Dehydrated? and not eating

[winston]

Thanks for all your help here's an update im in the process of sorting the viv set up thanks to dodolah's advice he is currently at the vet's i don't think they are too sure about what he needs because we had to leave him there they are looking at him now and want to take blood and x-ray him ive told them he needs rehydrating and food but he wont take it by him self so we shall see what they come up with i dont hold out mutch hope though i think there should be a book on keeping chams that people should be made to buy if the are considering getting one stating the big doo's and dont's about the whole thing to stop things like this happening, i wasn't the first to under mist my cham and i dont think i will be the last. will post back soon, winston.

 

[Fred]

I have a book on chams that i bought about 3yrs ago when i first looked at them but no where does it say health signs to look out for like sunken eye's or how mutch or long to mist them, by no means did i rush out and blindly grab one.

any way he is back from the vet still dehydrated but alot stronger so thanks to the forum he is on 5 mistings a day to get him sorted thank you all for your help, cheers.

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this to u but if u can get some hornworms they have a high moisture (H2O) content and will help to rehydrate him, also, I know u said a herp vet is like 45 miles away, but I can tell u from personal experience, u may have wasted ur money and stressed out ur cham more by taking him to a reg vet that doesn't have much cham experience (I did this too because myne is 2 hours away one way) BUT, when we took him to the specialist 1 week later, not only was he VERY informitive, he diagnosed stuff the other vet missed and didn't even know to look for. I know it sucks to drag ur cham out and drive that far, but I think u will get more answers as to the whole picture. In the mean time keep up the good work, and don't get offended by what others say, really they are just trying to give advise, they don't mean it to sound insulting!! (well not usually anyways!!) Good luck, keep us posted and welcome to the forum!! Tricia

 

[winston]

Thanks Fred i will contact the pet shop to see if they can get me some horn worms to help him on his way, i am hopeing that the vet was ok they said they did reptiles i found them in an exotic vet search so i hope they know what they were doing if not i just wasted £120, cheers winston,

 

[Slofe]

Horn worms are unfortunately illegal in the UK due to them being a pest for tomato growers. Thanks alot DEFRA

 

[winston]

Hello, here he is looking alot better not quite his usual self but alot better
to reduce stress i have taken the glass doors out and coverd the front with a cloth until i can figure ot how to convert the front of the viv. better be on the lookout for crickets lol! shame about the horn worns though.

 

[dodolah]

he still need hydration. The eyes are still sunken.
So, keep hydrating him.
And looking at the casque, I agree.. it could've be a bit more filled.
So, horn worms, butter worms, even wax worms will be good to supply him with protein and fat.

Do you have access to silkworms?
I believe those are the 2nd best for hydration since horn worms are illegal in UK.

I am glad he's a bit better.
But, he is not yet out of the red zone.
I seem to miss it.. but, what did the vet say about him. furthermore, what did the vet do in making him better?

 

[winston]

Hi Dodolah, what did the vet do in making him better? Good question she was vague here's what she did, an enama, 3 x-ray's, metacam injection x2, baytril injection x2, he stayed in over night so the inj's were evening and morning she also gave me some AVIPRO PLUS with vitamins A,C & E to mix with Critical Care Formula in water. We have to "force water" him with 0.2mls at a time he takes about 0.8mls in total and heavy misting to try and hydrate him. The vet said his stomach was bloated and upset possibly from changing to balck crickets as i couldnt get any brown (silent) ones. The vet also said after the enamas he passed a sticky mucas still no poo in the viv but i dont think he's eaten more than 1-2 wax worms but on the plus side i saw him lick up 1 droplet of water this morning and from the X-rays his bones look in good shape
does this sound right to you? i am looking into silk worms seems they are hard to track down over here but i hope i can get them.

cheers, winston

 

[SaZzY]

Winston if you manage to track down silkworms could you let me know where to get them. Cant seem to get them anywhere. Anyone else from the UK know? Thanks

 

[dodolah]

I am glad that the xray show good bone density.

An Enama? Do you mean a bowel cleansing?
I am not a vet...
but, as far as i know, metacam is anti inflammatory med, baytril is an antibiotic, Avipro is probiotic supplement.
Critical care is pretty much food and nutrition for malnourished reptile.
Seems like a very thorough therapy.
Did the vet tell you what exactly causing him to be anorexic?

Is he still not eating on his own?
Like you said, continue with mistings, feeding him feeder that is full with water content (silkworm).
When my cham develop anorexia (due to Albon side effect), I mixed pedialyte and water into the dripper and let it drip for him to drink. At that time, they only have orange flavor. My emaciated veiled seems to be very delighted with the taste.

Good question she was vague here's what she did, an enama, 3 x-ray's, metacam injection x2, baytril injection x2, he stayed in over night so the inj's were evening and morning she also gave me some AVIPRO PLUS with vitamins A,C & E to mix with Critical Care Formula in water. We have to "force water" him with 0.2mls at a time he takes about 0.8mls in total and heavy misting to try and hydrate him.

The vet also said after the enamas he passed a sticky mucas still no poo in the viv but i dont think he's eaten more than 1-2 wax worms but on the plus side i saw him lick up 1 droplet of water this morning and from the X-rays his bones look in good shape

does this sound right to you? i am looking into silk worms seems they are hard to track down over here but i hope i can get them.

cheers, winston

 

[winston]

Hi Sazzy here is wha ive found so far but they are out of stock http://www.silkworm-supplies.co.uk/


HI Dodolah, yes it was a bowel clensing, she gave no indication to what was causing him to be anorexic other than the change of crickets????

He is on the cloths dryer in the sun atm and had 6 atempts at eating a wax worm before getting it! at least he is showing an appetite. can i inject the wax worms direct with fluid? or is that a bad idea?

is this the right stuff to use? http://pedialyte.com/

manny thanks, winston

 

[SaZzY]

Thanks Winston Out of stock oh no. Why are these things sp hard to get hold of over here!?!

Best of luck with your Cham, does he have a name?

 

[BocaJan]

No one has mentioned giving him a shower yet. This will help hydrate him (along with everything else you are doing).

Put a plant in your shower. Turn on the water to warm and aim it against the wall so the plant only gets mist and an occassional drop. The mist will form on the leaves making everything wet.

Take your cham into the shower with you. Don't leave him in there alone. Put him on the plant. He will be antsy at first but should calm down and enjoy the warm mist. Leave him in there for about 15 minutes. He should drink and be happy.

Post more pics so we can see his progress. I can see some, but he needs some more to be healthy.

 

[winston]

Thanks Winston Out of stock oh no. Why are these things sp hard to get hold of over here!?!

Best of luck with your Cham, does he have a name?

His name is Winston, my name is Andy. used his name on the forum and i got stuck with it lol

and why the hell cant we get silkworms it seems the US has access to a far greater selection of insects to feed there shams!


Thanks bocajan is there a specific plant i should use or one i can use for him to sit in that wont be poisonous to him? i know of ficus but im having trouble getting one at a sensable price.

 

[SaZzY]

Aww Winston. I used to have a bulldog called Winston but everyone called him Winny haha

 

[kinyonga]

You said it took him 6 tries to get a waxworm...why? Was he missing it? Not able to shoot his tongue out?

 

[winston]

You said it took him 6 tries to get a waxworm...why? Was he missing it? Not able to shoot his tongue out?

We had to baby him a little by putting the waxie in front of him he was shooting his toung but it was falling short i'm sort of putting it down to him being weak from dehydration and hunger. He showed a intrest in it as soon as he saw it but was a bit slow on going for it. wasnt untill it was about an 1" away from him it looked like his toung just fell out his mouth and landed on it. still no intrest in crickets though.

i think he might be disorientated a little and i think he fell off of his vine i found him on the bottom of the viv asleep and its very wet down there at the moment due to heavy mistings not a place i would choose to sleep. only ever seen him fall once before about 4-5 months ago but he was on wet plants then so i know it was a genuine slip.

i hope he gets better soon

 

[Slofe]

Hey Winston, http://www.butterworms.co.uk/silkworms.html do silkworms. Not cheap but worth it to help your cham get better

Oh they're out of stock at the moment. Could try butterworms maybe? I dunno if they're any good for hydration.

 

[dodolah]

Hey Winston, http://www.butterworms.co.uk/silkworms.html do silkworms. Not cheap but worth it to help your cham get better

Oh they're out of stock at the moment. Could try butterworms maybe? I dunno if they're any good for hydration.

go get butterworm.
They are fattening and have high calcium content. A bit better than waxworms.

I only used Butterworms as treat.. but, in this case, your chameleon needs some fat and protein.

I really hope that your chameleon will be able to pull through...
The fall and the sleeping on the bottom is not good at all
Also the tongue problem...
So, you should always be on alert... keep the vet # in handy.

 

[winston]

Hi Dodolah will get the butterworms just so you know i didnt leave him on the floor i picked him up and put him on his perch again he is still on there now fingers crossed.


thx for the link Slofe.

 

[BocaJan]

Thanks bocajan is there a specific plant i should use or one i can use for him to sit in that wont be poisonous to him? i know of ficus but im having trouble getting one at a sensable price.

Anything that he can stand on in the shower, even a fake plant. if you have a reptarium cage (mesh) you can put him in and put that in the shower with a fine that would work.