Help! I think my chameleon is sick!

knc01

New Member
I have a 6 month old male veiled chameleon. I have only had him for about a month. About a week ago I noticed his right eye had been shut and I thought this was due to dehydration. I increased his mist and this seemed to help until about three days ago when both his eyes have been shut constantly and won’t seem to really open them when I mist him even. Yesterday I noticed he hadn’t moved from where he slept the night before and was darker in color and I knew something was really wrong. My room has been a little cooler so I left his lights on through the night and today he seemed much greener in color and was active more. Both his eyes are still shut today and he makes me nervous walking around he’s going to fall. He hasn’t eaten or drank in about 2 days but I have misted him and tried mouth feeding him water. I have made an appointment to see a vet but the earlier I can go is Monday!

His cage is 24” x 36” wire mesh so he can climb the sides.
He has a 10.0 UVB ZooMed Reptisun light which was recommended for young chameleons. He has a basking light as well. i have a water dripper in his cage as well and lots of vines to climb. I feed him crickets which are fed a fortified vitamin diet and dust them with D3 calcium powder about 2xs a month.

Im not sure what else to do but want to help him until I can make it to the vets on Monday! Any suggestions please?!
 

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Hi Welcome to the forum. Please fill this out with as much detail as possible so that we can help you. Pictures of the entire cage lights down would be helpful. Absolutely no lighting at night they need a 12 hour on 12 hour off cycle. They can do a temp drop down to 50 degrees just fine.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.

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?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:

  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - Male, veiled chameleon, about 6 months old and I’ve only had him for about a month
  • Handling - I have only taken him out of his cage three times
  • Feeding - I’ve been feeding him crickets supplemented with vitamins and well as calcium D3 dust 2 times a month. I feed him daily if he is eating the crickets.
  • Supplements - the crickets are fed Flukers Cricket quencher with calcium, and are dusted 2xs a month with Flukers calcium D3 dust.
  • Watering - I treat all water he gets with ZooMed Reptisafe water conditioner. He has a drip system in his cage next to a vine so he can perch and drink.
  • Fecal Description - His stool is brown and yellow/clear like it should be. However about three times I’ve noticed some blood on it. He has not been tested for parasites but I purchased him from PetSmart
Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - His cage is a 24” x 36” wire screen cage
  • Lighting - I leave his lights on for 12 hours a day. He has a basking bulb 75 watt and a zoo med Reptisun 10.0 UVB light
  • Temperature - I am unsure of temperature range
  • Humidity - I mist him with a spray bottle about 5 times a day. I go through abut 1.5 cups of water from the daily mists
  • Plants - I have all artificial plants that have been approved reptile safe
  • Placement - My cage is located by my bedroom door away from windows.
  • Location - Ohio
 

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Ok after looking through everything and seeing the cage. I am going to say he needs a Vet that knows how to treat chams. He should never have blood in the stool. The eyes being sunken in and the closing of the eyes for days means his body is shutting down. I am going to go through your help form. There will be a lot of feedback on this for his husbandry. But you need to start calling around to Vets now and get him in asap. Make sure they know how to treat chams. You need to try to take in a fresh fecal if he produces one.
 
Ok after looking through everything and seeing the cage. I am going to say he needs a Vet that knows how to treat chams. He should never have blood in the stool. The eyes being sunken in and the closing of the eyes for days means his body is shutting down. I am going to go through your help form. There will be a lot of feedback on this for his husbandry. But you need to start calling around to Vets now and get him in asap. Make sure they know how to treat chams. You need to try to take in a fresh fecal if he produces one.
Do you suggest anything I can do until to can get him to a vet on Monday? I called to see if I could tomorrow but they do not have openings and are closed on weekends!
 
Do you suggest anything I can do until to can get him to a vet on Monday? I called to see if I could tomorrow but they do not have openings and are closed on weekends!
Do they have emergency services. My vets have this option I just need to pay more money witch I had to do for my male once when he had coccidia
 

Ok see all feedback in red bold. there will be alot. Your priority is getting him Vet care first. He is dying.

Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - Male, veiled chameleon, about 6 months old and I’ve only had him for about a month
  • Handling - I have only taken him out of his cage three times
  • Feeding - I’ve been feeding him crickets supplemented with vitamins and well as calcium D3 dust 2 times a month. I feed him daily if he is eating the crickets. How many crickets are you feeding and how many is he eating?
  • Supplements - the crickets are fed Flukers Cricket quencher with calcium, and are dusted 2xs a month with Flukers calcium D3 dust. Flukers is not a good gutload. You have to use something like repashy Bug burger or a varied diet of mixed veg. I will post an image for this.
  • Watering - I treat all water he gets with ZooMed Reptisafe water conditioner. He has a drip system in his cage next to a vine so he can perch and drink. Is this running consistently during the day?
  • Fecal Description - His stool is brown and yellow/clear like it should be. However about three times I’ve noticed some blood on it. He has not been tested for parasites but I purchased him from PetSmart There should never be blood in the stool. He needs his fecal tested as well as a Vet check up now. A good fecal will be brown and firm then the Urate should be mostly white. No more then 50% should be yellow. We are looking for more white then yellow to show hydration. All white means over hydrated and all yellow means dehydrated.
Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - His cage is a 24” x 36” wire screen cage You will need to upgrade this cage to a 2x2x4. He needs many many more branches and live plants. It should be filled out so he can hide and fully move around.
  • Lighting - I leave his lights on for 12 hours a day. He has a basking bulb 75 watt and a zoo med Reptisun 10.0 UVB light 12 hour a day cycles yes. But the UVB is incorrect for him. You have to get a T5HO fixture that runs the length of the cage with a 5.0 zoo med bulb. Then your basking branch needs to be 7-8 inches below this for him to get the correct UVB levels. This is extremely important. The compact bulb your using is useless for chameleons.
  • Temperature - I am unsure of temperature range You have to get a temp guage with a probe and tie it in at basking level below the heat bulb. and then a temp gun to check surface temps. this is the only way to ensure he is getting the correct temps to digest without being too hot as well. He should not be any warmer then 85 at basking under his lamp.
  • Humidity - I mist him with a spray bottle about 5 times a day. I go through abut 1.5 cups of water from the daily mists... You have to have a humidity gauge. They need a level of 30-40% during the day. Higher and it can create respiratory infections.
  • Plants - I have all artificial plants that have been approved reptile safe. No artificial plants are Veiled safe. They are known for eating their plants. Should he get a piece off this will cause an impaction. You want live plants only. Dwarf umbrella and pothos are great options and then cover the soil with 1 inch or larger rocks so he cant eat the soil.
  • Placement - My cage is located by my bedroom door away from windows.
  • Location - Ohio

Should he make it I am happy to help you with set up for your cage. Along with providing more info and links for you to learn from. But right now he is not good.
 
Do you suggest anything I can do until to can get him to a vet on Monday? I called to see if I could tomorrow but they do not have openings and are closed on weekends!
He is dying. He will not make it until Monday hun. Call them back tell them it is an emergency and that you need to bring him now. His body is shutting down. Make sure they know how to treat chams or they will not be able to help either.
 
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