Lost a loved one 2day :'(

Ethen44

New Member
I have, or I should say had, 1.2 F. Paradalis, and 8 of their adorable little offspring from the first clutch. My male (Latharius) bred with my beloved Skittles, who had the friendliest characteristics about her. She almost seemed to communicate with me and my girlfriend on a regular basis. We both loved her, and loved taking care of her through her two pregnancies. Her last clutch was laid on Oct 15th, which is my birthday coincidentally, and the first arrivals started to hatch on May 2nd, which happens to be my mom's birthday. After Skittles last clutch I lowered her basking temps, and fed her less, hoping that she would not have a 3rd clutch. She did not show gravid colors after that, but she did put on some noticeable mass. After a few adjustments in her diet, and still a continual sign of no regression nor weight loss, I started to become concerned. It wasn't until May 5th that I started to notice something odd about her behavior. She seemed to have an unquenchable thirst, and she was also couching, or wheez seemingly. It was very odd at first, and I knew that there was something wrong. I did as much research as I could, not finding any clues. I posted on Cham forums, I will add a link to it at the end of this, but sadly it was no help. So I gave in, scrounged up some money and went to the vet. The vet seemed to know what he was doing, but I question that in light of the circumstances. He examined her, palpated her, weighed her in at 74grams, and his diagnosis was that she was not digesting her food thoroughly enough, and he administered 1 oz of Bene-Bac Probiotic and told me to dust her feeders. I did what he told me, but she continued to get worse. It wasn't until I came across another members forum titles "Respiratory Infection" that I began to grasp what was wrong with poor sweet Skittles. She was demonstrating the exact symptoms of a LRI, or a Lower Respiratory Infection; Taking deep prolonged gasps with her mouth wide open, the increase in mass around her abdominal region, Mucus in her mouth, and yellow lips. I frantically did some more research and found what I thought was our solution, Repti-Aid. It's a formula that some had used for their sick chams, some even with LRI , and had got the results they wanted. I administered the first dose yesterday, I gave her the recommended dose (.075 ml) and also put her in the hot steamy bathroom. I also had a humidifier on her at night, something that I had learned would possibly help her in her condition. The following night of her 1st dose of repti-Aid I heard a noise that sounded like an overweight chameleon falling to the bottom of her cage, sadly my sound perception was correct and Skittles was on the ground :( I picked her up, and she was very feeble, she almost seemed disoriented. I put her on her favorite branch and went back to sleep, just to wake up to her back on the ground :( I gave her some water, which I had to directly drip into her open mouth, and then I put her in the steamy bathroom again. My girlfriend and I did everything we could to keep her comfortable, warm, and safe. Sadly, despite all of our efforts, Skittles died in our hands this morning at 10:30. It was the most dramatic struggle between life and death for Skittles, and finally my gf and I watched helplessly as she gave in and let out her final breath. I've been comforting my girlfriend all morning, trying to get her to focus on other things, while also trying to hold myself together. This is a rough timing, as we are only 3 days into our new home. I would of provided better care for Skittles if money wasn't such an issue, I'm financially strapped due to the excessive costs of buying a house. Regardless, I wish to prevent this from ever happening again. So I am doing everything that I can think of to eliminate any potential risks my current, healthy, and gravid chameleons. If you have any tips or advice, or a personal experience please feel free. I am all ears, or eyes I suppose. Let me know if anyone has used Repti-Aid before and what their experience was, as well as the Bene-Bac PRobiotic. I appreciate all feedback.

All in all Skittles was a one of a kind Chameleon, she had a personality that was unmatched, and completely unique. I'm going to post a final tribute with some pics of her and some of her adorable babies as well, which I've been selfishly holding out on ;) Thank you

Sincerely, Ethen P.
and Khrystyna, V
 
I am so very sorry to hear that you lost your precious little girl Skittles. I have lost a few of my beloved girls and it hurts so much. Time helps but not all of the pain ever goes away.

If you ever see those symptoms again in any of your chams you need to take them to a good reptile vet, one with chameleon experience if possible and request a culture and sensitivity test to see if your Cham has an RI and if he/she does the sensitivity test will tell which drugs will work on the type of infection that your cham has.

Where do you live? Someone here might know a good chameleon vet within driving distance.
 
My Deepest Condolences.


Its hard to lose the ones we love so very much. Try and focus on the good and let the mourning of this loss turn into a celebration of her life.
 
My prayers go out to you tonight! I am deeply sorry for your loss, losing a little one is always the hardest.:(
 
So sad to hear about your loss, but try to think of it as your remaining lil ones will benefit from your adored Skittles !

My condolences .
 
So sorry for your loss, great that she left you lil ones tho R.I.P Skittles
I have lost a cham in my hands before and it is very sad
I will say what a memeber said to me and it kinda helped.
Look at it as she wanted to be with you and gave you one last gift of sharing in the cyle of her life
Sound like you shared lots of good memories.
 
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