HELP!

[djo2018]

Hello I am new to owning a chameleon, I've had bearden dragons and a leopard gecko, so I thought I was ready for a chameleon. I got him about 2 months ago from a pet store, and now for the past week he looks deathly. Hes in a 3 foot by 4 foot mesh enclosure. And has a misting unit that mists the branches and fake leaves every 3 hours for 10 seconds. He has has a heat bulb and Full spectrum uvb on for 11 hours a day and nothing at night. I feed mainly crickets from petco. Dust cal without D3 every 3 days , and with D3 once a week. And then dust with vitamins once every 2 weeks.
He wont eat, wont move, I havent really see him drink. Hes very weak and looks like hes on his death bed. I'm very scared and need advice

 

[kinyonga]

Please post some recent photos.

 

[djo2018]

I know he must be dehydrated and under weight since hes refusing. He also keeps his eyes closed most of the time. He did just have a poop, it was a little watery, had a big yellow bulk, and small white bulk, and brown. I'm scared but I thought i was doing everything right

 

[Syreptyon]

He looks gravely ill, the poor thing. Unfortunately in his current state, taking him to a vet is your only real option. There are items in your husbandry that require changing, which I will address below, but a vet appointment needs to be your first priority.

First of all hydration -- 10 seconds every 3 hours is about as good as no misting whatsoever. I realize that is a blunt way of putting it, but I just want to be very clear that that is no where near how much water a chameleon needs daily. Each misting session should really be no less than 2 minutes long. I would recommend a minimum of 3 misting sessions a day, which should be at least 6 minutes in total, which is 12x more than what you've been doing. Chameleons need lengthy misting sessions and water dripping around them for prolonged periods of time to really activate their drinking response.

Now your lighting - you have the wrong type of UVB bulb. Chameleons require a T5 HO linear UVB bulb. What you're using is a compact UVB, which are nearly useless to chameleons and have led to the death of many new owners' chameleons.

Supplements - you should be using the calcium without D3 every day. Calcium with D3 twice a month. Multivitamin twice a month. In summary, you are giving ~3.5x too little plain calcium and 2x too much D3. Vit D3 is toxic to chameleons in high quantities.

Any or all of these things could be leading up to your current situation, unfortunately.

 

[djo2018]

He looks gravely ill, the poor thing. Unfortunately in his current state, taking him to a vet is your only real option. There are items in your husbandry that require changing, which I will address below, but a vet appointment needs to be your first priority.

First of all hydration -- 10 seconds every 3 hours is about as good as no misting whatsoever. I realize that is a blunt way of putting it, but I just want to be very clear that that is no where near how much water a chameleon needs daily. Each misting session should really be no less than 2 minutes long. I would recommend a minimum of 3 misting sessions a day, which should be at least 6 minutes in total, which is 12x more than what you've been doing. Chameleons need lengthy misting sessions and water dripping around them for prolonged periods of time to really activate their drinking response.

Now your lighting - you have the wrong type of UVB bulb. Chameleons require a T5 HO linear UVB bulb. What you're using is a compact UVB, which are nearly useless to chameleons and have led to the death of many new owners' chameleons.

Supplements - you should be using the calcium without D3 every day. Calcium with D3 twice a month. Multivitamin twice a month. In summary, you are giving ~3.5x too little plain calcium and 2x too much D3. Vit D3 is toxic to chameleons in high quantities.

Any or all of these things could be leading up to your current situation, unfortunately.

Thanks for that! I got all my info from a girl that runs a YouTube channel and had many chameleons that looked beautiful and healthy so I followed her rules!

 

[Kaizen]

Thanks for that! I got all my info from a girl that runs a YouTube channel and had many chameleons that looked beautiful and healthy so I followed her rules!

Which YouTube channel? What was her name?

 

[MissSkittles]

Your little one looks very very ill. You need to get it to a vet ASAP. Make sure to take a fecal sample to be tested. The poo you describe does not sound healthy and besides all you’ve already been told, parasites could be a big part of the problem.

 

[kyle_l]

I know he must be dehydrated and under weight since hes refusing. He also keeps his eyes closed most of the time. He did just have a poop, it was a little watery, had a big yellow bulk, and small white bulk, and brown. I'm scared but I thought i was doing everything right

Poor guy, he looks very sick! I agree with everyone else. You should probably take him/her to the vet! Also when getting a chameleon, I can not stress this enough (Do your own research). Youtube can be very helpful in some aspects, but you should really be researching a lot on your own. Hope your little guy gets to feeling better!

 

[djo2018]

I got a vet but what should I tell them? He said hes not all the way experienced in chameleons but will try. Do yall have any advice of treatment I can tell him?

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

I got a vet but what should I tell them? He said hes not all the way experienced in chameleons but will try. Do yall have any advice of treatment I can tell him?

Welcome this is such a shame . First experience should be more positive. You would want a vet with experience . These babies are tricky especially young ones . Best of luck please keep us posted .

 

[djo2018]

He looks gravely ill, the poor thing. Unfortunately in his current state, taking him to a vet is your only real option. There are items in your husbandry that require changing, which I will address below, but a vet appointment needs to be your first priority.

First of all hydration -- 10 seconds every 3 hours is about as good as no misting whatsoever. I realize that is a blunt way of putting it, but I just want to be very clear that that is no where near how much water a chameleon needs daily. Each misting session should really be no less than 2 minutes long. I would recommend a minimum of 3 misting sessions a day, which should be at least 6 minutes in total, which is 12x more than what you've been doing. Chameleons need lengthy misting sessions and water dripping around them for prolonged periods of time to really activate their drinking response.

Now your lighting - you have the wrong type of UVB bulb. Chameleons require a T5 HO linear UVB bulb. What you're using is a compact UVB, which are nearly useless to chameleons and have led to the death of many new owners' chameleons.

Supplements - you should be using the calcium without D3 every day. Calcium with D3 twice a month. Multivitamin twice a month. In summary, you are giving ~3.5x too little plain calcium and 2x too much D3. Vit D3 is toxic to chameleons in high quantities.

Any or all of these things could be leading up to your current situation,

Welcome this is such a shame . First experience should be more positive. You would want a vet with experience . These babies are tricky especially young ones . Best of luck please keep us posted .

The only certified exotic vet is 8+ hours away from me unfortunately

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

The only certified exotic vet is 8+ hours away from me unfortunately

That’s unfortunate . Fecal should be top on the list . X-rays , and if they can get blood . I’m thinking prob not this the babies shape . What are you transporting in ?

 

[jannb]

Be sure to take a poop to the vet for a fecal. He could have the parasite cociddia.

 

[kinyonga]

What are your basking temperatures? The rest of the cage? You said he has a heat bulb....do you mean a light or a heat emitter? Do you see him bask?

What sizes insects are you feeding him? How often? How many?

Have you tried using a dripper that drips at the rate of one or two drips per second?

Any leaves missing from the fake plants? Is he pooping?
How did it go at the vets?

 

[kyle_l]

I got a vet but what should I tell them? He said hes not all the way experienced in chameleons but will try. Do yall have any advice of treatment I can tell him?

Also from the loooks of the pic. It looks like it's a female. I'm not sure though. I'm just going off the pics.

 

[djo2018]

What are your basking temperatures? The rest of the cage? You said he has a heat bulb....do you mean a light or a heat emitter? Do you see him bask?

What sizes insects are you feeding him? How often? How many?

Have you tried using a dripper that drips at the rate of one or two drips per second?

Any leaves missing from the fake plants? Is he pooping?
How did it go at the vets?

Currently at the vet now waiting to go in, I couldnt get a fecal, she hasnt pooped In over 24 hours, I'm guessing from not eating or drinking much. Heat light. Shes stays basking most times, sometimes will get a little farther away. Temp is around 74. Basking is 85. At night temp is around 65. No lights or uvb. I'm feeding the small crickets at petsense not the adults. Every day feeding around 8. Most die off since shes not eating. Havent done the dripper, do you have advice for that? Such as catching the water? And no leaves missing, she mostly hangs on the cage or the real branch

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Currently at the vet now waiting to go in, I couldnt get a fecal, she hasnt pooped In over 24 hours, I'm guessing from not eating or drinking much. Heat light. Shes stays basking most times, sometimes will get a little farther away. Temp is around 74. Basking is 85. At night temp is around 65. No lights or uvb. I'm feeding the small crickets at petsense not the adults. Every day feeding around 8. Most die off since shes not eating. Havent done the dripper, do you have advice for that? Such as catching the water? And no leaves missing, she mostly hangs on the cage or the real branch

After I posted I thought that may be an issue . If you get one in the next few days and your vet is not to far you can drop off usually vets will allow if they had been seen . You can put it in a Ziploc bag and they’re fine in the refrigerator for 24 hours after that you would want a new one . Food vibes vet can help !. Please post once you get info .

 

[kinyonga]

For a dripper all you need is a deli cup with a tiny hole in the bottom of it so it drips at the rate of one or two drips per second onto a leaf.

How did it go at the vets?

 

[djo2018]

For a dripper all you need is a deli cup with a tiny hole in the bottom of it so it drips at the rate of one or two drips per second onto a leaf.

How did it go at the vets?

Sorry for the late reply me and the vet stayed together for around 2 hours trying out things and doing research, didnt go so good. We did 5 xrays didnt see any breaks or fractures, bone density looked a maybe low but also couldnt get the best of shots due to his xray not made for that small but he said he dosent think MBD is in play. He did a water with a little bit of glucose shot direct into the abdomen to get some fluid in her and some sugar in her blood. Were taking her out of her big enclosure and putting her in a smaller one for now so its easier for her to get to water/food since she can barely move right now. I'm also using a dropper to try and force a little bit of water into her mixed with small amounts of calcium. If yall have any tips please let me know. I'm also bringing a fecal deposit to him as soon as she has one. I'm lost at this point

 

[kinyonga]

There are no outward signs of MBD that I can see. The smaller "hospital" cage is a good idea....just watch that you don't bake her if she can't move out of the basking area, etc. Make sure that she gets some UVB too but don't let her sit under that too close all day either.

Be very careful using the dropper that you don't get water into her lungs. You can get a liquid calcium that would be easier for her to absorb...did the vet say to do this?