Chameleon87
New Member
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Milton “the Monster: is a 3 yr 4 month old male panther chameleon.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
I handle him fairly often, he likes to come out of his cage and go on the ficus tree I have to put him outside in order for him to get some natural sunlight. He is very laid back and friendly, never hissed at me except when I had to give him antibiotics through a syringe before.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Primarily crickets and superworms. I feed him 5-6 crickets per day and the occasional superworm when he will eat them. He has not eaten very much lately, been sporadic. I gutload the crickets with lettuce and carrots and started using collard greens lately. I have ordered silkworms, hornworms, phoenix worms and wax worms before. He won’t touch the last two, and ate a silk worm once and that was it. He ate a green hornworm a few times but I dunno if it upset his stomach or what just stared at them after that.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Rep cal. Calcium (5 times/week), Calcium w/ D3 (1 time/week), Herptavite multivitamins (1/week). Concerned that since he hasn’t been eating as often not getting the proper amount of vitamins.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Yes I see him drinking in the morning when I start the water dripper, I don’t mist by hand put have a mist king that goes on 5 cycles per day for 3-4 minutes each time.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
This is one of the major problems associated with this post. He has had irregular bowl movements for the last 2 weeks, probably only seen two. Each one has been extremely runny, almost like a glob of mucous. Urates are slightly orange sometimes, other times normal. I would upload a picture but somehow they got erased of the last ones I took. Plan on getting the next fecal tested.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Have loved having him. Unfortunately about 1.5 years ago something happened to his eye, I took him to the vet after it didn’t get any better and the vet rx some prednisone eye drops which seemed to help him but I have run out. The vet didn’t see any function problems with his eye but it is alarming that his eye is all black now, you can see no pupil. He still occasionally closes it =(
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Screen cage, used to be metal mesh then I recently built a new cage that uses plastic mesh. The cage is 24x24x48. The bottom is mesh and below I have a 5 gal bucket to catch the water. Crickets started eating some of the mesh... pissed off and worried about probs it may have caused Milton.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Reptisun 5.0 UVB linear 24” tube (had a dual ballast w/ two 24” but it started smoking due to a short – luckily I was there at the time so right now I am limited to one), recently added two 48” fluorescent lights hanging above the cage to add more fluorescent type light to the cage. Have 1 100w basking lamp above the cage and two 100W irricadescent on the top sides. Recently upped the lighting schedule to 7:00 am – 7:00 pm due to the change in season and light.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
90-95 F at top of cage, basking spot is several inches below however so it is slightly cooler. Over night the temps get in the low 70’s. I have a digital thermometer w/ probe.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Have a heated humidifier in the room to the bottom left of the cage, I use a regular humidity gauge to measure the humidity. Ranges from 40-60% depending on if the door is closed to the room.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Yes ficus plant. Attached pictures of my cage set up.
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
The cage is located on a stand about 3.5 feet off the floor and nearly extends to the ceiling. There is an A/C vent that blows directly on the cage but I have hung a washcloth in front of it to block a direct draft. He is in a separate room out of the high traffic areas, unfortunately it doesn’t receive as much natural light as the rest of my house.
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Las Cruces, NM. Southeastern NM close to El Paso, TX. Does anyone know any good reptile vets with experience with chameleons around Las Cruces, NM or El Paso, TX?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
His fecal is very loose and almost like mucous, will post a pic as soon as I get one (see fecal section above – got erased accidentally). Next time he goes I plan on saving it and taking it to the vet for a sample. He has never been tested for parasites. When I took him to the vet before for his eye (see history section above) the vet also rx baytril antibiotic. Since I haven’t seen him eat recently I gave him some last night with some flukers reptile emergency aid (paste to help provide nutrition during periods of not eating/drinking).
There is a small hard bump at the back of his right leg, I attached a picture but it is not very clear. Will upload a better one later after I get it off of my camera.
Basically I know he needs a vet trip, trying to arrange it once he goes to the bathroom so I can take in a sample but after taking a look at attached pics I need to know basically what to ask the vet to look for. I have searched the forum and other pages for reptile vets in my area that have experience with chameleons but haven’t found any. Took him up to Albuquerque, NM (225 miles) before to see a vet and on the east side of el paso (70 miles), but was really unsatisfied with their treatment… basically they examined him and then went and pulled out a book. When I took him to the vet last (11-2010), I know a long time ago he weighed 145 gm.
Will also attach a full body pic of him taken yesterday when I get home.
Thanks so much you input is appreciated greatly.
Milton “the Monster: is a 3 yr 4 month old male panther chameleon.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
I handle him fairly often, he likes to come out of his cage and go on the ficus tree I have to put him outside in order for him to get some natural sunlight. He is very laid back and friendly, never hissed at me except when I had to give him antibiotics through a syringe before.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Primarily crickets and superworms. I feed him 5-6 crickets per day and the occasional superworm when he will eat them. He has not eaten very much lately, been sporadic. I gutload the crickets with lettuce and carrots and started using collard greens lately. I have ordered silkworms, hornworms, phoenix worms and wax worms before. He won’t touch the last two, and ate a silk worm once and that was it. He ate a green hornworm a few times but I dunno if it upset his stomach or what just stared at them after that.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Rep cal. Calcium (5 times/week), Calcium w/ D3 (1 time/week), Herptavite multivitamins (1/week). Concerned that since he hasn’t been eating as often not getting the proper amount of vitamins.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Yes I see him drinking in the morning when I start the water dripper, I don’t mist by hand put have a mist king that goes on 5 cycles per day for 3-4 minutes each time.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
This is one of the major problems associated with this post. He has had irregular bowl movements for the last 2 weeks, probably only seen two. Each one has been extremely runny, almost like a glob of mucous. Urates are slightly orange sometimes, other times normal. I would upload a picture but somehow they got erased of the last ones I took. Plan on getting the next fecal tested.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Have loved having him. Unfortunately about 1.5 years ago something happened to his eye, I took him to the vet after it didn’t get any better and the vet rx some prednisone eye drops which seemed to help him but I have run out. The vet didn’t see any function problems with his eye but it is alarming that his eye is all black now, you can see no pupil. He still occasionally closes it =(
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Screen cage, used to be metal mesh then I recently built a new cage that uses plastic mesh. The cage is 24x24x48. The bottom is mesh and below I have a 5 gal bucket to catch the water. Crickets started eating some of the mesh... pissed off and worried about probs it may have caused Milton.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Reptisun 5.0 UVB linear 24” tube (had a dual ballast w/ two 24” but it started smoking due to a short – luckily I was there at the time so right now I am limited to one), recently added two 48” fluorescent lights hanging above the cage to add more fluorescent type light to the cage. Have 1 100w basking lamp above the cage and two 100W irricadescent on the top sides. Recently upped the lighting schedule to 7:00 am – 7:00 pm due to the change in season and light.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
90-95 F at top of cage, basking spot is several inches below however so it is slightly cooler. Over night the temps get in the low 70’s. I have a digital thermometer w/ probe.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Have a heated humidifier in the room to the bottom left of the cage, I use a regular humidity gauge to measure the humidity. Ranges from 40-60% depending on if the door is closed to the room.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Yes ficus plant. Attached pictures of my cage set up.
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
The cage is located on a stand about 3.5 feet off the floor and nearly extends to the ceiling. There is an A/C vent that blows directly on the cage but I have hung a washcloth in front of it to block a direct draft. He is in a separate room out of the high traffic areas, unfortunately it doesn’t receive as much natural light as the rest of my house.
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Las Cruces, NM. Southeastern NM close to El Paso, TX. Does anyone know any good reptile vets with experience with chameleons around Las Cruces, NM or El Paso, TX?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
His fecal is very loose and almost like mucous, will post a pic as soon as I get one (see fecal section above – got erased accidentally). Next time he goes I plan on saving it and taking it to the vet for a sample. He has never been tested for parasites. When I took him to the vet before for his eye (see history section above) the vet also rx baytril antibiotic. Since I haven’t seen him eat recently I gave him some last night with some flukers reptile emergency aid (paste to help provide nutrition during periods of not eating/drinking).
There is a small hard bump at the back of his right leg, I attached a picture but it is not very clear. Will upload a better one later after I get it off of my camera.
Basically I know he needs a vet trip, trying to arrange it once he goes to the bathroom so I can take in a sample but after taking a look at attached pics I need to know basically what to ask the vet to look for. I have searched the forum and other pages for reptile vets in my area that have experience with chameleons but haven’t found any. Took him up to Albuquerque, NM (225 miles) before to see a vet and on the east side of el paso (70 miles), but was really unsatisfied with their treatment… basically they examined him and then went and pulled out a book. When I took him to the vet last (11-2010), I know a long time ago he weighed 145 gm.
Will also attach a full body pic of him taken yesterday when I get home.
Thanks so much you input is appreciated greatly.