serenitystarlite
Established Member
Current Problem - Kami hasn't been eating much for the past couple weeks and has been losing weight. She went from 65g down to 42g. She is really skinny and eyes are a little sunken. She barely ate anything on her own last week.
I started to get really worried that she wasn't eating, so I have been forcing her to eat crickets for the past couple days. She eats some of them and spits some of them out. I also mixed chicken baby food with some water and a tiny bit of pediatyle and offered that to her. She drinks normally and seems to like this.
Yesterday and today she's been closing her eyes during the day and lethargic. Over the weekend, it looked like she was bleeding a little when she pooped. Her grip is normal. She's been showing stress colors.
I have a vet visit scheduled for Thursday morning. I'm going to have her tested for parasites again. What else should I tell the vet? Should I tell them to look for anything specifically? I'm taking her to a different vet because I don't feel like the one she saw last time knows what he's doing and is very overpriced. If she doesn't have parasites, could it be kidney failure from all the Baytril she was on? I don't think there are any vets around here that know what they're doing, so it would probably be helpful for me to go in with some options in mind of what might be wrong with her for them to explore. If I get blood work done, what should I tell them to test for? My other thought is that she's old and maybe it's just her time
Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Female Senegal Chameleon, I've had her since last June. She was wild-caught and full grown when I got her, so I have no idea how old she is.
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Very rarely, just lately to feed her. Before that, I was checking her mouth a few times a month to make sure her infection didn't come back.
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Mostly crickets with a roach here and there, but she hasn't been eating. Crickets are gutloaded with kale, pears, collard greeds, carrots, Zilla Gutload, and Fluker's Cricket quencher with calcium. She used to eat 4-5 crickets a day on her own but hasn't eaten on her own in about a week. Last week she barely ate any, maybe 4-5 during the whole week.
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Zoomed calcium without d3 every feeding, Rep-cal with d3 once a month, and Rep-cal Herptivite once a month.
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I mist several times a day and she has a dripper. She drinks out of the squirt bottle and I see her drink everyday. She drinks a lot.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? What little poop I've seen looks normal, but there hasn't been a lot of it. She did poop today and it looks normal but I don't think the crickets are completely digested. Urates are actually white. She was tested for parasites back in October and had none.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. She was sick with a bacterial infection last year and had to take 2 courses of Baytril to clear it up because the first one wasn't strong enough. The infection was in her mouth. I've been checking inside her mouth once or twice a month and the infection hasn't come back. I think what she might be completely different.
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 2x2x5ft screen cage
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 18in Repti-sun 10.0 linear bulb
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot is 85F degrees and the rest of the cage is 70-75F. At night it goes down to about 68F. I have a digital thermometer.
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is 50-75%. I have a humidifier and I mist several times a day. I use a digital hygrometer to measure.
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 1 corn plant and 2 pothos
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Cage is in my room, very low traffic. Not near the vent or windows. Top of the cage is 5ft.
* Location - Where are you geographically located? Pittsburgh, Pa
Here's a picture I just took of her:
I started to get really worried that she wasn't eating, so I have been forcing her to eat crickets for the past couple days. She eats some of them and spits some of them out. I also mixed chicken baby food with some water and a tiny bit of pediatyle and offered that to her. She drinks normally and seems to like this.
Yesterday and today she's been closing her eyes during the day and lethargic. Over the weekend, it looked like she was bleeding a little when she pooped. Her grip is normal. She's been showing stress colors.
I have a vet visit scheduled for Thursday morning. I'm going to have her tested for parasites again. What else should I tell the vet? Should I tell them to look for anything specifically? I'm taking her to a different vet because I don't feel like the one she saw last time knows what he's doing and is very overpriced. If she doesn't have parasites, could it be kidney failure from all the Baytril she was on? I don't think there are any vets around here that know what they're doing, so it would probably be helpful for me to go in with some options in mind of what might be wrong with her for them to explore. If I get blood work done, what should I tell them to test for? My other thought is that she's old and maybe it's just her time
Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Female Senegal Chameleon, I've had her since last June. She was wild-caught and full grown when I got her, so I have no idea how old she is.
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Very rarely, just lately to feed her. Before that, I was checking her mouth a few times a month to make sure her infection didn't come back.
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Mostly crickets with a roach here and there, but she hasn't been eating. Crickets are gutloaded with kale, pears, collard greeds, carrots, Zilla Gutload, and Fluker's Cricket quencher with calcium. She used to eat 4-5 crickets a day on her own but hasn't eaten on her own in about a week. Last week she barely ate any, maybe 4-5 during the whole week.
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Zoomed calcium without d3 every feeding, Rep-cal with d3 once a month, and Rep-cal Herptivite once a month.
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I mist several times a day and she has a dripper. She drinks out of the squirt bottle and I see her drink everyday. She drinks a lot.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? What little poop I've seen looks normal, but there hasn't been a lot of it. She did poop today and it looks normal but I don't think the crickets are completely digested. Urates are actually white. She was tested for parasites back in October and had none.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. She was sick with a bacterial infection last year and had to take 2 courses of Baytril to clear it up because the first one wasn't strong enough. The infection was in her mouth. I've been checking inside her mouth once or twice a month and the infection hasn't come back. I think what she might be completely different.
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 2x2x5ft screen cage
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 18in Repti-sun 10.0 linear bulb
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot is 85F degrees and the rest of the cage is 70-75F. At night it goes down to about 68F. I have a digital thermometer.
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is 50-75%. I have a humidifier and I mist several times a day. I use a digital hygrometer to measure.
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 1 corn plant and 2 pothos
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Cage is in my room, very low traffic. Not near the vent or windows. Top of the cage is 5ft.
* Location - Where are you geographically located? Pittsburgh, Pa
Here's a picture I just took of her:
