Help! Never posted before! Fearing my cham is sick!
- Thread starter LisaBaby
- Start date
pssh
Avid Member
Red light will be fine until you get a normal house bulb. Does she have a noticable skinny stomach under her ribs? Or is she just flat (leaf-like)? You can often count chameleons ribs when they breathe, but if she looks like her stomach area is being pulled in (further than her ribs) she could be very far gone. I recommend a vet visit.
PardalisGirl
Avid Member
Time for the vet...........
That's a sign that she is having trouble breathing. It's a sign that she needs to get to a vet. You can't ignore respiratory issues. From what you described she may have been too cold before you put the heat bulb in. It's true that she may be a little on the hot side now. But I would not move the temperatures down too much. Chameleons with respiratory issues should be kept a little warmer than normal. Healthy Veileds can go down to the high to mid sixties at night as a matter of routine. A Veiled with a respiratory issue should not go below 72 degrees at night. The warmer night temperatures help the immune system defeat the infection. Reptile bodies (don't produce their own body heat) fight infection/bacteria better at higher temperatures. The wrong UVB bulb (causing eye closure and less eating and drinking) combined with cooler temperatures probably did a double wammy to her immune system. Your fixing the things that caused the issue but she may need an antibiotic to get well. Do you have a good reptile vet already?
That's a sign that she is having trouble breathing. It's a sign that she needs to get to a vet. You can't ignore respiratory issues. From what you described she may have been too cold before you put the heat bulb in. It's true that she may be a little on the hot side now. But I would not move the temperatures down too much. Chameleons with respiratory issues should be kept a little warmer than normal. Healthy Veileds can go down to the high to mid sixties at night as a matter of routine. A Veiled with a respiratory issue should not go below 72 degrees at night. The warmer night temperatures help the immune system defeat the infection. Reptile bodies (don't produce their own body heat) fight infection/bacteria better at higher temperatures. The wrong UVB bulb (causing eye closure and less eating and drinking) combined with cooler temperatures probably did a double wammy to her immune system. Your fixing the things that caused the issue but she may need an antibiotic to get well. Do you have a good reptile vet already?
She is sucking in very very much but then she releases every so often [not the same as breathing]. I keep trying to look up good vets. I can't seem to find any but there has to be some around! I live in Michigan .. about 30min away from Detroit .. so I know there should be one in the area right??
PardalisGirl
Avid Member
Red bulb ok....
You can use the red bulb to keep things warm at night if it gets below 72 degrees until she is well. When she is well you can use a house bulb during the day that shuts off at night. I know some people have a thing about red bulbs for some reason. I don't. I use them on all my cages at night during the winter. I've got hundreds of chams sleeping under them just fine at night. My house is kept on the cool side at night so I need night time heating in my cages. During the rest of the year the red bulbs are switched off until the next winter.
You can use the red bulb to keep things warm at night if it gets below 72 degrees until she is well. When she is well you can use a house bulb during the day that shuts off at night. I know some people have a thing about red bulbs for some reason. I don't. I use them on all my cages at night during the winter. I've got hundreds of chams sleeping under them just fine at night. My house is kept on the cool side at night so I need night time heating in my cages. During the rest of the year the red bulbs are switched off until the next winter.
PardalisGirl
Avid Member
Respiratory....
The sucking in and holding her head up are classic signs of respiratory issues. Do a search on the forum for "Detroit". Use the advanced options. Find some members in Detroit and PM them to see if they have a good vet. You want one that sees a lot of reptiles, including chameleons. Not all vets do. My cats go to our local vet. My chams go to a vet in a nearby town who does exotics and reptiles.
The sucking in and holding her head up are classic signs of respiratory issues. Do a search on the forum for "Detroit". Use the advanced options. Find some members in Detroit and PM them to see if they have a good vet. You want one that sees a lot of reptiles, including chameleons. Not all vets do. My cats go to our local vet. My chams go to a vet in a nearby town who does exotics and reptiles.
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