lacynm79
New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, at least just over 1 year old, we have had him several months. Last weight at vet, approx 112-120grams(two visits, different weights, not liking to hold still)
Handling - As little as possible, though, he does immediately come out sometimes when we open the cage to clean, add food, etc,, and some days just sits at front wanting out. when opened, he occasionally climbs out onto our arm and hangs out for a bit, then goes back in. Others, he comes out, hangs out on top edge of door, then when ready goes back in. -When he decides we are trees/vines, we usually take the opportunity to transport him outside and let him hang out for a bit in the sun/shade setup and soak up the real stuff
Feeding - He normally eats daily. Crickets, superworms, hornworms (he hates dubias, dont ask I don't know) Varied rotation, when crickets usually about 8 med- almost large ones, usually a couple superworms as treats here and there, hornworms we only do 2-4 a day, depending on size ultimately.... Gutloading using a combo of assorted veggies and such with a bit of nature zone total feeder (I think that's right name, I'm highly visual, I see the package, I grab the package
)
Supplements - RepCal, light dusting daily (no d3), vita/min mix once a week (again, name escaped, sorry but recommended by cham raising friends)
Watering - Dripper, we see him drink regularly, we have found he likes it more than misting, so we use digital humidity gauges, mist lightly when below 40%, but, mostly the dripper keeps it up and he likes walking through the damp dripper plants, we leave dripper dripping through the majority of the day, start it on wakeup, turn off about an hour or two before sleep (long enough to dry out on that side of cage) Drains well, so only half or less of the cage stays moist overall, and he has a dryer side he mostly hangs out in, and basically wanders through the faux plants that the dripper drips on to get moisture, stops, drinks and moves back on
Fecal Description - all white urate, solid fecal, no parasites, tested, clean gtg here
History - Very peculiar little dude, the previous owners handled him a bit too much, so, that's why he seems to come out more I think it's habit to him and so we let him but try to limit, you come near him, he climbs on you, no hissing, no running away etc majority of the time. Only times we get the leave me alone is near sleep time or too early in the morning (precoffee version of crickets and warming up?)
Cage Info:
Cage Type - 4 foot tall (xl I think?) Repti-breeze
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVBx2 to cover more cage area during day. Basking bulb (switch between a 25W and 75W depending on ambient temp range, our house can fluctuate) Also, when needed to help ambient, we use a backup buld either household or "bluelight/redlight" of varying wattages to help ambient temps as needed (never at night, he hates that)
Temperature - low end of cage, 75ish, upper ambient around 80-85 in varying areas/days, basking is in 90-95 range? about 70'ish at night? How do you measure these temps- all digital baby, corded and uncorded combos
Humidity - 40 low end, I find if we get above 50% he tends to get sluggish and not feeling well, again, he likes to take that stroll through dripper. Mostly dripper and ambient humidity, it's tx in the summer, we live humid to create humidity What do you use to measure humidity-- digital gauges?
Plants - Are you using live plants? switching out a variety, as he likes to eat plants a lot, all on the safe approved list I found here, all safe soil, covered soil, cleaned etc
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, -- Yes, ( that's how we got a URI, have since remedied it by throwing a block on that side of the vent and never using fans in that room again)
or high traffic areas- lowest traffic area of the house
At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor4 foot cage, bottom about 2 1/2 feet off ground, his top is a bit taller than me, maybe 6 1/2 feet or so??
Location -North Texas
Current Problem -
First, Already had two vet visits we didn't hesitate
Started showing mild signs of URI/RI/LRI
-stopped eating
-got lazier (NO SLEEPING THOUGH IN DAY)
-gaping a good amount,
-extra mucus
-(we actually heard a sneeze or two who'd have thought)
- on and off teeth discoloration....
The last one is current problem, most of the rest have subsided or are subsiding slowly
tooth discoloration (not gums or surrounding mouth tissue/tongue etc) blackish brownish
at first it was bad all bottom (couldn't get good look at top)
subsided some, mostly, receeding to back of mouth
now, back again, through all of bottom teeth won't "wipe off" with damp q tip
(yes, I tried, while giving him med from vet and wiping mucus off mouth)
He's on baytil currently, doc's first instinct, while waiting on culture, given symptoms etc
culture came back possibly resisitant to baytil (wish I remember name of bacteria, possibly started with an S?)
We continued baytril a couple more days, since we were seeing results and he waas starting to eat some again, albeit half or less his normals
Then, poof, his teeth went all dark again out of nowhere, mucus increased a bit (not a ton) and heard the first sneeze in days, and he quit eating again almost completely
Vet rx'ed amoxicillin (not sure if in combo with others, it's not here yet, waiting, thinking it might be though, we had to special order it, it has to be refridgerated)
Questions are:
A) Amoxicillin, orally, any worries/issues to consider, temp ranges max/min (I've heard there were, not sure it's legit, vet didn't mention)
B) vet suggested a peroxide rinse on his teeth to see if it helped? (being careful not to let him aspirate, downward angle of head, rinse with water after, very small amounts of liquid) Had never heard this with a Velied?
C_ Now, today, he's doing even better again and ate plenty... could it be food residue on teeth and how fast do they slow down eating once they get older? Could it literally be overnight and the eating is unrelated? Or is that too sudden?-- scratch that, as pic shows, it looks worse tonight, even though he's eating again today
D) Does any of this sound right to you guys? I've never heard amoxi mentioned really with Chams, I wish I could remember the name of the bacteria, it was in pretty high amounts he said and that it's normally (not always, but, normally) resistant to baytril?
-- side notes
vet had us up ambients and basking a bit while sick, so night is now around 70-75, I had to fight to get it up from about 68ish
daytime basking is 95 and I try to keep it below 100 at any costs
daytime ambient is more what I listed above, bottom maybe sixth of cage only is 75ish, rest of ambient migrates up as high as 85 in areas. The thought is to help him up metabolism and fight it more. He seems to like it and has responded well to upping a bit (we are talking maybe 5 degrees or so)
Pics attached, mouth closeup tonight, fairly normal default and fired as some features show better there.
I'm rambling, but, maybe, hopefully, you guys can help me organize thoughts and what I'm trying to get to?
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, at least just over 1 year old, we have had him several months. Last weight at vet, approx 112-120grams(two visits, different weights, not liking to hold still)
Handling - As little as possible, though, he does immediately come out sometimes when we open the cage to clean, add food, etc,, and some days just sits at front wanting out. when opened, he occasionally climbs out onto our arm and hangs out for a bit, then goes back in. Others, he comes out, hangs out on top edge of door, then when ready goes back in. -When he decides we are trees/vines, we usually take the opportunity to transport him outside and let him hang out for a bit in the sun/shade setup and soak up the real stuff
Feeding - He normally eats daily. Crickets, superworms, hornworms (he hates dubias, dont ask I don't know) Varied rotation, when crickets usually about 8 med- almost large ones, usually a couple superworms as treats here and there, hornworms we only do 2-4 a day, depending on size ultimately.... Gutloading using a combo of assorted veggies and such with a bit of nature zone total feeder (I think that's right name, I'm highly visual, I see the package, I grab the package
)Supplements - RepCal, light dusting daily (no d3), vita/min mix once a week (again, name escaped, sorry but recommended by cham raising friends)
Watering - Dripper, we see him drink regularly, we have found he likes it more than misting, so we use digital humidity gauges, mist lightly when below 40%, but, mostly the dripper keeps it up and he likes walking through the damp dripper plants, we leave dripper dripping through the majority of the day, start it on wakeup, turn off about an hour or two before sleep (long enough to dry out on that side of cage) Drains well, so only half or less of the cage stays moist overall, and he has a dryer side he mostly hangs out in, and basically wanders through the faux plants that the dripper drips on to get moisture, stops, drinks and moves back on
Fecal Description - all white urate, solid fecal, no parasites, tested, clean gtg here
History - Very peculiar little dude, the previous owners handled him a bit too much, so, that's why he seems to come out more I think it's habit to him and so we let him but try to limit, you come near him, he climbs on you, no hissing, no running away etc majority of the time. Only times we get the leave me alone is near sleep time or too early in the morning (precoffee version of crickets and warming up?)
Cage Info:
Cage Type - 4 foot tall (xl I think?) Repti-breeze
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVBx2 to cover more cage area during day. Basking bulb (switch between a 25W and 75W depending on ambient temp range, our house can fluctuate) Also, when needed to help ambient, we use a backup buld either household or "bluelight/redlight" of varying wattages to help ambient temps as needed (never at night, he hates that)
Temperature - low end of cage, 75ish, upper ambient around 80-85 in varying areas/days, basking is in 90-95 range? about 70'ish at night? How do you measure these temps- all digital baby, corded and uncorded combos
Humidity - 40 low end, I find if we get above 50% he tends to get sluggish and not feeling well, again, he likes to take that stroll through dripper. Mostly dripper and ambient humidity, it's tx in the summer, we live humid to create humidity What do you use to measure humidity-- digital gauges?
Plants - Are you using live plants? switching out a variety, as he likes to eat plants a lot, all on the safe approved list I found here, all safe soil, covered soil, cleaned etc
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, -- Yes, ( that's how we got a URI, have since remedied it by throwing a block on that side of the vent and never using fans in that room again)
or high traffic areas- lowest traffic area of the house
At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor4 foot cage, bottom about 2 1/2 feet off ground, his top is a bit taller than me, maybe 6 1/2 feet or so??
Location -North Texas
Current Problem -
First, Already had two vet visits
we didn't hesitateStarted showing mild signs of URI/RI/LRI
-stopped eating
-got lazier (NO SLEEPING THOUGH IN DAY)
-gaping a good amount,
-extra mucus
-(we actually heard a sneeze or two who'd have thought)
- on and off teeth discoloration....
The last one is current problem, most of the rest have subsided or are subsiding slowly
tooth discoloration (not gums or surrounding mouth tissue/tongue etc) blackish brownish
at first it was bad all bottom (couldn't get good look at top)
subsided some, mostly, receeding to back of mouth
now, back again, through all of bottom teeth won't "wipe off" with damp q tip
(yes, I tried, while giving him med from vet and wiping mucus off mouth)
He's on baytil currently, doc's first instinct, while waiting on culture, given symptoms etc
culture came back possibly resisitant to baytil (wish I remember name of bacteria, possibly started with an S?)
We continued baytril a couple more days, since we were seeing results and he waas starting to eat some again, albeit half or less his normals
Then, poof, his teeth went all dark again out of nowhere, mucus increased a bit (not a ton) and heard the first sneeze in days, and he quit eating again almost completely
Vet rx'ed amoxicillin (not sure if in combo with others, it's not here yet, waiting, thinking it might be though, we had to special order it, it has to be refridgerated)
Questions are:
A) Amoxicillin, orally, any worries/issues to consider, temp ranges max/min (I've heard there were, not sure it's legit, vet didn't mention)
B) vet suggested a peroxide rinse on his teeth to see if it helped? (being careful not to let him aspirate, downward angle of head, rinse with water after, very small amounts of liquid) Had never heard this with a Velied?
C_ Now, today, he's doing even better again and ate plenty... could it be food residue on teeth and how fast do they slow down eating once they get older? Could it literally be overnight and the eating is unrelated? Or is that too sudden?-- scratch that, as pic shows, it looks worse tonight, even though he's eating again today
D) Does any of this sound right to you guys? I've never heard amoxi mentioned really with Chams, I wish I could remember the name of the bacteria, it was in pretty high amounts he said and that it's normally (not always, but, normally) resistant to baytril?
-- side notes
vet had us up ambients and basking a bit while sick, so night is now around 70-75, I had to fight to get it up from about 68ish
daytime basking is 95 and I try to keep it below 100 at any costs
daytime ambient is more what I listed above, bottom maybe sixth of cage only is 75ish, rest of ambient migrates up as high as 85 in areas. The thought is to help him up metabolism and fight it more. He seems to like it and has responded well to upping a bit (we are talking maybe 5 degrees or so)
Pics attached, mouth closeup tonight, fairly normal default and fired as some features show better there.
I'm rambling, but, maybe, hopefully, you guys can help me organize thoughts and what I'm trying to get to?
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