Chameleon WON'T DRINK or EAT, please help!

Ahab

New Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, Male, roughly 6 months old, in my care for two months
  • Handling - once every week when I take it to sun bathing, or when he decides to come out
  • Feeding - my staples used to be mainly gutloaded (greens, carrots, apple and oatmeal) large crickets and medium Dubia. BUT IT REFUSE TO EAT ANY OF THESE NOW.
  • Supplements - Rep-cal Calsium without D3 daily; rep-cal multivitamin once every 7-10 days
  • Watering - At least two times warm water mist with hand pumped sprayer for 5+ minutes; Auto misting system set for 3 minutes every 2 hours when the lights are on, 5 minutes at noon, 8 times in total a day. 2 dripper on branches for a couple hours a day.
  • Fecal Description - Feces: brown with a slight odor; urate: yellow, orange color sometimes with rusty color. Hasn't been tested for parasites
  • History - from a reliable breeder

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Screen cage 18*18*36
  • Lighting - Reptisun T8 10.0 UVB; 75 watt heat lamp
  • Temperature - 75-90F; Lowest overnight temp 65-70. Measured IR thermometer
  • Humidity - Ambient humidity >50%, cage humidity maintained mainly by live plants and auto misting system.
  • Plants - Live plants are used. Bromeliad and pathos.
  • Placement - Cage in my bedroom, about 2 meter from the heating vent on the ceiling. Generally quiet.
  • Location - Northen California
Current Problem
My Cham hasn't had any eating and hydration problem until it's last shed. It was last week and it took him three days to fully get rid of the old shed. During and after the shed, he wouldn't eat any crickets and Dubia, so I threw in 30+ blue bottle flies. He didn't seem interested but I did notice a gradual disappearing of the flies. But still, he ISN'T INTERESTED IN ANY KIND OF FEEDER AT ALL (I tried Hornworm, black soldier fly larvae and superworms).
Moreover, his urate is turning orange, even though I tried everything to hydrate him. Shower freaks him out and he ended up running in the bath tub turning to extremely pale color, so I decided not to do it again until he rests a bit. I tried dripping water on his nose with a syringe, but water droplets rolled down immediately. He still seem health though, but I know I need to fix the Hydration problem soon.
I made an appointment with an exotic vet near by three weeks ago, but they are super busy apparently and my appointment was set to mid January. PLEASE HELP! Thanks
 

That's okay. Him having yellow to orangish urates means he is already slightly/fairly dehydrated. Also, the presence of odor can be somewhat indicative of parasitic involvement.

You have been giving him more than ample amounts of water for hydration and delivering it in two different methods. Him being dehydrated is a tell tale that something is off. Plus, once they start refusing to drink, it is crucial to be proactive. Try to get a really fresh fecal sample and get it to a vet for testing. You can bag it up and put it in the fridge over night if need be.
 
That's okay. Him having yellow to orangish urates means he is already slightly/fairly dehydrated. Also, the presence of odor can be somewhat indicative of parasitic involvement.

You have been giving him more than ample amounts of water for hydration and delivering it in two different methods. Him being dehydrated is a tell tale that something is off. Plus, once they start refusing to drink, it is crucial to be proactive. Try to get a really fresh fecal sample and get it to a vet for testing. You can bag it up and put it in the fridge over night if need be.

Thanks! I called the vet, and even they recommended a full checkup before testing for anything, I'll try to get a fresh fecal sample to the them tomorrow. Hope he is alright.
I'm also wondering if you can see the photos attached to my prior reply. It just occured to me that I might have uploaded them with wrong settings so I could be the only one can see them.
 
Thanks! I called the vet, and even they recommended a full checkup before testing for anything, I'll try to get a fresh fecal sample to the them tomorrow. Hope he is alright.
I'm also wondering if you can see the photos attached to my prior reply. It just occured to me that I might have uploaded them with wrong settings so I could be the only one can see them.

Yeah, I can't see them
 
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