Found a chameleon almost dead on the street

[Vanessa Vasconcelos]

Hello everyone,

Today, while walking the dogs, my boyfriend found a chameleon that he thought was dead. A few hours later, he mentioned it to me and we went to check on the poor thing. We brought it home, even thinking that it was probably already dead. We placed it in plate with some water and inside of a shoe box with a hole. After a few minutes, it moved a bit and changed to a bright green. After some research, we found out that it's probably from the kind Sinai Chameleon and we have no intention of keeping it. We just wanna save it and return it to the wild, but we don't know how to proceed. He doesn't have any wounds and should not be dehydrated, as it is a desert kind. We also put some cat food in the box, but he still has not eaten it or moved much. We are already trying to contact a vet. Is there anything we can do in the mean time? Any ideas of what might be his problem? Anyone ever through a situation like that?
Here's a pic of him right after we placed him in the plate with a little bit of water:

Thanks for any advice,
Vanessa

 

[Woskor]

Hello
Do you live in Isreal where the species is native?

 

[Vanessa Vasconcelos]

Yes, Woskor! In the city of Beersheva, where it would be reasonable for this species to be found.

Hello
Do you live in Isreal where the species is native?

 

[jajeanpierre]

I see none of the experts have responded yet, so wanted to give you a few suggestions. Kudos to you for stopping to help!

I tried to find something about the Sinai Chameleon, but could only find pictures. I gather they are native to the Sinai Peninsula and you are in that area? Can you tell me how humid it is in the area where you found this animal?

All kinds of things might be why this animal is doing so poorly right now, but I am leaning towards some sort of trauma. The chameleon looks to be in good condition--hydrated and with good body weight. From my perspective, that good overall condition (except it is in really, really bad shape and maybe on the verge of dying) suggests trauma.

I would suggest you put the chameleon in a dark box and leave it alone--it must be night or almost in your area. Don't worry about food. They eat only live insects. Water will be a problem but can wait. Getting it through this night is your biggest concern. Also, until an animal has recovered from the shock of trauma, their gut shuts down and trying to get food into them will do more harm than good. If anything, only water. Chameleons don't lap up water from a dish the way a dog or cat might. A desert chameleon might behave differently though. They lick water (morning dew) off the leaves. If you get this one through the night and it still isn't right, you'll have to worry about getting it water. A mister is what most people use.

Chameleons are very easily stressed, especially a wild one. You absolutely want to avoid any stress for this animal which means don't touch it, don't let it see you, and don't let it feel vulnerable and exposed. A dark box is perfect.

I think you should also put him/her on a damp towel so it is less likely to dehydrate overnight. I'm just not sure what temperatures you should keep it at. If you put it in a spot that mimics it's natural habitat, it will be hotter and will use more energy and fluids just breathing. I hope someone can chime in. My gut feeling is to keep it inside your house in the warmer (air conditioned) area with a damp towel in the box. Make sure there is enough air. A cardboard box like a shoe box is fine--breeders ship reptiles all the time sealed up inside a cardboard box. The air conditioning in the house will produce dryer air than the outside air. Even though the Sinai Peninsula is a desert, it is surrounded by the Red Sea. I lived in Jeddah for a few years, and it was so humid (and a desert at the same time) that I could walk outside and have water condense on my bare skin.

Good luck. I hope one of the experts, which I am not, chimes in. Keep us posted.

 

[Vanessa Vasconcelos]

Thank you for the suggestions, jajeanpierre! They gave us a starting point!

Well, he/she is inside a shoe box (that has a small hole for air to get in), in a dark, quiet, closed room and it's pretty warm inside my house right now, so the only thing to change will be putting him on top of a damp towel instead of a little plate with water.

I do live in relatively humid place, but not crazily like the Jeddah, so there shouldn't be a need to dry up the house.

My boyfriend just told me that where he found and picked up the chameleon was from under a tree. Maybe he fell from it? When I moved him around, he deff felt like... limpy? I remember thinking "I thought reptiles didn't feel like jell-o" So maybe he has broken bones? And the trauma comes from falling off the tree?
He has been moving his head a bit (we check on him once in a while) but the legs don't seem to be moving at all

No touching anymore, just to move him to a towel, now He didn't open his eyes either... Not that we have seen.

We'll see how he does until the morning.

Thank you for all the great advice! Cheers xx

 

[kinyonga]

It looks like chamaeleo chameleon to me.

It looks like it's been quite healthy to me....so not sure why it would be dying. Could be a trauma though or any number of things.

Does it open its eyes at all?

Personally, I would not put it in a box with a lid on it.

If you give it water, the best way is to get a dropper or something where you can drip water slowly one drop at a time on the tip of its nose being careful that it doesn't aspirate any of it and has time to swallow between drops.

 

[Vanessa Vasconcelos]

It doesn't open it's eyes at all, kinyonga. At least not when we were checking on him... What does it mean?

I'll try the dropper thing tomorrow morning (it's already late at night here). A few more hours to see if it recovers from the probable trauma.

And he doesn't seem to be changing colors anymore... Not as much as the first time it did, that he became a bright green. But it was very sunny at that point... Could it mean the chameleon is getting worse?

It looks like chamaeleo chameleon to me.

It looks like it's been quite healthy to me....so not sure why it would be dying. Could be a trauma though or any number of things.

Does it open its eyes at all?

Personally, I would not put it in a box with a lid on it.

If you give it water, the best way is to get a dropper or something where you can drip water slowly one drop at a time on the tip of its nose being careful that it doesn't aspirate any of it and has time to swallow between drops.

 

[kinyonga]

Shut eyes usually mean it's sick.

They usually change to paler colors at night but sometimes the colors change when they are sick too.

Any vet's you could take it to?

 

[Kayroxyoursox]

Is there a chance that maybe it's just an old chameleon? I don't know if they look different when they get old.

 

[kinyonga]

I don't think it's old...but I could be wrong. The feet often give an indication of age in this species from my somewhat limited experience.

Could,dandelion it have eaten a bug that had been sprayed with insecticide?

 

[Vanessa Vasconcelos]

Good news and bad news, guys...

Good one: there is an institute in my city that takes care of injured chameleons and when they are cured, release them to the wild. I'll be taking him there very soon.

Bad ones: he refuses to drink water that I dripped on his nose and doesn't want a mango either... Completely aphatic, he's only reaction seems to be fear.
Now the worst of them all... One of his organs seems to be popping out of his butt.

I hope they can save him/her in the institute. Updated pic:

Thank you all for the help and I'll update you guys soon.

Cheers xx

 

[XtremeReptiles]

It looks like this little guy has now a prolapse which could have been possibly brought on by stress. Hope he is ok!

 

[reptileguy112]

Or a sperm plug

 

[kinyonga]

You need to keep the prolapse moist until you can get it to the rescue group lr it will become neurotic. KY jelly is the best option for this. Do NOT use vaseline.

Prolapses can be caused by a number of things...parasites, dehydration, infection, etc. It's a medical emergency and needs to be dealt with ASAP.

Not sure if it's the angle or what, but his back feet look slightly swollen too.