Help! Chameleon not eating and vomiting!!

Katie20

New Member
Please help!
I have a Spiny and he ate okay (not alot but he did eat) when i 1st got him. But i left him to it and left plenty of locust in there with him so he had the choice. However in the past week or 2 he has completely stopped eating! I only noticed because his viv was becoming over crowded with the locusts and crickets. I took him to the vets and they told me to force feed him wax worms and give him Baytril 2.5% oral solution every other day on a 0.2ml dosage which i have been trying, however he was vomiting everything back up, chewed up but pretty much whole (he wasnt even starting to digest it). After that i checked some forums and started to make him a pureed form of the wax worms and syringe feed him that instead which is working some days but not others and he vomited quite badly tonight. I am ringing the vet again in the morning and seeing what i can do about it but i am really starting to worry about him and really need help from someone who knows about careing for these type of pets. I'm sure the vet knows what shes talking about but her suggestions havent worked yet.
Any other questions please ask and i hope someone will be able to help me
Katie x
 
Additional information

Chameleon: male spiny, unsure of exact age but the pet shop said he was fully grown when i got him so approx 2-3years i think i havent had him long maybe 2months
Handling: at the moment i am handling him every day due to me having to hand feed him, however before that i wa trying to handle him 3times a week approximatly
Feeding: i was advised at first to just keep him constantly stocked up on food, i tried locusts, mealworms, crickets and waxworms
Fecial description: i actually didnt think about checking as i have had bedding down, although i am not sure why as he doesnt ever go on the floor however i will remove the bedding and check tomorrow
Drinking: i have no issue with his drinking he drinks well and lets me know if he wants additional water by looking upwards at the dripper i mist twice a day at least morning and evening and if i'm in all day and i see him looking for water then i will mist him then aswell

Habitat
Cage: mesh vivarium to keep it ventilated
Lighting: i use the reptisun 5.0 uvb 15w and also have a heat lamp on him aswell. I have it on from 9in the morning until 9 at night
Temperature: i try to keep it nice and warm for him i have a cool side of the viv which gets down to 20-18 degrees c and a hotter side which i have known to reach temperatures of 30-35 degrees c under the heat light
Humidity: i like to keep the viv at humid as i can between 50-75 % i have had problems with this at the start as its fully mesh but i found a good way to maintain it using drippers and a mister and as i mentioned before i also manually spray him twice a day minimum
Plants: i have a fictus? (I think thats how it spelt) anastasia. Apart from that i use artificial plants
I also use coconut soil recommended by the pet shop i bought him from
Location: He is currently living in my bedroom as it is the quietest place in my house (i still live with parents and there are 6 of us in the house, however my room is the only room strictly out of bounds to everyone including parents
My location: i live in a small town called garstang near preston in lancashire, england

My problem is that he will not keep his food down. I have contacted my local reptile vet whom gave me oral drops for him and told me to force feed which seems not to work, so i mush the wax worms up and syringe feed them to him orally which works every other day it seems.
Is there anyone out there who can help with this. I really am getting worried
Sorry i have written alot but i want to give as much info as possible so i can try and get the help i need
Katie
 
Hi Katie. Sorry no one has got back to you. I'm not knowledgable about spiny chams. Generally I wouldn't let temps rise above 30. Is all heat turned off at night along with lights? It's good for chams to have a temp drop at night to slow down their metabolism to allow them to sleep. Baytral is a good antibiotic but it can be hard on the kidneys so extra water is needed. Waxworms are not very nutritious, can you mush up crickets instead, Why did vet give antibiotics? Is your vet experienced in reptiles? What supplements do you use and how often? So glad you messages me, hopefully we can help you.:)
 
It's never a good sign when a chameleon vomits IMHO.

I wonder if he could be impacted from eating substrate or if he could have worms? Is/was he pooping?
 
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