is something wrong with my chameleon? I need help!

paulj

New Member
Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – I have a panther chameleon of unknown sex. It is about 6 months old though I have only had him about 4 months
• Handling – I handle my chameleon every day though the amount of time he is out rages from a couple of minutes to an hour. I of course wash my hands first.
• Feeding – he eats crickets all the time. He now is eating on a good day about 6 big crickets. We tried to give him vegetables though he didn’t eat them. I also give him calcium supplements a couple times a week and the crickets are fed with calcium enriched chameleon food.
• Watering – the chameleon has multiple waterfall waterfall. I have seen him drink out of it. I mist about twice a day and the humidity stays about 60%
• Fecal Description – the poop is a whiteish color at the beginning and turns brown. It is long thick and has bulges throughout (I would expect the bulges to be the crickets). I have not tested him for parasites
• History - He had a calcium deficiency because I wasn't told I needed to give him supplements but I have got him back to good health or at least I think he is. I had to hand feed him for about a month. Now he is climbing all around the tank and his tongue is not swollen. he is eating crickets on has own now which is great but he is having a hard time hitting them

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – the cage is fiberglass with the deminsions of about 4 ft by 1.5 ft by 2 ft
• Lighting – the lighting is fine. I have reptisun going into the tank with uva and b. It is a long thin light. I turn the light on when I get up and off about 1030 at night. I usually get up about 10am
• Temperature – temperature ranges from about 70 to 85 degrees all of the time. Nights don’t really drop because we don’t use the heater ever. To measure the temp I have a thermometer at the bottom of the tank.
• Humidity – humidity stays above 55 percent. With misting it gets to about 70 during the day. I measure this with a humidity gage which is connected to the thermometer.
• Plants – no live plants but plenty of things to climb on
• Placement – the tank is in the hall near the living room which is a high traffic area and the bottom of the tank is about 4 ft off the ground.
• Location – I live in Portland OR which is fairly humid region with winter temperatures averaging around 40. it’s much colder now summer temperatures average around 70
The problem:

This is the problem, when he goes to shoot a cricket he always misses when he shoots a distance and still sometimes misses from about 2 inches away. in addition he still holds his mouth open even though his tongue is not swollen and his jaw is solid. sometimes when he tries to shoot a cricket a long distance away his tongue goes limp and falls straight down to the ground instead of shooting toward the cricket.
 
Yeah what is your supplement schedule like? There are 3 different supplements you should be using ideally, the least of which should be the supplement that contains D3.
 
Curious, did this problem occur suddenly or over a period of time? Most likely there is a problem with your supplement schedule. Like silkyslim asked, can you please explain your supplement schedule. However, supplementation issues doesn't explain why your cham is holding its mouth open. Are you postitive his/her temps are 85 at the highest? Usually gaping is a sign that he/she is too hot. It can also be that your chameleon is acquiring URI (Upper Respiratory Infection). Does he make sound when he breaths such as wheezing? Just wondering, is he near a window or perhaps an air conditioning vent?
 
Didnt you post this before?...well like i said before i have a hunch that he/she wont recover completely and your just going to have to hand-feed..you could probably lessen your handlings to like 2 times a week or something similar what are your supplementing schedules? and which supplements are you offering?
 
Just a little help on your setup:

Don't use waterfalls , these build up bacteria especially since chameleons will deficate in them. Instead use a dripper which can simply be a small hole in a cup or get a zoo med dripper that is only like 10 bucks.

You will need to switch his fiberglass cage to a screen cage ASAP. There is no airflow in solid-walled cages such as what you have and will eventually lead to URI. In your case this is probably why your cham holds his/her mouth open.

Which type of reptisun uvb bulb are you using? There is different types such as the 5.0 and 10.0. Make sure you are using a 5.0.

Also you NEED foliage in your cage. Plants and foliage make you chameleon feel safe and secure. Make sure you have at least some fake plants in you cage, but live is always better
 
As I said in your other thread...
What did you do to get the calcium back in balance?

I don't like that his tongue lays limp sometimes when its shot out. I'm worried that it might not retract one of these times.
I think I would take the chameleon to the vet.

Also..what specific supplements do you use and how often for each of them?
Is there any plastic or glass between the chameleon and the UVB light?

BTW...its best to only have one thread per topic so its easier for us to see what's been discussed so far concerning a problem/chameleon.
 
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