Did this happen to anyone else?

[wacky22jacki]

So I have a 11 month old female veiled chameleon. She is very active! Yesterday she was completely normal, walking around normally, she ate 4 meal worms, and pooped, and she drank water. Then today when I woke up, I turned on her lights and went downstairs, an hour later came back up to turn on her cage mister and she was hanging from a branch at the bottom of her exclosure with her eyes closed so I picked her up and placed her in her normal bathing spot where she sits everyday. As I was watching her I noticed that she could not really hold her self up right so I picked her up and was looking to see if I could physically see anything wrong with her. As I was holding her, she just laid there with her mouth open, not making any noise and it was almost as if bubbles were forming in her mouth. So I gave her to my sister while I tried to call my vet to find out where I could take her around my house to be examined, unfortunately when I got off the phone it was too late. She was laying there, not moving or breathing she was cold and dark in coloration. The odd thing though, her tongue kept like moving and sticking out, just her tongue! it did it about 5 times until it finally stopped and just slightly hung out of her mouth. Sadly I believe she is officially dead. I just wanted to know if any one has had this problem because she was showing no signs of being ill, except for today and she died instantly within a half hour of her symptoms!

 

[Kate]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Sorry your little one has passed. It must have been quite distressing for you and your family. It is very difficult to say what happened to her. Perhaps you could fill in the form so we can see how she was being looked after and any advice you might receive may help if you decide to get another one.

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

 

[camimom]

Im so sory she passed. Chams are good at hiding illnesses from us.



What did she eat the last several days?


What type of plants were in her cage?

 

[wacky22jacki]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, female, 11 months old
Handling - once every two weeks, not much
Feeding - everyday, either 4-5 crickets or mealworms, my cham is very picky so I give her an option of both sometimes. Gut loading crickets with all Fluckers products, I have orange squares, and the cricket quencher, sometimes I throw in some leafy lettuce.
Supplements - every other day, Fluckers calcium with Vit. D3
Watering - I have a squirt bottle that I normally mist her cage with about 10 times a day, also a misting machine that adds humidity while having a drip system, I see my cham drink everyday.
Fecal Description - Cham has never been tested for parasites, and the droppings have always looked normal to me, normally white&brown, not too wet or too dry.
History - Recently found a grain beetle in my chams cage, im guessing one of the mealworms fell down to the bottom and grew into it. I was told however that they were OK for my cham to eat.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - My cage is screened, its 24x24x48in.
Lighting - In the day I have a basking lamp, 50 watt, and also a UVB lamp which is 60watt. at night I turn those two off and turn on her night light which is redish/purplish at 60watt
Temperature - The Temp is normally in the 80s probably 85 in the direct basking spot. at night it cools down to around 65
Humidity - I used a misting machine that adds a lot of humidity to my cage.
Plants - a live ficus plant, recently added some vines that twist and bend made by zoo med. My cham loved them as she was always on them.
Placement - my cage is located in my bedroom, i always have a floor fan but it points away from my cage so no air blows towards it.
Location - New Jersey, USA

 

[Kate]

Thank you for filling in the form. There are several things that need to change IMO. Firstly that was a lot of misting. The viv needs to dry out between misting and the humidity does not have to be constant. It should peak and fall throughout the day. With too much moisture around there is a possibility of respiratory infection. Your gut loading isn't good. Fluckers products are poor quality. Your feeders need dry food such as cricket crack or dinofuel to name a couple. They also need wet such as butternut squash, courgette , sweet potato, romain lettuce. Supplements should be daily calcium without d3 and twice a month calcium with d3 and a multivitamin. I hope this helps. I also hope you will feel like getting another Cham when you are ready. There are some excellent care sheets on here you might want to read.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/

 

[KingJulian]

So sorry your cham passed Just a few things I noticed that could have created a problem...Misting 10 times a day seems like a lot. I usually mist about 4 times for a minute or 2 at a time. And like the other member said, make sure the cage dries up before misting again. Too much standing water can create bacteria and that's a silent killer in chams. Also you don't want to mist before the lights go out either. I usually won't mist after 6:30, my lights turn off at 8. That way it has plenty of time to dry up before bed time. My cage is also in my room and I usually leave the fan on low. Air flow is good for chameleons. Best of luck in the future. Hope you decide to get another chameleon

 

[wacky22jacki]

I am looking forward to getting another one, but I am going to wait a few weeks. I was terribly misinformed about the misting, now I'm happy I know. I just hope I didn't make my little guy suffer ): I will be sure to read a lot more about chameleon care, and buy the right kind of supplements needed for my next cham! Thank you so much for your input and information!!!

 

[sandrachameleon]

sorry for your loss

I wouldnt be that worried about the misting/water, depending how long each misting session it that may not have been a problem at all.
However the gutloading and prey choices and supplementing arent what I would do. Did she ever lay eggs? That kind of diet and supplementing could result in egg issues, imho

 

[wacky22jacki]

The misting was not long and sometimes i would only do one little section of her cage incase she was thirsty but I was informed to mist her alot so now I know to not do as much!!! and also she never laid eggs I was so worried having a female because I knew they could become egg bound but she never laid and I do not believe she had eggs in her!