*Emergency* Jackson chameleon dying!?!

[dereckperkins]

Okay, so I have a female Jackson Chameleon, I've had her for almost 2 years now, and she's been in amazing health from the first day I got her till now. Earlier today I left to run some errands and when I returned home I went to spray her enclosure (which I do 3-5 times a day). I found her laying on the soil of one of her plants, which she has never done before, so I immediately knew something was wrong. I rush to pick her up, and she can't move, support herself, or for that much do anything. She latched on my fingers when I picked her up, and tried to move, but couldn't. She couldn't even hold herself up.

Her colors are fine, she is a light tan right now and is sitting outside of her enclosure on a cloth. I called the closest vet to me that handles exotics, but they won't do anything unless I take her in for an exam, and I can't afford that right now.

Someone please give me some idea of what to do, I'm stressed out to the max right now, she is family to me and I feel like she won't make it much longer.

 

[dereckperkins]

The first thing I did when I took her out the cage was try giving her water, in case she was dehydrated. She wouldn't open her mouth to drink it.

 

[Carlton]

The first thing I did when I took her out the cage was try giving her water, in case she was dehydrated. She wouldn't open her mouth to drink it.

There is probably nothing we can do to help either if its that serious. All I can suggest is to give us all the details of her care so we can even offer some guesses. At the top of this forum there's a sticky message titled "How to Ask for Help". It contains questions you can answer for us about her husbandry details that may help to weed out the possibilities, but it does sound as if she needs an experienced vet NOW! She could have anything from a retained egg follicle, a ruptured organ, an intestinal impaction, an infection, cancer, kidney failure, all sorts of things we can't diagnose.

 

[dereckperkins]

Thank you for replying, I filled it out as fast as I could...

She is a Jackson chameleon
She is a female
She eats crickets mainly, sometimes dubias, and on a very rare occasion if the pet store is out of crickets I'll give her mill worms (probably done this twice in her whole life)
Supplements are calcium spray on the crickets (without D3) once a week and calcium with D3 once a month.
Watering 3-5 times a day I spray her cage
Fecal description light brown
History - Shes been healthy since the day I got her, until now
Cage - screen on all sides, and the top, 4 ft high and 3 ft wide and 3 ft length
Lights - heat lamp
Temp - low 70 at night and high 70 to low 80 during day
Humidity - Not sure, but it says high as her enclosure is in a basement, and I have a fogger I use on her cage
Plants - Live plants, had the same ones since the day I got her
Placement - In my bedroom, not high traffic stays calm
Location - Georgia
Current problems - Stated in first post

 

[Carlton]

Supplements are calcium spray on the crickets (without D3) once a week and calcium with D3 once a month.

I am surprised. She should have been getting plain calcium dust once a day (and not necessarily that spray stuff), and calcium with D3 about once a month, plus a herp multivitamin about once a month. She may now be showing signs of MBD and other metabolic deficiencies.


Watering 3-5 times a day I spray her cage

Fecal description light brown

History - Shes been healthy since the day I got her, until now
Cage - screen on all sides, and the top, 4 ft high and 3 ft wide and 3 ft length

Lights - heat lamp

No UV emitting light? Did she get regular basking time outdoors in "real" sun? Again, lack of the proper exposure to UVB would add to the MBD and other deficiencies. They can't metabolize the calcium in their diet with UVB exposure.


Temp - low 70 at night and high 70 to low 80 during day

Pretty warm temps for a jax, especially at night.


Humidity - Not sure, but it says high as her enclosure is in a basement, and I have a fogger I use on her cage

Plants - Live plants, had the same ones since the day I got her
Placement - In my bedroom, not high traffic stays calm
Location - Georgia
Current problems - Stated in first post.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Your temps are fine, especially if she has been in your care for two years. I've kept many cooler species in that temp range with no health issues over the years as long as they get plenty of water.

Pictures of her legs would be helpful. I'm leaning towards MBD however in troubleshooting this I have to consider you have kept her alive for two years and if your supplementation and lighting were that far off usually a cham wouldn't make it past one year without MBD. However if she was getting just enough sunlight over that time then yes it would be possible for MBD to show up over a longer period.

Also if you are gut loading (feeding) her insects that could also have been giving her some extra supplementation that may have held the MBD at bay over time.

The other things that could be making her drop so suddenly are all internal stuff, things you DO need a vet for. You don't have a lot of time when a Cham won't walk so personally I'd just take her to a solid reptile vet.

 

[dereckperkins]

I use a UVB light as well, and I gut load the crickets/dubias with the multivitamins and mix some of the calcium spray in the water crystals. Sorry, I forgot to add this stuff, I was in a rush as I'm worried for her life.
The temp stays like 70-72 during the night in the summer, during winter it's around 68. During the day, it stays usually around 76 but I've seen it go to 77-82 a few times.
When I notice it gets that hot I turn off the heat lamp for a little bit so it'll cool down. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have MBD, as before I got her I tried learning as much as I could about it. She's never showed any signs of having MBD.
She just got sick today I left my house around 12:30 pm, right before so I sprayed her cage and she seemed fine. I left and didn't really watch to see if she drank as I was in a hurry. When I got home (like 10 min before I posted this) I found her laying on the soil of one of the plants. She has had completed mobility up until the point I found her on the soil. She is still latching onto stuff with her fingers as normal but doesn't seem to have the strength to hold herself up and move around.

 

[dereckperkins]

I'm only 16, but I have constantly done research online about Jackson Chams, as I've wanted to keep her as healthy as possible. There just isn't a ton about Jackson chams online, and what there is, is mainly on this forum. I would sell everything I owned to keep her in good health, I've talked with my parents and they really don't have the money either. Even if I was to somehow get the money to take her to the vet to pay for just the exam, I wouldn't be able to afford any addition care. A friend of my dads went to the SAME vet that I called, and they charged him over $1,000 just to tell him his bearded dragon was going to die, and to let nature take its course. I believe she is dehydrated from the looks of her eyes. She won't open them, and they look saggy. I've tried giving her water through a syringe, but she won't open her mouth to even take a sip. I see her drinking just about every time I spray her cage though, so I'm even a little skeptic about that. I'm just scared for her, I really don't know what to do.

 

[dereckperkins]

Here are some pictures of her. (I just took them)
Her name is Anti.

 

[Carlton]

I use a UVB light as well, and I gut load the crickets/dubias with the multivitamins and mix some of the calcium spray in the water crystals. Sorry, I forgot to add this stuff, I was in a rush as I'm worried for her life.
The temp stays like 70-72 during the night in the summer, during winter it's around 68. During the day, it stays usually around 76 but I've seen it go to 77-82 a few times.
When I notice it gets that hot I turn off the heat lamp for a little bit so it'll cool down. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have MBD, as before I got her I tried learning as much as I could about it. She's never showed any signs of having MBD.
She just got sick today I left my house around 12:30 pm, right before so I sprayed her cage and she seemed fine. I left and didn't really watch to see if she drank as I was in a hurry. When I got home (like 10 min before I posted this) I found her laying on the soil of one of the plants. She has had completed mobility up until the point I found her on the soil. She is still latching onto stuff with her fingers as normal but doesn't seem to have the strength to hold herself up and move around.

What brand and type (fluorescent? CFL? incandescent?) of UV light and how long have you been using it? Very few so-called full spectrum lights emit the correct UVB, and those that do won't emit it forever. The level of UV drops over time and the bulbs need to be replaced even though they still provide light.

BTW, a healthy female jax should be more green than brown or beige.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Your pictures are rough to look at. Better ones would help.

From the pictures she doesn't look dehydrated, the legs don't look swollen.

If anything her eyes look a little puffed out. You may be dealing with an infection.

Now I hear you on the example of a vet that charged a lot of money but was unable to save the animal. I see you are 16, I can give you more examples where a vet was unable to help save an animal than the years you have. However I can also give even more examples of where a vet was able to make the difference and help pull the animal out of a death spiral.

- The first thing is finding a good vet, they are not all alike. A great vet could help while a bad vet can hurt things.

- Giving the animal water won't fix this.

- Chameleons, like birds, are good at hiding an illness until it is pretty bad off. That simply means you don't have a lot of time to act once you see the symptoms.

I wish I could just tell you how to whip up a home remedy, in the decades I've kept these animals I've learned a lot about first aid and basic care but I've also learned that once a cham does what you are describing that a vet should be consulted.

You did come here asking for help, however the real help you need right about now is from a trustworthy vet with experience in treating chameleons. She could just need some simple antibiotics to get her over a illness she picked up. That would the be the best outcome. Worst case is like Carlton said, she has something major going on internally.

 

[dereckperkins]

This is the UVB light I use
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002QI86U?refRID=YQRSJ4WPTMZAQPXMSY8S&ref_=pd_ys_sf_s_rp_a1_4_p

I replace it every 5-6 months, as I know that it will stop producing the UV rays.
I'm pretty well off when it comes to the care of reptiles, just not diagnosing them.

She seems to be getting better, I did a healing spell on her, and so far it seems to be working.
Right after I did it, she was able to support her self again, a few minutes later she was walking a little bit and now it's been a little over an hour and now she's climbing her plants again.
Hopefully in the morning she'll be good as new.
I know this isn't the best fix for an animal in that bad of condition, and I'll definitely be saving up money to take her for an exam at the vet. It was really all I could do for her at this point, just hoping it was enough.

 

[dereckperkins]

I had to use my phone's camera, as I lost my real camera so the pictures are extremely low quality. It's dark in my room so I had to put a lamp next to her to take these pictures.
The color she is in the pictures, is her normal color. She is always that color unless she is stressed, then she will turn dark. If I find my camera, I'll post better pictures of her.

This is an older picture of her, and by far the best one I've got.

 

[brownie64]

WOW! who needs vets when you have healing spells right (LOL). "No offence" but Was this supposed to be a joke?

 

[adamhicks198813]

Healing spell lol

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Healing spell huh? And this is why I rarely offer any help to people I don't know......

 

[leedragon]

Healing spell huh? And this is why I rarely offer any help to people I don't know......

don´t get frustrated man, there is folk out there who may have good use of your help

 

[dereckperkins]

I wasn't joking, I've been studying the Wiccan religion. You have your beliefs and I have mine.
Any help is greatly appreciated, just because I believe in something different isn't a reason you shouldn't help me.

 

[leedragon]

I wasn't joking, I've been studying the Wiccan religion. You have your beliefs and I have mine.
Any help is greatly appreciated, just because I believe in something different isn't a reason you shouldn't help me.

the reason people is getting mad is because your chameleon may need antibiotics, an operation, intravenous feeding of some sort and you are chatting word in the air thinking that would cut a need for a operations or what so ever.
thats why people get mad

 

[dereckperkins]

As I stated, I know it's not a substitute for medical care, and I'm not saying it is. It's just something to help her and ease the pain a little, and it obviously did. Right after I used the spell she was able to support herself and she has even been walking around a little. I would definitely take her to the vet if I could afford it, but as I stated many times above I can't. I can't afford the exam, let alone any addition care they'd charge for.