I really need help now for my poor 5 yr old chameleon!! :'(

[karinasmithy]

Our 5 year old chameleon which we have had ever since a tiny baby is very very ill. It started with him acting very weak, falling off branches a lot, he then would stay at the bottom of the tank and not attempt to climb back up, he wasnt eating or drinking much. He would attempt to eat but really struggled to open his mouth wide enough to eat the smallest mealworms, there was no way we could feed him locusts like we normally do. If he couldnt get the worm in his mouth fully it would just hang out and he wouldnt eat it. By the day he has only been getting weaker so we took him to vet and the vet gave him baytrill and has given us a pot to feed to him with a syringe everyday, that was two days and he still isnt getting better. We noticed that the chameleon is going very yellow and generally looking really unhealthy, the vet thinks that he may have developed liver disease due to old age but says the only way to find this out for sure is to get blood tests from him, but i have woken up today to find him lying on his side and i was sure he was dead but after picking him up he is still alive and moving slightly but when i put him back in his cage he just lies there on his side.

He is obviously dying :-( but i dont want him to suffer, should i take him to the vet to be put down or is there a chance he could pull through this, should i force feed him his baytrill or some food or water or will this just stress him out too much? He hasnt eaten for a long time and the times he did were only tiny mealworms, yesterday i tried feeding him some mushed up soft carrot but we couldnt get him to take it. Please help i dont know if he will make it through the day.

 

[jannb]

I am really sorry to hear about your chameleon. Just about this same thing happen to my chameleon and it took two excellent reptile vets to finally find out what was wrong so we could treat him. I'll post the link below if you'd like to read about what happened with him.

I am very sorry to say this but if he is turning the lighter color you might be loosing him. I'll be keeping you and him in my thoughts and prayers.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/update-luie-s-health-issues-91238/

 

[karinasmithy]

Thank you for your kind words but unfortunately our veiled chameleon passed away about an hour after I posted the initial thread. We have now buried him in a safe place.

 

[jannb]

That is very sad. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Trillian]

Karina, I'm so sorry you lost him after spending so long with him. 5 years is a really good age for a chameleon, I really hope you can hang about on the forum and share some of the things you learned with him.

 

[laurie]

I am sorry you lost your cham, it is so hard to watch them get older. But he had a good long life with you, just keep his memory in your heart.

 

[Kate]

So sorry for the loss of your little one. Five years is a good age.

 

[Decadancin]

I'm sorry to hear this. Thanks for giving him such a good home for so long. I know 5 years seems so short, but if it were 10 you would still feel it was not long enough. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

 

[lovepicasso]

I'm so very sorry for your loss and I will have you in my prayers tonight....I know you gave him the very best love and care....again, so sorry, it just hurts my heart every time I read on here that someone has lost their baby.

 

[squeekz1992]

I'm so sorry about your loss