Dehydration help!!

philc21

New Member
my juvenile veiled looks very dehydrated (eyes are sunken in, sleeping alot, walking with eyes closed grasping for branches) and im doing all i can to try to rehydrate him. does n e one have n e method of rehydrating them better then keeping the cage misted and have a drip system for him. im starting to worry about him this is the second day hes been like this and i cant seem to get him n e better
 
mist him directly. if it gets really serious then i've heard of using pedialyte to get him nutrients. is he still eating?if he is them try some juicy worms, anything that has a lot of moisture in it. but overall i suggest misting him directly as much as possible.
 
Do you think that the chameleon the symptoms of sleeping a lot, walking with eyes closed and grasping for branches are the result of dehydration or is it that he is dehydrated because of the symptoms?

I think I would take it to a vet.
 
Howdy Phil,

In conjunction with making the vet appointment, take a look at this link and answer as many of the questions that you can and include photos of your setup and your Veiled.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

We may be able to spot some contributing factors that once fixed, will help eliminate the problem from returning after the vet treats him.

I'm assuming that you think he is dehydrated because he has sunken eyes. Dehydration can lead to sunken eyes but sunken eyes is more often a symptom of severe stress of which health issues are one of the causes. What the source of the problem is should not necessarily be limited to dehydration unless you recently realized that his method of hydration was deficient.
 
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well hes in a 36x36*18 inch enclosure with a basking area in the 90's and plenty of room cooler then that for him to regulate his heat. ive got reptiglo 5.0 lights on it so hes getting the right light. i have a pothos and a hibiscus inside along with many fake branches vines and a piece of driftwood. he has been eating fine until he looked like this. and the reason i attribute it to dehydration is because a few days before he took this turn i started adding calcimize to his drip water to help him get calcium because he took a dislike toward dusted crickets. i assumed he was drinking enough because i saw him drinking at one point but never payed much attention after that. and when i mist now he basks in the water instead of running away from it like he used to. now hell actually drink the droplets off his face instead of running and hiding..... the only other thing i can think of is i cleaned the front of my reef tank that is right next to his cage with a mixture of vinegar and water. i no its safe for fish but could the fumes from that have effected him?
 
the pictures of the chameleon may be tough to see but his eyes are completely closed and sunken in.
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...and the reason i attribute it to dehydration is because a few days before he took this turn i started adding calcimize to his drip water to help him get calcium because he took a dislike toward dusted crickets. I assumed he was drinking enough because i saw him drinking at one point but never payed much attention after that...
Howdy,
Calcimize is one of those products that most "mainstream" keepers do not use as a source of calcium. It may be possible that it has irritated his eyes to the point of closing them. It's also possbile that he is receiving too much or too little calcium. This product doesn't have specs to help us understand how much calcium he gets per ml of water etc. Also, what was his source of Ca/D3 before you switched to Calcimize? I don't think Calcimize has any D3. What is his source of vitamins?

First thing I'd try is switching back to warm tap water.
 
yea ive swtiched back to plain tap water i gut load his crickets with total bites which is supposed to have all the vitamins needed and before i used calcimize i was using reptocal.... is there anything i can do to help his eyes if theyr irritated?
 
yea ive swtiched back to plain tap water

i gut load his crickets with total bites

i was using reptocal....

is there anything i can do to help his eyes if theyr irritated?
Howdy,

Tap water alone, may be enough to solve the eye issue. If you want to try to flush his eyes, try one of the cheap bulk-buy eye teardrop solutions. Get one that is just the buffered water without any fancy additives. Costco sells it...

Cricket Total Bites is not considered a good product for quality gutloading. You can make your own following some of the recipes available or you can buy a product like www.cricketfood.com sells.

Repotcal is not one of the commonly used dusts since it combines many vitamins along with calcium and Vit D3. You may find you will have more control using products like Miner-All (I), Miner-All (O), and Herptivite. Reptocal also contains vitamin A which, if you intend to use, you will want to carefully dose. The whole area of vitamins and supplements is very controversial and can be very critter dependent as well as environmentally dependent. Access to unfiltered sunlight, properly gutloaded food items etc. will all play a role in supplement dosages... It's just as easy to overdose as underdose...
 
Hanging upside down asleep?!?

Ive been having problems with my chameleon with dehydration at first and then with what seemed like eye irritation.... he started to look better except still with sunken in eyes and today i came home to find him hanging from his tail and back legs from a branch with his eyes closed just hanging there..... i know this is not normal but is there any indication of what might be wrong with him?............(hes in a 36x36*18 inch enclosure with a basking area in the 90's and plenty of room cooler then that for him to regulate his heat. ive got reptiglo 5.0 lights on it so hes getting the right light. i have a pothos and a hibiscus inside along with many fake branches vines and a piece of driftwood. humidity is normal ive been misting several times a day just to make sure since i had the dehydration problem a few days ago)
 
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hanging from his tail and back legs from a branch with his eyes closed just hanging there
Your chameleon is in desperate need of a veterinarian.

[THREAD=67]Veterinarian Resources[/THREAD]
 
You might want to take some precautions to help prevent injury if he continues to look like he may fall. The link in my previous post should help in finding a veterinarian. Most veterinarians in my area will take emergency appointments; hopefully you can find something similar in your neighborhood.


How about a fecal description or photo?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.



I am going to merge this thread with your related dehydration thread. Please keep us updated.
 
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i would find that vet and if there is any time before you go soak him in a luke warm water, he will absorb water thru his skin but i think it may be something else? MBD maybe? dehydration could do this to him but why the dehydration? i read all the other replies but you might be missing something. did you cal a vet??
drew
 
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