Free Cham in San Diego
- Thread starter booshified
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booshified
New Member
figured it wouldnt last long.
booshified
New Member
LOL......good luck
Kent67
Retired Moderator
Thanks for your concern. If you guys want, I'll try to get some pics tomorrow. He is about 2 years old according to the previous owner. Looks like he may be a red bar Ambilobe. Both eyes were very sunken in and the left seems to be an injury that will likely not heal. The right eye was also very sunken but seems to be becoming more full after some water. The right eye also has a swelling below the openeing, not sure what that is. He hasn't opened either eye since he's been here. Water. I've filled up a one gallon dripper 4 times in as many hours and each time he started drinking VERY enthusiastically. Before the 4th bottle of water, I went out and found him dry, but still moving his tongue in and out trying to get water. 
He's also got a rather misshapen mouth from infections. Luckily the problem areas are close to the front, rather than at the mouth juncture. Also, other than around his head, his weight and fat reserves don't look too bad. I think in the next couple of days his chances of pulling out of it will be more clear.
He's also got a rather misshapen mouth from infections. Luckily the problem areas are close to the front, rather than at the mouth juncture. Also, other than around his head, his weight and fat reserves don't look too bad. I think in the next couple of days his chances of pulling out of it will be more clear.
ColorCham427
Avid Member
glad to hear.. can't wait to see pics of the little guy.. hope he gets well
booshified
New Member
good luck. im just glad i could notify someone with enough experience. i knew i probably wasnt the best person to try and revive him.
Kent67
Retired Moderator
Thanks for everyone's posts. Unfortunately I'm afraid this story is not going to have a happy ending. I just spent the last 30 minutes irrigating his right eye with sterile eye wash and a syringe. Some debris came out but I still don't see anything that looks like an eye through the lid opening. The left eye is practically gone, sunken in so far that I assume it was injured some time ago. He drank a little more water this morning, and I made him eat a couple crickets too. Hopefully his body hasn't shut down and the crickets will be digested.
My next door neighbor is a vet but he's out mountain climbing now. They said he should be back tonight or tomorrow and I'll see then if we can work on figuring out what's up with the right eye.
My next door neighbor is a vet but he's out mountain climbing now. They said he should be back tonight or tomorrow and I'll see then if we can work on figuring out what's up with the right eye.
booshified
New Member
a family friend had a ferret wander into their backyard one day. this guy was in horrible condition and could barely walk. he was either treated bad by a previous owner or just didnt know how to survive in the wild.
anyways they cared for him and he showed improvement. but still after about 5 weeks or so he died.
the point of the story is that this could be viewed as a success. for those 5 weeks he was taken care of and loved.
should things not work out for this cham at least he will have a good home for his final moments.
anyways they cared for him and he showed improvement. but still after about 5 weeks or so he died.
the point of the story is that this could be viewed as a success. for those 5 weeks he was taken care of and loved.
should things not work out for this cham at least he will have a good home for his final moments.
Jeweledchameleons
Avid Member
Wow,
I still have some injectable antibiotics from Dr. Jenkins clinic
We may be able to give some to him some.
IF his eye is "gone" then he's got some deep infections
Sunlight and fresh air are in order with a plant filled cage are in order.
I would also start thinking about watering him with gatorade or pedialyte
vs just plain old tap water. If he's thirsty and hungry enough, he'll take it.
I've also medicated some of my animals with a large syringe loaded up with
mashed crickets (insects), vitamins and gatorade to feed in a emergency situation.
Once they taste the crickets they tend to gulp the entire syringe down -np.
No matter what you try to do he's going to be fighting some infections
so you've gotta get him filled and hydrated.
I've lost some animals over the years and it's frustrating to deal with
something like this.. I know.
but I'm willing to try to help out.
I still have some injectable antibiotics from Dr. Jenkins clinic
We may be able to give some to him some.
IF his eye is "gone" then he's got some deep infections
Sunlight and fresh air are in order with a plant filled cage are in order.
I would also start thinking about watering him with gatorade or pedialyte
vs just plain old tap water. If he's thirsty and hungry enough, he'll take it.
I've also medicated some of my animals with a large syringe loaded up with
mashed crickets (insects), vitamins and gatorade to feed in a emergency situation.
Once they taste the crickets they tend to gulp the entire syringe down -np.
No matter what you try to do he's going to be fighting some infections
so you've gotta get him filled and hydrated.
I've lost some animals over the years and it's frustrating to deal with
something like this.. I know.
but I'm willing to try to help out.
Kent67
Retired Moderator
Where do you live? You're welcome to come by and take a look. I'm in OB. What kind of antibiotics, Baytril? I believe vets try to stay away from it unless the animal is really well hydrated because of potential for renal damage. But, we could try but, I warn you, the eye in that picture is the "good" one. He's in an outdoor cage that is 6 feet tall and 4x3. Unfortunately, I've not seen him trying to drink since yesterday morning. My neighbor watered him 4 or 5 times while I was gone to school yesterday and she was also worried because he wouldn't drink then either. He seemed weaker this morning as well, so I'm afraid the damage to his kidneys from dehydration may be too much. Speaking of frustrating, this animal is cb, 2 years old, and every bit of 17 or 18 inches. He must've had good care up to a point and then....
As an interesting question for everyone, what would you do? I've never been faced with a dilemma like this before. He will likely never see from either eye again. If his body were to bounce back from the dehydration, etc, what kind of life do you think a lizard that relies totally on its sense of sight would have like this? Is it fair for him to live like that, because a human is keeping his body alive with force feeding? What would you do?
As an interesting question for everyone, what would you do? I've never been faced with a dilemma like this before. He will likely never see from either eye again. If his body were to bounce back from the dehydration, etc, what kind of life do you think a lizard that relies totally on its sense of sight would have like this? Is it fair for him to live like that, because a human is keeping his body alive with force feeding? What would you do?
Kent67
Retired Moderator
Forgot to mention, my opinion on the condition of his eyes is based on one of my hold back panthers who took a bad fall and ruptured one of his eyes. He lived for a year and a half or so with one eye. When it happened, his eye never became infected. It just became smaller and smaller over time. Several months after it happened, the eye seemed smaller and somewhat misshapen, like this rescue's right eye. After a year plus, the eye was very small and recessed deeply into the socket, much like this rescue's left eye.
Kent67
Retired Moderator
My neighbor is a vet and is going to try to help as well. He's going to get the records from the previous vet today and see what he can learn from the history. He seemed to think the right eye could be saveable, although may require an incision in the eyelid to remove everything dried and trapped under it. Anyone have any experience with that?
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