Help!!

[riddit]

Hello, for some reason my veiled chameleon, female, im guessing 6 months old, ive had her from feb 2 until now... seems very lethargic, closing her eyes, not moving her front legs, and when i put her on a branch in the cage ill come back an hour later she'll be on the floor of the aquarium.... i don't know why , because i have been doing everything im supposed to do..... please help.
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[Hakai]

Copy and paste this and fill it out so that we can better determine what is wrong with your cham. https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ I already see one husbandry flaw. You said she fell to the bottom of the "aquarium". An all screen enclosure is recommended for all chameleons especially a veiled at 6 months. Chameleons need proper ventilation as improper ventilation can cause respiratory infection. You may need to consider making changes to your current enclosure depending on what you have currently.

~Welcome to the forums btw. You have certainly made the right choice in coming here for advice.

 

[riddit]

info 1

Your Chameleon - Veild chameleon, female, 6 months. 2months.
Handling - 1-3 times a day
Feeding - crickets/meal worms. 6 meal worms in a bowl, 4-5 crickets. Supplements - reptocal and i feed evry other day.
Watering - mister 10 mins every 30 mins. no, she absorbs through skin.
Fecal Description - she hasn't been eating or pooping, because she is being very lazy and slow and not wanting to open her eyes.
History - she had an eye problem but vet gave anti -biotics and she got over it.

 

[sulley]

can you fill all this out too.once its all done we can try and 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.

 

[carol5208]

we need to know lighting and temps which are very critical. You say "aquarium"? If that is what you are housing your chameleon in, then you are not doing everything you are supposed to do. They can be housed in terrariums and screen cages, not fish tanks. Please complete the form and post pics of your set up and chameleon if possible.

 

[Hakai]

Your Chameleon - Veild chameleon, female, 6 months. 2months.
Handling - 1-3 times a day
Feeding - crickets/meal worms. 6 meal worms in a bowl, 4-5 crickets. Supplements - reptocal and i feed evry other day.
Watering - mister 10 mins every 30 mins. no, she absorbs through skin.
Fecal Description - she hasn't been eating or pooping, because she is being very lazy and slow and not wanting to open her eyes.
History - she had an eye problem but vet gave anti -biotics and she got over it.

From what I can tell so far, you are misting your enclosure too frequently. You should allow at least an hour or 2 in between mistings for the enclosure to dry out, otherwise mold and bacteria can form. I'm not sure what is contained in reptocal, but you should be dusting DAILY with a light calcium dust w/o D3 and once a month with D3. You should also be using a multivitamin supplement once a month. Also 1-3 times a day for handling is too much. You should really only handle your cham when absolutely necessary unless they are healthy and used to it. Then occasional handling is fine. Fill out the other information as well please and PICS WILL HELP A LOT!

Were not trying to be mean, were just trying to help because we want the best for everyone's chameleon.

 

[midcoastchameleon]

Pics will help dramatically!!, we not only will be able to see the setup, but we will also get a look at your girl. She may be older then you think, and she may be looking desperately for a place to lay her eggs. Just a suggestion

 

[riddit]

info 2

Cage Info:
Cage Type - glass on all sides and top is screen. 30cmX30 cmX46 cm
Lighting - Zoo med day and night lights and i also have a reptisun uv light. i keep red night light on at night and blue day light and uv light on at day.
Temperature - 80-90 during day, and 75 degrees at night. I have heta and humidity scale.

Humidity - moderate-tropical. misting. petco scale.
Plants - no live plants but i was thinking about it.
Placement - between my bed and a window. there is a vent by my window. about 4 feet above floor.
Location - oregon.

Current Problem - She might die.

 

[carol5208]

so is that an aquarium you are using? And what size would that be 10 gallon? There is no ventilation on those at the bottom and your temps..you say 80-90-where is that? the whole tank, the basking spot, etc? You need to be more specific. No lights on at night, no heat at night. They need a temp drop and do not constant heat. As requested, please post a pic of your enclosure.

 

[Hakai]

There seem to be many flaws in your husbandry. But you are not to blame for this. I'm just assuming you've gotten wrong advice from other sources or even people at a pet store. Chameleons husbandry is very hard to get right and there are so many different places for something to go wrong. I cannot diagnose your chameleon with anything, I can only try to help correct some of your husbandry flaws. Please read this care sheet carefully and make the proper adjustments. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/ The first one being your cage. Your current enclosure is way to small and your cham is most likely very stressed and cramped. Upgrade to a 2x2x4 (in feet) all screen cage. This is more than enough room for now and will be sufficient for when she becomes and adult. The other changes should become apparent to you after reading the care sheet. Your cham may have multiple problems so I highly suggest a vet visit. I don't think you will be able to nurture it back to health alone at this point.

Good luck, were just here to help.

Oh yeah and POST A PICTURE PLEASE!

~Ben

 

[riddit]

chameleon pics

 

[Ulrich]

I would suggest to take her out of the cage immediately as it seems to be counterproductive at this point to leave her inside at all. She might feel like being in a hot shower for too long. Veiled are semi-arid reptiles, so they require far less humidity, yet very good ventilation as arboreal.

Place her on a big plant like a ficus in your house and place the lighting above the plant. Reduce the misting. Then I would change the enclosure asap, do a proper setup following rigorously the care sheets on this forum. and transfer her back.

 

[riddit]

it actually is a terrarium

 

[Hakai]

I've never had a female but I know they can become eggbound as early as 4-6 months. They don't need a male to make eggs, the eggs will just be infertile. I can't tell for sure but she may be ready to lay. As well as making other necesary adjustments mentioned in the care sheet, also make an egg laying bin available to her right away. I believe there is information about that at the bottom of the care sheet.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

She has metabolic bone disease - you can see bending of the leg bones and her wrist appears to be broken. She may have other problems as well.

Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) is unfortunately a common disease of reptiles due to lack of dietary calcium, imbalanced nutrition and/or lack of UVB rays. UVB rays from either unfiltered sunlight or a UVB producing bulb are needed in reptiles to produce Vitamin D3 in the skin, which is necessary to absorb calcium from the food and supplementation. Without UVB rays then your chameleon cannot absorb the calcium you are giving it. If you are not providing an adequate level of calcium in the diet then no amount of UVB will make up for it. Too high levels of phosphorus in the diet will interfere with calcium absorption so even with good calcium levels and UVB the body is still not getting enough. There are many body processes that require calcium, such as muscle contraction, energy metabolism, intestinal movement, nerve conduction, blood vessel function, and bone strength. To compensate for inadequate calcium absorption the body will pull calcium directly out of the bones where it is stored so there is enough calcium for critical functions like muscle movement and metabolism. This causes the bones to be very weak, even to the point of bending or breaking very easily. Chronic calcium deficiency causes continued damage to multiple organs, eventual organ failure and death. Lack of sufficient calcium for muscle movement can lead to constipation and very often egg binding in females, which is life threatening in itself. Due to the calcium deficiency affecting entire body in drastic way these chameleons can easily develop concurrent illnesses, such as respiratory infections, eye infections, etc. Calcium needs are the highest during the first year of life while bones are still growing so it is often young chameleons that are most affected. There are rare cases of metabolic disease occurring despite proper calcium and UVB and a congenital component is suspected, though not confirmed. Almost every instance of MBD can be completely attributed to deficiency in care.

Metabolic bone disease does not happen over a course of days. It takes weeks to months of persistently inadequate care to cause the symptoms associated with calcium deficiencies. It is very important to take action as soon as symptoms are recognized as the disease is already in the advanced stage. Damage caused by metabolic bone disease cannot be reversed completely but the disease process can be stopped so there is not further damage and the bones can heal if proper UVB is supplied and the imbalance of dietary calcium is addressed.

Metabolic bone disease takes a long time to develop, and conversely takes a long time to resolve. Correcting your husbandry and providing adequate calcium, nutrition through gutloading, and UVB is the first critical step. However, the deficit of calcium needs to be addressed with additional supplementation before the body can function normally and begin to heal. A small drop of liquid calcium (without D3) can be given twice daily for a month to replace the calcium deficit. A vet may have to give injectable calcium to replace the deficit in more than mild cases. UVB, especially in the form of unfiltered sunlight, is essential. Force feeding may be required to nurse a weak, very ill chameleon back to health. If there are broken bones already unfortunately they will need time to heal on their own because if a cast or splint is applied it can actually cause more breaks to occur since the bones are so weak. A hospital cage that is shorter with wider perches and a towel on the bottom to cushion falls should be provided to prevent further injury. It is very important to address MBD as soon as symptoms are noticed to stop the damage being done. Sometimes symptoms are so severe that chameleons will not survive, despite aggressive treatment, due to permanent organ damage. But some chameleons can make truly remarkable recoveries from severe MBD with a lot of intensive care.

Read more about metabolic bone disease here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-metabolic-bone-disease-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071

 

[Hakai]

it actually is a terrarium

That's a little better. Is it an Exo Terra terrarium? Because many members do fine with those.

 

[Hakai]

I thought her legs did look a little misshapen but I wasn't sure. Ferretinmyshoes, does she appear to be eggbound as well?

 

[Ulrich]

Didn't see the pictures before my post. So forget about most of my comments.

Listen to the ferret. She is a vet.

And you should consult one asap.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I thought her legs did look a little misshapen but I wasn't sure. Ferretinmyshoes, does she appear to be eggbound as well?

Can't tell. I don't think so based on the pics but I could be wrong. With a calcium deficiency she will have trouble laying eggs, if they are present, and defecating. She needs a reptile vet as she is very sick.

 

[Hakai]

Can't tell. I don't think so based on the pics but I could be wrong. With a calcium deficiency she will have trouble laying eggs, if they are present, and defecating. She needs a reptile vet as she is very sick.

Well let's just hope for the best. I believe I sent you a PM if you wouldn't mind checking that out.