closed eye and at bottom of cage.

[Emrozz]

Just got back from the vets office yesterday, and my 5-6 month old male chameleon was exhibiting some very similar characteristics.

Dehydration from a lack of water consumption, 1] check into that 2] to solve this problem give them Pedialyte baths twice a day for quite some time and try to pick up a syringe dropper to drip feed them as much water/pedialyte as they will take from you when giving them the bath. You can microwave the water to warm it up for them, but make sure it is not too hot.

It is possible that she has worms - Checking the stool for eggs is how to be sure. What do they look like? I have no idea... the veterinarian will. They can do a little enema and pull some stool to find out.

Young Chameleons care very sensitive to heat, but they are very sensitive to cold too... I was told by the zoologist that and ideal basking temp is 85 degrees, but they need the middle and lower regions of the tank to be about 70-75, and not colder than 70 at night because they are so little the temps can have negative affects and there is no way to get warm. A heating pad can be used at night on very low settings to generate some heat in the darkness.

If the eyes are closed, it is often attributed to a type of depression for lack of a better word, the chameleon may be suffering from a lack of calcium, and a lack of water which once their eyes close leads to a lack of food. if they can't see they can't hunt or find water. This is all around no good for a chameleon, and accompanied by high heats, can further promote dehydration.

Points of Interest - The onset and progression of medical/health issues in reptiles is for the most part very slow, because of this we as people do not notice the problems for quite some time. It is possible that your chameleon may have been experiencing problem before you even bought her. Recovery from these issues is also more often than not prolonged. It takes a long time to rehabilitate, so strap in!! Get to a veterinarian for the best information. I found that most of the things that I was told on here were only remotely correct. Plus the vet's have access to wonderful medicines that can help in a more efficient manner.

Good luck... Please read my post (I think you can find my posts by searching around on my profile) and see where the similarities and differences arise.

 

[Emrozz]

I forgot to say this about Dusting... Whatever you are dusting with, studies have shown that the crickets will remove almost to all of the dusting supplement within two minutes after they have been dusted. They are commonly thought of as filthy, but like to keep themselves incredibly clean.

If you are feeding crickets, and the chameleon is taking a while to find and catch them, then she may not be getting the supplements at all, or very little of it.

Bigger crickets move faster, and they are harder for young chameleons to catch, they are intimidating, and another point of interest, the crickets will actually bite the chameleon. I have seen the crickets do this, and I have seen crickets eat other crickets. If you chameleon is in a weakened state and cannot see (I cannot remember if you mentioned eyes closed) they cannot be eating crickets. Therefore they are no longer getting calcium, if they are no longer getting calcium they cannot be absorbing calcium with or without D3... with or without the light.

Oh yeah... and from the Zoologist mouth to my ears - the vitamin A thing is an old quandary which has recently been found to be something of very little importance. I was hearing on here about lack of vitamin A leading to eye problems. The expert (The Zoologist) talked about how this was a debate of the past which was most likely a point still being debated on forums, but had little to do with the problems. The lack of vision is most likely from a lack of supplements in general, if they can't get a lot of vitamins, then all the parts of the animal, the bones, the eyes, the skin... they all start to lose optimal function. Slowly over time (because again everything in reptiles happens slowly) their health becomes poorer and poorer. Take em to the vet, and eat the hundred bucks... if you care about the little one, this is the best way to get real help. Talking solves nothing when the problem is real and present. This is when you need to act. The time for learning is when there is no threat of danger.

 

[Ta2Smitty]

I don't mean to rock the boat but I've kept veileds (babies to adults) and panthers outside 24/7 in the south Texas heat 90+ daily with no I'll effects. Then again every two hours a misting system kicks on for 1-2 minutes so I guess that helps cool them off