melleri sick? :

[peacenlove]

So as u all know i have jasmine my meller chameleon, latley she has starting to show some weird symptoms, i recently died my hair and gave her a new mercury bulb so thought it was her stress towards change but she hasnt stopped acting this way.

She refuses to eat, only drinks if i spray her mouth directly. she NEVER moves she will just stay in the same spot and sometimes will just hang off her branches and let her body hang from them. she has been super aggressive towards me. always hissing and flapping her flaps at me... she has never since the day i bought her been aggressive. i was thinking its possible she could be gravid? but hasnt shown any different colors, no stress colors, no gravid colors.
she will also just open her mouth a little bit but not all the way.

anyone have any ideas? I would take her to the vet but its 20 degress where im at and i fear to stress her out more for no reason it is possible nothing is wrong with her and im just freaking out for no reason :/

 

[ataraxia]

It could very well be the difference in your hair or even the bulb. Have you tried putting the old one back in just to see if this was a quick fix? Do you have a uvb meter to test the ouput? Is it the same wattage and type of mvb? Is your hair color change that drastic?

I strongly suggest you not spraying into the mouth. I would spray from over the top and let the water run down the head onto the lips.

can you take a snap shot of the chameleon?

 

[peacenlove]

It could very well be the difference in your hair or even the bulb. Have you tried putting the old one back in just to see if this was a quick fix? Do you have a uvb meter to test the ouput? Is it the same wattage and type of mvb? Is your hair color change that drastic?

I strongly suggest you not spraying into the mouth. I would spray from over the top and let the water run down the head onto the lips.

can you take a snap shot of the chameleon?

shes a very stuburn chameleon only drinks if i spray her mouth :/ i can put a dripper on her all day long and she wont drink it. also her previous light was the same just burned out so i bought her a new one. also my hair went from red to black

 

[ChrisZ]

Sounds like parasites... I lost my Melleri because of parasites

Maybe you can send up his poo to the vet so he/she can check it for parasites ?

 

[Carlton]

Sounds like parasites... I lost my Melleri because of parasites

Maybe you can send up his poo to the vet so he/she can check it for parasites ?

There is NO indication that parasites would cause such a change in behavior! Most chams are carrying some at some point in their lives because just about all of their feeders have them but such a drastic change in behavior wouldn't be caused by that on its own. My guess is that something in her environment has distracted and upset her. Ear flapping, gaping, sitting frozen in one place all point to defensive or territorial stress. How long have you had her? How old was she when you got her ( juvenile or adult)? It could also be that she's an extremely territorial cham and now that she's settled she resents you and everything else that intrudes on her space. Maybe it was your hair color but possibly you could test this by putting something a similar color to your previous red over your hair and watch her reaction. Has anything around her cage changed? New animals she can see? Reflections on anything shiny?

I think she's not eating because she's distracted and anxious about something. She could be gravid (melleri can be sneaky about this) and isn't yet showing full gravid coloration. What are her colors now and how are they different than before?

None of the melleri I kept used drippers. They all preferred syringes or direct spraying over their head so that's not unusual at all.

 

[peacenlove]

There is NO indication that parasites would cause such a change in behavior! Most chams are carrying some at some point in their lives because just about all of their feeders have them but such a drastic change in behavior wouldn't be caused by that on its own. My guess is that something in her environment has distracted and upset her. Ear flapping, gaping, sitting frozen in one place all point to defensive or territorial stress. How long have you had her? How old was she when you got her ( juvenile or adult)? It could also be that she's an extremely territorial cham and now that she's settled she resents you and everything else that intrudes on her space. Maybe it was your hair color but possibly you could test this by putting something a similar color to your previous red over your hair and watch her reaction. Has anything around her cage changed? New animals she can see? Reflections on anything shiny?

I think she's not eating because she's distracted and anxious about something. She could be gravid (melleri can be sneaky about this) and isn't yet showing full gravid coloration. What are her colors now and how are they different than before?

None of the melleri I kept used drippers. They all preferred syringes or direct spraying over their head so that's not unusual at all.

this is a long post so ill try my best to answer all the questions. first of all i have had her for a year now and shes 5 years old. the previous owners had her for 2-3 years and before that they bought her at a expo it is possible she was wild caught. i have considered parasites before but she lived with me and her previous owners fine with no issues ever.
the only thing in her cage that has changed was her light. i recently bought her a new murcury bulb since her last one has gone out. nothing else has changed in her cage and its been about a year that its been that way. i do have a "lay box" so you say thats at the bottem her tree lives in. its deep enough that if she does need to lay eggs she can. she has laid eggs before from her previous owners a month or so before we got her. it is possible she is pregnant.
in the year i have had her she has NEVER been like this. she acts like i just bought her, yes i died my hair but this is like the third time ive dyed it since ive had her. (i go from black to red often) also no new pets that would make her angry she has always been a very passive chameleon, very sweet and never showed aggression towards anyone or anything and me and her have always had the best connection but latley she hates me.

she has started gaping her mouth open a lot more and frequently, i looked to see if she had any sort of mouth rot or anything but she shows no difference, her colors are the same. i have had her a year like i said and mellers are my favorite chameleon so i know ALOT about them.. and im stuck i have no idea whats going on im thinking she might be gravid.. everything else her color her shedding everything is normal just not her behavior.