my female veiled chameleon who laid eggs about a month ago has been acting extremely strange recently. I dont have the money to take her to the vet so i came here, She used to ask to be picked up everyday but she stopped that, also recently shes turned really skinny, and yesterday i caught her acting like she wanted to throw up but she didnt throw up. Also sometimes when i mist i realized she runs to lick the water off the walls so i spray water in her mouth and she drinks it, ive also realized that theres white poop that dried and looked like it was blocking her way to poop so i cleaned that twice in 2 weeks. I was wondering is she dehydrated? Is she not getting enough vital nutrients?? Ill post pictures of her when i get home.
EMERGENCY
- Thread starter Layen
- Start date
Chase
Chameleon Enthusiast
Please fill this out. It’s hard to give any advice without any information so this form was developed years ago so someone can help!
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- 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?
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- 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?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Shes a female veiled, probably about a year old i honestly dont know, ive had her for 3-4 months. Id handle her as often as she asked, she loved being held and asked about everyday to be let out. (Id hold her about every 2 days) i feed my chameleon crickets with chameleon vitamin powder every wednesday and give them vegitables throughout the week. I had a water bowl as well as misting(misting 4 times a day), ive seen her drink out of her water bowl but not recently. She has never been tested for parasytes and i have 2 chameleons together so idk whos poop is whos but her specifically has been needing her butt wiped because its white poop has been hardening on her butt so ive had to de-block that. I have a glass tall tank with a Screen top but i dont know the exact dimesions. I have a heat light that produces only heat and i also have a uv bulb for the uv rays they need. (Sunlight from 7 am to 8 pm) basking spot is probably about 80-90 degrees and cold spots can be 70-80 and at night i turn off the heat light to simulate the wild better. Im using live plants, an indoor vine i bought from the store idk what its called. The tank is in my living room so it would be high traffic, but it never seemed to effect them. And im located in florida.
Also like i said, she only started acting weird about a weel or 2 ago and i havent changed any of my methods since i got her so i have no clue what could be wrong with her
Klyde O'Scope
Chameleon Enthusiast
From: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/health/
This resource was designed to help members recognize potential problems, not to definitively diagnose or treat them. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who directly examines your chameleon can offer a true diagnosis of its health. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person on these forums can only guess at what the problem may be and could do more harm to your pet through improper advice.
Chameleon Forums is not an alternative to veterinary care!
Do not spray water into the mouth of a chameleon. Their anatomy is not like ours—their airways are in the front of their mouths; it could asphyxiate—or worse—drown them.
If you have to wait to get home to post pics, I wouldn't title this thread 'EMERGENCY'.
That said, it sounds to me (I am not a veterinarian) like possible parasites.
https://www.google.com/search?clien...oms+of+parasites+site:www.chameleonforums.com
I would take a fresh fecal sample (less than 24 hrs old) to a veterinarian for a fecal exam ASAP (it can be dropped off), and if positive, follow-up with an office visit for examination & treatment. They can do a fecal test without seeing the cham, but they must see it in order to treat/prescribe.
Klyde O'Scope
Chameleon Enthusiast
Bad idea. Chameleons should never be housed together for this exact reason, along with the stress it can cause both of them.
If it's a CFL, they're hardly getting any UVB. They each need their own enclosure with linear T5HO UVB lights.
PLEASE, when you get home, answer the questionnaire Chase posted above—as accurately as possible—and post pics of your chams and enclosure from top (showing lighting) to bottom (showing floor/substrate/drainage). This will help folks here help you as quickly and completely as possible.
Chase
Chameleon Enthusiast
Couple of quick questions to follow up-
Are both chameleons female? (Not that it’s ok to have two in one enclosure, but at least we’re not worrying about stress from a male chasing this female around trying to breed her constantly)
How are you measuring temperature and humidity? If it’s from an analog thermometer/hygrometer, chances are they’re incorrect.
Is the UV bulb linear or compact like a normal light bulb?
PLEASE fill out the form I posted. Also pictures of the enclosure and chameleon will help.
Also please post pictures of the plants
Are both chameleons female? (Not that it’s ok to have two in one enclosure, but at least we’re not worrying about stress from a male chasing this female around trying to breed her constantly)
How are you measuring temperature and humidity? If it’s from an analog thermometer/hygrometer, chances are they’re incorrect.
Is the UV bulb linear or compact like a normal light bulb?
PLEASE fill out the form I posted. Also pictures of the enclosure and chameleon will help.
Also please post pictures of the plants
You said..."my female veiled chameleon who laid eggs about a month ago has been acting extremely strange recently"...how many eggs did she lay? Was she with a male? Did she dig a hole, lay the eggs in it, fill it in and return to the branches?
You said..."I dont have the money to take her to the vet so i came here, She used to ask to be picked up everyday but she stopped that, also recently shes turned really skinny"...photos please! Is she sitting low in the cage, sleeping during the day, lethargic?
You said..."yesterday i caught her acting like she wanted to throw up but she didnt throw up. Also sometimes when i mist i realized she runs to lick the water off the walls so i spray water in her mouth and she drinks it"...is she just opening her mouth or sticking her tongue out when she's doing this? Is her nose pointed down or up in the air? Does she do it only when you're spraying water in her mouth? BTW...you should not spray water into her mouth, you will likely get it into her lungs and that is bad news....and could be why she's acting like she wants to throw up.
You said..." ive also realized that theres white poop that dried and looked like it was blocking her way to poop so i cleaned that twice in 2 weeks. I was wondering is she dehydrated? Is she not getting enough vital nutrients??"...if the urates are white then she shouldn't be dehydrated. What do you feed her? What do you feed the insects? What do you dust the insects with? Please be specific...please look to see if the powders you dust with have phos, calcium, D3 or vitamin A in them and what form of vitamin A (look for words like retinol, beta carotene, acetate).
You said..."Ill post pictures of her when i get home"...thanks!
She could be having a reproductive problem or a nutritional problem or it might have to do with the watering...or even something else. The information were looking for should help us figure it out.
You said..."I dont have the money to take her to the vet so i came here, She used to ask to be picked up everyday but she stopped that, also recently shes turned really skinny"...photos please! Is she sitting low in the cage, sleeping during the day, lethargic?
You said..."yesterday i caught her acting like she wanted to throw up but she didnt throw up. Also sometimes when i mist i realized she runs to lick the water off the walls so i spray water in her mouth and she drinks it"...is she just opening her mouth or sticking her tongue out when she's doing this? Is her nose pointed down or up in the air? Does she do it only when you're spraying water in her mouth? BTW...you should not spray water into her mouth, you will likely get it into her lungs and that is bad news....and could be why she's acting like she wants to throw up.
You said..." ive also realized that theres white poop that dried and looked like it was blocking her way to poop so i cleaned that twice in 2 weeks. I was wondering is she dehydrated? Is she not getting enough vital nutrients??"...if the urates are white then she shouldn't be dehydrated. What do you feed her? What do you feed the insects? What do you dust the insects with? Please be specific...please look to see if the powders you dust with have phos, calcium, D3 or vitamin A in them and what form of vitamin A (look for words like retinol, beta carotene, acetate).
You said..."Ill post pictures of her when i get home"...thanks!
She could be having a reproductive problem or a nutritional problem or it might have to do with the watering...or even something else. The information were looking for should help us figure it out.
Ive already filled out the form, one is male and one is female. Ive been thinking of removing him from her, but i havent noticed him antagonizing her. I have a humidity and a temp gauge, and the uv lightbulb is one of the spiral shaped ones. Ive also noticed her face starting to get black dots but the inside of her mouth is perfectly fine so i dont think its mouth rot.
She laid about 40 eggs and she was with a male. When she was first laying the eggs she would dig the whole and just kinda sit under the dirt for a while and go back up to the branches later. I did indeed catch her sleeping down low to the ground a few days ago(during the day) (i have that photo actually)
I know she looks terrible, and yeah i do. the weird thing is though, for about 3 days id catch her sleeping during the day on her branches, so id nudge her to wake her up. recently shes been sleeping alot less during the day and seemes to be getting a little better but shes still super skinny and darkish color. Occasionally still catch her sleeping during the day. Sadly i guess i was just un prepared for all the sicknesses and everything chameleons can get.
If you get the husbandry right they don't get sick very often...especially veiled chameleons....but their care needs to be bang on. It's, sadly, a learning process for newby chameleon keepers because the stores don't give good information as a rule. This is the best place to learn IMHO.
Did you move her yet?
Did you move her yet?
No ill be home super soon. Im a reptile lover though and ive had all sorts of reptiles all my life, i guess i just didnt expect chameleons to be so prone so ilnesss and parasytes, or maybe i just got unlucky. but i put every ounce of care that i can into all my animals, i guess i didnt realize how complex chams can be. Its super sad because ive never seen a chameleon like this before, shes literally a fiend for attention and had the cutest personality.
thanks for the help everyone ill try everything i can
Chase
Chameleon Enthusiast
My first thought is she didn’t recover properly after laying that clutch. Chameleons are VERY good at hiding something is wrong until it is too late.
I too fear that she has hit the point of no return. However, we are here to help and we’re going to suggest what we can and hope she will pull through!
First things first, she needs to be separated.
Let me read through everything you’ve posted and I’ll respond with what I’d do
I too fear that she has hit the point of no return. However, we are here to help and we’re going to suggest what we can and hope she will pull through!
First things first, she needs to be separated.
Let me read through everything you’ve posted and I’ll respond with what I’d do
The stress of a male being in with a female and her having no way to get very far away from him can kill her. Chameleons need to be kept in separate cages.
They aren't really all that prone to illnesses. I've had many live long lives and never be sick....it's all in getting a chameleon from a good breeder in the first place and not keeping them together after the age of 2 or 3 months and getting the husbandry right. Even when we make mistakes they often astound me at how they can survive and return to good health.
They aren't really all that prone to illnesses. I've had many live long lives and never be sick....it's all in getting a chameleon from a good breeder in the first place and not keeping them together after the age of 2 or 3 months and getting the husbandry right. Even when we make mistakes they often astound me at how they can survive and return to good health.
BryanP
Avid Member
What do you gut load the crickets with?
Thank you all
