Meet Leo!

[dodolah]

Thank you Julirs...

Rubbed the wrong way is an understatement

I try hard to listen and do as suggested and I appreciate that it shows.

I spent the last hour and half moving him and readjusting. I moved the plant down a little to where he can access hiding but his normal vines skim across the top. He ran for the cage as soon as it was ready (I had him on my bed). He is moving around and eying the cup full of food I put in there. I closed the door. I know my kids/dogs/myself are stressful.. I just assumed by a window was best for the natural lighting..Never took into account the reflection or the busyness of the room and that was My mistake. Im keeping a close eye on him and Hope that he adjusts and goes back to himself. I will not handle him anymore unless its deemed absolutely necessary. Thank You SO much for taking the time to try to help.

I hope everything will be alright.
Everyone has offer great advice about the stress.
So, right now all you can do is keep your vet's # handy.
Give him lots of privacy away from dogs and kids even from other reptiles or pets.
Move ever slowly around him. Because of that, I always felt that Chameleon is closer to bird in behavior than a lizard.

Keep his hydration regimen to optimum.
and keep his preferred optimal temperature zone (POTZ) to rev UP his metabolism.

and consider giving him Hornworms and butter worms to built his fatpads back. Time to spoil him with his most favorite food.

 

[blackbetty]

I hope everything will be alright.
Everyone has offer great advice about the stress.
So, right now all you can do is keep your vet's # handy.
Give him lots of privacy away from dogs and kids even from other reptiles or pets.
Move ever slowly around him. Because of that, I always felt that Chameleon is closer to bird in behavior than a lizard.

Keep his hydration regimen to optimum.
and keep his preferred optimal temperature zone (POTZ) to rev UP his metabolism.

and consider giving him Hornworms and butter worms to built his fatpads back. Time to spoil him with his most favorite food.

I try hornworms..He has no interest.. He just stares at them..as he has done with all his food lately... I put him in the there..that room is rarely accessed until bedtime and easily closed off so Im hoping that he will be okay. He did great in there when he first got here..My fault for moving him and causing undo stress on him. I feel terrible.

What would the optimal temp thingie be? His basking stays around 87-89 and the rest of the cage is around 76-79 with the nighttime temp in the room being 72 as this is what our heat is on.

 

[dodolah]

I try hornworms..He has no interest.. He just stares at them..as he has done with all his food lately... I put him in the there..that room is rarely accessed until bedtime and easily closed off so Im hoping that he will be okay. He did great in there when he first got here..My fault for moving him and causing undo stress on him. I feel terrible.

What would the optimal temp thingie be? His basking stays around 87-89 and the rest of the cage is around 76-79 with the nighttime temp in the room being 72 as this is what our heat is on.

I would raise the basking spot to low 90s.
Remember, with temp going up, you need to provide compensate with mistings as well, especially since he looked dehydrated.
Ambient temp is fine.

 

[blackbetty]

I would raise the basking spot to low 90s

How do I do that? I already have used a 100W bulb. Is there one higher?

 

[dodolah]

How do I do that? I already have used a 100W bulb. Is there one higher?

really? how close his basking spot to the lamp?
What kind of thermometer you used?
also how often you mist and for how long?
You have an auto mister?
I also second on whoever mention about this to NOT take him out and do the shower method even if it's only once a week. Instead, just mist him longer.

But, above all, remember to give him privacy away from the kids and the dogs.
I really hope he can get back to his usual healthy self.

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

Amanda,

Glad to see you posting pics and getting input. Ok, about him not eating, how long ago was his shed? How much and often were you feeding him before his shed? What have you been feeding him (what does he eat the most and least)? Is he normally the green color during the day with his eyes open? How often do you mist him?

Also, I would nix the showers...way too stressful and it looked a bit too warm. I have found misting works much better than showers. Additionally, in a room that is 75F a 100 watt incandescent bulb generally is a touch too hot, I have 2x2x4 cages and my room sits around 76 to 78 and I use nothing but 75 watt incandescence for heat. I generally mist them 2 or 3 times a day for about 4 to 5 minutes.

Again there are different ways of doing things but that is what I have found to be most successful.

Let me know, thanks,
Chris

 

[blackbetty]

I use a digital therm that sits directly below the heating bulb and registers no more than 89.2 degrees.

No more showers, got it. I apologize. This was info I was given by someone who has been on here awhile and I followed it as I was told it was good for them to rehydrate 30 min a week in a warm shower.

I fed him every other day. 2-3 supers, 1-2- roaches and about 4-5 crickets. I tried to give a variety. He rarely ate them all so what I didnt get him to eat, I put in his cup and he ate them through out the day.

His shed was 1.5 weeks ago. Good shed, easy. I give a hornworm everyday as a treat but he has no interest.

I have moved him back to his original spot when he came to me.

I do not have an automister. I use a pressure mister and I do mist 3-4xs a day for 2-3 min at a time, hot tap that comes out warm. Never at him or on him, just the plants around him and he comes down and drinks. If I see him choosing a particular plant, I will mist that one more heavily. I use a dripper on occasion from Little Dripper but it leaks horribly and causes a lot of the plants to be overwatered as well as leaves standing water. I have tried adjusting and caulking and it just finds a new plae to leak so I only use it if Im not available to mist throughout the day.

Chris, Im hoping you just happened upon this and someone isnt whispering in your ear that Im not doing a good job.. I am. I was scared to post this concern on here due to some recent issues Im having with a member, but I chose to overlook that and do it anyways as its best for Leo for me to get to the bottom of this.. Im a very responsibly person, I was just given bad info apparently and made a bad choice to move him.

I hope that answers everything?

EDIT: I just checked on him and found the dig therm to register at 100. I immediately removed the 100w bulb and replaced with a 60watt (all I had avail). The dig therm has NEVER done this and have always remained in the same location so Im not sure what caused the spike. Honestly I think it might have been the move away from the windows where its a little more drafty into a closed corner of a room. This was corrected IMMEDIATELY.

Temp is now 87.5 and Im off to hunt down some supers in hopes that it will perk him like it did before. Thanks!

Leo has moved into position and staring into the feeder cup. I am leaving and hope when I come back, some will be gone.. He looks hungry!!! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[chambabysitter1]

I am glad you are calling Elisa. That woman is a saint. Compared to a lot of cases on here that I have been reading, Maggie was pretty messed up and Elisa came to her rescue. If she can help MBD like Maggie's then she can work some miracles. Hang in there.

I think a new thread would definitely get more of the right traffic in here though.

 

[blackbetty]

Eh, those whom I needed to help found me.

Okay, got Leo some supers and put them in his cup. when I came home a few minutes ago, his cup was all kinds of jacked up and half the stock gone. He is looking his normal beautiful blues and greens with no sign or orange in sight! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Not saying we are outta the clear as I need to get him rehydrated, but its def a good sign.

 

[addicted]

That's good to hear, eating is always a good sign

Leo is such a cutie, even though he's a face eater

 

[blackbetty]

That's good to hear, eating is always a good sign

Leo is such a cutie, even though he's a face eater

That made me LOL....and still laughing.. Thanks for that..

 

[chamelisa]

I am glad you are calling Elisa. That woman is a saint. Compared to a lot of cases on here that I have been reading, Maggie was pretty messed up and Elisa came to her rescue. If she can help MBD like Maggie's then she can work some miracles. Hang in there.

I think a new thread would definitely get more of the right traffic in here though.

Oh please! I'm not a saint. I was just able to get her vet care and then do the daily treatments. I had a credit at the vet and I also received a donation from another keeper and this helped cover the rest of the cost. Now it will just take some patience.

Anyway...

Amanda got it handled about Leo.

I was mainly concerned about her and Kevin. I think we should all let go of the frustrations, deal with the issues calmly and do what we can to help each other out. Kevin does offer very good advice and many times he consults with others for their input before posting. He's a valuable resource for this forum but his delivery isn't always palatable. I think Amanda is taking the advice, but she's suffering with the undertones in forum messages at the same time. And I think she's doing this with the chameleon's best interest at heart.

 

[blackbetty]

Thank You.

(And who put a limit on the amount of smileys you can add?! Thats not fair!Ha)

 

[dodolah]

Whoa!
I was quite amazed on the difference of the temp from 87 to 100. That is a huge jump.
One lesson to learn from all this is to always check the temp of your enclosure closely.
Thatis why i found it quite surprising that 100 watt lamp only register temp that low.

I'm glad he's getting better.

Maintain his privacy until he absolutely regain his usual self.

 

[Jayce]

Wow reading this post, it is crazy how quickly they can get sick/dehydrated isn't it? I'm glad he is doing better, they are such fussy little creatures. It makes it hard too, as what works for one may not always work with another, taking into account their personalities as well.

So glad to hear he is doing well, keep up the good work!

 

[blackbetty]

Whoa!
I was quite amazed on the difference of the temp from 87 to 100. That is a huge jump.
One lesson to learn from all this is to always check the temp of your enclosure closely.
Thatis why i found it quite surprising that 100 watt lamp only register temp that low.

I'm glad he's getting better.

Maintain his privacy until he absolutely regain his usual self.

Yea, I agree. Like I said, the sunroom is drafty due to windows but gives a lot of natural sunlight so I thought it the best place but its high traffic and that slipped my mind. So I think the cool coming from the windows leveled the basking spot and registered it lower than now in the bedroom. Its staying between 87-89 and he is VERY active today..Moving all around. I am hoping to actually SEE him eat or at least hear it to calm myself..While I see the insects gone, I just want to be sure for myself. Thanks for all the great advise and support!

 

[ToniandGizmo]

I've been following this post since it first began and I am so happy to see that things are beginning to shift in a positive way for Leo.

In the beginning (9 months ago), I too moved Gizmo's quarters twice because he seemed unhappy with his set up (even though it had been up and operating with temp and humidity pretty much stabilized two months BEFORE he arrived).

What I came to realize was that in spite of my best attempts, I could never duplicate the same temps, humidity, etc. of that from where he had been bred, born and raised (locally here in CA).

He never stopped eating nor drinking. It was just that he wore his calm light colors very rarely. He just stayed a dark brown, and I always felt that somehow he was cold - even though his basking temps showed differently.

His humidity levels were between 56% and 60%, spiking to 80% during misting (3 x daily) so far so good according to most guide lines.

Then on a whim I decided to go online and see what the current temps and humidity levels were for Ambanja, Madagasgar. What I learned was that for that current moment, that time of year, the humidity levels were much higher and for a much longer a time during the day (76% that morning, climbing to 82% that afternoon) I grabbed my mister as fast as I could and headed for the cage.

Sooooo to make a long story short, I now log on to local weather for Madagasgar and pretty much act accordingly with Gizmo and he has very much responded positively because of it.

 

[blackbetty]

Tonia: thats very usefull and informational and what a great idea!~!

Here are some UPDATED pics from this morn of Leos cage. Ive moved vines all around but still give him his corner above any plants as he prefers it this way.

and leos beautiful PJS..He curls his tail up so tight and becomes a stunning orange..Even more vibrant than a few weeks ago..Amazing!

 

[ToniandGizmo]

Thanks BlackBetty,

Only when you google the current weather information.... make sure it's for his locale (Maroanstra) Spelling? It differs within the regions.

He's looking good. Now the hard part... giving him his privacy LOL.

 

[blackbetty]

Oh I do..It sucks but since moving him in there yesterday, the only time I bother is to feed or mist.. (the pics were done prior to misting)..Other than that, he is solitary..Wait Wait, I do PEEK at him through the door throughout the day..