Connorology
Avid Member
Hi All,
So when I left for work this morning, my ~year old male Jackson's chameleon was doing fine. I misted him for a minute or two and he drank the water. He also appears to have eaten about five small dubia roaches today. So he started off the day healthy. However, he is now moving vigorously but erratically, and seems off balance.
When I got home from work this evening, he was under his basking light, I when I went to mist him, he almost fell off the branch. He recovered, and started making erratic movements around the cage. He seems to be moving to the right in a circle, as if he has balancing issues. He is vigourous and has energy (this isn't a weakness issue) and tightly gripped my hand when I took him out to examine him. I see no visible signs of injury. I do not know enough about chameleon anatomy to know if they have an analog to an inner ear, but it looks to me like whatever sends the message to his brain about how to remain upright is screwy. My question: Is there a known cause/causes of balance issues in an otherwise healthy chameleon? Are there interventions I should be taking immediately?. I can call around tomorrow and see if any vets in my area have experience with chameleons, but if I need to do that I want a list of possibilities going in. Chameleons are specialized and unique animals and I don't have a lot of faith that my local vets will have sufficient experience without some additional help.
Because I know I will be asked:
Background: He is housed in a 24" by 24" by 36" inch enclosure. Two sides and the top are barred, two sides in the back have been retrofitted with black garden mesh to maintain humidity and reduce stress.
He has a basking bulb that keeps his basking area between 85-90. The area where he usually basks is about 85, though he could probably get closer to the bulb if he wanted. The ambient temperature in the upper part of the cage is mid seventies. It dips down into low seventies to high sixties lower in the cage, but he never goes down there. I have a zoo med 5.0 UVB tube bulb. It is getting to be about time to replace it, I've had it for about six months. I don't think this would result in an extremely quick deterioration of his health.
The enclosure has pothos and umbrella plants, I vetted all the plants before I set up the enclosure. He has cover and climbing vines. I have a cool mist humidifier set to go off a few times a day to maintain the humidity when I am not at home. I mist him twice a day, and I have a drip system I usually let run when I am at work.
I switch superworms and dubias as a staple. I feed those insects on mostly fresh produce. I dust with D3 free calcium every feeding and do vitamins and d3 a couple times a month. I cup feed, and most of the time by the time he eats his feeders they have cleaned most of the dust off themselves, so I probably tend to over dust to compensate.
I have had no problems until now, nor has his behavior been out of the usual.
I can provide additional information if necessary. Again, I am really hoping for any information about what could cause a balancing issue in an animal that appears otherwise healthy. His color is green, he's thrifty enough, but his movements are bizarre. I'm ok with spitballing possibilities if you have experience or a reason to think that could be the cause. I would like to make a list of possibilities, and assuming he's still the same tomorrow (and not recovered or deceased) I can investigate veterinary care.
Sorry for the rambling, I'm going for time effectiveness over eloquence. Thoughts? Ideas?
Thank you for your time,
RonG
So when I left for work this morning, my ~year old male Jackson's chameleon was doing fine. I misted him for a minute or two and he drank the water. He also appears to have eaten about five small dubia roaches today. So he started off the day healthy. However, he is now moving vigorously but erratically, and seems off balance.
When I got home from work this evening, he was under his basking light, I when I went to mist him, he almost fell off the branch. He recovered, and started making erratic movements around the cage. He seems to be moving to the right in a circle, as if he has balancing issues. He is vigourous and has energy (this isn't a weakness issue) and tightly gripped my hand when I took him out to examine him. I see no visible signs of injury. I do not know enough about chameleon anatomy to know if they have an analog to an inner ear, but it looks to me like whatever sends the message to his brain about how to remain upright is screwy. My question: Is there a known cause/causes of balance issues in an otherwise healthy chameleon? Are there interventions I should be taking immediately?. I can call around tomorrow and see if any vets in my area have experience with chameleons, but if I need to do that I want a list of possibilities going in. Chameleons are specialized and unique animals and I don't have a lot of faith that my local vets will have sufficient experience without some additional help.
Because I know I will be asked:
Background: He is housed in a 24" by 24" by 36" inch enclosure. Two sides and the top are barred, two sides in the back have been retrofitted with black garden mesh to maintain humidity and reduce stress.
He has a basking bulb that keeps his basking area between 85-90. The area where he usually basks is about 85, though he could probably get closer to the bulb if he wanted. The ambient temperature in the upper part of the cage is mid seventies. It dips down into low seventies to high sixties lower in the cage, but he never goes down there. I have a zoo med 5.0 UVB tube bulb. It is getting to be about time to replace it, I've had it for about six months. I don't think this would result in an extremely quick deterioration of his health.
The enclosure has pothos and umbrella plants, I vetted all the plants before I set up the enclosure. He has cover and climbing vines. I have a cool mist humidifier set to go off a few times a day to maintain the humidity when I am not at home. I mist him twice a day, and I have a drip system I usually let run when I am at work.
I switch superworms and dubias as a staple. I feed those insects on mostly fresh produce. I dust with D3 free calcium every feeding and do vitamins and d3 a couple times a month. I cup feed, and most of the time by the time he eats his feeders they have cleaned most of the dust off themselves, so I probably tend to over dust to compensate.
I have had no problems until now, nor has his behavior been out of the usual.
I can provide additional information if necessary. Again, I am really hoping for any information about what could cause a balancing issue in an animal that appears otherwise healthy. His color is green, he's thrifty enough, but his movements are bizarre. I'm ok with spitballing possibilities if you have experience or a reason to think that could be the cause. I would like to make a list of possibilities, and assuming he's still the same tomorrow (and not recovered or deceased) I can investigate veterinary care.
Sorry for the rambling, I'm going for time effectiveness over eloquence. Thoughts? Ideas?
Thank you for your time,
RonG