Chameleon with bad thermal burns... questions
- Thread starter KittyB
- Start date
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
The purpose of extended mist times is to stimulate drinking behavior. Some chams will only drink after 5, even 10 mins. Some montanes even longer. Not saying this is yours, but in many cases, when a cham actively drinks in front of you, it means they are dehydrated. They should generally be very laid back about getting water.
KittyB
Member
UPDATE..
I sent Kinyonga a PM, but going to post here in case anyone is around, so I've been incredibly busy the past several days, but the new lighting and Monsoon has been set up for days now & I've been continuing with his eye wash and eye lubrication 2x a day and he's been drinking droplets from the mosoon, I weaned him off pain meds and stopped the antibiotic injections as from a stress vs benefit perspective I went with my gut. Until today he was still being syringe fed, however 2 days ago he opened one eye for a bit, then the next day the other eye for a bit! this was promising but he was still fumbling around his enclosure and not using his eyes we did manage to feed him a few worms by mouth, as well as the vet food he was getting daily.
Tonight out of nowhere!! both eyes opened! (He had been very active the past 2 days climbing around his enclosure and slept on a vine last night vs the enclosure wall (as he had done when he was at his worst)
He drank plenty this evening and ate meal worms (all I have on hand right now) His vision is not 100% at all but he can clearly see to a point as he willingly shot his tongue out and ate worms from my hand! He seems ravenous, have ate 5 regular meal worms in no time and then was shooting his tongue out at the wire for the Hygrometer/thermometer ( I moved it) I didn't want to overfeed him because he's not been eating on his own in weeks.. but wow, that was a 0-60 situation. Not at all what I was expecting. It's been a constant 24/7 care ritual the past 3 weeks. I'm going to the store to get him fresh live fed tomorrow, suggestions on what I should offer? (when he was healthy he didn't prefer crickets)
I sent Kinyonga a PM, but going to post here in case anyone is around, so I've been incredibly busy the past several days, but the new lighting and Monsoon has been set up for days now & I've been continuing with his eye wash and eye lubrication 2x a day and he's been drinking droplets from the mosoon, I weaned him off pain meds and stopped the antibiotic injections as from a stress vs benefit perspective I went with my gut. Until today he was still being syringe fed, however 2 days ago he opened one eye for a bit, then the next day the other eye for a bit! this was promising but he was still fumbling around his enclosure and not using his eyes we did manage to feed him a few worms by mouth, as well as the vet food he was getting daily.
Tonight out of nowhere!! both eyes opened! (He had been very active the past 2 days climbing around his enclosure and slept on a vine last night vs the enclosure wall (as he had done when he was at his worst)
He drank plenty this evening and ate meal worms (all I have on hand right now) His vision is not 100% at all but he can clearly see to a point as he willingly shot his tongue out and ate worms from my hand! He seems ravenous, have ate 5 regular meal worms in no time and then was shooting his tongue out at the wire for the Hygrometer/thermometer ( I moved it) I didn't want to overfeed him because he's not been eating on his own in weeks.. but wow, that was a 0-60 situation. Not at all what I was expecting. It's been a constant 24/7 care ritual the past 3 weeks. I'm going to the store to get him fresh live fed tomorrow, suggestions on what I should offer? (when he was healthy he didn't prefer crickets)
SourGrape4u
Avid Member
Silkworms or hornworms are fantastic. Black soldier fly larvae is great and doesn't need dusting.
KittyB
Member
He's had butterworms before and dislikes them, he really digs mealworms (unfortunately) when he ate crickets he only liked the small ones not the large ones, I have heard about the fly larvae and I will need to research this.. I think coming out of this health fiasco though should I stick with what he obviously and enjoys initially? and slowly introduce other insects as he regains strength and vision? I don't want to overwhelm him and honestly I think I have done a pretty good job at nursing him back to health (with regards to my husbandry I do know his personality really well)
I am seeing him being very enthusiastic right now and just wanting to eat on his own! He's had weeks of vet food which is loaded with essential vitamins so I want to encourage him right now to just eat bugs again and to use his tongue. To clarify my main question is how much can I feed him in a single feeding.. he used to inhale 10+ regular meal worms a day as well as some leafy greens and some fruit once a week, he was always great at eating until he was done .. can I still follow his cues? I just don't want to cause him any digestive upset.
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