Dead or Akinesia?

[Marc10edora]

Hi,
I woke up this morning to find my Rampholean Temporalis huddled up in a corner in the fetal position. I am really hoping she is not dead. This is my first pygmy cham and I am still getting the hang of this. I own two chams already (Veiled and Panther) and am confidant on my husbandry techniques for those. But when it comes to pygmy, I am in uncharted territory.

I've read in Wolfgang Schmidt's book, Stump-tailed Chameleons, that some breeds will go into a state of hibernation (Akinesia) to bridge the gap between dry and cold seasons. They will occasionally burrow into the soil. I am hoping someone with experience will find this and provide me with advice.

I've noticed that she went downhill within 3 days after giving her some probiotics supplements for digestion.

Here is all my Husbandry info on my cham:
Basic Info/History
Breed: Rampholean Temporalis
Sex: Female
Age: Wild caught (Unknown)
Gravid: Was gravid when I got her. She recently laid an egg about 3 weeks ago.
Acquired From: Reptile convention in Sacramento on September 19, 2010. I will not specify the vendor.
Health On Arrival: Appeared to be healthy and moving. Eating good.

Cage:
Type: 16" x 16" x 19" Glass cage all 4 sides glass. Top screen with a wood cover on top. There is a computer fan installed to blow fresh air into the cage and cycle out stale air.
Lighting: 1 reptisun 5.0 and 1 16 watt basking bulb
Lighting Times: Reptisun is on for 12 hours, Basking bulb is on for 2 hours in the morning.
Temps: Highs of 71*F, Lows of 65*F
Humidity: Constant 70% on average
Substrate:
- Top layer: Supersoil (Topsoil) 1"-2"
- Mid layer: Orchad Charcoal 1"
- Lower layer: Hydroton Balls 1.5"
Plants: 1 Ficus Benjimina, 1 Fuschia, Moss, Dead leaves scattered on the ground, dead branches scattered horizontal across the cage and Cork Bark on the back.
Other Notes: Top soil is always moist but never soaked or dry.
Cleaners: 1 culture of springtails

Feeding/Nutrition:
Staple: Only feeding on small crickets gutloaded on romain lettuce or carrots
Treats: I catch her eat the occasional fungus nats from the topsoil
Feeding Times: Every 4 days
Amount: 4-6 crickets each feeding
Supplements:
- Calcium with D3 (Rep-Cal Brand) with every feeding except vitamin day
- Herptivite (Rep-Cal Brand) every 2 weeks
- Essential Probiotics + Spirulina only given once recently this week. Immediately the next day I noticed her go down hill. She got skinny and moved less. This stuff is supposed to help with digestion and any parasites.

Health Issue:
- I've recently noticed a small cyst or ball on her right side. Almost like she go bit by a cricket. But I don't know exactly what it is.
- After giving her the Probiotics supplements, I've noticed she became skinny and moved less. She was digging into the soil with her nose in it. The next day, she settled between two pieces of wood. By the 3rd day, I found her looking dead.

That is basically all I can tell you right now. If there is anything else I can provide you with that can help, let me know.

Here are some pics of her when I found her this morning:

 

[pssh]

That's what mine looked like them they died. WC's just go sometimes. Especially since Pygmies don't live all that long anyways.

 

[dartfrog]

Hi there, so sorry to here about your girl, Ive kept a fair few pygmy species not Temporalis thou when mine have died they normally look more patchy in colour & more deflated. If you drip some lukewarm water by her front left arm & shine a bright light on her you may see a faint heartbeat, I did this with a hatchling Cristatus last week which I thought was dead after hatching to my joy it wasnt. Also I think Temporalis always lay 2 eggs so perhaps she still has a retained egg. Heatherxxx

 

[Marc10edora]

Hi there, so sorry to here about your girl, Ive kept a fair few pygmy species not Temporalis thou when mine have died they normally look more patchy in colour & more deflated. If you drip some lukewarm water by her front left arm & shine a bright light on her you may see a faint heartbeat, I did this with a hatchling Cristatus last week which I thought was dead after hatching to my joy it wasnt. Also I think Temporalis always lay 2 eggs so perhaps she still has a retained egg. Heatherxxx

I tried the warm water thing. I couldn't make out a heartbeat that I've noticed. How long do they usually stay in a hibernation state? I definitely know she laid one egg. Not sure if she laid a second.

 

[dartfrog]

Hi there, Im sorry but i dont know the answer to this as ive never had it happen with any of my pygmies. Has her colour darkened any more if so she probably has sadly passed. Im sure its nothing you could have avoided as your husbandry sounds good. she may have been preety old when you got her. Are you incubating her egg, does it look any good? Heatherxxx

 

[Marc10edora]

Hi there, Im sorry but i dont know the answer to this as ive never had it happen with any of my pygmies. Has her colour darkened any more if so she probably has sadly passed. Im sure its nothing you could have avoided as your husbandry sounds good. she may have been preety old when you got her. Are you incubating her egg, does it look any good? Heatherxxx

Color hasn't changed much. I will check again in about 3 hours and compare it to the pics I took this morning. I heard of keepers hatching the eggs right in the cage. I wanted to try to do the same. If anything, I know the location of the egg and will be able to transfer it to an incubator any time. I'm definitely going to get more temporalis in the future. Hopefully I will be able to track down some captive breds.

 

[Lidee]

I'm not an expert on pygmies, but i think their vitD3 requirements are lower than other chams. It would be wise to use calcium without D3 for everyday cricket dustings, and the one with D3 only twice a month.

 

[carol5208]

I'm not an expert on pygmies, but i think their vitD3 requirements are lower than other chams. It would be wise to use calcium without D3 for everyday cricket dustings, and the one with D3 only twice a month.

This thread is over 4 years old!! The little pygmy is probably not with us any longer.