mckennalyn
New Member
My female veiled chameleon, Luna, is very sick.
This is in depth but *Ive highlighted her symptoms with stars*
On Friday, Luna used her laying bin to lay her first clutch of infertile eggs (42). The whole process from digging to filling took around 8 hours. Once she climbed up from the laying bin she was super thirsty and looked very weak. I first misted off the sand and dirt from her body and then she drunk the most water I’ve ever seen her drink.
The next morning I gave her her usual amount of crickets and everything seemed normal, I saw her drinking once. But throughout the day I just noticed something was off about her. She seemed really lethargic. Then, a few hours after she went to sleep, she *threw up undigested crickets*.
The next day, Sunday, she wouldn’t eat or drink anything still moving around but getting *gradually more and more lethargic*.
On Monday morning, I took her to the vet right when they opened. They took xrays and there is no sign of more eggs. As for her other symptoms the vet wasn’t much of a help. That night I tried the showering method to get her to drink but she refuses to open her mouth.
Yesterday Luna still wouldn’t eat or drink anything and it was even more lethargic, *hanging her limbs off branches* while laying down. I went to the reptile store the vet told me about and I got her some green hornworms that would maybe stimulate Luna’s appetite but she was not interested at all. Yesterday was the first day I saw that her *eyes were sinking in from dehydration*. I gave her two 15 minute showers, and countless long mistings but she would not open her mouth.
I called the vet and they said I could come back today so that they could show me how to give her water using a pipet and how much I should give her each day.
I mentioned that I had purchased liquid calcium and they told me to email me the brand so they could let me know if it’s okay to add to her water since she won’t eat, but they never responded today. It’s the fluckers calcium for all reptiles.
Today she just seems so sick. She’s really weak.... yet can still climb just with *less coordination*. A couple times today she’s opened her mouth and moving her head in a way *like she’s trying to throw up*. And she keeps have really *liquidy diarrhea* and well as a *clear water like substance coming out of her*. She is also having small twitches of her head.
I am so sad for her its so horrible watching her like this she is my little buddy.
And after this whole experience I’ve realized that I haven’t been giving her enough calcium, as the vet said she had low bone density and that I should be feeding my crickets calcium. All I want to do is get her better so I can start giving her all those yummy insects from the reptile store I didn’t even know about.... that would make her so happy.
I just want to help her I don’t want her to be in pain I haven’t left her side since she got sick.
Please let me know if anyone has any recommendations of how I can help my Luna.... or have experience this combination of symptoms.
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
This is in depth but *Ive highlighted her symptoms with stars*
On Friday, Luna used her laying bin to lay her first clutch of infertile eggs (42). The whole process from digging to filling took around 8 hours. Once she climbed up from the laying bin she was super thirsty and looked very weak. I first misted off the sand and dirt from her body and then she drunk the most water I’ve ever seen her drink.
The next morning I gave her her usual amount of crickets and everything seemed normal, I saw her drinking once. But throughout the day I just noticed something was off about her. She seemed really lethargic. Then, a few hours after she went to sleep, she *threw up undigested crickets*.
The next day, Sunday, she wouldn’t eat or drink anything still moving around but getting *gradually more and more lethargic*.
On Monday morning, I took her to the vet right when they opened. They took xrays and there is no sign of more eggs. As for her other symptoms the vet wasn’t much of a help. That night I tried the showering method to get her to drink but she refuses to open her mouth.
Yesterday Luna still wouldn’t eat or drink anything and it was even more lethargic, *hanging her limbs off branches* while laying down. I went to the reptile store the vet told me about and I got her some green hornworms that would maybe stimulate Luna’s appetite but she was not interested at all. Yesterday was the first day I saw that her *eyes were sinking in from dehydration*. I gave her two 15 minute showers, and countless long mistings but she would not open her mouth.
I called the vet and they said I could come back today so that they could show me how to give her water using a pipet and how much I should give her each day.
I mentioned that I had purchased liquid calcium and they told me to email me the brand so they could let me know if it’s okay to add to her water since she won’t eat, but they never responded today. It’s the fluckers calcium for all reptiles.
Today she just seems so sick. She’s really weak.... yet can still climb just with *less coordination*. A couple times today she’s opened her mouth and moving her head in a way *like she’s trying to throw up*. And she keeps have really *liquidy diarrhea* and well as a *clear water like substance coming out of her*. She is also having small twitches of her head.
I am so sad for her its so horrible watching her like this she is my little buddy.
And after this whole experience I’ve realized that I haven’t been giving her enough calcium, as the vet said she had low bone density and that I should be feeding my crickets calcium. All I want to do is get her better so I can start giving her all those yummy insects from the reptile store I didn’t even know about.... that would make her so happy.
I just want to help her I don’t want her to be in pain I haven’t left her side since she got sick.
Please let me know if anyone has any recommendations of how I can help my Luna.... or have experience this combination of symptoms.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - Female, Veiled Chameleon. She is around 2 1/2 years old. I’ve had her in my care since October 2018.
- Handling - When she was younger I handled her a lot, she would willingly climb onto to my hands, when Id reach into her enclosure. But as time went on she got a bit more sassy. I haven’t handled her in a while because she doesn’t care to be handled anymore - however I’ll transport her by getting her to climb on a portable vine using a cricket.
- Feeding - Mainly Crickets, 10-15 every other day. Sometimes I will give her a couple small meal worms on the days in between.
- Supplements - I dust the crickets with Repti-Calcium w D3 once every two/three weeks, multivitamin once every two three weeks. I also have Repti-Calcium without D3 that I would use a lot when she was younger but she would always have powder in her nostrils so I only occasionally use it around the same frequency as the other supplements.
- Watering - I spray down her cage- a lot- 4-5 times a day. Usually if I don’t see her drinking from the side of her enclosure after any of the mistings I will directly spray her with warm water which she loves.
- Fecal Description - before eggs laying it was good, I think. I clean out her poop a lot, pretty much anytime I see one. And they’re always healthy looking- sometimes there would be a little bit of yellow in the white part. Ever since laying eggs she has has nothing but very runny diarrhea. She is also having clear liquid come out of her.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Her cage is screened - 4 feet high with a 2 foot by 2 foot base.
- Lighting - The lights are on for 12 hours every day. I use exoterra UVB 100 and exoterra inferred basking spot lamp. I keep her enclosure as well as a large free range set up by a large window in my room which always remains opened.
- Temperature - The temperature is about 85-90 degrees in the basking spot and 77 degrees down lower in the cage. She spends a lot of time free ranging my bedroom has an average temp of 70, gets cooler at night.
- Humidity - I’m not sure about Humidity level. I make sure that the eco -earth substrate in her enclosure never dries out.
- Plants - I have a large pathos plant hanging from my ceiling as part of her free range set up.. one big enough that Luna won’t kill off. She’s always hanging out in it I’m pretty sure they’re friends. I often see her chomping down on her leaves.
- Placement - Set up is in front of a large window, which is always open/ not covered by curtain.
- Location - San Diego, CA, USA
I just woke Luna up for a second to take photos. Funky lighting because I only have purple lights in my room Which are turned off once the sun goes down while she sleeps
