My Female wont drink, eat, and keeps her eyes closed. Help

Cat129

Cat129

New Member
Hi

I have just got my new female cham, i have only had her 3 days and i am very worried about her, this morning when i checked on her she was still sleeping mid morning, i tried to feed her but she wouldn't eat anything, she hasn't drunk since i have had her and she keep closing her eyes and sleeping. i cant get hold of a vet to come and see her and am very worried, can someone help please?
 
Hi and Welcome to CF! I am also in the UK - there are a good few of us on here now!

Firstly, for us to be able to help you we need more info about your cham and it's enclosure. Please fill out this 'How To Ask For Help' form and post photos if you have any of her. These are really helpful. Chams take a while to ajdust to new surroundings and routines, etc so its not unusual for a new cham to not eat for a few days. Closing their eyes during the day is not a good sign though. It is possible that she may be carrying eggs if she is older than 6 months. Does she have a laying bin in her cage? How old is she?


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
* 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?
* Location - Where are you geographically located?



Pictures are helpful
 
* Your Chameleon - She is Velied Yemen, female, we thiknk about 12 weeks old, i have had her 3 days
* Handling - I handle her every day and she is not showing any signs of being stressed
Feeding - i feed her 2 wax worms in the morning, and gut load crickets with a carrot then put 3 - 4 in with her
* Watering - She has a watgerfall that she just sits on top of and wont drink from, i also mist twice a day with warm water, i havent seen her drink once
* Fecal Description - she has never been tested for parasites and i havent found any of her poo or wee anywhere and not from lack of looking.
* History - i dont have any history on her apart from was hand reered and came from a local breeder

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - she has a 3' x 1' x 1' cage as she is only a baby at the moment, it made of wood with a glass front
* Lighting - she has a 60watt heat bulb and i cant remember what the uv light is, they are on from 9 in the morning till 9 at night
* Temperature - her basking spot is at around 90 and drops to 70 at the other end of the cage.
* Plants - plastic vines etc
* Placement - she is a quiet lounge her cage is on the floor and goes up to the window but she cannot see out of the window
 
At her age it is unlikely to be an egg problem. Is the UV a linear (tube) or compact (coil) shape? If it is coiled then you shoud replace it with a linear one. Compact UV bulbs have been known to cause eye problems and even blindness in chameleons! Obviously if their eyes hurt and they can't open them they can't see to hunt food and one thing leads to another. Also your temps are too hot for a baby cham. Low 80's is best for babies as they are unable to thermoregulate their body tems like the adults do. I would also remove the waterfall. It will cause more problems for you in the long run. Firstly they are incredibly hard to keep clean and chams tend to poop in them and feeders fall in and drown, all leading to a disgusting looking waterfall with water that is by far any good for drinking!
 
she has a linear blub, trying to uplead some photos as we speak but taking a lil while, i will change her bulb over i got a lower one just in case. i fi take the waterfall out now what do you suggest i put in there instead, i looked at a dripper system but the shop that i got her from said she was scared of it and wouldn't drink.
 
Chameleons don't see standing water. It's the light shining through moving/dripping water that gets their attention. She will get used to a dripper. Both my chams have homemade drippers but I never see them drink from them! You can make a dripper out of something as simple as a plastic cup with a pinhole in the bottom and position it so it drips onto the leaves. You will need to have a container to catch the drips too unless you have some kind of drainage in the bottom of the cage. I use a tub with netting stretched over the top so the chams can't fall in!

Whe you find a poop/urate sample these will tell you whether she is actually drinking or not. A well hydrated chameleon will produce a nice white urate and well formed poop. Take a look at this thread, it may help you! https://www.chameleonforums.com/normal-poop-pee-35322/
 
i cant find any poo or pee and i have searched everywhere, she is still sleeping at the moment, and hasn't really moved all day. Should i wake her up? I cant get her to a vet until tuesday, should i be worried and make the vet come to us or not?
 
It sounds like she could be poorly and was sold to you anyway. It does sound like a vets visit would be best. Does she make any sounds while she's breathing at all?
 
I would take her back and get a different one. If you don't want to do that, then a vet visit is needed. Is it possible that she has an impaction from eating substrate on the floor?
 
My thoughts........

Welcome to the forum! You need to get rid of the bark substrate on the bottom. It will grow mold and bacteria if you are properly misting your cage. Have you tried setting your girl in a sink and giving her a warm misting or shower to see if she will wake up and drink? Be very gentle but keep it going for quite a while. She may start opening her mouth and discover there is water to drink. Also, you need to get some real live bushy plants in there. Potted plants add humidity and retain water on the leaves for drinking better. I am concerned about the type of linear UVB you are using. We need to know the exact brand/type to rule out eye issues that are caused by certain brands. If you don't make some progress today which is a day you are not likely to get a vet anyway, you need to get her to a vet for sub-cutaneous fluids and evaluation.
 
she has an PT-2170 Exo Terra Repti Glo 10.0 (18")15 Watt, she has woken up now and ate 1 wax worm, i have been misting her regulary as she is shedding and has got some colour back in her now she is up and about. Also what substate would you suggest the place that i got her from said that the bark would be fine. im now thinking they wern't as good as they appeared to be. i have spoken to the out of hours vet and they are saying that they cant get out to her untill tuesday, i can come in for a drop it but it will be about a 2 hour wait. its very cold and snowy here at the moment, if i take her to the vet do you think she will get too cold and do more damage than good
 
Thank you so much everyone, i am really glad i asked for help. i took her out of her enclosure while my partner took all the subsrate out and constantly misted her while he did this, she seems to be opening her eyes more and drank a little while i was misting her, i will take the uv bulb out as soon as the new one that you suggested arrives. Thank you so much. i will also be taking her to the vet as she still hasn't had a poop since i got her 3 days ago.
 
yes, and her crickets are gut loaded. I have a horrible feeling that the pet shop i got her from didn't know what they were doing and i was told the wrong things, as they told me that my uv bulb would 'be ok' and also my heat lamp amognst other things. i have changed everything that you have all suggested that i can do right now, such as taking out her substrate, and i have ordered new bulbs for her.
 
More thoughts....

I spent more time looking at the Exo-Terra link and the UK UV lighting site. I think the ExoTerra Reptiglo 5.0 would be ok. The 10.0 is for dessert reptiles and may cause too harsh for your baby. I wish the UK UV site would issue new results on all the lighting products. These manufacturers can change the formulation of their lights at any time.

At the ExoTerra website the Reptiglo 5.0 and 10.0 show some UVB output below 300 (wavelength) which is associated with eye issues. Natural sun does not produce UVB in that lower range. The UK UV lighting site does not associate these linear tubes with the eye issues and their graphs don't show them really producing UVB below 300. So I am somewhat confused. I'm wondering if Exo-Terra has changed their formulation since the UK testing in 2007 or if the UVB produced below 300 is not really significant. The 5.0 does produce less UVB below 300 than the 10.0 does. Perhaps some of you lighting experts out there can add your thoughts.

I guess I will continue using the ZooMed Reptisun linear tubes since I've used them for a decade with no issues at all.
 
this is the first lot of crickets that i have had and have gut loaded them with an orange, i have only had her for 3 days and am getting really worried.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

KayMcAraw
Chameleon bruising on eye and feet
2
Replies
27
Views
707
CalamityCrow
CalamityCrow
KailieBug
She's eating!!
Replies
18
Views
480
TheMotherChameleon
TheMotherChameleon
salish_31
Female cham acting lethargic
Replies
17
Views
387
Beman
Beman
Jaai
Pleasee help
Replies
1
Views
253
elizaann2
elizaann2
PascalTheVeiledCham
Young Veiled F Cham is sleeping a lot, squinting eyes and rubbing her eyes against the screen
2 3
Replies
47
Views
1K
Beman
Beman
Back
Top Bottom