health concern for male veiled cham.

[Dave Weldon]

...The end of mr Dukes tail is i dont want to say it but rotting and i noticed the black spots when we first bought him but it has just gotten worse it looks like it could be spreading but im not sure.

In the past dew days he has been acting somewhat strange i have been taking him out everyday so he could get his exercise but now when i take him out he kind of acts delerious trying to climb things that arent there .

Howdy Tara,

"Tail-tip rot" has popped-up in a number of posts over the past few years. Potential sources range from crickets chewing on the tail and then an infection setting-in all the way up to a lack of preformed vitamin A. At this point, treatment usually involves the vet removing the dead portion of the tail and sealing the end. The vet usually numbs and then notches the tail, folds over the flap ends and seals the flaps with surgical glue. The prognosis for a full recovery is usually good.

One way to approach the situation is to get the tail "fixed" by a vet and then following-up with a treatment plan that includes vitamin A to insure that there isn't a shortage in his system, yet not overdosing him either .

A few links to fill-in the blanks:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/help-my-chameleons-tail-11481/#post91471

https://www.chameleonforums.com/help-12564/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/rescued-veileds-nails-tail-16515/#post137822

https://www.chameleonforums.com/tail-rot-problem-20468/

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=17+1796&aid=3027
"Hypovitaminosis A" - "• Necrosis/sloughing of the tip of the tail"

Vitamin A dosing: https://www.chameleonforums.com/food-thought-12472/#post100844

The "delirious" symptoms could be related to a shortage of Calcium and vitamin D3. I don't recall seeing it in your posts but are you using a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 linear (18" long) UVB tube? If not, what is his UVB source? What calcium and vitamin D3 supplement are you using? Other supps?

 

[Raoul Duke]

we;re using reptocal calcium dust.

and this is the lightbulb we've been using along with a 15 watt uvb light. (itscurly.. like a piggy tail.)

http://www.epetproducts.com/index.p...ucts_id=1636:cdfa77fdcfd3f9e11e720d52ae88f953

 

[Julirs]

You need to change out all of your lighting. The coiled (compact) UVB bulbs are known to be dangerous and even deadly, and your setup is very small. Even that 75 watt red bulb will heat up a small glass enclosure quickly, and chams associate white light with basking heat. So hopefully you have a good digital thermometer (no yucky analog dial-style thermometers)-and I would just get a 40W or 60W household lightbulb to put in your clamp lamp.

 

[Docility]

if hes reaching out for things that are not there it makes it sound more like a vitamin A issue.

The most accurate temps you can get are with a stem thermometer, but i use a digital one for all the time monitoring since it stores my high/ low temp.

and note not all "reptile vets" are experienced in what they do. just a risk you must take. i would say getting the dead part of the tail removed would be best. it looks really bad, and even if it got stopped it would fall of anyway.be sure to ask about the Vitamin A, and see what they think. i myself paid 60$ for a lame exam. you bill will probably be around 200-300$ if they amputate the tell, and give you some meds for him. (seems to be common price for surgery) i would try switching to cup feeding, or controlled loose feeding. there is a possibility that if hes not drying out, and the humidity is to high he could have developed a fungal rot. i hear of this happening a lot with igunanas housed in glass tanks. havent witnessed a chameleon with it yet though

and honestly unless it was from the high humidity in the glass cage like staying wet 100% of the time. this is more than likely not your fault, and nothing you have would cause it except for the fore mentioned

 

[neonate]

2 ft tall by 1 ft long exo terra glass terrarium. ( if the person selling me my chamelon had told me i would have needed a bigger terrarium i would have bought it for him)
100 w day lamp but i have been only using the 75 watt infared with the 15 watt uvb lamp . i thought he might be getting burned by the 100 watt.

i put ice cubes in the top of his cage every few hours and mist with luke warm tap water. he has plenty of branches from outside trees and fake plants. i plan on getting him a bigger terrarium with real plants buthave not been able to yet.

His basking spot reaches about 91 degrees at its highest point and in the mid 80s at its lowest .

he eats very well ,sometimes over 10 crickets a day i dont use the calcium powder every day but every other .

Health Concerns
The end of mr Dukes tail is i dont want to say it but rotting and i noticed the black spots when we first bought him but it has just gotten worse it looks like it could be spreading but im not sure.

In the past dew days he has been acting somewhat strange i have been taking him out everyday so he could get his exercise but now when i take him out he kind of acts delerious trying to climb things that arent there .

i dont know if hes getting good sleep either because when i take him out at night he falls asleep on the collar of my shirts im from chillicothe ohio if any one can help fill me in on whats going on with me little guy it would be greatly appreciated .

Also i dont think you mentioned how much light and heat he's getting?? 12,14hrs? You also said "when i get him out at night" ..Does that mean you wake him up?? He looks healthy to me..Double check all your dusting is right. Ive heard of chams nibbling their own tails when they are shedding? Does anyone else know of this ?????

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Tara,

Here's a link to Ohio reptile vets. Take a peek and see if one is near you that gets good reviews. A typical first-time office visit is around $50. You may find that a vet will repair that level of tail damage for another $50.

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ohio.shtml

Without knowing more about the kind of "movement" that your chameleon is presenting, it's still a guess about a shortage of Ca/UVB/D3, but it is common for them to grab at their face and wave their feet/legs wildly when the shortage of calcium in the bloodstream is very low. This is usually tied to MBD, which your chameleon is currently not showing any of the other classic bone damage symptoms .