VERY worried owner!!

BobbyCham

New Member
Hi guys,
Im new here so firstly hello :)!

Im hoping you can give me some advice, Ive been having a problem with my male panther chameleon bobby. He's 15months old and I've had him since he was 3months old. He's always been a friendly, confident, inquisitive and all round beautiful happy boy... but over the last two months he's lost a lot of his colour and turned to a dull drab dusty colouring. He's recently shed and still hasn't brightened up. He's become uninterested in life and miserable not aggressive just as if he's bored. He has been eating fine although can be fussy at times but has never been a problem. Ever since I've had him he has never been as regular as he should be with passing his waste. When he was young he would go around every 7-10 days, as he's got older its become every 2-3 weeks but now he hasn't been in around a month! I have taken him to the vets a few weeks ago because of worrying about this and the vet said he was healthy and she didn't know what was wrong with him and even put it down to being separated from me while i had been away and he was cared for by well informed attentive family. I asked about parasites as she didn't mention them, Im an animal biologist so am confident in my knowledge on his care so enquired about a fecal examination, so she gave me a small tube for when he goes but I'm still waiting. Ive tried showers, warm baths, wetter feeders added to his diet, extra hydration everything i could find online and still nothing... Ive also noticed him chewing on his vines although I haven't found anything on this behaviour being abnormal... He hasn't ingested any of these as they are solid he just bites them. He doesnt have substrate or anything loose in his enclosure to risk him swallowing anything just a sheet of reptile carpet to hold some moisture. He has a large mesh cage and also a free range in his own room away from high traffic which has appropriate lighting also mounted on the walls. He has also had a full new set of bulbs to ensure it wasn't down to them being old (replaced every 6months). I even increased the wattage of his heat bulb to encourage him to go (This isn't too hot and placed far enough away so he doesn't burn himself) he has Exo Terra Repti Glo 5.0 Tube UVB light and exo terra sunglo basking lamp. He is fed on a mix of wax worms (treats), wax worm moths, locusts, crickets and silk worms. He has a routine of calcium daily, D3 twice a month and a multi vit twice a month (all exo terra brand) he drinks from a hand dropper which i give him at least three times a day, he's misted daily and also has a dropper dripping in his cage for humidity and hydration. His ambient temperature is around 25 degrees with highs in his basking lamp up to 30 depending on which branch he lounges on and a cooler side to retreat to if he gets too warm. His humidity ranges from 40-70% depending on the time from misting. He doesn't have a heat source at night as the room temperature doesn't drop too low, I have a digital thermo/humidity recorder which tells me the highs and lows as well as the current of that day. It is not unusual for him to wonder over to you if he's out to climb on you, if you go close to his free range he will make every effort to grab you. He isn't forced into being handled unless necessary but he does like to grab you and sit on your shoulder... Think he reckons I'm a wax worm dispensary ;).

Im really stumped at what could be going wrong and hope you can give me some insight. This little man means a lot to me and I just want him to be happy and healthy.

Sorry about the huge amount of writing I was trying to include every little detail about him and his care as I could.
Many thanks.
 
Hmm. I've read this twice and still can't find anything to cause the changes that you mention. The only thing I can think about trying would be to change the layout and plants in his cage - kind of redecorating if you will. Maybe that type of change will be enough to get him out of his funk until you can get a fecal sample from him. Also, maybe consider moving the free range to a little more high traffic area, or opening the window blinds for him to look out. Really, anything to change up his daily routine of what he sees. Good luck and hopefully someone else saw something in there that I didn't and has some better advice.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read my post :).

I changed up his enclosure and view and have taken to doing my work in his room. Still no sample from him but will persevere with his warm baths and showers. I have been reading up and starting to get worried about impaction... Although theres nothing for him to of swallowed, is it possible there may be a blockage anyway?

Really unsure what I can do to help him next :(.
 
Keep up with the warm mistings and make sure he gets plenty of hydration for him to deficate. Hornworms do wonders for fecal movements
 
Update: today was the day! he finally went. The appearance wasn't as bad as expected although the urate had solidified... I'm thinking this could be due to the urate being held inside the body too long and moisture being absorbed out of it because hes always been well hydrated so can't imagine that being the issue. The fecal sample has been packed up and ready for examination, fingers crossed for the results :). He seems to be back to his usual self instantly... A lot of hair pulling for me this morning ;).

Thank you for the support and advice!
 
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