Major concern..major

jesseesperto

New Member
My veiled female chamstarted acting strange about a week ago or maybe 2. She has always been happy for the past year and a half. I recently added my first live plant (ficus or fig ) it was said to be the most common and easy to start. So I placed it in a new ceramic pot and right away she loved it. When I sprayed she was drinking off the leaves and having a ball hideing in it. I guess maybe a week or so went buy and she didnt seem to be eating her crickets. Then the past 3 or 4 days she has been sleeping during the day. At first i did not think to much of it but she started yesterday sleeping all day. Now last night my wife said somthing is really wrong. so I went to take her out and she just like almost passed out. She was like sleeping in my hand. She would always run away or hiss or even bite me.(out of love ofcourse)....So now I am freaking...right away I decide to clean her cage and removed the plant.I tried to put some water on her lips but she showed no sighn of wanting it. She keeps closing her eyes especially her right eye witch looks to be a bit swollen. I think that maybe the fertilizer in the plant could have poisoned her. There is nothing else I can think of. I just put her back in her cage and let her relax cause she seemed to be stressing with the very little energy that she had. She has not moved a bit but seems calm. I am scared she might die and dont know what to do. I am going to try to go to a vet 2morow but its sunday. I will just have to see hoe she feels tomorrow. I hope she gets better .If anybody can help me please let me know what you guys think is going on.
 
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Sorry to hear this:( Personally I wash all live plants in warm soapy water and usually re-pot them in new soil before adding to my vivariums. I have heard that if a chameleon bites a benjamina ficus plant then the sap can affect their eyes. This has not happened to me but I would guess this is her (your chameleons) problem. It is most certainly a medical emergency if any chameleon is weak and sleeping during the day. She needs to see a vet asap.
I hope she will make a full recovery.
Edit: If she hasn't been eating or drinking for several days then you need to start giving her some liquid. I use Critical Care and Hydro-life. I use a syringe to give the liquid to my chameleons, I open their mouth and push the syringe to the back of their mouth and then 'inject' the liquid. I don't know if either product is available in USA but I know you will have substitute products for sale. The Critical Care needs to be mixed up with water but the Hydro-life (made by T-Rex) can be used as it is.
 
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Howdy,

Pesticide poisioning is a real possibility. There may be something that the vet can give her to counteract the pesticide - maybe not. If you can't get a hold of one of the liquid products already mentioned, you can also use "Ensure" and/or "Pedialyte" to support her until you get her to the vet.

Any chance that she is gravid with unfertilized eggs? I calculate that your female is around 16 months old. It's a possibility too.

Post photos of her and her setup.
 
update

O.k I took the advice of going to the store and buying a syringe. She ate a worm hand fed she did not use her tounge.and we were able to get her to drink water with the syringe. Now things are crazy I think she has a broken arm. After she had some water and food she seems to be perked up. Colors and her eyes are very active.She is alert and does not seemed poisoned to me anymore. I have posted some pictures you can see her left front shoulder has a bump. and now she is behaving really crazy. Hanging upside down. She is having a hard time with her arm. Its like it hurts so bad that she has to stop and rest. The photos dont look so hot but if you can notice her left front side has a bump (her shoulder )and compare to the other side. I found a vet that is close but I cant go till tomorrow. And does anybody know how much a vet is going to run me. She is acting like a monkey for over a half hour holding on with her right arms almost looks as if she is relaxing her left arm or cant use it. I dont know how this could have happend.I apprciate all your feedback. You guys are always so helpfull to me. so let me know what you think now. Also Dave you are right ..she is about 16 months old..what do you mean gravid and can you give more details on what this means if she is?
 
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O.k I took the advice of going to the store and buying a syringe. She ate a worm hand fed she did not use her tounge.and we were able to get her to drink water with the syringe. Now things are crazy I think she has a broken arm. After she had some water and food she seems to be perked up. Colors and her eyes are very active.She is alert and does not seemed poisoned to me anymore. I have posted some pictures you can see her left front shoulder has a bump. and now she is behaving really crazy. Hanging upside down. She is having a hard time with her arm. Its like it hurts so bad that she has to stop and rest. The photos dont look so hot but if you can notice her left front side has a bump (her shoulder )and compare to the other side. I found a vet that is close but I cant go till tomorrow. And does anybody know how much a vet is going to run me. She is acting like a monkey for over a half hour holding on with her right arms almost looks as if she is relaxing her left arm or cant use it. I dont know how this could have happend.I apprciate all your feedback. You guys are always so helpfull to me. so let me know what you think now. Also Dave you are right ..she is about 16 months old..what do you mean gravid and can you give more details on what this means if she is?
Your chameleon needs the help of a veterinarian as soon as possible - [THREAD=67]veterinarian resources[/THREAD].
The timing of the new plant may just be a coincidence. I do see the bump you are talking about, but I can't say for sure what it may be. From your description, it sounds like she is uncomfortable and is having a hard time perching on her vines/limbs. As she loses strength, she will eventually fall so you may want to take some precautious steps. If you want to post your setup and husbandry details ([THREAD=66]reference list[/THREAD]) then some members may be able to offer some advice for improvement. However, I think without the immediate help of a veterinarian your chameleons chances of survival are low.
 
I can see from the photos that she is in a bad way:( Her eyes are sunken for a start. Gravid means pregnant - they lay eggs whether fertilised or not. The eggs could have taken her calcium supply and left her with mbd. She needs vetinary assistance asap regardless of the cost...
 
I dont know what else to do..She seems to have goten worse. I tried to give her more water with the syringe and a slime came out of her mouth. I have taken all branches out accept for one so she does not get hurt. She cant even seem to hold her head up.I dont want to stress her out anymore. She is so misserable and looks so sad. Today has been very long watching her all day.The light is going off in a bit. I hope she is not in a lot of pain and she last till I can get her to a vet. If there is anything anyone can just tell me to make her comfortable. I dont want her to be to cold when the lights go off. She hasnt been able to bask in the light today and everytime I held her today she was cold. Now she is just lying on bottom of the cage on her branch. I hope to make it to the vet and she can help.
 
If she is cold then you should move her basking lamp and fix it low down in the viv. Put some bedding under it on the ground (I use tea towels/dusters) and lay her down so that she cannot fall and is warm too.
 
Thank you guys for for the tips and links...I took your advice chamgirl and lowerd the Lamp for her. She seems a bit better but still is in pain that is obvious. So I have just been trying to keep her temp and humidity at her fav levels witch seems to have comferted her. I have also trying to get her to drink drops from syringe by holding it in front of her mouth but no good. So I just wet her lips again. She did let out a couple of hisses this morning witch I dont know if is a cry of pain or a sighn of life. I was happy to see that though. She does have a lot of goo/slimey substance in her mouth almost like we get mucus from a cold. I also was reading a lot of links from chamgirls web page and I think she may have kidney problems or gout witch could explain the front limbs. Never the less she is going to the doctor today at 12:30. Thanks to the the links Brad. I found 4 or 5 vets in my local area from the association of a&r vets. I called them and made sure that they have exp with chams and found one that is only 30 mins away. So hope for the best and I will let you know what happens.
 
I was able to see the pictures. I'm not a vet and can only tell you what I have learned from experience. I'm glad you are taking her to a vet ASAP!

I maybe too late telling you this...but until you can get to the vets, in her cage, I would put a container (big enough that she can fit into it with room to spare on all sides when its empty) filled about two thirds full of moist washed playsand or if you can't get it, some clean soil. I would dig a hole on about a 45 degree angle and put her head into it. She might get still be able to lay her eggs.

Good luck with her!
 
My trip to the vet was not a good one. She did not handle the stress of the takeing a blood test and got very dark. It was very bad. The vet did say that she was not gravid. It was most likley a kidney infection. She said it is very common. I dont know if it was my fault or what really happend to her. I will say I was so stupid for not taking the time to talk on this forum to get tips about plants step by step. I shouldnt have even changed anything she was fine and happy for almost 15 months. She was a little nothing when I got her. Im not so sure on how great the vet actually was either.I did tell the vet to go ahead with the bloodwork.So maybe that will tell. I tried my best to save her that I do know. Thanks for trying to help me.. Kari and I will miss Elezabeth
 
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awwww....I'm so sorry your lost her. It is a sad, unfortunate loss, and probably a hard lesson learned for you. :( Hopefully you'll get news from her blood work.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. Its never easy losing one of these awesome creatures.

If you have a necropsy done you may be able to find out why she died for sure.

Again...so sorry for your loss. :(
 
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