help- murray, sunken eyes and sleeping during the day

[bimac6]

And the lady at the herp store told me to get repti-aid in the mean time, so I bought it, but I'm hesitant to use it, seeing as I don't even know what's going on yet.

 

[bimac6]

He looks dehydrated to me (collapsed casque). From your description you don't really know how dry your cage is getting between mistings. Do you have a humidity gauge? Not the little pet shop analog type...they are terrible. Get a decent digital type at a home improvement store. I would bet your cage is a lot drier than you realize for much of the day. Chams lose a lot of body moisture through respiration in dry air. If he was well hydrated he would not be drinking every time you spray (3 times a day), he would not try to drink out of the dripper tub, and his casque would be full and fat looking.

Some things to do right now:
Get the humidity gauge (hygrometer).
Add live plants to his cage to offer more surfaces for evaporation.
You can safely cover part of the cage with plastic sheeting to hold in some moisture.
Mist for longer periods (2 minutes is not very long) or start misting, wait for him to start reflex swallowing, and gently spray over his head so the water drips down his face. He may start licking and swallowing this way too. Keep spritzing until he tips his head up and turns away from the water. Chams have small stomachs and can't "store" a lot of water at any one time.
Try using a room humidifier aimed right into the cage. Run it in cycles controlled by a lamp timer.

The humidity is the exact same as it's been for a year, and he's been thriving. Up until recently he's been drinking a lot more than usual.
What I was thinking before I posted is that he has some sort of internal bacteria or something, that is taking away all the water i'm giving him, making him dehydrated. because his fecal is still normal LOOKING. I'm going to bring him to a vet as soon as I can. I'm almost positive it has something to do with the water he drank at the bottom of his cage. Thanks for the input

 

[bimac6]

And the spritz was an estimation
When I spray him, I wait for him to look like he's finished, (the exact way you put it, he tilts his head up, and faces away) and then I'm done. It's whenever he's finished really, which is usually 2-3 minutes.
And I have his dripper on constantly

 

[bimac6]

I just gave him a cricket and he's not even chewing it.
he's just holding it inside of his mouth.
and i have no way of checking if he has eaten it while I wasn't looking.


is it dangerous for him to have it just whole, inside of his mouth, beyond his teeth?
I'm afraid he's going to choke on it

 

[kinyonga]

You need to get this chameleon to a vet now...I don't think it will make it until next week.

 

[Eszzie]

Indeed, if you see your cham is sick, take it immidiatly to a vet instead of wasting time at a forum (sorry, i know it's useful to ask other people's experiences but chams are fragile and need immediate help)

I'm thinking of some sort of worm or parasite. Every animal has parasites already inside it's body but it could come out to be a problem when the animal is in stress.

 

[Julirs]

I would call today, as I am sure they will be closed tomorrow and booked Friday and Saturday. I really would not wait until next week.