Hope and URI

Andee

Andee

Chameleon Enthusiast
So she has a URI, totally positive, I gave her, her liquid calcium today and she had excessive saliva that was thick and worrisome. I held her close to my ear (which she was very mad about) and heard some very tiny pops. Which explains why she looks a bit thinner and I am having a hard time getting her to eat these last two days and drinking has become a struggle as well. It seems to have gotten worse over the last two days, so I have already made an appointment (not with my regular vet because she won't be in until friday) for tomorrow at 3pm.

I thought she looked a bit thinner because I have been avoiding the fattier feeders like the plague with her. But I am now aware she needs to see the vet. I am freaking out a bit. Not quite sure why she is so sick all of a sudden. I haven't done anything different than usual... except I have used a humidifier a bit more often than I used to? I have have used ice packs on top of one part of her cage to get her down to 60-65 when we have a really warm night? Do you think that could be the issue? If I am correct she is almost 4 years old already. I have had her for two and a half years almost, and she had been at the petstore for one year, and she likely came in at 4-6 months old. She has recovered from severe MBD (for those of you who are not aware of who Hope is) but she still backslides every now and then if I don't stay on top of her supplementing or have someone else take care of her. I am not sure how long an average life span for a female Xanth is... I know she will likely have a shortened life span though she has blown all my expectations out of the water. This is the first time she has gotten truly sick in my care.

Any advice other than hydration? Do I need to stop humidifier, the ice packs? Any help would be great... just worried about my girl.
 
S*** OK so I gave her a shower she drank very well for 20 minutes or more. But then she fell after I put her back in her cage. I have not had to worry about her falling for years... I did not expect her to be this weak. I am waiting for her black stress colors to disappear so I can see if she has any obvious bruising or breaks from the fall. Tomorrow can't come fast enough. We don't have an emergency exotic vet around for hours. I know she may be passed saving as far as her ability to come back and age etc. But she's not so weak that I won't try. She's not laying on the ground. Still is grumpy and is climbing with attitude. I will put the catch net in for now. But god....
 
Temp at night never drops below 64, on hot nightsauce will stay around 70-72... gimme a sec to learn the day time Temps to make sure they haven't changed since I last measured

OK her basking Temps are around 80.5-82 and her air Temps lately have been around 70-75. She has a really heavily planted cage so some of it gets absolutely no light of any kind and some of it gets mottled etc etc. When I mist I am pretty sure the air temp goes down to around 67-69.
 
Last edited:
Raise her daily basking temps? Or just night temps? @kinyonga @jannb (sorry for direct tagging but I am worried about her) It's almost like I have forgotten everything I have learned with the insanity in my brain trying not to freak out. She will definitely be going to the vet tomorrow. We are a bit drained on cash since our last vet visit with our cat, but we have enough saved up it won't be too much going on the credit card. Just prefer not doing any if we can *sighs* it's almost like every one decides to start getting sick at once T^T

Are her daily basking temps too low in general? (is it something I should work on fixing when/if she gets better?)
 
I'm sorry, Andee :( you've been so much help to me and I cannot return the favor, but wanted to let you know I am sending all the good vibes I can.
 
Generally when a chameleon is sick with a respiratory issue it helps to boost the basking temperature from what I've read/been told. It speeds up the metabolism which might help it recover faster.
I would forget the ice packs at night for now too. Just my opinion...you know I'm not a vet.
 
Last edited:
Definitely not doing the icepacks for sure. Just wanted to make sure I didn't need use some sort of heating implement for the night as well. *frowns* I am so strongly attached to her, one of the reasons I could never send her off to another home when she was just supposed to be a rehabilitation. She carved place all her own in my heart <3. But sadly I was also very aware she may not live as long as I expected or even wanted. So just gotta keep plugging away. Even if this is her starting to show age and giving up, I will never be sad for taking her in, she has made me so happy and proud. And if I know her, if I give her a fighting chance she will take it as far as she can. She is utterly an amazing chameleon.

Now passed the doom and gloom I got there >.< (kind of have to prepare myself for the worst in a way because if I don't she will tear me apart if she doesn't pull through)

@opheliaeatsbugs It's ok hun, just knowing you guys care and keep the good thoughts flowing is amazing. I want to thank you @kinyonga and @jannb because you guys have been helpful in so many ways with me. So it's great to know when I kind of can't think straight there is always the forum and the amazing members here to straighten my mind a bit.
 
I agree with what the others said. I added a ceramic bulb when my veiled started showing slight signs of a respiratory infection and the symptoms went away. My girlfriend also did the same for one of her bearded dragons and it helped also. If I remember correctly on a past thread i was commenting in another member said she has done that for her tortoise and other reptiles. I hope the vet visit goes well and she bounces back from this.
 
She will likely get a shower tomorrow morning to seensure if I can convince her to drink well again before the vet. What really alerted me to something being seriously wrong (before even looking for signs) was she didn't want the two silkworms. Hope never turns down food, especially silkworms. So I know she must be feeling horrible. Tonight she has settled in the same place where she had been when I moved her back up. No more falling has happened but she honestly hasn't tried to move much. But thankfully where she is has enough branchingredients of her schedulers it kind of works like a hammock so she should be fine for the night. I have the catch net just in case but I am hoping no falling will happen at all
 
@Andee Raise the temps to the high end of normal, but don't increase them outside of what is normal for the species. Keep up the humidity.

Can you leave her in the cage and just mist her longer? A shower seems overly stressful to me. She will expend a lot of energy to deal with the stress of the shower, energy she needs to get better. I think her falling after the shower is an example of that.

When you take her to the vet, keep her in a dark box and only bring her out after you have discussed the case in depth with the vet. Don't let any vet tech bully you into bringing her out to get a weight, etc. They can weigh her when the vet looks at her. Do a quick exam and then put her back in a dark box. I use small 7" x 9" x 7" totes and put them in a dark bag. I make a twist of a paper towel for them to hold onto.

I know this is not going to be popular with anyone on this forum, but I think it is important to think about and weigh your options. You've already mentioned financing this is a bit of a problem. Are you sure you want to go the vet route to treat her? She is quite old. All old animals die someday and it is not usually from "old age." They often die of a disease process that they can't overcome. Immune systems in old animals aren't as robust as they are in young animals. If you are going to go the vet route, please protect your pocket book. Lately, I've found a lot of pet vets to have total disregard for the financial health of their clients, and to be honest, I am often disgusted with them for it. A vet visit and a round of antibiotics won't cost very much but x-rays and blood work will add up. Think about it. Good luck. I know how much she means to you.
 
Would usually do a misting session for her, but my automatic mister is disconnected due to some work I am doing on Ryker's cage and she shows no desire to drink from the hand mister like she usually does. It's odd. In the shower she drinks really well. (I will be getting the mister connected again today if I stay on track so I don't have to worry about it for long). As far as the vet, the only reason I am truly worried about money as much as I am this time is the vet I am going to this time from what I know of him, is he's far more expensive than my usual vet. My usual vet is actually very low on expenses. But she won't be in until friday this week (think she's taking a much needed vacation) so I went to the nearest "good" exotic vet.

I agree with you, I know this is likely her being old and not being able to fight off the illnesses like usual. Especially since I am not doing anything that should cause it. If I can't get her to come back with some good antibiotics I am probably more likely to put her down than most people. She has been through a lot in her life, and though she is very important to me, if I see her struggling and no improvement, I will not force her to keep going for my peace of mind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

USSTrioceros
Need advice: what else should I ask vet to check
Replies
10
Views
501
USSTrioceros
USSTrioceros
USSTrioceros
Need help trouble shooting- 2 Jackson's
Replies
7
Views
752
USSTrioceros
USSTrioceros
Kristen5150
Infertile Egg Laying Veiled-Chameleon
Replies
19
Views
2K
MissSkittles
MissSkittles
amateurchameleon
Is she okay?
Replies
17
Views
2K
amateurchameleon
amateurchameleon
X
Inappetant baby cham
2
Replies
28
Views
3K
GrannyK
GrannyK
Back
Top Bottom