Help With Butter !!!!

Scooter

New Member
Cage Info:
Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
Screen cage 48x36x36

Lighting -
Sunglo florescent tube 5.0; heating/basking light 250 watt

Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot
temp at basking is about 90

temp? What is the temperature at night?
I have a ceramic heater that I keep on low, if temp falls below 60 it goes on.

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
Drip runs for 2 hours in am, 2 hrs in afternoon; misting by hand 3 to 4 times daily until plants are dripping.

Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
shiffleria, ficus, pathos

Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?
corner of living room. low traffic area. no fans, far from vent.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
veiled, male, purchased 7/3/07, at purchase he was about 2" including tail.

Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Silkworms. fed mulberry mush of course. miner all 1 3x week. reptivit once in 2 weeks.

Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
miner all 1 3x week. reptivit once in 2 weeks.

Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
He won't eat, or drink.

Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
urates are yellowish.

History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
He had been doing great, then about a month ago I noticed one morning he looked like he had been eating dirt, and was on the bottom of the enclousure. I took him out, rinsed him off, he opened his mouth, and I used a teaspoon with water to rinse his mouth. Since then he does not eat. I have been force feeding him everyother day by picking him up, and pissing him off, and he opens his mouth to get mad at me, and I stick a silk worm in his mouth. He then eats it. Then I use a dropper and put water in his mouth, as he is chewing.

Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

He still won't eat with out me doing this. I put worms in his cage, like I always have (he went off crickets a few months ago) with some lettuce greens, and he ignores it. I let him go 4 days, to see if he would eat on his own, and he looked like death warmed over. His mouth looks fine to me when he opens it to try to bite me, and I shove a worm in.... I took him to my vet, (2 weeks ago) who did a fecal and came up clean, he looked at him and said that he was dehydrated so I really pushed fluids, but he just won't eat or drink !!!

Is it time to let this guy just commit reptile suicide by starvation ???!!! I cannot imagine doing that. I'm trying everything that I know how to do. I'm a long time tortoise and Iguana fan, and have fostered stubborn iguanas that refused to feed in my day, but this cham has me at wits end.
 
Sorry to hear about Butter. Please don't give up. You are his only chance. I know it's frustrating, but you've put so much love and care into him already.

One thing I can tell you from our experience is that dehydration hinders the appetite. The chams we have that would not drink had to be showered. Once they got well hydrated they began eating. Have you tried showering him? We do it in our house by placing the chameleon's plant in the shower with the cham on it. Position the shower head so that the water "bounces" off the wall of the shower and onto the plant. Some people recommend turning the lights out and leaving the cham in the dark in the shower. We leave the lights on, and turn up the heat in the bathroom, so it gets like a little sauna. But don't use hot water, just very warm. You can test the water temp on your wrist, or your inner forearm, and it should feel comfortably warm to you. Our guy loves it. For a first time shower with a dehydrated cham I would recommend 30 minutes at the least. It is possible that his basic problem is dehydration. In a case like this we would shower once or twice a week. Most chams then eventually begin eating normally and drinking water when misted in their enclosure. But you have to mist them long enough for the drinking reflex to kick in. It is different for each cham. And don't be afraid to mist him directly. It won't kill him (even though he will act like it does).
 
You said..."I used a teaspoon with water to rinse his mouth"...is it possible you got water in his lungs?

Is he behaving normally in all other ways except for the eating?
 
go back to crickets or something else, change the food and see if that works. mine hated silkworms the first time i got them(3 months ago). he got a little parasite in him and wouldnt eat for 5 days. nothing so i decided to go back to silkworms and bam. he ate quite a few the second i put new ones in there. so try changing the food back to crickets or maybe do houseflies or superworms or phoenix worms to give him a change of pace
 
Howdy Scooter,

Posting some photos of him and his setup might help.

Lighting - Sunglo florescent tube 5.0; heating/basking light 250 watt
I'm assuming that you meant a ReptiGlo tube (UVB) and not a SunGlo bulb (not UVB).
250 watt basking sound like a really powerful basking heat source. Photos would help me understand how close he can get to light/heat/UVB without cooking under the 250W basking lamp and still access the UVB source within 6"-12". Describe the distances etc. regarding your lighting setup.

As Gesang mentioned, hydration could be the root cause. If you are hand misting, use a handheld pump-up type so that you can continuously saturate him with a light but constant misty/drippy rain of warm (100-120F) water. Chameleons, especially sick ones, can be very touchy about drinking. It may take 10-20-30 minutes to trigger the drinking process. If I remember right, you are out in the "high desert" of SoCal. I'd be concerned that the humidity could be on the low side. Use a Lowe's AcuRite $13 digital temp/humidity or equivalent type to keep an eye on his environmental conditions.

Post photos...
 
I have his basking lamp on a reiostat (you know a switch that you can change the intensity) and I keep the lamp on whatever I need to keep his basking spot at around the 90 point.

I keep his branches a good 8-10" from the top, and he is not one to cling to the roof.

Yes, it is uvb 5.0 light. not his basking lamp !

I've tried giving him crix again, but he ignores them.

I will try showering him. He'll probably hate me even more !

I don't think he aspirated any water. I spooned it into the bottom of his mouth, when he was doing his "I'm going to bite you" pose. I've listened closely to his breathing, and he isn't wheezing or anything. Just the usual "hiss" when I take him out to feed him.
 
Thanks for asking. He is about the same. I fed him two big silkies last night. He acts like he is being tortured, but chews and swallows his wormies. I'm soaking the plants more with each misting -- and saw him sip from where the dripper is going....
 
Back
Top Bottom