Dehydration or Parasite infection??

[Goliath]

Hello,

My Cham is not looking so good. His eyes are sunken in and He has not been able to go to the bathroom for a while now. When he try's he just sits there and gapes. I think he may have a blockage. I have tried putting him in a shower. Could he possibly have parasites. About a month ago I took him in to see Dr. Greek and Dr. Greek said he was in good health. He also did a fecal but it came up clean. However, he did tell me parasites may show up on one test and not for the other. He also had a bad case of mbd but I have nursed him back to health. (He is my first and I was not well informed). He does have back deformity because of the mbd. Could this be causing problems with his deficating. He is about 2 1/2 yrs old.

I would take him back to the vet, but Dr. Greek is out of town until Sept 26th I believe. Im looking for another good vet in the area who knows about Chameleons.

Any suggestions as to what this might be?

 

[kinyonga]

Is this the same one you had in this thread?...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/coloring-question-2298/

 

[FooL111394]

Post all of your cage and lighting and food and dusting and all that good info.
Pictures would be a great help.
Also when he does poop try to get a picture of it.

 

[Goliath]

Kinyonga,

Yes, it is the same chameleon. im trying to upload pictures of his cage set up. My file size is too big though. Trying to work out the kinks.

I just recently changed his cage to a bigger one. I know the flourescent tube is not the right size since I recently upgraded. I have a repti sun 18" 10.0 UVB I dust crickets, superworms, and wax worms with ReptoCal Calcium. I have a heat lamp with a 70 watt bulb (Im pretty sure thats what its is, I threw away the box). I mist in the morning and when I get home from work. I can also spray water directly into his mouth and he will drink that way. He is very tame.

 

[FooL111394]

I would suggest misting atleast 3 or 4 times a day or get a dripper.
Try to post pictures if you can.
What is your crix gutload or superworm gutload etc and does he get natural sunlight?

 

[Goliath]

I gut load them on carrots and a "cricket feed mixture with calcium and Vitamin D3." I gave him another shower. His eyes dont seem as sunken in. Maybe Im paranoid....but it still doesnt explain the absence of fecal matter

 

[Goliath]

Oh yes... I forgot to mention. I do take him outside for occasional sun bathing. usually on the weekends.

 

[Goliath]

I have pictures of him trying to defecate....however, I can't figure out why they are not uploading

 

[kinyonga]

What's the temp. in the basking area in his new cage (where he sits)? If its too cool, it might be slowing down the digestion.

Do you have a substrate in the cage?

How much do you feed him?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Tiffany,

I think you're ok with the 18" Reptisun 10.0 even if you have a 24x24x48 enclosure. A lot of us use that size enclosure with a Reptisun 5.0 18" tube. You're battle with an old case MBD does put a little different spin on things but it's still ok.

Parasites are still a possibility but low body temp could just as easily be the problem. You could try some juicy silkworms. I've got a few large freebie silkworms if you want to try some before they start cocooning .

Try using www.photobucket.com as a place to stash photos for linked posting. Photobucket will automatically reset the file size as they upload to their site. The links that you cut/past into this forum will not care about the file size anymore . Toss me a PM if you want to grab some silkworms. I also still make free housecalls . "Have UVB meter, will travel." My infrared digital temp meter is great for finding a chameleon's skin temp too. I'm always looking for a chance to learn from others' mistakes . (Note tongue in cheek.) I still have my microscope for novice parasite testing too.

 

[Goliath]

http://s442.photobucket.com/albums/qq142/goliath2222/

I put up some pictures as per Dave's instructions on photobucket. I hope it works. I put up some of his cage, one of his attempt at defecating and some pictures of when he looks healthy in comparison with his sunken in eyes. His eyes curently aren't as bad as in that picture. That was taken yesterday.

 

[Goliath]

Dave Thanks for the advice. I will send a PM your way. As for subtraste, there is none. However unless he ate some of the potting soil? When he tries to defecate, the smell is very strong.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Tiffany,

That "defecation" photo looks like either his hemipenes are emerging; possibly due to straining, or he's got something else going on there. A prolapsing organ is definitely a possibility. It certainly isn't something that we normally see.

Here's how a posted photo looks when you just copy/paste the "IMG Code" underneath the photobucket photo into a typical post:

You can also use Photobucket's handy tools to resize the displayed image so that it doesn't upset someone's breakfast .

 

[Goliath]

Hi Dave,

I sent you a PM. In the photo, that was actually his urates and on the opposite side it was a seminal plug. The urates were left on the branch. That is all that came out though.

I have had some problems with him proloapsing though. He fully prolapsed about a month ago. I was very worried and was trying to rush him the the vet. Both hemipenes! In between me trying to move his cage to the car, etc...He pulled it all back in. I told Dr. Greek about the experience. He examined him and said he seems ok. His muscles looked fine and as long as he can pull it back in there is no need to worry. He said "due to his spinal deformity he may strain a little while defecating, otherwise he was in good health and to continue doing what Im already doing."