Khutchens
New Member
This is my first post on the forum (and I apologize for the length), but I feel compelled to share my story in the hopes of preventing a similar situation.
First of all, I would like to say that I am so thankful for this forum! When my stepdaughter announced she would like a chameleon for her birthday, I had only a slight idea of what was involved in caring for these wonderful little creatures. Before agreeing to the purchase, I read this forum extensively to ensure that I felt I could provide appropriate care (she is young and spends every other week at her mother's house, so I knew that I would be the primary care provider). I have learned so much just from searching this forum and reading the posts.
After researching the different types of chams, I settled on a carpet cham for our family. I was lucky enough to find a member on this board that had a male available (I am honest enough with myself to admit that egg laying was not something I am ready to deal with). He arrived at our house last Tuesday.
Having researched everything I could find about chams in general and carpet chams in particular (which wasn't much), I set up what I felt was an excellent enclosure. I bought the ExoTerra glass reptarium (18x18x24). (I chose this enclosure because I thought it would help regulate the higher humidity required by this little guy.) I filled it with live plant, branches, vines. A Reptisun 5.0 UVB light, a 40 watt gro light for basking. The temps are 82 in the basking area, 75 mid enclosure. The nighttime temp is around 70. I use the little dripper and hand misting to provide water and maintain humidity. Humidity stays between 75 and 85%. He was eating very well and his urates were nice and white. (While I am not asking for help, I will go ahead and say he eats very small crickets and fruit flies. Dusted with calcium w/o D3 once a week (breeders recommendation), multivitamin w/D3 twice a month). Being new to his environment, he has been handled maybe twice. I was congratulating myself on what an excellent cham mommy I was (thanks to what I had learned on here).
Here's where the cautionary tale begins: I set the dripper to run down a pothos plant. I have not been able to regulate it in such a way that the water did not accumlate in the bottom of the enclosure. I set the plant in a bowl that was BARELY larger than the pot the plant is in. I empty the bowl every night. I had read about the dangers of standing water, but there was so little space between the bowl and pot, I didn't think it would be an issue.
I WAS WRONG!!!!!! Last night as I was shutting off the dripper for the night, I couldn't see the little guy anywhere. I had seen him on a vine only moments before. I will never know what made me open the enclosure and look, but thank God I did. He was floating in the bowl between the rim and the pot!!!!!
I don't know how he got in there, there was so little room.
His eyes were closed, his color was blanched, and he was not moving. I immediately scooped him up and performed "CPR". Having no idea what I was doing, I rubbed him as vigorously as I dared (much like a newborn pup) and blew in his little mouth. What was probably 30 seconds later (but felt like hours) his eyes opened and his color returned! I placed him under the heat lamp and after a few seconds he was scurrying around like nothing had happened. I, on the other hand, lost about two years of life expectancy.
The bowl is now stuffed full of river rocks up to the rim (and there was so little space, I literally had to cram them in there). He will not be going for a swim again!!!!
Please learn from my rookie mistake. Standing water is never good! No matter how shallow or how small the space.
I am attaching a picture of his enclosure and one of him just after his near death experience. I have continued to watch him closely. He is alert, eating like crazy, and shows no signs of any problems. However, I am a little concerned about the possibility of RI, so will continue to monitor him closely.
First of all, I would like to say that I am so thankful for this forum! When my stepdaughter announced she would like a chameleon for her birthday, I had only a slight idea of what was involved in caring for these wonderful little creatures. Before agreeing to the purchase, I read this forum extensively to ensure that I felt I could provide appropriate care (she is young and spends every other week at her mother's house, so I knew that I would be the primary care provider). I have learned so much just from searching this forum and reading the posts.
After researching the different types of chams, I settled on a carpet cham for our family. I was lucky enough to find a member on this board that had a male available (I am honest enough with myself to admit that egg laying was not something I am ready to deal with). He arrived at our house last Tuesday.
Having researched everything I could find about chams in general and carpet chams in particular (which wasn't much), I set up what I felt was an excellent enclosure. I bought the ExoTerra glass reptarium (18x18x24). (I chose this enclosure because I thought it would help regulate the higher humidity required by this little guy.) I filled it with live plant, branches, vines. A Reptisun 5.0 UVB light, a 40 watt gro light for basking. The temps are 82 in the basking area, 75 mid enclosure. The nighttime temp is around 70. I use the little dripper and hand misting to provide water and maintain humidity. Humidity stays between 75 and 85%. He was eating very well and his urates were nice and white. (While I am not asking for help, I will go ahead and say he eats very small crickets and fruit flies. Dusted with calcium w/o D3 once a week (breeders recommendation), multivitamin w/D3 twice a month). Being new to his environment, he has been handled maybe twice. I was congratulating myself on what an excellent cham mommy I was (thanks to what I had learned on here).
Here's where the cautionary tale begins: I set the dripper to run down a pothos plant. I have not been able to regulate it in such a way that the water did not accumlate in the bottom of the enclosure. I set the plant in a bowl that was BARELY larger than the pot the plant is in. I empty the bowl every night. I had read about the dangers of standing water, but there was so little space between the bowl and pot, I didn't think it would be an issue.
I WAS WRONG!!!!!! Last night as I was shutting off the dripper for the night, I couldn't see the little guy anywhere. I had seen him on a vine only moments before. I will never know what made me open the enclosure and look, but thank God I did. He was floating in the bowl between the rim and the pot!!!!!
I don't know how he got in there, there was so little room.His eyes were closed, his color was blanched, and he was not moving. I immediately scooped him up and performed "CPR". Having no idea what I was doing, I rubbed him as vigorously as I dared (much like a newborn pup) and blew in his little mouth. What was probably 30 seconds later (but felt like hours) his eyes opened and his color returned!
I placed him under the heat lamp and after a few seconds he was scurrying around like nothing had happened. I, on the other hand, lost about two years of life expectancy.The bowl is now stuffed full of river rocks up to the rim (and there was so little space, I literally had to cram them in there). He will not be going for a swim again!!!!
Please learn from my rookie mistake. Standing water is never good! No matter how shallow or how small the space.
I am attaching a picture of his enclosure and one of him just after his near death experience. I have continued to watch him closely. He is alert, eating like crazy, and shows no signs of any problems. However, I am a little concerned about the possibility of RI, so will continue to monitor him closely.
