ponders
Chameleon Enthusiast
Thanks for the compliment! We think he is a handsome boy too!
Keeping Kinyongias
- Thread starter CNorton
- Start date
Thanks for the compliment! We think he is a handsome boy too!
CNorton
Avid Member
Bella has been doing really well up until very recently. She has been breathing with her mouth open, I've heard popping noises, and she has stringy saliva. All of these symptoms lead me to believe that she has a URI. I have begun to treat her with Baytril, leaving a day in between treaments.
I have also noticed other behavior that I assume due to the URI. She has been spending large amounts of time directly under her UVB. When she is under the UVB she is patterned as she is when she is outdoors.
Bella is now 68 grams and I hope she will not lose too much weight while treating her URI. I suspect she will though. Feeding Bella is no problem as she will consume anything and everything will delight.
Any comments, observations, and suggestions are welcome.
I have also noticed other behavior that I assume due to the URI. She has been spending large amounts of time directly under her UVB. When she is under the UVB she is patterned as she is when she is outdoors.
Bella is now 68 grams and I hope she will not lose too much weight while treating her URI. I suspect she will though. Feeding Bella is no problem as she will consume anything and everything will delight.
Any comments, observations, and suggestions are welcome.
Cainschams
New Member
Hey Chad,
Sorry to hear about your girl. I really hope the treatment works. The only thing that comes to mind to me is if the air/humidity is stagnant in the room. I have a small fan that runs all day in my montane room to keep the air fresh and moving. I know your temps are good and your animals get a good amount of time outside. Just trying to throw out some thoughts
Does she have a basking light? I would bump up the temps a bit for the URI. It could be that it is just starting to show and that she has had the infection since/from being imported and it is just starting to show. She has been in your care for a few months?
Another thing and it is not an alternative to real treatment and a vet visit, of course. If it is not too sever try treating it with reptaid. As I said it is not an alternative to vet/"real medicine" but I have and others have seen it do some good for an animal.
Also maybe try starting a new thread so others will see that there is a problem and give you more ideas.
I hope things go well for her. I know how much you like the matschei and I hope you continue to strive to successfully keep them. You know my experience/bad luck with the tavetana. Its just part of trying to keep WC animals.
Sorry to hear about your girl. I really hope the treatment works. The only thing that comes to mind to me is if the air/humidity is stagnant in the room. I have a small fan that runs all day in my montane room to keep the air fresh and moving. I know your temps are good and your animals get a good amount of time outside. Just trying to throw out some thoughts
Does she have a basking light? I would bump up the temps a bit for the URI. It could be that it is just starting to show and that she has had the infection since/from being imported and it is just starting to show. She has been in your care for a few months?
Another thing and it is not an alternative to real treatment and a vet visit, of course. If it is not too sever try treating it with reptaid. As I said it is not an alternative to vet/"real medicine" but I have and others have seen it do some good for an animal.
Also maybe try starting a new thread so others will see that there is a problem and give you more ideas.
I hope things go well for her. I know how much you like the matschei and I hope you continue to strive to successfully keep them. You know my experience/bad luck with the tavetana. Its just part of trying to keep WC animals.
CNorton
Avid Member
Thanks for the ideas Jared. I realized that perhaps a little more heat might help so I gave her a stronger bulb.
The windows usually get opened for a good crossbreeze every other day but I might just put a fan on a timer to save all the time and struggle with temperatures when I open windows.
She is taking the treatments fairly well and seems to still have a healthy appetite. I am really dripping a lot to try to keep her hydrated as well as using the humidifier. I am on day 5 of treatments.
The windows usually get opened for a good crossbreeze every other day but I might just put a fan on a timer to save all the time and struggle with temperatures when I open windows.
She is taking the treatments fairly well and seems to still have a healthy appetite. I am really dripping a lot to try to keep her hydrated as well as using the humidifier. I am on day 5 of treatments.
CNorton
Avid Member
Day 9 and treatments have cleared up the mucous and she is even showing better colors. Those of you who have had a sick chameleon, you know what it looks like regardless of species. For those of you who haven't seen a sick chameleon, imagine drab colors. Bella usually sports vibrant greens but with the URI she has ugly dark browns. Now that she is doing better, the vibrant greens are back.
I have been very cautious about Baytril and hydration. I have heard and read many horror stories about how terrible the drug is. All of those instances where the keeper swears off baytril seem to underestimate the importance of hydration. With Bella, showers, long drips, and longer mistings have helped some. But I have done 2 new things that have made a big difference.
1.) Drip water into mouth when possible. An open mouth is a big opportunity. Giant Fischer's almost never hiss or gape, leaving their mouths closed even when angry. So I have to force the mouth open. While I have The mouth open to drop medicine, I also drip as much water and the chameleon can swallow. So I drip, let the cham close its mouth, let it swallow, and then repeat if necessary. Keep in mind this is very stressful for the cham, but if you have the mouth open for meds you might as well hydrate!
2.) Use the humidifier! I like to leave a sick or acclimating cham alone AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. So I will use a timer to run a cycle or two on the humidifier during the night. Think about it, when is humidity highest in a cham's natural habitat? The night! This is also a seriously great way to rehydrate. If you don't have a timer, the cham is asleep so you can turn it on and come back later and turn it off without stressing the chameleon.
I have been very cautious about Baytril and hydration. I have heard and read many horror stories about how terrible the drug is. All of those instances where the keeper swears off baytril seem to underestimate the importance of hydration. With Bella, showers, long drips, and longer mistings have helped some. But I have done 2 new things that have made a big difference.
1.) Drip water into mouth when possible. An open mouth is a big opportunity. Giant Fischer's almost never hiss or gape, leaving their mouths closed even when angry. So I have to force the mouth open. While I have The mouth open to drop medicine, I also drip as much water and the chameleon can swallow. So I drip, let the cham close its mouth, let it swallow, and then repeat if necessary. Keep in mind this is very stressful for the cham, but if you have the mouth open for meds you might as well hydrate!
2.) Use the humidifier! I like to leave a sick or acclimating cham alone AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. So I will use a timer to run a cycle or two on the humidifier during the night. Think about it, when is humidity highest in a cham's natural habitat? The night! This is also a seriously great way to rehydrate. If you don't have a timer, the cham is asleep so you can turn it on and come back later and turn it off without stressing the chameleon.
CNorton
Avid Member
After 10 days of treatment, all the symptoms of the URI had cleared. I decided to stop treatment after day 15. It is a very stressful thing to treat a chameleon with medication. Since I stopped bothering poor Bella, she is much more active in her cage, hungrier, and much more colorful.
In total, she only lost 3 grams during treatment. I consulted a respected vet on the subject of probiotics because I was concerned the baytril killed all her natural and healthy flora. Just as we humans need flora in our intestines to help aid digestion and regularity, chams need flora too! However, the vet did not believe flora could survive the harsh digestive system of a cham. I was still torn on the subject so I gave Bella some yogurt. She really didn't lose too much of her appetite so I wasn't super worried. Does anyone have any thoughts?
In total, she only lost 3 grams during treatment. I consulted a respected vet on the subject of probiotics because I was concerned the baytril killed all her natural and healthy flora. Just as we humans need flora in our intestines to help aid digestion and regularity, chams need flora too! However, the vet did not believe flora could survive the harsh digestive system of a cham. I was still torn on the subject so I gave Bella some yogurt. She really didn't lose too much of her appetite so I wasn't super worried. Does anyone have any thoughts?
PardalisGirl
Avid Member
Congrats on her recovery!
Congratulations on her recovery! I have used Probiotics after antibiotic treatments. I've lightly dusted crickets with it. I found that the antibiotics can cause slight diarhea in some reptiles (chameleons and other reptiles). The Probiotics took care of that problem. If she has solid stools and has a good appetite I would not bother with it. She will get some natural flora from her food in time.
Congratulations on her recovery! I have used Probiotics after antibiotic treatments. I've lightly dusted crickets with it. I found that the antibiotics can cause slight diarhea in some reptiles (chameleons and other reptiles). The Probiotics took care of that problem. If she has solid stools and has a good appetite I would not bother with it. She will get some natural flora from her food in time.
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