the pet trade) are not particularly easy to care for.

-B.
 
Last edited:
See my response in red

mark01 said:
Hi Folks
First post here, and I'm really glad I found this forum.
Welcome to the forum

I have a flap necked chameleon that I saved from a bird attack.
I've had him for about 6 months.
He is in a ventilated enclosure, with a 10% reptiglo UVB fluorescent tube.
Heating source is a red 75w lamp, that keeps his basking area at about 40C.
40C is about 104 F which is way too hot for flap necked. This temp is even a bit hot for veiled chams. Reduce the heat. you are cooking the poor little fella

In the last week and a half, I've seen him deteriorate. His eyes are sunken, his ribs are visible, he appears to have two bumps over his hind legs near the tail, on either side of the spine.
The 2 bumps are probably the pelvic bones. You need to give him lots of water. a Shower method is probably best.


He hasn't eaten in 4 days, not even moths (his favorite)
His movements are sluggish and very jerky, it looks as though he has no strength.
hope that helps

Cheers
Mark
Click to expand...
 
Welcome to the forum!

You said..."I have a flap necked chameleon that I saved from a bird attack"...I'm assuming you are in Africa then?

Can you post a picture please?

Do you know if its a male for sure?

Have you been feeding it WC insects?

Does it bask? What part of the cage does it sit in most (temperature-wise)?

Do you have a substrate in the cage?
 
Yea, I would like to see some pics too. I think its cool how this forum has people from all over the world.
 
Hi Folks

Yip, sunny South Africa
My replies in red

Welcome to the forum!

You said..."I have a flap necked chameleon that I saved from a bird attack"...I'm assuming you are in Africa then?

Can you post a picture please?
The only pic I have now is on my avatar, I'll take a few more this evening.

Do you know if its a male for sure?
He has spurs on the hind legs, so I'm pretty sure.

Have you been feeding it WC insects?
I don't know what WC insects are (wild caught?) He eats pet shop bred crickets, and moths caught in the bush (no pesticides)

Does it bask? What part of the cage does it sit in most (temperature-wise)?
He usually sits in the warmest part of the cage, close to the heating lamp. I'll take pics of the cage too.

Do you have a substrate in the cage?
A removable plywood floor, that I take out once a week to clean.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the advice/questions/replies.

I showered him with warm water last night, and this morning. I try and take the entire cage outside 2-3 times per week for natural sunlight.
 
Lucky you...sunny and warm in South Africa! We've had about 45 cm of snow in the last week! The piles at the side of the driveway are over 3' high...and its -17C tonight! Great weather for chameleons!

You said..."The only pic I have now is on my avatar, I'll take a few more this evening"...okay.

You said..."He has spurs on the hind legs, so I'm pretty sure"...its got to be a male then. I wanted to rule out that it was a female with eggs in her.

You said..."I don't know what WC insects are (wild caught?) He eats pet shop bred crickets, and moths caught in the bush (no pesticides)"...yup, WC=wild caught.

You said..."He usually sits in the warmest part of the cage, close to the heating lamp. I'll take pics of the cage too"...just wanted to make sure he was basking.

You said..."A removable plywood floor, that I take out once a week to clean"...again, just trying to rule things out.

You said..."I showered him with warm water last night, and this morning. I try and take the entire cage outside 2-3 times per week for natural sunlight"...so if there is no glass or plastic between him and the sun, he's getting enough sun to produce the D3 he needs. Are you dusting the insects with a phosphorous-free calcium powder? Do you feed the insects a nutritious diet?

How do you provide water for him? Do you see him drink?

Can you take him to a vets?
 
so if there is no glass or plastic between him and the sun, he's getting enough sun to produce the D3 he needs. Are you dusting the insects with a phosphorous-free calcium powder? Do you feed the insects a nutritious diet?

There is no glass or plastic, the enclosure is netted. The calcium powder for the insects is an imported calcium sold from a pet shop. Insects are fed on fish food flakes, fruit and vegetables.

How do you provide water for him? Do you see him drink?
He has an "exoterra" water feature in the cage, which I change water with filtered water twice a week. I've only seen him on the waterfeature twice, so I assume he knows where it is. He also occasionally drinks from the mister I use when I shower the plants in his cage.

Can you take him to a vets?
There are no herp specialists in my area, so I'm going to have to try and sort him out myself.
 
See my response in black :)
mark01 said:
There is no glass or plastic, the enclosure is netted. The calcium powder for the insects is an imported calcium sold from a pet shop. Insects are fed on fish food flakes, fruit and vegetables.
You might want to avoid feeding your insect fish food flakes. a high protein diet for your chameleon can increase the risk of him getting gout.

He has an "exoterra" water feature in the cage, which I change water with filtered water twice a week. I've only seen him on the waterfeature twice, so I assume he knows where it is. He also occasionally drinks from the mister I use when I shower the plants in his cage.
You say you put a waterfall in there? This might be another problematic thing in your enclosure. Chameleon does not like drinking from standing water. That is why he drink from the mister when you shower his cage. How often you mist? Providing that he only drink when you mist, that might be the problem. You are not providing him enough water to drink. you need to put a dripper there and take the waterfall out of the cage. They are notorious in breeding bacteria. Personally, twice a week might not be enough. Does your chameleon love to poop in there?

So, waterfall is a big waste of time. Chameleon just won't naturally drink from it.
Click to expand...
 
I'll try a drip system next. I thought the waterfall was fine, as it is constantly moving water, with pump and everything. The picture on the waterfall box even had a chameleon on it.
 

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mark01 said:
I'll try a drip system next. I thought the waterfall was fine, as it is constantly moving water, with pump and everything. The picture on the waterfall box even had a chameleon on it.
Click to expand...

i think it's pretty safe to say that people in this forum does not recommend waterfall.
your chameleon seems malnourished too.

Is that a pelvic bone protruding?
how his diet routine goes?
 
Thats the problem, up until a couple of weeks ago, he was a happy, healthy chameleon. In previous post on this thread, he eats crickets and moths.
Nothing has changed in his environment.
He has eaten a couple of crickets in the past couple of days, but he's still not doing to well.
 
how long has he not been eating?
Is his belly bloated?

If he still eating, then I will give him as much food as he wants to eat.
Definitely increase your misting sessions and give him water dripper so he can drink whenever he wants to.
 
Hi Folks

I think I have it figured. I think he's constipated. I took a close look at him this morning, and saw he had poo over his vent.

I took a cotton swab with warm water and cleaned him up, so hopefully he will have a poo today. If not, can I let him bath in warm water?
 
what do you mean by bath you dont want it to drown unlees your talking about a shower what was it you were talking about?
 
You can let him bathe in warm water.
I would check the vent as well as possible. Make sure there is nothing visibly clogging it like backed up sperm plugs.

-Brad
 
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