My year old Yemen chameleon female doesn’t move after fall

[Mareczech]

Hi guys, I’m kinda desperate. Yesterday night my year old Yemen female was hanging upside down from branch sleeping.

In the morning I heard bang that she fell. I thought nothing of it and later found her laying on her side looking around.

I left her as she was since she doesn’t like touching. But she’s on the same place, laying on side and looking around only.

I took her on my hand and she only looks around, squeezes me and twitch from time to time.

Is this the end for her or is there something I can do? Veterinary is sadly not an option since there’s no one around.

Thank you in advance y’all and I wish you nothing but the best.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. So sorry that your girl isn't doing well. We can try and see if we can figure out what may be wrong, but naturally we aren't any substitute for veterinary care. First I'd like if you can post some pics of your chameleon both as she is now and the most recent pics you have of her before she fell. I'd also like to see some pics of your entire enclosure, including lights. Has she laid eggs before? Does she have a lay bin? We'll likely need to do a full husbandry review as well, but let's start with this for now.

 

[Mareczech]

Hi and welcome. So sorry that your girl isn't doing well. We can try and see if we can figure out what may be wrong, but naturally we aren't any substitute for veterinary care. First I'd like if you can post some pics of your chameleon both as she is now and the most recent pics you have of her before she fell. I'd also like to see some pics of your entire enclosure, including lights. Has she laid eggs before? Does she have a lay bin? We'll likely need to do a full husbandry review as well, but let's start with this for now.

Hi, thanks a lot for tying friend. She laid eggs surprisingly twice, once in September and then surprisingly in December same year.

This was literally the night before she fell.

 

[MissSkittles]

Has she looked bloated with a big belly at all lately? Has she been eating like usual? Has she had her eyes closed at all during the day?

 

[Mareczech]

When she had eggs yes. Eating in norm. Eyes opened as usual, nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[MissSkittles]

Ok. That sleeping upside down is something that one of my girls did when she was sick, but her belly was hugely bloated. My vet said they sleep upside down like that when they have a stomach ache.

 

[MissSkittles]

Next questions - what kind of UVB are you using? Is it a long tube or a screw in bulb? Has the bulb been changed recently? What supplements are you giving her and how often is each given?

 

[Mareczech]

10 UVB, see attachment. Changed the bulb trough the night when she was sleeping. Once a month Calcium + D3. Btw she looks like this now.

 

[Beman]

10 UVB, see attachment. Changed the bulb trough the night when she was sleeping. Once a month Calcium + D3. Btw she looks like this now.

So unfortunately she does not have the correct UVB type. These compact bulbs have very little output so for chameleons they are not a good option. Per supplements She should be getting calcium without D3 at every feeding. This and then a multivitamin with A and D3 two times a month. Supplements and UVB are extremely important for females due to egg laying.

If you would like to do a complete husbandry review we can do that with you then you will have the information needed to make corrections to her enclosure and overall husbandry. But this girl really needs to be taken to the vet. If she broke something and has internal injuries then that is not something we can not help with.

 

[MissSkittles]

Poor girl! While I'm not really seeing any physical signs of metabolic bone disease, I suspect this is at least part if not all of her problem. I'm afraid the Uvb that you've been using isn't really able to provide the levels of UVB that she needs. Added to that, she isn't getting the proper supplements. She is needing a linear/long T5HO fixture with a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. I'm guessing that you are in Europe, so Arcadia is probably the most easily available to you. They make a wonderful product - ProT5 that comes with a bulb (just make sure to get the one that is 6%). Then you need to get the following for supplements. You'll want to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding. There are a couple of different ways to provide D3 and multivitamins and I'll tell you both since I'm not sure what is available to you.
The first and one that I prefer is to use a combination D3/multivitamin product like Repashy Calcium Plus LoD (has pic of Jackson's chameleon on the label) or ReptiVite with D3. Whichever of these two that you choose, you'd use it for one feeding every other week.
OR the second way is to get two separate products - a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin. You would give each of these separately for one feeding every other week, but not the same time. For example, days 1 and 14 you'd use the calcium with D3 and days 7 and 21 you'd use the multivitamin.
As I said at the beginning, we are no substitute for veterinary care and really your girl needs a visit. While I am certain that your uvb and supplements are in need of improvement and those things can be responsible for so many problems for chameleons, I can't say that this is her only problem and, usually vets will give a special type of calcium to help the animal get better faster. If you can't get her to a vet, then at least make these changes as soon as you possible can.

 

[Mareczech]

Will do. Thank you both so much for your help. Will do the improvement and hopefully I’ll be able to find some vet. Thank you so much.

 

[MissSkittles]

Will do. Thank you both so much for your help. Will do the improvement and hopefully I’ll be able to find some vet. Thank you so much.

Do please let us know how she's doing and keep us updated.

 

[AaQb420509]

Poor girl . Sorry to hear this

 

[elizaann2]

Just wanted to jump in here and say welcome and I'm sorry to see you are having struggles with your beautiful girl. Wishing her the best

 

[Mareczech]

Hi guys, just a quick update. Found some vet for her, unfortunately came to her this morning without any signs of life - still laying on side without any movement of eyes or breathing.

Thank you all for your kind words and help. Wish you all the best!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi guys, just a quick update. Found some vet for her, unfortunately came to her this morning without any signs of life - still laying on side without any movement of eyes or breathing.

Thank you all for your kind words and help. Wish you all the best!

I'm so very sorry. Keep the memories of your beautiful girl close in your heart. ((()))
If you choose to get another chameleon in the future, we all would be more than happy to help you get everything set up as perfect as possible.