Bloody poop

[Hutbug]

Well Darwin is passing on to his next life...he was fine until 2 days ago, all of a sudden his eyes stayed shut during the day, he barely moved, just clung to the side of his cage. I thought he was dehydrated, misted him all day with warm water, dripped him, etc. He drank a few drops but that's all. This morning I found him on the bottom of the cage, he had deficated a very bloody, tarry, sticky stool. I moved him to a warm area, misted him, massaged him...but he never rehydrated, never perked up, and I'm pretty sure he is 100% gone now. Barely a year old, and given top-notch care. I don't know what I could have done better. I tried to find info on bloody stool here, but all I found was the prolapsed colon stuff, which he didn't have. I think sometimes we get genetically damaged animals, and there's nothing we can do about it.

 

[leolover]

Really sorry about your loss.. you didnt notice him acting different?? I am also worried about my chams poop.. but he is acting totally normal otherwise.

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

sorry for your loss. i lost my male jackson in 07.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

So sorry to hear about Darwin. The one cham we have that produced bloody poop had coccidia. He was not WC, either, as far as we know. He was a rehab we purchased. (for $300, no less) We didn't know he had parasites at the time. There was blood in the first poop he had at our place, and a streak of blood on his perch. I freaked. We did a fecal exam, and found a strain of coccidia. Once we began treating him for coccidia, the bloody pooping disappeared. He is now clear of coccidia.

Just curious, did you ever get a fecal done on Darwin? I realize it is unlikely, since he appeared to be in perfect health. When we got our first cham, a male veiled we still have, it never occured to me to get his fecals checked.

Darwin may have had parasites. I've read that the parasites can be tolerated, up to a certain threshold. Also, there are some parasites (which life-cycle within the cham) that may eventually "break through" to a major organ in the cham and cause sudden death. We lost a female veiled like that. One day she was doing great, the next day she was dead. It's shattering.

I don't know that, in those last 2 days, there would have been anything you could have done to save him. If you do get another cham, you may wish to get a fecal done on him early on. Most parasites can be easily and inexpensively eradicated in a few days.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Hutbug,

I remember meeting you when we were at the reptile show. Sorry to hear about Darwin.

My best guess is parasites. It could have been something he picked-up or was even laying dormant for some time. If you are going to tray again, thoroughly clean/soak everthing with bleach then soap then bleach and saop again. Follow-up with ammonia and rinse.

 

[Hutbug]

Thanks, i appreciate it. other than not eating for 2 days, I didn't notice anything until Friday morning, when he wouldn't open his eyes and just clung in the same spot all day. He didn't do the bloody poop till this morning so I thought it was just dehydration, even tho he gets plenty of water. I'm pretty sure it's a perforated bowel. I don't know what I could have done to prevent that, with live plants in the cage. I AM SO BUMMED!!!

 

[xoiceox]

I'm sorry for ur loss

 

[Hutbug]

Thanks, forever, gesang, Dave...ya I guess it could have been parasites, although I bought him from a very reputable reptile seller (lllreptile) in Oceanside, never handled him, thouroughly washed his plants, etc. etc. Maybe it was a dormant thing. If I get another one, maybe treating him for parasites when he's a juvenile would be the safe bet. I don't know if I want to get another one. They are a lot of work, and even with all that work, something happened that was apparently out of my control. I hate when that happens with pets, because they are so dependent on us for everything.

 

[Hutbug]

thanks xoiceox!

 

[chamlover]

Sorry to hear about Darwin. We have lost 2 females recently to weird things. Please don't let it stop you from trying again, they are such wonderful creatures.

Debby

 

[mczoo]

sorry to hear about your loss...i lost a jackson a few weeks ago....his and the females poop came back negative for parasites....still uncertain. Careful with bleach and amonia....i am sure you know but they combine to form chlorine gas wich is quite toxic to humans ( i realize dave totally got the bleach...soap...amonia in a safe course but i have seen many people who have made the mistake and were very sick)

Sean

 

[Hutbug]

Thanks, Debby, Sean. Ya, I know about the bleach/ammonia thing, all the cleaning supplies warn you about that...of course, most people don't read the directions...see, I'm the kind of person who reads everything, so I've read so much on chameleons, this sudden death really threw me. He looked perfectly fine on Friday late afternoon - something happened after lights out on Friday night, because he moved off his perch and clung to the side of the cage, and of course they almost never move after lights out, so that was weird. 36 hrs later - gone.