Azul's constipated :(

kanjiman

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? male, blue bar ambilobe. he's about 16 months old. I've had him for 13 months
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? once a day to give him his showers.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? crickets and dubia roaches. they both get a mixture of carrots, some fruits, and the crickets get cricket crack.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? i dust his food with repashy calcium (no d3) daily. repashy with d3 every other week. vitamin A once a month
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? i use a myster. since everything started, he hasn't drank as much as he used to so he's a little dehydrated. been giving him daily 20 minutes showers and he drinks every time for a lot of the time.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no parasites.. feces was tested two weeks ago at the vet
History - had him since he was a couple months old. no issues even over last winter. vet tested (2 weeks ago) blood and his white blood count was a little high. we're giving him antibacterial shots (i hate giving them to him :( )

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? it's a screen cage. 3x3x4 feet
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? turns on and off at 8:30. i have a UVA and UVB reptisun 5.0 160v light
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have three thermometers throughout the cage. highest is 85 degrees and the lowest is 75 during the day. overnight gets to 65 degrees
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I have a little thermometer/hydrometer that monitors this. It is about 55% humidity
Plants - Are you using live plants? Habiscus plant
Placement - Where is your cage located? the cage is in a room only i go into.. the top of the cage is about 5 feet off the floor.
Location - Seattle, WA, USA

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

he hasn't been pooping. i didn't notice it earlier, but he started sleeping during the day (a couple times), was very lethargic, and kept down near the bottom of the cage the entire day. i took him to the vet and he took a massive dump! i don't want to have to bring him there just to have him poop!! after that, the vet did a bunch of tests.. everything came back clean except the CMB (i think) and that showed that his white blood count was a little high. she gave me some antibiotics shots to give him. once every three days for a month.

after the 2nd shot, he was doing MUCH better. he was very active, eating a good amount. 5 crickets (half inch or more) or 4 dubia roaches (medium.. i think half inch to three quarter inch). his eating has slowed down the past couple days and i've noticed he has no droppings in his cage. His belly's started to get swollen.. i've tried sticking him in a little container of warm water (vet suggested) and that hasn't work.. i'm not sure where to go from here.. any help would be much appreciated! thanks
 
He might be getting too much chitin in his diet (exoskeleton on the bugs) have you tried feeding him soft bodied worms? I've noticed when my guy hasn't pooped for a while and I give him a large silkworm or hornworm it makes him have a bowel movement and also it helps hydrate him.
 
How long has it been since he last pooped? For adult chameleons, it's not unheard of for them to only go once a week. I've even heard of only going every 10+ days being normal for some. You can always try some juicy worms to see if that helps.
 
I'll try the worms.. last few times i've tried them, he hasn't eaten any.. i assume because they don't move enough... but it's worth another try! thanks for the thought

it'll be 2 weeks tomorrow. :(
 
You could also try putting him out in the sun for a while, sometimes the sun gets things moving for whatever reason >.< good luck with your little one <3
 
Try to get a tiny drop of mineral oil down him. Does he gape when you give him the shot? Have a small food item ready that has mineral oil on it then just slip it in his mouth.
 
surprising thing is he NEVER gapes at me..

i wish i could put him in the sun!!! terrible winter so far :(

he was asleep when i got home at 6:30 today... he's looking pretty engorged.. i'm taking him to the vet again.. hopefully they'll be able to get him to do his thing...
 
First things first! - I always like to see another keeper from Washington!

It's also a good idea to feed them horned or silk worms, they have a high moisture content.
There is also another solution but PLEASE use caution-
A small slice of strawberry will also help (it's more so common to have around VS horned or silk worms) strawberries are only to be used rarely and in very small portions.
 
I've heard olive oil is better because it breaks down (so if it gets in the lungs, it won't cause as many or any issues.) Try using a soft rubber spatula to open his mouth and put a drop of the oil in the back of his throat (NEVER the front.) Have you tried a shower? Most of my chameleons will poop after a long (5-10+ minutes) warm misting or shower. Also maybe try upping his basking temp a little and see if that helps.
 
yeah.. i give him showers on a daily basis.. he generally gets pretty active there and always drinks.. i tried sticking him a tub of warm water (like my vet suggested) and he just sat there..

i'll try the oil tonight. how long should it normally take for it to go through his system ish?

I'll up his basking heat too.. thank you all for your suggestions!
 
With my veiled who had the same issue, I think it took 1 or 2 days? It was a long time ago, so I'm not 100% sure. I've also heard feeding them some pear purée can help (though I would think any good fruits probably would.)
 
I recently thought my panther was slightly behind schedule on his poop so I just took a clean qtip and dabbed olive oil on the backs of a few crickets and it helped greatly.
 
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