My Chams health

iGodzilla

Member
My Cham has been acting really weird for the past few days she hasn’t eaten much and now she doesn’t move much she seems weak like she has no energy I picked her up and her grip seems weak then iplace her in her cage and she hangs on sideways like if she was falling so I go help her get on top of the branch and she falls a couple inches nothing up high and stay in that position until I help her get up right I’ve doens everything I can to make her have a legit cage and trying to do things rite to make sure she’s healthy and ok but I feel like something might be wrong any help
Please ?
 
Good morning. If you fill out the ask for help form people will be able to give you mich better advic. It is located at the link below, just copy and paste the questions and include as much info as possible, details are important! Pics of your cham and enclosure can be a huge help as well


https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? (Female about 8 months and for the past 6 months )
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? (We don’t really handle her she’s really aggressive and likes being left alone )
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? (I feed her mostly crickets some super worms once in a while she eats once a day during the after noon)
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? (Calcium is repticalcium from zoomed and once a week or so )
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?( I have a exotera mister and I mist her a couple times a day when I see the humidity meter down and yes I see her drinking )
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? (Colors are dark brown and some white and no she hasn’t been tested for parasites )
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No previous info

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? (Screen cage and it’s 15x15x30”)
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?( light is a t5 hood lamp and it’s on for a bout 12 hours and off for about 12 hours)
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? (Temp range not sure and the lowest temp is a bit under 60 and with a thermometer)
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?( levels stay at about 50 I use a mister and a humidity meter )
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? (No live plants yet )
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? (Cage is in dinning room no fans or air vents near her low traffic and top of cage is about 4ft from floor)
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Norh east
 
This is where she’s currently at
 

Attachments

  • 1EACACF8-0A1C-4F7F-B55C-47FC5F190A0E.jpeg
    1EACACF8-0A1C-4F7F-B55C-47FC5F190A0E.jpeg
    452.4 KB · Views: 115
A few thoughts....firstly I agree that you should contact a vet, she doesn’t look healthy.

Are you gutloading your feeders with anything? She should be getting calcium without D3 every feeding and a multivitamin with D3 2x a month. This is especially important as she is now old enough to potentially lay eggs, which can complicate things. Hopefully someone with more experience can comment on if she looks to have complications from that. @Brodybreaux25 @jannb ate both very knowledgeable about females and hopefully can give you some more detailed advice.

It’s very important that you be able to monitor her basking temp, she needs to be warm enough to digest her food without getting too hot. A temp gun off Amazon is a great purchase, I love mine! Along the same lines, she should eat in the morning so she can bask and digest during the day. They are cold blooded, so that external source of heat is imperative. Does she have a basking light? I only saw the t5 mentioned. What’s the strength on the t5 bulb, what brand, and how old is it?

The falling, weak grip, and lack of supplementation along with the pic make me think MBD, so I’d move her to a hospital set up until you can get to a vet, so she doesn’t fall and injure herself.
 
Last edited:
Is that her lay bin? Is she showing signs of needing to lay? If so she needs a 12x12x12 minimum lay bin with play sand in it that is wet enough to hold a tunnel. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/egg-laying-and-the-laying-bin.345/
It is possible that she has been eating the soil in that Tupperware container. Which can cause an impaction. Honestly I would make a vet appointment...
I put that in today thinking maybe that she needed to lay but I think she’s showing signs of mbd I started readin some stuff online and found similar symptoms
 
I put that in today thinking maybe that she needed to lay but I think she’s showing signs of mbd I started readin some stuff online and found similar symptoms
What strength T5 bulb are you using for her? You recently added this correct? Also even if she needs to lay that bin will not work so she will not use it.
 
You may need to go up to the 10.0. The 5.0 may not be producing the right UVI levels. How far is her basking branch from the T5? I would strongly consider a vet visit to a reptile vet though in case she needs additional supplementation if it is in fact early MBD.
 
You may need to go up to the 10.0. The 5.0 may not be producing the right UVI levels. How far is her basking branch from the T5? I would strongly consider a vet visit to a reptile vet though in case she needs additional supplementation if it is in fact early MBD.
Like 3 inches from the light how far should it be ?
 
Got an appointment for Wednesday the earliest they had with a specialist hopefully we can get her back to 100% and I ordered the 10.0 bulb should be here in a couple days as well
 
Got an appointment for Wednesday the earliest they had with a specialist hopefully we can get her back to 100% and I ordered the 10.0 bulb should be here in a couple days as well
Ok so you should be able to drop her basking to 6-7inches down and she will get the right levels with a 10.0. But as @cloverthechameleon said she looks quite plump so you need to get her laybin right asap today in case she is needing to lay.
 
Got an appointment for Wednesday the earliest they had with a specialist hopefully we can get her back to 100% and I ordered the 10.0 bulb should be here in a couple days as well
Good but just in case she needs to lay eggs you have to correct her lay bin asap today.
 
Honestlty id fill a full sized garbage can with about a foot or 15 inches or moist play sand and soil mixture with afew branches and plants with her uvb over top and place her in until weds. Gives her plenty of space to lay and plenty of privacy and if shes weak and falls she wont harm her self anymore.
 
We
Honestlty id fill a full sized garbage can with about a foot or 15 inches or moist play sand and soil mixture with afew branches and plants with her uvb over top and place her in until weds. Gives her plenty of space to lay and plenty of privacy and if shes weak and falls she wont harm her self anymore.
ok will do today thank you
 
Trash can wiht the mix in it and a couple stuff In it now do I just put the uvb light and that’s it?
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    189 KB · Views: 93
Back
Top Bottom