Health Problems with Panther Chameleon

[alobato6]

Hello,

I received my panther chameleon about 6 weeks ago and everything seemed to be going really well. I had my screen cage operational with an automatic misting system, timed lights, and hibiscus plants already set up before the little guy arrived. Humidity maintains at 70%, basking spot ranges from 87-95 degrees, and the little guy was eating really well. I have been feeding him crickets, super worms, and dubai roaches. All the insects have been gut loaded with mustard greens, collard greens, papaya, apples and carrots. I took these ingredients and put them through a food processor and then feed them to the insects. I also dust my feeders with calcium every day, and alternate a multi-vitamin and calcium with d3 every other week. From what I can tell, nothing in my environment has changed.

About 7 days ago, I noticed my chameleon hanging out near the bottom of his cage, he was still hanging out on a branch but very close to the floor. I also noticed that he was getting ready to shed. At the time, I figured that he ventured to the bottom of the cage because that is where I place the crickets and I figured he was waiting. Also, because I noticed he was going to shed, I increased his misting schedule. Usually, he eats right away but this time he ignored his food. Again, I figured that this might be because he was shedding. I left the crickets in the cage for about an hour and he hadn't eaten any, so I removed them, and figured he just needed to shed and wasn't interested in eating. I checked on him a little later, and found him on the floor of the cage. Again, I figured this was because of his shed, so I just gave him his space.

After a couple days, I began to get really concerned. First, he was staying on the bottom of the cage. Second, after a couple days, he still hadn't shed his skin. The shed was really white and ready to come off, but he wasn't moving enough to get it off. I increased his misting but he wasn't moving to take it off. I decided to help him a little bit, being careful to not damage the new skin. The shed flaked off really easily. I thought that was his problem, but he has continued to stay at the bottom of his cage. He wasn't eating or drinking very much. I held him in my hand and turned on the misters and he drank some water, but only a little bit. I gathered a stool sample and the urate was orange, so I could tell he was dehydrated.

I took him to the vet and couldn't find any physical signs of illness. X-rays looked good, white blood cells seemed normal, grip is good, and no parasites. The vet gave him some fluids to rehydrate and I was instructed to try and force feed. I got him home and he readily ate crickets out of my hand, but wouldn't shoot his tongue. I would just put the crickets up to his nose and he would eat. His tongue also seemed normal during the vet check.

After all of my research, I can't find a reason why he seems to be doing poorly. I know this message is long winded, but I wanted to throw out everything I have done. Has anyone had an experience like this and are there any solutions.

Thanks,
Anthony

 

[shmeenakoz]

Hi and welcome, sorry your dude is acting strange. It may help many of us if you fill out the "ask for help" and answer those questions. How old is your cham and what is the d3 brand?

 

[alobato6]

Forum questions and pictures

Your Chameleon - Male ambilobe Panther chameleon. He is 6 months old and he has been in my care for a little over 1 month.
Handling -I didn't handle him at all until he seemed sick. Now I hold him up to water droplets to drink and have been hand feeding him food.
Feeding - I have been feeding him crickets, super worms and Dubai roaches. Roughly 10 crickets per day and either one roach or worm per day. I feed him about 30 minutes after his lights turn on in the morning. I have been gut loading the feeders with mustard greens, collard greens, papaya, apples, and carrots. Blended in a food processor and fed to the feeders. I have also thrown in a couple Total Bites cricket and feeder food from Nature Zone.
Supplements - I have been dusting my feeders in Repticalcium without D3 from Zoo Med every day. Once every two weeks with Repticalcium with D3 from Zoo Med. Once every two weeks with Rep Cal Multivitamins.
Watering - I have an automatic mister programmed to mist for one minute every 3 hours and for 30 seconds between each one minute misting. The cage dries out between each misting. I used to see him drink, but now I hold his nose under droplets and he takes them in.
Fecal Description - Before illness, the urates were white, but his most recent stool was orange. I took it into the vet and no parasites were found
History - My chameleon was doing fine until about a week ago. I found him very close to the bottom of the cage, but I figured he was exploring or waiting for me to feed him. I placed his crickets and he usually eats right away, but this time he didn't. I left him alone and went to check on him an hour later and he was on the bottom of his cage. He didn't eat and I noticed he was starting to shed. I figured he needed some space and wasn't interested in eating during his shed. I removed the crickets and increased his misting to help the shed. I gave him some space. I came back and checked on him later but he was still at the bottom of his cage. After two days his shed still hadn't come off and he was still at the bottom of his cage. The shed was very white and ready to come off, so I helped him flake off the pieces that were easy. The skin was ready, but he wasn't moving enough to get the skin off. This was the first time I held him and his grip seemed strong. I gave him another couple days thinking that may have been the problem but the same behavior continued of staying on the floor of his cage. He wasn't eating and I didn't see him drink much. I took him to the vet and they said his bones from the X-ray look good, no parasites, and his white blood cell count looked good. They also couldn't see anything wrong with his kidneys from the X-ray. Since the vet visit, I have hand fed him some food and we gave him an injection to rehydrate, but the same behavior has continued. Some other things I have noticed when he is sleeping is that he sometimes sleeps with only one foot attached to the branch or he sleeps upside down. I'm not sure if this is normal, but he usually slept with his head up, close to a branch, and his tail curled.


Cage Type - Screen cage, 2x2x4
Lighting - I have the zoo med reptisun led/uvb 5.0 light. The lights are on from 6:00 am until 6:00 p.m. The basking light is a 60 watt incandescent bulb.
Temperature - The basking spot ranges from 87 to 93 degrees and the floor of the cage is about 70 degrees. I have measured these temps with a digital thermometer. The lowest overnight temp is 68 degrees.
Humidity - I have a automatic misting system and it stays at about 70%. I measure this with a hygrometer
Plants - I have two hibiscus plants.
Placement - The cage is located in a spare bedroom with low traffic. They only time we go in that room is to check on the chameleon. The top of the cage is 6 feet from the floor.
Location - I am located in Denver, CO

 

[alobato6]

Photos

Here is a photo of the lights

 

[alobato6]

Photo of Cham

Photo 1 of Roscoe

 

[alobato6]

Photo of cham

Photo 2 of Roscoe

 

[alobato6]

Photo 3

photo 3 of Roscoe

 

[shmeenakoz]

First thing I noticed is his basking spot is a bit to hot for his age, he may be lower down in the enclosure due to this. His basking temps for his age need to be 82F max. until he is over 9 months old.

One last thing Im thinking of, do you let the humidity drop or "dry" out between mistings?

Hope this helps a bit and good luck, he's a beautiful cham!