help cham not ate for about 8 days!!

lizzy

lizzy

New Member
i have a chameleon about 8 months old everything was going great untill about 8-9 days ago she just stopped eating. Someone suggested she had eggs in her so i got her a box of sand/peat mix an put a stick in etc but nothing i have been litrally spooning water into her mouth (with calcium) but she still isnt interested in food and has very poor strength-any suggestions kids are very worried!!
 
hmm , OK lets go ahead and fill this out. the more information you give us , the quicker we can help. 8days isn't to much for a female chameleon if she is gravid. lets see if we can get thsi remedied however.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
* Location - Where are you geographically located?


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
* Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
 
Im new to the whole chameleon thing so hope its not my fault!

Her cage is glass about 16inch by 24 inch

she has a 100w heat glow (exoterra) also has a 10.0 uva (same make)and off a night has a night glow 25w (same make) all recomended by person i got her off (they have 2 chams)

temp is about 77f at night its about 60f measured with digital thermometer

havent a clue about humidity??

she just has fake plants (again recomended)

tank is by a air vent (is this bad??)

i live in the uk

dont know the species female 8 months old had her since august 08

i feed her crickets and locust and also worms i normally put a few in each day i dust her food with calcium (dont know brand sorry get it from the pet shop)

yes i see her drinking (but not for last few days now)

we handle her on a daily basis (was told this was ok)

droppings are brown in colour not too hard but not soft either

im just worried about her not eating and lack of strength she hasent been climbing for last 6 days or so now and im litrally spooning water into her mouth every few hrs.
 
I'm afraid I have to leave for most of the day so I cannot address your husbandry issues.

But I do want to write and ask you to please call right away and make a vet appointment for her. It sounds like she needs more help than a few husbandry adjustments will do. Once a chameleon is that weak and not eating, it can be beyond the keeper's ability to rehab. I don't know what time it is where you live (don't have time to check now) but please call a vet at the soonest.

Also, that photo(s) is of prime importance, especially since you don't know what species she is.
 
OK, well as gesang said. their is alot to correct. bein in the UK a glass enclosure is typically used, but from what you said , that aquarium is far to small for an 8 month old chameleon.

their is plenty of husbandry issues. but we can try to work on that. the best advice is as gesang said and to call/schedule a vet appointment asap.


your lighting seems excessive.

should be two lights. one reptisun 5.0 tube bulb, 1 60watt house bulb... *if temps drop at night a small space heater could be used in the room, rather then heating the whole tank*.

ideal a screen mesh enclosure at least 2'x2'x3' is typically reccomended, BUT since you are in the UK they do things a bit differently.


you need to find out what kind of calcium you have, their is 3 or 4 types of calcium, not just brand.


live plants are very importants for humidity reasons. if you don't know what your humidity is this can be very bad, its best if you invest into a so/so priced digital hydrometer, they cost about 20 bucks.

your feeding methods are fine.


as for her being so weak she can't climb now, that is a serious problem. vet is really neccisary and their is the possibility she won't make it. *i make that assumption considering the limited amount of info provided.
 
Last edited:
From the description you mentioned, I think you have quite a lot to change in the husbandry. And, sometimes this can be overwhelming to people.

So, here is my advice:
1. Don't panic.
2. Call the vet first. I agree with Gesang. seems like your chameleon will need the vet no matter what. So, vet will be #1 on your list.
3. For the light. Do you mean 10.0 uvB? or it actually listed uvA?
4. Stop the handling unless it is absolutely necessary. If indeed she is gravid, handling her everyday will stress her to a point that she refuse to lay eggs (egg binding).

Hope she can pull through this one.
 
just found out she is a veiled chameleon

bulb is uvb
will phone vet 1st thing in morning
will leave her alone but she hasent seemed stressed at all been a really light colour goes a bit darker in the evening.

Thanks for the advice!!!!!
 
i would call the vet like dodolah mentioned, the cage seems a bit small for a veiled chameleon. I use a 10 gallon aquarium, but i have modifed it just a bit and i have a senegal cham which just reaches about 10". ( you can see my set up here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/update-22531/ . Also answer some of the questions above so we can get a little more insight to help you better!
 
25aqd93.jpg
 
Somebody else more experienced will chime in here (I could be wrong).
I see egg shape on lizzy tummy (nearby the backleg).
I think she needs to have laying bin and a complete privacy.
She won't lay eggs if she knew that you or other creatures knew where the digging site is.
 
Thanks all i have put her somewhere private so hopefully she will lay some eggs!!! I did try this last week but hopefully this time she will lay some?? will keep you posted!
 
Does she have a bin for her to lay eggs in? It needs to be fairly large at least a foot or so deep and fill it with damp play sand. Not wet but damp enough so it can hold a tunnel.

EDIT: Oh yea. It would be best to leace it in her cage with her so sh ecan get used to it. Also cover the sides of the cage and do not look in unless you are offering water. They are pretty shy when it comes to laying eggs.
 
I am back now. If you read the site that Brad recommended it will do you and your cham a world of good. It's tried-and-true real life husbandry instruction and recommendations. And Sang and Dodolah give great advice. Glad you got the photo loaded up- it helps a lot.

Your girl seems to have a lot of edema (swelling due to water retention). There is deep edema around the arm and shoulder area. Sometimes this is related to the gravid (egg carrying) condition, sometimes it is due to other factors. I have not seen this much edema in a normal healthy gravid chameleon.

The rounded bulge at her rear area looks like fat pad to me. Females have 2 nice fat storage pads back there, one on either hip. But the pad is likely pushed out due to the presence of eggs. Her torso looks quite rotund as well.

If she is very weak I would question her ability to lay the eggs spontaneously. But a vet can help her with that. We recently had a female Sambava who became eggbound. I tried to get her to lay her eggs in a trashcan style egg bin to no avail. This was a secondary clutch and so I could not really say how long overdue she was. I failed to have a laying bin ready in her cage, not realizing she was nearly due. I went to her one morning during this and found her sitting there with her eyes deeply sunken in. Thinking she was at death's door I rushed her to the vets. They took an Xray and then gave her subcutaneous fluids and a shot to induce labor. The Xray is important to try to help determine whether the eggs are still in the ovary or are now in the ovaduct, and whether laying the eggs is feasible.

Our panther girl laid all her eggs in 2 days and sprang back to perfect health. She had been getting misted several times a day and even showered (I most always shower our gravid females), but in spite of that she still needed additional fluids and help from the vet. I obviously was not monitoring her closely enough and missed some key husbandry detail, and I should have kept a laying bin in her cage almost all the time since she was cycling eggs.
 
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