6 Mo. Female Veiled Chameleon Sick? Any tips or advice would be helpful.

vraspo

Member
Hey Everybody,



My girlfriend and I got out first veiled Chameleon about a month or so ago from a local pet store as she has always wanted a lizard. The store told us she was around 6 mo. and not to worry about egg laying for a while. We got her the ZooMed mesh cash and I would say about two weeks into having her she started dropping eggs. So I went and got her an egg laying bin of sand and she laid eggs in there. I removed it and last week my girlfriend and I noticed she was digging again into the substrate. After about one or two days, she stopped and returned to her branch. She started wheezing on the weekend - just opening her mouth and flaring her beard and making a little wheeze sound. My girlfriend left out of town so I moved her terrarium to my apartment. The first day (Sunday) she was super active and moving around and seemed great, wasn't wheezing really and ate all her crickets and sipped on lots of water. Yesterday, she wasn't eating her crickets and started to act a little funny and today I found her with one arm dangling off, eyes closing a lot during the day, and seemingly very sluggish and slow. The crickets just go all around her and she doesn't do anything. She then slowly descended to the bottom and has been resting on a bottom branch for about one or two hours now. I have scheduled a vet appointment for tomorrow at 330pm with a local vet. who apparently sees Chameleons so I am hoping for the best. I am super worried and upset and am wondering if there is anything I can do right now to help her or if I should just be patient till tomorrow? Below is some information and pictures of her:

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon: Female Veiled Chameleon, 6 mo. estimated by pet store

Handling: 2-3 times a week, will take on a walk in the sun.

Feeding: Mostly mealworms dusted in Calcium w D3 (I have been reading I should get without D3? Why is this?), though I recently got crickets again to try out as I felt she needed more than just worms.

Supplements: Reptivile Vitamin Powder once or twice a week, Calcium w D3 powder on all feeders.

Watering: Misting 1–2 a day. Have a dripper set up to drip on a branch.

Fecal Description: Fecal matter appears healthy. Brown with white tip. Have not seen much poop the last day or so.

History: Laid an infertile clutch of eggs a few weeks ago. She has been healthy in the past with no major issues.



Cage Info:
Cage Type: Zoo Med ReptiBreeze Open Air Screen Cage - 16 in x 16 in x 30 in

Lighting- Zoo Med Lamp; Repti Sun 5.0 Mini Compact Fluorescent Lamp 13 W + Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Bulb 150 W. Lighting is set up on timers to be on from 8am - 8pm.

Temperature - 79-89+ Degrees Fahrenheit, though can drop to low 70's after misting.

Humidity - 50-60%

Plants - I have plastic vines hanging from the roof, a branch and a pothos plant that I replanted using organic soil.

Placement - Cage typically sat on my girlfriend's dresser in the window with lots of sunlight through the glass, though I know this doesn't help with UVB rays. Cage is currently sitting in my somewhat dark living room in my apartment on a corner table. I noticed the heat has been harder to retain at my apartment and temperatures have stayed around 75-80.

Location - St. Petersburg, Florida

https://streamable.com/31miz <-- when I took her out of cage earlier today a few hours ago
https://streamable.com/bvjlt <-- moving her cage outside to get fresh air

I have since writing this post moved her cage to be outside so she could get fresh air (per another chameleon owners advice) and she is outside my apartment door now since the sun is down and will go back under the sun in the morning until her vet appointment at 3:30. I took a spoon and filled it with water and she seemed to suck it down and I refilled it a couple times, and seemed to gain enough strength to stand back up and move around but still seems too weak to climb any branches. I got a blunt syringe from CVS and will give her more water in an hour or so but just wanted to know if these are all good ideas and what I can do to care for her until her appointment tomorrow?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9595.jpeg
    IMG_9595.jpeg
    179.5 KB · Views: 264
  • IMG_9601.jpeg
    IMG_9601.jpeg
    296.6 KB · Views: 326
  • 57714184459__3A31DE32-012C-426D-B65A-F9F99751277F.jpg
    57714184459__3A31DE32-012C-426D-B65A-F9F99751277F.jpg
    269.5 KB · Views: 203
  • IMG_9609 2.jpeg
    IMG_9609 2.jpeg
    513.8 KB · Views: 287
There could be multiple things going on here. She is severely dehydrated you can tell this from her sunken in eye turrets. STOP calcium with D3 immediately. I think she is D3 overdosed.
Can you get her into the vet tonight?

There are additional issues with husbandry as well.

@Brodybreaux25 Need your help here.
 
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

This is a good starting point. I only have pants but I'm sure others will weigh in.

Absolutely no meal worms to start.
Your light is probably way to hot, get a temp gun and check the basking spot.
How long to mist for? Do you do it by hand or do you have an auto mister? Sounds like you're not misting enough.
The compact fluorescents usually don't do a sufficient job for UVB. I would get a liner fixture.
The cage is probably to small. If she is old enough to lay eggs she needs an adult size cage.
What kind of substrate are you using? Those pieces look small enough for het to swallow and get impaction.

Those are just a few things I noticed of the bat. I would take a good look at your husbandry and the care sheets.

Good luck
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon: Female Veiled Chameleon, 6 mo. estimated by pet store

Handling: 2-3 times a week, will take on a walk in the sun.

Feeding: Mostly mealworms dusted in Calcium w D3 (I have been reading I should get without D3? Why is this?), though I recently got crickets again to try out as I felt she needed more than just worms. Do not feed mealworms they can cause impaction. Calcium with D3 is fat soluble so it stores in the tissues and fat, so it takes longer to flush through the system. Giving it more then recommended causes a D3 overdose because the body can not process it to get rid of it.

Supplements: Reptivile Vitamin Powder once or twice a week, Calcium w D3 powder on all feeders. Calcium with D3 is only given 2 times per month, multivitamin given two times per month, Calcium without D3 is given at every other feeding.

Watering: Misting 1–2 a day. Have a dripper set up to drip on a branch. Make sure her dripper is dripping constantly right now to encourage her to drink. How long are you misting for. Are you misting plants?

Fecal Description: Fecal matter appears healthy. Brown with white tip. Have not seen much poop the last day or so.

History: Laid an infertile clutch of eggs a few weeks ago. She has been healthy in the past with no major issues.



Cage Info:
Cage Type: Zoo Med ReptiBreeze Open Air Screen Cage - 16 in x 16 in x 30 in

Lighting- Zoo Med Lamp; Repti Sun 5.0 Mini Compact Fluorescent Lamp 13 W + Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Bulb 150 W. Lighting is set up on timers to be on from 8am - 8pm.
Must have a T5HO fixture with a 10.0 UVB linear fluorescent bulb. Compact bulbs are useless. 150 watt basking bulb is too much. Drop it down to a 75 watt.

Temperature - 79-89+ Degrees Fahrenheit, though can drop to low 70's after misting.
Her basking should never be hotter then 85 degrees. Dropping the bulb wattage and measure with a temp gun or a wired temp guage at the basking branch. You want the branch temp to be about 82 because she will sit higher and it will be hotter.

Humidity - 50-60%

Plants - I have plastic vines hanging from the roof, a branch and a pothos plant that I replanted using organic soil. Make sure your dripper is dripping on the leaves of the pothos plant for her.

Placement - Cage typically sat on my girlfriend's dresser in the window with lots of sunlight through the glass, though I know this doesn't help with UVB rays. Cage is currently sitting in my somewhat dark living room in my apartment on a corner table. I noticed the heat has been harder to retain at my apartment and temperatures have stayed around 75-80.

She Needs a Vet as soon as possible. We can help with correcting the additional issues once she is seen by a vet.
 
So many possibilities here:
Dehydrated
No guload
Improper supplements
D3 OD
No UVB
URI
Possible impaction
Partially egg bound

I can’t see her making it to 330, she needs to go now

Where am I supposed to go at 2am, I called over a dozen vets and the soonest they could see her was the appointment tomorrow at 3:30. I am literally doing everything I can right now and have put her outside for fresh air, gave her water with a spoon and a blunted syringe and she still seems weak but doing a little better after water.
 
How many crickets and or mealworms does she usually eat per day?
About 3-5, she was eating mostly mealworms with my girlfriend but I put her back on crickets a few days ago. My girlfriend only fed her for a few days with crickets so it's mostly been mealworms dusted lightly in the calcium powder.
 
She's knocking on deaths door.... She needs a Vet ASAP! Mainly you need to get her hydrated like now! Hornworms will get her that without drinking. Stop the D3 now as well. Chameleons can OD on it as it is a fat soluble vitamin.
Thanks for the information, will stop using it and find a calcium without the D3 for more of her meals if she makes it through this. I gave her some water then was told it was too much so I hung her to let her expel all of it and she seems to have done so.
 
About 3-5, she was eating mostly mealworms with my girlfriend but I put her back on crickets a few days ago. My girlfriend only fed her for a few days with crickets so it's mostly been mealworms dusted lightly in the calcium powder.
Yeah, I’d try to get some hornworms in her stat. They will one help with hydration, two help loosen up the belly. I give mine at least 2 a week. Good luck with her. Keep us posted
 
Yeah, I’d try to get some hornworms in her stat. They will one help with hydration, two help loosen up the belly. I give mine at least 2 a week. Good luck with her. Keep us posted

Thanks Geo.. I will get her some hornworms first thing in the morning. Hoping she makes it til then, doing all I can to make her comfortable. I will keep you guys updated.
 
Thanks Geo.. I will get her some hornworms first thing in the morning. Hoping she makes it til then, doing all I can to make her comfortable. I will keep you guys updated.

The most essential thing right now before your vet appointment will be water. Focus on that, not trying to force her to eat something. If you want to give her a quick energy boost mix some unflavored Pedialyte with the water. Don't do this long term, just some energy and electrolytes for the immediate term.
 
Just checking in to see how she is doing this morning.

She was still alive this morning, I left her inside next to my indoor space heater. I brought her outside to bask in the sun which she seemed to enjoy and Florida temperatures kept it around (85-90) and I misted it a lot. I have been since been giving her droplets on the front of her tongue since I did every wrong way possible last night. I was told by a Chameleon owner to have her upside down to get the water out of her which it did through her mouth and nose. She seems to be energetic after getting water in her yet incredibly weak.

I was a little disappointed by the vet as there wasn't too much told to me that I didn't already know but it is what it is. He told me she was about 32 grams and a healthy weight is 100+ and that she was extremely underweight. He told me to see if she will start eating and that if not she would have to be given food through a syringe, any tips on getting her to eat or going about this? I give her droplets of water and wait till she tilts her head up and back down to give another and maybe 5-6 droplets from a syringe of water + reptile vitamins. The vet gave her a drop of Baytril and me a bottle to help with the infection since he did hear some possible clicking in her. He said she was very pale and underweight and would need proper husbandry if she shows signs of recovery the next few days. He gave me a care sheet and sent us on our way, saying that she was too underweight to draw any significant amount of blood for lab work. I brought her home and gave her more water through a syringe and placed her cage outside my apartment door so she can get fresh air which was also advised to me. It's about 77 degrees out so I read on the care sheet that was a good night temperature. Should I have her inside with a heater or something different? I am planning on letting her bask in the sun again tomorrow and trying to force feed her some worms though i'm not sure the best way to go about that - should I just pull her lip down and put a worm in there? I don't want to choke her.

Thank you all!!
 
The most essential thing right now before your vet appointment will be water. Focus on that, not trying to force her to eat something. If you want to give her a quick energy boost mix some unflavored Pedialyte with the water. Don't do this long term, just some energy and electrolytes for the immediate term.

I've been mixing the water with a very light amount of Reptivite Reptile Vitamins, should I use the Pedialyte instead?
 
Back
Top Bottom