Constipated

emmrycham

Member
I went to see Dr. Ivan Alfonso in Orlando yesterday because my girl hasnt been eating as much and she was being super lazy. He took some x-rays and it turns out she has a gas bubble and a big poop stuck in her tract. Dr. Alfonso advised I was doing everything right but to get her to poop, I should mist/fog at night. He also said that he read someones (I forget who he said this guy was but I sent him an email to confirm) article about how they don't like water, even in the wild and so whenever it rains, they will run to find cover. So they don't actually drink the water but breathe it in while they sleep? He did tell me that he could not confirm this guy's theory but suggested I try misting anyway but at night to see if it would help. I do want to say that Dr. Alfonso was super super helpful and I honestly felt like he knew what he was talking about, apart from this tidbit he said he found on facebook. It sucks that I'm 2hours from him but if anything major (knocking on all the wood!!) happens to her, I know where to go. But I was just wondering if anyone has gone through something like this? Or if they know if misting at night helps? I tried it last night but every time the mister would go off, she would wake up and I don't think lack of sleep is good for her either.

I'm kind of stuck on what to do and I just want my lively girl back..
 
Completely wrong on not liking water, they MUST have rain/mist to properly clean their eyes and prefer to drink raindrops off of leaves.
 
And humidity has no bearing on being backed up, not sure where he got that from. So out of three statements your vet got 1/2 of one right. May want to consider other options.

Please fill out the “how to ask for help” form and post your answers back here. Quality pictures will help us help you.

Chameleon Info:
◦ Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
◦ Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
◦ Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
◦ Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
◦ Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
◦ Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
◦ History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
◦ Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
◦ Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
◦ Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
◦ Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
◦ Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
◦ Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
◦ Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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He’s on the right track but made a few wrong turns. He’s referring to naturalistic hydration, in captivity is mimicked by running a fogger, not mister, for a few hours every night. Usually after midnight and before lights on.

Gotcha! So I should continue with my mistking during the day but get a fogger to run between 1 and 4am? Lights on at 630am.

Completely wrong on not liking water, they MUST have rain/mist to properly clean their eyes and prefer to drink raindrops off of leaves.

i figured that was a little off because i have seen her drink and she enjoys the shower. Doesnt really like the mistking but will allow me to mist her manually.
 
It's less about "not liking" water and more about being startled by our misting systems. There's no warning like chams would have for rainfall in the wild (darkening due to storm clouds, changes to barometric pressure, cooling temps, etc.). I'd probably react poorly if someone sprayed ME in the face out of nowhere while I was minding my own business, too!
 
And humidity has no bearing on being backed up, not sure where he got that from. So out of three statements your vet got 1/2 of one right. May want to consider other options.

i dont think he necessarily said that was the cause of her issues, just that he couldn't find anything wrong with her, physically. and probably because i told him that i would see her drinking a lot and then as of late, i havent seen her drink much at all, unless it was just while i was at work!

i filled this out before but since i have upgraded her a bit, i figured i'd amend!

Chameleon Info:
◦ Your Chameleon - female veiled, unsure of age but i think shes less than 8 months. shes been with me since march
◦ Handling - about once every 2 weeks
◦ Feeding - i feed her large crickets, hornworms, supers, BSFL, silks. i would give her about 6-8 crickets a day and she would eat all of them but now, shes not taking much down. I would also give her dessert of 2 hornworms/super/bsfl/silks every other day or so. i feed her at about 645am but she usually doesnt eat right away. i gutload with a rotation of kale, dandelion greens, collards, mustard greens, carrots, mango, sweet potato and acorn squash and spirulina. while on the subject, does it matter what type of fruit/veggie it is? for example, the care sheet says papaya but i can't find straight papaya, only red papaya or something. would that be okay to use? probably a stupid question
◦ Supplements - i use repcal calcium w/o D3 every feeding and repashy calcium plus every other thursday. was told by another vet that while she was still young, i should be doing the repashy once a week.. havent really implemented this as i wasn't too sure if this was correct
◦ Watering - i have a mistking that runs every 2 hours for 2 mins. i also manually mist in between. i used to see her drinking all the time but recently, havent seen her do much of it..
◦ Fecal Description - poop looks good although most of the time it looks like it comes from her and then i have seen one or two that look like they came from a trex. like an inch and a half or so.. is this normal? she has never been tested, at least by me. urates have a slight tinge of orange but im sure thats due to her not drinking as much as i used to see her do
History - n/a

Cage Info:
◦ Cage Type - xl screened reptibreeze (24 x 24 x 48); saving up for a dragon strand or might just build my own outdoor enclosure for her
◦ Lighting - 24" HO T5 double bulb with arcadia 12% and 6.5k daylight bulb (is this too powerful for her?) and a 42w normal white house bulb for basking (is this not enough power for her?) lights on at 630am and off at 645pm
◦ Temperature - temps are 72-85F and i use a temp/humidity duo gauge
◦ Humidity - 50-80% with spikes after misting and i use the above temp/humidity gauge
◦ Plants - i have an umbrella plant and a pothos
◦ Placement - her cage is in my room where there is a vent and a fan but she is not underneath it and a good distance away from it. she is on a small table that is about 3 feet off the ground
◦ Location - im in FL

Current Problem - shes not really eating much and kind of just sticks to one branch. maybe moves around a little bit. Dr. Alfonso said she had a gas bubble and feces stuck in her tract but did not want to do an enema.

I attached some pics.
 

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