My Chameleon is lethargic

[ByteMe]

For about three days now Marty (named after Marty Feldmon) has been very lethargic and weak...

Here is his info:
-1 year old male Oustalet's Chameleon
-Eats 6 to 8 crickets a day that are gut loaded with oranges and potato
-I dust the crickets once every two weeks with calcium
-He has a 75W heat lamp and a UVA/UVB bulb that are on a timer set to 12 hour intervals
-Room temp varies between 70 and 76 degrees with about 30% humidity
-His enviroment is 48Hx48Lx24D
-He has a water feature that has a pump to keep the water moving and fresh for drinking
-I spray him three times a day with warm water
-I clean his enviroment daily with warm water and wash out his drinking water every other day

His symptoms are as follows:
-Lack of appitite (hasn't ate for 2 days now)
-Won't stand on all four legs
-Seams to have a balancing problem has almost fallen out of his tree
-Very lethargic and seems to be weak, but his eyes are still moving around as usual so he is still very alert
-As near as I can tell his bowl movements have not changed (1 to 2 a day)
-He is not dehydrated for his head patches are prominent and his eyes are not sunken in.

If anyone has an idea as to what is Marty's problem please tell me. I'm new at this chameleon raising (just about 6 months now). I've had other lizards and one or two snakes but they were easy to raise.

 

[kinyonga]

You said insects are gut loaded with oranges and potato...you should use a wider variety of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc.).

I dust the crickets at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phos. in many of the feeder insects.

I dust twice a month with herptivite and twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder.

What is the brand and type (spiral, compact, long linear tube, etc.) of UVB bulb?

Cage temperature? Basking temperature?

You said..."He has a water feature that has a pump to keep the water moving and fresh for drinking"...I'm not a fan of these. They are hard to keep clean.

Some of the symptoms you described could be from a calcium imbalance...but there could be other reasons too. A vet could tell you. Its important to deal with the ASAP IMHO.

Could you post pictures please?

 

[cushcameleon]

What is the brand and type (spiral, compact, long linear tube, etc.) of UVB bulb?

This is a very important question. My female veiled died from coil bulb exposure and she had all the symptoms your chameleon is currently showing. Take your chameleon to the vet asap, best of luck to you.

 

[ByteMe]

This is a very important question. My female veiled died from coil bulb exposure and she had all the symptoms your chameleon is currently showing. Take your chameleon to the vet asap, best of luck to you.

What is "Coil Bulb Exposure"? I can't find any info on the internet and the nearest Reptile Vet is 4 hours away.

 

[ByteMe]

Never mind... I now know that it is a fluorescent light bulb... I "had" four of them in the room (three in the ceiling light fixture and one in my desk lamp). I switched back to incandescent bulbs. But how do they effect them where the standard tube type fluorescent bulb doesn't?

 

[cushcameleon]

Here is my blog entry about the experience I had with coil bulb exposure, there is also a link at the end of it that provides evidence to back up my claims. The problem with coil bulbs is that they emit rays at a much more unstable rate. Some people do use them and have not encountered problems, but I believe that most educated chameleon keepers would advise against their use. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/cushcameleon/135-compact-bulbs-big-no.html