help me please!!!!

[melmelion]

ok so im a little new at this so here it goes,
so, a couple days a go i noticed my cham was acting a little strange, strange like even though he's eating hes really really thin. he's also been really bright green with black pebble looking things on his head, down his spine, and down his tail. his lips are also black. hes also been sleeping during the day for loooonnnnggg periods of times.his eyes also seem a little sunken to me but my mom says they arnt. hes also digging one inch holes all over his cage. we found out he was a dude last night so its defiantly not infertile eggs. i used to have two but the other died this way. im scared for my little guy, so help!!!

 

[Chameleons09]

Can you please copy and paste the questions below and fill in your answers. This will help people know how your cage and all is set up to try and help you figure out what is going on.

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.

 

[melmelion]

Your Chameleon - senegal chameleon, about 7 or 8 months, been in my care since january
Handling - once or twice a day
Feeding - 5 crickets every other day, i dont know what there gutloaded with because the crickets i buy come gutloaded
Supplements - i dont know its already all done when i buy the crickets
Watering - i mist his cage with a spray bottle everytime the humidity is under 55, and i see him drinking all the time, infact he'd rather drink strait from the nozle
Fecal Description - brownish runny poop with a weirdyellow thing at the top. i havnt seen any fresh poop in a while though . i think he was tested for parasites before i got him
History - he's been dropped about three times by me really little sisters and when i left him with a friend for a few days she almost took off his tail but it didnt bleed .


Cage Info:

Cage Type - its a ten gallon glass cube tank with a screen roof. iv got a Styrofoam rock wall in the back of the cage, coconut husk bedding, two big fake plant, a twistable fake vine, a dripper we only use as a basking rockand some real rocks at the bottom
Lighting - we have a basking bulb, a red light for the night, and a UV lamp, we have the UV and baskind bulb on during the day and the red light on at night

Temperature -75- 95 during the day, 50 - 85 in the night
Humidity - 55 - 85.
Plants - we dont use live plants but im trying to get some
Placement - the cage is right next to the door to my room, right down the hall from were his cage is is the air conditioner, and across my room theres a window and right outside the window is the main road in my town which is always full of traffic
Location - im in michigan


Current Problem - please read my first post up at the top.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums and I am so sorry to hear that your little guy is not well.

I don't know much about Senegals but I can tell you that the crickets you buy are not properly gut loaded nor have the needed supplements.

As I said I know very little about Senegals but I believe you are keeping him too hot. We do have a few members here that keep or have kept Senegals so hopefully they will see your thread.

I believe Senegals are wild caught and wild caughts usually have parasites so I would recommend a vet visit and a fecal.

 

[Carlton]

Your Chameleon - senegal chameleon, about 7 or 8 months, been in my care since january
Handling - once or twice a day
Feeding - 5 crickets every other day, i dont know what there gutloaded with because the crickets i buy come gutloaded
Supplements - i dont know its already all done when i buy the crickets
Watering - i mist his cage with a spray bottle everytime the humidity is under 55, and i see him drinking all the time, infact he'd rather drink strait from the nozle
Fecal Description - brownish runny poop with a weirdyellow thing at the top. i havnt seen any fresh poop in a while though . i think he was tested for parasites before i got him
History - he's been dropped about three times by me really little sisters and when i left him with a friend for a few days she almost took off his tail but it didnt bleed .


Cage Info:

Cage Type - its a ten gallon glass cube tank with a screen roof. iv got a Styrofoam rock wall in the back of the cage, coconut husk bedding, two big fake plant, a twistable fake vine, a dripper we only use as a basking rockand some real rocks at the bottom
Lighting - we have a basking bulb, a red light for the night, and a UV lamp, we have the UV and baskind bulb on during the day and the red light on at night

Temperature -75- 95 during the day, 50 - 85 in the night
Humidity - 55 - 85.
Plants - we dont use live plants but im trying to get some
Placement - the cage is right next to the door to my room, right down the hall from were his cage is is the air conditioner, and across my room theres a window and right outside the window is the main road in my town which is always full of traffic
Location - im in michigan


Current Problem - please read my first post up at the top.

Your cham is in trouble and you need to change a lot of your care to help him.

First, most chams really don't want to be held at all. Your sisters just shouldn't be picking him up especially if they are not responsible or careful.

Get rid of the red light at night. Chams don't need ANY heat at night unless your room gets colder than 55. All that light and heat is cooking him.

This tank is too small, too hot, too dry for a Senegal. If the pet store where you got him told you how to care for him they were really wrong! We'll help you improve it, but I'd first suggest you read the sticky message at the top of this forum "basic care husbandry for chameleons". There is a LOT you can do for him just from reading that.

The crickets you are buying are not "gutloaded". Crickets only stay gutloaded if they can constantly eat the right foods. If you don't feed them correctly after you bring them home they are just crunchy shells without much nutrition for your cham.

In addition to feeding the insects correctly you also need to dust them with supplement powders on a specific schedule. Again, read the basic husbandry info for that.

Get rid of the bedding, the rocks, and add live potted plants. They don't have to be fancy plants...even a bushy Pothos will help a lot. Just rinse and rub off the leaves to make sure there are no pesticides or residues on the leaves. That's what he may drink from.

Your cham was most likely NOT tested for any parasites. Hardly any pet stores do this on anything they sell.

The poop you see is made up of two parts, like a bird's. The dark brownish part is the feces. The lighter blob is the urate (which they produce instead of urine like mammals do). It should be white, not tan or orange. He is very dehydrated. Its great that he drinks right from the sprayer...let him drink as much as he wants. He'll stop when he is full.

 

[Lovereps]

Welcome to the forum!
It is good that you are trying to learn as much as possible about caring for your Senegal chameleon.
Too often , sellers give bad info on what chams need and unfortunately, that can lead to the chams getting sick and dying.
There are a number of things that chams absolutely need in order to be healthy and not all sellers know enough to tell you what your cham needs.

Carlton has given you very good info and advice.

A cham who sleeps in the daytime is a sick cham.
Chams hide all signs of illness until they are too weak to hide the symptoms anymore.
Sadly, sometimes by the time illness is recognized, a cham may be too sick to be able to recover--but some chams are able to overcome their illness after visiting a good vet who knows how to treat chameleons and which medicines they need.

Here are more details on cham health and sickness:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/healthx/


This one is a great caresheet to know how often and which supplements to dust his feeders with to keep him healthy, plus temperatures, humidity, etc. that Senegal chams need:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/senegal/[/QUOTE]

If you get your cham examined by a good vet who prescribes the right medicine and you change his enclosure so it fits his needs, your cham might be able to recover.