Chameleon impaction?

[Sas]

HI
Dexter is a veiled chameleon, we have had him for 5years.
Every now and then we feed him a small pinkie mouse, 6 days ago he had one but hasn't eaten since. From what we have noticed he hasn't pooped either. But he was drinking. From yesterday his balance has been bad and instead of hanging out high on his tree now he wants to sit on the floor.
Today we juiced a beet (he loves them) and fed it to him by a pipette and we now have him in an open cage on the floor with leaves and branches and we are misting more.he is just lying on the bottom on the kitchen roll, this is not his normal behaviour.
Any advice would be great.
Thankyou

 

[jpowell86]

Welcome to the Forums! Your problem may be that you fed it a pinkie mouse. Chameleons are insectivores not carnivores. Chameleons can't handle high loads of protein. Over time, if you keep feeding your cham a high protein diet like this, you will see this behavior. It will send them in to kidney failure or give them gout. I would take him to a vet and see if there is an underlying disease. I'm sorry this is happening to your cham.

 

[Sas]

Really?the place we bought our chameleon from said to feed him the pinkie mouse every now and then.

 

[Lathis]

Really?the place we bought our chameleon from said to feed him the pinkie mouse every now and then.

Unfortunately, that bad information seems to linger. He seems to be doing well if he is 5, but at his age, it may be too much for him to handle anymore. Chameleons are prone to gout, and the high doses of protein, like jpowell said, can contribute to gout and organ damage. Have you tried putting a small drop of mineral or olive oil on a feeder? Lots of soft bodied feeders like hornworms? Those things sometimes help the digestive track clear obstructions. Otherwise, a vet visit is probably a good idea, especially is he is not looking well or acting normally.

 

[Sas]

Thanx for the suggestions. Hes not eating any crickets are interested in eating. Is cod liver oil or olive oil better?we will put a bit In a pipette mixed with carrot or beet juice for him. Hopefully that helps.
In the mean time we are making sure he is nice and warm and misting more

 

[kinyonga]

Whatbsupplements do you use and how often for each? Be specific please. Can you post some recent photos of him please.