Devastated.

[Dlandry]

I researched for months prior to getting my Louie (veiled chameleon). I made sure his habitat was set up with misting system, heat and UVB lighting. I got a large reptibreeze and set it up prior to getting Louie. I have had him a little over a month. He was eating fine and pooping fine moving around his cage last night. His eyes looked good he was his pretty lime green color that he was when he went to sleep, but this morning I got up to turn his lights on and put dusted crickets in for him and found him dead on the bottom of his cage. I am heartbroken. I've gone over everything and can't figure out what I did wrong. I checked temps and humidity. Everything matches the care sheets I have found here. Right now I don't know if I want another Chameleon. RIP Louie

 

[ashutt19]

Sorry to hear you lost Louie. Maybe filling out the ask for help form in the health clinic someone might find something.

 

[ridgebax1]

What a horrible discovery! I lost my boy Pete back in June and was very upset then. It is so hard to lose a pet it is amazing how attached we can become in a short time! I would fill out the how to ask for help form and maybe it will help you find some answers. I just got a new baby and am so nervous because he is so tiny. Maybe contact the person you got him from also. I read another thread where someone's cham died suddenly and someone mentioned exposure to some type of toxin??? Whatever the reason don't beat yourself up about it.

 

[camimom]

I'm sorry for your loss.

I have a few questions, that might help to understand what happened.


how hot as the basking temp?

How often did you mist?

How much did you feed and how much did he eat?

How old was he?

 

[Dlandry]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled,male, not sure of the age, but he was about 11" nose to tip of tail. He's been in my care about a month
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I had only handled him about five times when I cleaned the enclosure.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I fed him crickets medium sized ones he got 10-12 a day. I was also occasionally feeding him silk worms and Dubai roaches. I dusted the crickets every other day with calcium without d3 and every two weeks I dusted with calcium with d3 and also separately every two weeks with herptivite. Crickets were gut loaded with carrots, collard greens, squash and fluker's cricket feed.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? See above
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?i misted three times a day with repti-rain for 60 seconds. He also had a zoomed little dripper that was refilled daily. He would lick the leaves under the dripper daily several times a day I noticed him doing this.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Black with white tips solid.Urates were white.
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? 24" x24" x48" reptibreeze XL
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Repti sun 5.0 linear and zilla halogen for basking spot
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temperature never went lower than 70 at night and was 77 at the bottom of the enclosure. At the top of the enclosure the temp stayed 85 and basking spot 91. Measured with a temperature gun.had a zilla digital 11577 thermometer at the middle od the enclosure.
Humidity - What are your humidity levers? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?humidity ranges from 50%-75% I use an acurite digital humidity guage.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No using fluker's plastic vines
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? Cage is in low traffic corner away from fans and vents on top of a two and a half foot tall table.

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

 

[Lathelia]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I cannot find anything that could be the reason of his death. Could you post a picture of him?
I think the best way to know for sure is to perform a necropsy.

 

[Dlandry]

Louie was about seven inches from tip on his nose to his rump. I don't know if that helps. I did make one mistake I guess I bought him at pet smart. I keep trying to figure out what I did wrong I feel horrible.

 

[camimom]

Nothing from your husbandry seems to stand out as an issue.


Do you have any pics of him from before he passed?

If so, can you post them?

THe only thing I can see that might have been a slight issue (Def not one that would have caused his death) is his basking was maybe a bit high, and his temps didn't drop below 70 at night. Was that you keeping them that high, or did they just stay that high at night?

Did you turn your lights off at night?

Do you know anything about his history before he came to you?

 

[Dlandry]

I did turn his lights off at night. I will see if I have a picture on my iPad, I know I have one on my phone.

 

[Dlandry]

The temps stayed that way at night. It was the temp in my house.

 

[camimom]

Just wondering.

well nothing stands out like I said.

its possible he had some underlying medical condition, or he had parasites.

 

[Dlandry]

I guess it is possible, he was my first Chameleon, would there have been anything I should have looked for? His eyes looked fine and there was nothing around his nose.

 

[Ninkylou]

I wouldn't give up. Give yourself some time. Thoroughly clean and sanitize EVERYTHING in the enclosure and the enclosure and then find a reputable breeder to start again. Live plants added would be a good help as well.

Sometimes despite our best efforts and most diligent care bad things happen. It can be discouraging but I am betting even the most experienced keepers have had chams die unexpectedly.

 

[Dlandry]

Thanks everyone, I have been thinking, I started feeding him small to extra small crickets, but I was feeding him medium sized ones the last couple of weeks, was I feeding him enough? He looked ok.

 

[Psychobunny]

I am so sorry to here this

Veiled chams are pretty hearty, thats one reason why they are recommended for newbies.
Less then perfect husbandry such as temps off by a few degrees, forgetting to mist, not dusting feeders regularly, etc. does not explain how a cham can be perfectly healthy one day, then dead the next!!
Even if already sick at the pet store you would see a decline in health, and visible symtoms.

Did you keep him outside? Possible spider bite? Poisoning ?

Did you take any pics of him alive?

 

[camimom]

If he was 11 inches long, he was closer to an adult, so he should have been eating large crickets.

And chams that size don't just die for no reason.

They are not super fragile creatures like some people lead you to believe.

Some of the species are, but not Veileds. Which is why we recommend them to first time owners.

Something was wrong, I don't know what, but chams don't just die like that.

It could have been stress, a parasite, some other underlying issue.


IF you only had him a month, I doubt it was anything you did that could have caused this.

 

[Dlandry]

I kept him inside the house. I am taking his remains to the vet to see if he can tell me what has happened.

 

[carol5208]

I kept him inside the house. I am taking his remains to the vet to see if he can tell me what has happened.

Sorry for your loss. If you have the vet do a necropsy, let us know the outcome. Maybe there is something for all of this to learn and you chameleon will have not died in vain. You are not the first person to have a seemingly healthy chameleon just up and die. Sometimes there are things going on in the inside that are not visible to our eyes. Dr. O had a chameleon that just suddenly died and I think it had something wrong with its heart. I know you are sad, but I hope this will not sour you on getting another chameleon. You did everything right and were a good owner to your chameleon. Edit: One thing I just noticed, you stated you had plastic vines in your cage. Veilds are plant eaters and it is possible he could have eaten some of the vine. Just putting that out there. I am sure if you have the necropsy done and he did eat this, it would probably not be digested.

 

[Dlandry]

Dropped him off at the vet, they said it would probably be tomorrow before they knew anything, maybe longer, depending. I will let you guys know what I find out.

 

[Dlandry]

Vet results came back, unfortunately, Louie seems to have eaten a piece of zip tie I used to keep the vines together in the enclosure. I will miss my Louie.