my Senegal Chameleon

S

skaterofguitars

New Member
Here is a picture of my senegal chameleon that i just got a week ago. I heard from someone that he might have had broken ribs, has sunken eyes, isnt the right color, and probably has tons of parasites because he is soo skinny. I told my dad about this but he doesnt believe it and wont let me take him to the vet. Can some people please tell me if he is ok or not. I need a lot of opinions so my dad will believe me.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj252/skaterofguitars/freddymychameleon.jpg
 
I dont really know anything about senegal chameleons but won't let you take him to the vet? nice
 
Howdy! Looks like you have alot to learn! You are luckily in the right place :)

First, fill out all these questions. After you have done that, and awaiting responses from folks, read this entire site front to back- its covers everything you are going to need to learn here pretty quickly. It is going to take alot of convincing from YOU talking to your dad for help, not just saying "people on the forums say to do this and that"

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
* Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
* Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
* Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
* Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
* Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
 
Reply

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size? a glass terrarium. its 15 tall gallons so its really big
* Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day? i have a uvb bulb set up and a regular basking bulb. i have them on from when its light in the morning till its dark at night
* Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night? its about 75 ish in the regular spot and then in his basking spot is probably about 90s. his temp at night is about 70
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? i do not know the humidity levels since i read they like low humidity. but i spray the whole enclosure a few times a day and i have 2 plants in there
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? a ficus plant and a young tree ive been growing inside for half a year
* Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? its located right next to my window and i live in the country. its probably 10 feet from a ceiling fan. it is not a high traffic area.


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.senegal chameleon, i think he is a male, he is around 3-4 months old
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? i feed him crickets. i dont have a certain schedule they are just in there and he eats when he wants. i am not gutloading them.
* Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use? i just got calcium supplement today but i havent been able to dust the crickets yet
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking? i use a nose spray bottle for now. he drinks right from the bottle once a day.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. they have a thing of white in them and then the rest is brown. its not really runny. just kind of normal
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
* Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about. i am concerned that he might be sick!
Reply With Quote
 
Reply

No I do know alot but i just dont have all the stuff to take care of him yet. and he is my first cham. but can you just look at the pic of him and tell me if you think something is wrong??? i just want to know if he is as bad as i heard he might be.
 
If you didnt have all teh stuff you needed to take care of him then really should have waited.
 
You really need to get some better pictures.
If you think he/she is dehydrated give it a shower.
It wont hurt him, and can be very beneficial if he/she has signs of the beggining signs of dehydration.
 
Reply

ok the only thing im missing is a mister. i just have this nose spray bottle but it works almost as good. thats all im missing. but your not helping. i just want people to tell me if he is ok or not. i need to know if i need to get to the vet right away or am i just being too worried?
 
Reply

Would it be ok since he is still really young yet, just to mist him alot? I think he might be too young for a shower. What do you think of the picture?
 
Yes, you are correct in being concerned because he does not appear to be in optimum health. The eyes are somewhat difficult to see in your pic but the dark rings around them would imply them being sunken a bit. Again, his flank is difficult to see clearly, but it looks like he could have some subcutaneous worms. His legs look too skinny.

You said you feed him crickets and he eats when he wants...do you see him eat, or are the crickets just disappearing? If you want to keep him long term, a vet's help is almost a 100% necessity. For now, mist or rain on him for long periods, where he can't get away from it. I'd suggest 2 or 3 of these sessions a day, for at least 30 minutes each. That, and make sure you are seeing him eat a healthy diet.
 
Reply

I did not know that you were supposed to ask that when i first got him. but he was only 40 dollars so he probably was a wild caught. i just cant afford to bring him to the vet to get all these procedures done. i might as well attempt to return him and buy a different kind but ill make sure that it is definitely healthy. i would only do this though if he really is that bad. is he?
 
skaterofguitars said:
I did not know that you were supposed to ask that when i first got him. but he was only 40 dollars so he probably was a wild caught. i just cant afford to bring him to the vet to get all these procedures done. i might as well attempt to return him and buy a different kind but ill make sure that it is definitely healthy. i would only do this though if he really is that bad. is he?
Click to expand...


Maybe contact the vet and explain your situation. Maybe they'll be nice enough to work with you on a payment plan or something? Pay half now then the other half in two weeks or so.

Just an option that may or may not work.
 
How much different are senegal husbandries than panther/veiled? I can see a ton of things that really need to be address soon, but I dont want to provide any mis-information.

The biggest thing you need to work on asap is the feeding. You said that you are not gutloading the crickets, or dusting them.. for over a week now correct? That needs to be fixed immediately. Your little guy there is severely lacking the nutrients it needs, ESPECIALLY if its sick and in poor shape already.

I would also give him a shower to work on re-hydrating. Put em on a fake plant so dirt is not going everywhere in your shower, and angle the head to the wall so that its not hitting the plant directly. The goal is to have it bounce off the wall and essentially provide a "super rainstorm" onto the plant. Make sure its not too hot, but if you can get it steamy, thats good too. Id say a good 30min session is needed.

Again, go head over to the links i gave you, its a chameleon blog from an expert keeper here on the forums - Im sure he will chime in here soon, but this time i beat em to posting the link!! muhhahaha

You have alot of basics that need to be covered in keeping these guys. Good luck on your vet trip that is definatly in order.
 
You said..."i have a uvb bulb set up and a regular basking bulb"...what brand and what type of UVB (compact or tube/linear)? Basking? The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic. Exposure to UVB (from either tube lights or direct sunlight allows the chameleon to produce vitamin D3 which allows it to use the calcium in its system.

You said..."its about 75 ish in the regular spot and then in his basking spot is probably about 90s. his temp at night is about 70"...your regular spot could stand to be in the high 70's to low 80's IMHO.

Make sure any plants/trees you have in there are non-toxic and well-washed (both sides of the leaves).

You said the cage is ..."10 feet from a ceiling fan"..does the ceiling fan run at night?

You said..."i am not gutloading them."....its important to gutload the insects and feed them a nutritious diet so that your chameleon will be healthy. You can use a variety of greens (dandelion, mustard greens, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, sweet potato, squash, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.).

You said..." i just got calcium supplement today but i havent been able to dust the crickets yet"...is it phosphorous free? I use the phos.-free calcium powder on the insects at most feedings to help make up for the poor ratio of calcium to phos. in the insects. I also dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene cannot build up in the system because the body converts only what it needs...but its not known if all chameleons can convert it to vitamin A. Some people give a little preformed vitamin A once in a while to ensure that they get some. Excess preformed vitamin A will build up in the system and can prevent the D3from doing its job.

If your chameleon only gets UVB from lights you may also want to dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder. D3 from supplements can build up in the system so don't overdo it.

You said..."i use a nose spray bottle for now. he drinks right from the bottle once a day"....you could also be using a dripper. Its important to make sure a Senegal drinks every day.

Hope this helps!

Do you have a substrate in the cage?
 
Reply

i have a long flourescant tube thing or however you spell it. i think the brand is reptisun. im sure its a good brand and everything. a lot of people have helped me out with that. actually my dad ended up getting me this lizard supplement stuff that does have D3 in it. it also has a ton of vitamins in it.

just last night i went to walmart and bought a mister for Freddy. and ive been misting him alot more and giving him showers so im hoping he can get hydrated again.

i really want to gutload the crickets but once i have them in the little separate cage thing, how do i get them out of it to feed freddy? i dont want them jumping out and running all over my room.

oh and also about the fan, it does run at night.

i have a problem too. it seems like since i have the basking light on its drying out my plants too much. is it ok to water them alot like every other day?
 
it worries me that u have only just got a supplement? chameleons need their supplements otherwise there are tons of things that can go wrong! for example bone disease and other stuff like that.

Get some neutrabal or something as well! dust the crickets well!
 
skaterofguitars said:
i really want to gutload the crickets but once i have them in the little separate cage thing, how do i get them out of it to feed freddy? i dont want them jumping out and running all over my room.

oh and also about the fan, it does run at night.

i have a problem too. it seems like since i have the basking light on its drying out my plants too much. is it ok to water them alot like every other day?
Click to expand...

Kill the fan at night, it might be too drafty as you do want to lower the temps at night as it gives them a healthier, deeper sleep.

Alot of people make their own custom cricket keepers, but a standard cricket keeper that you can pick up at any petstore will be fine. They have 2 tubes that the crickets will crawl up into to hide. Just pull out the tube, shake some into your cup for dusting. It looks like this and comes in 2 sizes:

cricket-keeper.jpg


You need to get a dripper running, it will take care of watering your plants when it is dripping onto the leaves. Between that and misting, i never have to water my plants and they are absolutely thriving like crazy, i have to prune them consistently.
 
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