My chameleon vomited!!!!

[Freedom1]

I usually feed early in the day in the day anyway. She seems fine now, just really thirsty for some reason, for the past couple of minutes she has been greedily drinking down water. I make sure she gets water everyday so I am a little confused why she's so thirsty. Overall, she is doing better but i just caught her stratching at her eye.

 

[Freedom1]

I usually feed early in the day in the day anyway. She seems fine now, just really thirsty for some reason, for the past couple of minutes she has been greedily drinking down water. I make sure she gets water everyday so I am a little confused why she's so thirsty. Overall, she is doing better but i just caught her stratching at her eye.

sorry, scratching her eye

 

[Kaizen]

Here’s how my thought process would go:

Problem: chameleon vomits

(though many haven’t witnessed this, I have heard that this can be common, especially among veileds)

What, logically, could cause this?

- upset stomach do to bacterial/viral infection
- parasite problem causing either nausea or blockage
- an impaction/blockage such that the stomach contents can’t proceed through the gi tract
- what experts have called a too homogenous gut content: too many soft worms/low chitinous bugs in the diet have created a loose mass that the (for lack of a better term) guts can’t grab and pass on
- some genetic deformation of the gi tract

There are probably more possibilities here, and I hope others will post some. Once you have what looks like a fairly comprehensive list, then you and your vet can work on eliminating possibilities. Also, I have heard that vomiting is not as unusual as we think...But then again, I hear a lot of things, and I’m absolutely not an expert, scientist or veterinarian.

 

[kinyonga]

You said she had dirt in the vomit...any idea where she got it if you converted the soil in the plant pot with stones? Is there a lay bin in her cage all the time?

When's the last time she pooped? Vomiting can sometimes happen if the chameleon Is impacted too.

I'm concerned that she might have MBD. We really need to see photos to see if she has signs of it.
I'm concerned about how many eggs she's laying too.
Your lack of proper supplementing with calcium and possibly too much D3 could lead MBD and eventually egg binding. Calcium plays a part in bone health and muscle contractions and of course is needed for egglaying and the more eggs she has the more calcium she needs of course.

 

[Freedom1]

You said she had dirt in the vomit...any idea where she got it if you converted the soil in the plant pot with stones? Is there a lay bin in her cage all the time?

When's the last time she pooped? Vomiting can sometimes happen if the chameleon Is impacted too.

I'm concerned that she might have MBD and I'm concerned about how many eggs she's laying too.
Really need to see photos.

She may have gotten the dirt from a plant that I have in the cage. But the top of it is covered with flat rocks...maybe she found a way around them? She last pooped three days ago. There isn't a laying bin in her cage at the moment because she laid in October. She has been laying a lot of eggs the past couple of times because of the amount that I feed her. Since she is now a year old I will be cutting back on the food amount definitely. I don't think she has MBD because I do give her enough calcium. Each week I switch back and forth between the multivitamins and calcium with d3.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."About twice a month I dust her crickets with repitivite mulitvitamins. Every other week I dust them with D3"... So you're also giving them calcium?? How often? What brand?

 

[kinyonga]

Still need pictures to see how she looks no matter what's wrong with her.

 

[Freedom1]

You said..."About twice a month I dust her crickets with repitivite mulitvitamins. Every other week I dust them with D3"... So you're also giving them calcium?? How often? What brand?

Oh sorry I meant to explain! Since I switch back and forth between the multivitamin and the calcium with d3 in it every week and a month has about 4 weeks in it i am dusting them with multivitamin about twice a month. I use Fluker's repta calcium for the one with d3. And for the multivitamin I use zoo med's reptivite.

 

[Freedom1]

Still need pictures to see how she looks no matter what's wrong with her.

I am working on the pictures. It is just really hard to download onto my computer.

 

[AnamCara]

I am working on the pictures. It is just really hard to download onto my computer.

You can post from your phone.

 

[Freedom1]

 

[Freedom1]

Do you need a better picture?

 

[Freedom1]

 

[kinyonga]

You should be dusting it's a phos free calcium powder at all the feedings but two a month. On those two you should be using a phos free calcium/D3 powder and twice a month you should be using s vitamin powder with a beta carotene prOformed source of vitamin A so you don't risk overdosing vitamin A. This leaves you in control of the prEformed vitamin A...you can give it if/when the chameleon needs it.

 

[kinyonga]

I don't see any signs of MBD.

 

[Freedom1]

That's a relief! Thank you everybody soo much for your help. She hasn't vomited in a while and seems to be feeling much better. I will take all of your advice into mind and let you know if anything else happens.

 

[Angelwolf]

View attachment 254122

She is most definitely dehydrated. Her eyes are sunken in pretty severely. She also looks pretty chunky to me. Any idea how much she weighs?

 

[Angelwolf]

You should be dusting it's a phos free calcium powder at all the feedings but two a month. On those two you should be using a phos free calcium/D3 powder and twice a month you should be using s vitamin powder with a beta carotene prOformed source of vitamin A so you don't risk overdosing vitamin A. This leaves you in control of the prEformed vitamin A...you can give it if/when the chameleon needs it.

Or as someone else mentioned, you can simplify the entire process by using Repashy Calcium Plus Lo D at every feeding. I have used it for all of my chams and bloodwork showed that all of the nutrient levels, as well as calcium, were well within normal ranges.

 

[Angelwolf]

That's a relief! Thank you everybody soo much for your help. She hasn't vomited in a while and seems to be feeling much better. I will take all of your advice into mind and let you know if anything else happens.

Who is your local vet? Do you have a reptile specialist near you? Regardless of what she's doing, or how she's acting, you should take her in for a check up. The excessive thirst is certainly a concern. Chronic dehydration can also lead to death. I lost my male, Echo, to a stomach torsion and he did vomit once, and had these strange coughing/wretching episodes for a couple of weeks. Then he went off food, but drank a lot. Poor thing ended up with a horrible and painful death. I had him to the vet 3 times, and it wasn't until after he passed that we discovered the problem. The necropsy showed that his stomach twisted where it connected to his intestines. I am not telling you all of this to scare you, but your cham os showing some concerning symptoms and you should have her checked out sooner than later.

 

[kinyonga]

Just saw the photo of her showing her right side...is that a bump on the lower half of her right arm?