Kepler acting strange, awake for most of the night

mons00n

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Blue bar amilobe, male, ~2 years old, in my care since about 1.5 months old.
Handling - once a week maybe
Feeding - normally dubia roaches every other day gutloaded with cricket crack, collard greens, carrots. Lately he's been fussy so I've been feeding him large silk worms.
Supplements - Repashy Calcium + every feeding
Watering - Aquazamp misting of RO (~20TDS) water every hour 30-60 seconds. I do see my chameleon drinking off of the leaves.
Fecal Description - Brown and white - appears normal. He was tested for parasites ~6-8 months ago (clean).
History - None that I know of.


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen Cage 30x18x36"
Lighting - 50watt heat bulb from petsmart. Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb. Light's on 8am to 8pm. UVB was changed this past November
Temperature - basking area is ~85, the rest of the cage is ~76 (temperature of the room he's in) Measured these temps with a digital thermometer
Humidity - fluxtuates from 20-80% - see misting schedule above
Plants - Live schefflera/umbrella plant
Placement - cage located near the front window. It is positioned about a foot away from the window to minimize the draft. Not near any vents/fans. Foot traffic is minimal.
Location - Tucson, AZ

Current Problem -
Hi everyone! Fortunately I haven't had to post in about a year, but Kepler has been acting strange for the past 2 weeks and I could use some advice. My fiance and I moved from Las Vegas to Tucson January 2nd. The drive was about 8hrs and Kepler was transported in a shoe box. Upon arrival I set his cage up and everything was fairly normal up until recently.

First he started getting really fussy about food and decided to stop caring about his dubia roaches. He would just lay on his side right under the basking lamp (~85 F) all day, and start dozing off 2-3 hours before his light turned off. This continued and he started dozing earlier and earlier in the day. I ordered some silk worms from mulberry (he loves these things) and once I presented them to him, he ate right away. He ate a good 5-6 worms the first day, none the second, 1-3 the third, and none the fourth. Even with a full belly he still spends the majority of the day on his side under the basking lamp. The ambient temperature of the room is ~76 F and stays there throughout the evening. I originally attributed this to the unusual coldness Tucson was experiencing the past few weeks, but coupled with the second problem I'm beginning to doubt that analysis.

The second odd thing is what really troubles me, he wakes up in the middle of the night and roams his cage for no apparent reason. I'll be in my office and all I hear is him scratching at the sides of his cage for hours. I go check on him periodically and his eyes are open and he's walking around in the dark. He'll usually wander for a bit, sleep for a short bit, then continue to wander. I stop hearing him around 2-3am when I go to sleep, so I don't know if it continues until his lights come on. Last night I even took him out and he was very brightly colored as if he were sleeping, but both eyes were open. This is happening every night now and I worry for his health.

Does anyone have thoughts on what might be causing this? I'm not sure how to help him at this point =( Thanks for taking the time to read this.
 
Did you change time zones when you moved? Are the daylight hours different? Is it dark enough for him where he is now? Only things I can think of! If you've been keeping him the same way for 2 years then it must be something to do with relocating? To me it doesn't sound like a health isuue but I wouldn'yt rule that out until someone more experienced chimes in :)

And is it warmer where you are now? Maybve the temps aren't dropping low enough at night?
 
Did you change time zones when you moved? Are the daylight hours different? Is it dark enough for him where he is now? Only things I can think of! If you've been keeping him the same way for 2 years then it must be something to do with relocating? To me it doesn't sound like a health isuue but I wouldn'yt rule that out until someone more experienced chimes in :)

And is it warmer where you are now? Maybve the temps aren't dropping low enough at night?

Hey AngieL, thanks for the reply. Because of the prep for the move, Kepler did no change time zones. When LV entered daylight savings time back in the fall I never adjusted his lighting schedule (due to laziness). When we moved, Arizona time lined up with his lighting schedule - so he saw essentially no change. He is in the living room, and we frequently stay up late watching TV and such, and the porch light can occasionally leak into his cage. BUT, I've even covered his cage with a blanket and he still exhibits the same behavior.

Hrm, how warm is too warm at night? I'd say it's a bit colder here actually. I keep the main room at 75-76 F right now, but given that he's by the window it may get a tad colder in the evening.
 
Well his health seems to have taken a turn for the worst. He slept through most of the day yesterday; I figured it might be because he was up all night. But now he's still sleeping and his eyes are pretty sunken in. He seems really weak and is having a hard time walking. I forced him to drink some water in hopes I can get him to a vet shortly. I don't think there's much else I can do but make sure he drinks...am I correct?
 
Oh no I'm so sorry he's poorly! Yes all you can do is get him to the vet. Please let us know what the outcome is.
 
Sometimes parasites can cause restlessness, so you should try to bring a poop sample to the vet.
They can also cause dehydration.
Store the sample in a ziploc in the fridge--not the freezer--until you can get it to the vet.
The fresher the sample, the better.
 
Kepler died this morning before I could get him to the vet; unfortunately they aren't open on the weekends =(

I'm starting to think it was parasites as Lovereps suggested, but I can't figure out where they would have came from. His strength had diminished to the point where he could no longer hold branches and his eyes became very sunken in. How long does it take for parasite symptoms to show? I breed my own dubias and get reliable silk worms...the only other feeders he has had were some crickets from a local pet store about 1-2 months ago.

edit: I took him to the vet in hopes that he could tell me what happened, I'll report back if I get anything useful out of them.
 
Im so sorry!

Parasites can come from store bought feeders too. Just an FYI.

I hope you get some answers.

:(
 
Im so sorry!

Parasites can come from store bought feeders too. Just an FYI.

I hope you get some answers.

:(

I imagine that if it were parasites then they came from the local store. My dubia colony has been feeding him for 2 years now with no problem. The silk worms are also so susceptible to infection I don't see how they'd be infected with parasites. I'm just curious as to how long the parasite symptoms take to show, that may help me pinpoint the time frame of infection (if they are the cause).
 
It varies animal to animal.

ANd unfortunately, chams are very good at hiding illnesses.

SO it could hav ebeen a few weeks, or a few months.

Or its not parasites, and its some other issue.
 
It varies animal to animal.

ANd unfortunately, chams are very good at hiding illnesses.

SO it could hav ebeen a few weeks, or a few months.

Or its not parasites, and its some other issue.

The restlessness makes me think it is parasites. I just wish I would have been able to catch it earlier :( Thanks for everyone's responses, I'll report back if the vet gives any news.
 
Anyone have any suggestions on where or how I can go about selling his food? I have a large dubia colony, silk worms, calcium suppliments, & gutload I no longer need (apparently craigslist doesn't allow pet postings).
 
I'm so sorry to hear that Kepler died :(
Don't beat yourself up over his passing.
Other than a necropsy, there is no definitive way to know what caused him to die and it may not have been anything preventable or treatable.
For example: One of my chams died of cancer--something which no one could prevent or cure.
These cute little critters are susceptible to genetic disorders, cancers and other things.
 
I finally heard back from the vet. Kepler died from acute renal failure. His right kidney was inflamed with a bacterial infection. The caracardio (??) sack was full of uric acid crystals as well.

It's nice to know what happened, just wish I could have caught it sooner.
 
im so sorry you lost him....

it so hard losing one of our beloved family members, and it makes it even harder when you dont know what caused it at first.. try not to beat yourself up, they are very good at hiding illness and this sounds like a rare illness that would not have been easy to find :( :(

RIP Kelper
 
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