First post to this forum

Pam

New Member
Hi all, I've been reading and learning for the past few months but this is my first post. I need some knowledgeable direction.

Several months ago I "rescued" 4 chameleons from a young man who purchased them about 3 months before without understanding their needs. The options he was considering were not good for the animals - he was a first time reptile owner. While I have owned iguanas before, I've never had a chameleon and have proceed to try to educate myself.

There were 2 baby senegals, 1 baby veiled (all 3 male) and a mature female Jackson's. I had all 3 to the vet at one time on another - babies were wormed after fecal check.

I found a good home for the Jackson's after it was determined she was pregnant - I didn't feel I was qualified to care for her - she actually went to a large zoo.

I feel I have the proper mesh enclosures and try to do the right thing in feeding and gut loading and misting, and cage hygiene, and proper UVA, UVB lighting, and lighting in general - timing of day/night and basking. I would take them outside in the late fall on warm days for sunlight - would feed them a variety of natural caught insects in addition to crickets, mealworms, waxworms (but stopped that as it seemed some say wild insects have more parasites)

Lost one of the senegal babies soon after getting him - even after significant vet care.

Remaining senegal and Veiled seemed healthy and happy (senegal even seeks out human attention and loves to climb out of his cage and sight on shoulders - Veiled is insulted by human contact and puffs up and shakes and gapes and hisses - so funny)

Bottom line, I am trying very hard, but it seems that these are hard animals to care for. I am concerned that I am not experienced enough to care for them properly. Last night noticed that veiled seems to have a mildly prolapsed hemipene. researched it and am keeping it moist while trying to find vet care. The only vet who handles reptiles in my area agreed that this was an emergency but was unwilling to fit us into her already booked day as she had a personl "committment" to keep. Have spent most of the day calling vets and even my long time dog vet refuses to treat a reptile. The only one a could find was 2 hours away and though I am willing to go there I cannot find someone who can take me (another story - but I cannot medically drive right now)

2 questions - what can I do for him until I can find vet care? and more importantly, how can I find a loving, qualified home for these two wonderful creatures?

Sorry so long a post.
Pam
 
where are you located? There is a rescue in California. I will get you the name. I don't know about shipping now with the winter. As far as the prolapse just keep putting ky jelly on it until you can get it to the vet. I don't believe there is anything else you can do for that but maybe someone else will tell you differently.
 
Hello and welcome to the forums! I think you are MORE than qualified to take care of these 2 guys! They do take lots of time and effort to care for them but doing certain things make it easier. Lots and lots of research as you have been doing and I don't have one but if you can get your hands on an automatic mister, i'm sure it'll be a lot easier.

Where are you located? If you think you don't have enough time to care for them properly, this is a great place to find them homes and you will know that they will be well taken care of by experienced keepers.:D
 
Where are you located? If you think you don't have enough time to care for them properly, this is a great place to find them homes and you will know that they will be well taken care of by experienced keepers.:D

Thanks for the encouragement. I am more than willing to spend the time (husband thinks I'm weird because I prefer to sit in front of the cages and watch the chameleons rather than watch TV!), however, even with the research I am afraid that I don't have the experience to care for them properly. I've read how most chameleon have short life spans due to the complexity of their care - and I obviously don't have a good vet network in the area. I'm doubting that I will be able to do the right thing for them - to notice what I should notice - without more experience)

I am unable to get to the store until late this evening to get water soluable gel - did I make a huge mistake using the eye-grade terramycin ointment I had on hand? I figured if it was for eyes then it would be ok for other mucus membranes - didn't consider the water base requirement.

Also - what about this sugar water soak I've read about - should I try it? I soaked him in shallow luke warm water in the sink for a while earlier - he was not happy!

Sorry I forgot to indicate my location - I'm in northeastern Maryland by the Susquehanna River.
 
Agreed with the other post, you are qualified. A health cham doesn't take rock science to care for, I think its just a matter of getting the basics right and being consistent if you dont have automation (automated misting system).

When weird stuff comes up, then it gets tricky...like the prolapse but you are on the right track with forum posts and vet visits.
 
prolapsed hemipene

Wanted to give this group an update. found a vet who would take a chameleon and took him in. The dark part of the prolapse was what the vet called a hemipene plug. He pulled it off! It pulled the hemipene out completely but came off with off incident (I can't say without pain - it looked painful) the remaining tissue was nice a pink. He attempted to manipulate the remaining tissue back in the cloaca but was unsuccessful - he said probably due to swelling. Gave me silvadene ointment to apply 2x per day for 3 weeks with instructions to call back after 3 weeks if it is not completely retracted. When the tissue is still nice a pink, but not all the way retracted. And it appears that his feces are narrower (does that make sense?) Still defecating fine in numbers and content - just narrower, as is the opening was constricted. Still eating well, just went through a shed.

Looks like surgery may be indicated. I am willing to get and pay for the surgery - but am still worried sick about these guys and would love to find an experienced home for them. I am an experienced animal owner (dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, birds, guinea pigs, snakes, turtles, iguana), but have never felt so incapable to care for or accurately read an animal's needs/behavior.

Thanks for the group's input!

And a big thanks to Chuck for letting me run my questions and concerns by him via phone!
Geesh.
 
Great update and again, you are on the right track. Your little buddy will be good in no time. So are you really going to find both new homes, or just one? If so, Good luck! :)
 
Wanted to give this group an update. found a vet who would take a chameleon and took him in. The dark part of the prolapse was what the vet called a hemipene plug. He pulled it off! It pulled the hemipene out completely but came off with off incident (I can't say without pain - it looked painful) the remaining tissue was nice a pink. He attempted to manipulate the remaining tissue back in the cloaca but was unsuccessful - he said probably due to swelling. Gave me silvadene ointment to apply 2x per day for 3 weeks with instructions to call back after 3 weeks if it is not completely retracted. When the tissue is still nice a pink, but not all the way retracted. And it appears that his feces are narrower (does that make sense?) Still defecating fine in numbers and content - just narrower, as is the opening was constricted. Still eating well, just went through a shed.

Looks like surgery may be indicated. I am willing to get and pay for the surgery - but am still worried sick about these guys and would love to find an experienced home for them. I am an experienced animal owner (dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, birds, guinea pigs, snakes, turtles, iguana), but have never felt so incapable to care for or accurately read an animal's needs/behavior.

Thanks for the group's input!

And a big thanks to Chuck for letting me run my questions and concerns by him via phone!
Geesh.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear that Chuck's helping you out. He's a great guy with allot of chameleon knowledge.
 
i was actually going to suggest it might be a plug vs. prolapse in reading through the thread, but you already knew that by the time i got to the end...lol....i went through the same thing with one of my panthers and just ewww.... the vet, with his wonderful sense of humor, asked me if i wanted to keep it as a souvenir...i told him i got over that phase in 6th grade with my tonsils! lol.

outside of the rescue, i'm sure you could find someone to re-home him through the forum...but i have to agree with previous replies that you're quite on top of it, you'd probably be surprised at how often even experienced owners feel like they have no clue what they're doing...lol..., and unless you simply don't want/don't have the time to commit to them, it sounds like they're in a very good place. and we're all here to help!! :D
 
Pam you are doing a wonderful job with them! You should be so proud of yourself! If you absolutely feel you want to re-home them I am in WV and would be glad to take them.
 
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