ohiohousewife
New Member
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Wood frame with screen on 3 sides. ~1.5' deep x 3'wide x 6' high
Lighting - 2 100w domes 6" away from top perch, with a reptisun 5.0 also 6" from top. lights on at 6am, off at 5pm
Temperature - I have a digital temp gauge with a basking spot of ~85 degrees, ambient temps of 75 degrees. overnight, temps drop to 65 degrees
Humidity - Humidity levels are between 40% and 60%. He has live plants and coconut husk to try to maintain levels. He is watered every 3 hours for 30 sec, and misted 1-2x/day for 3-4 min.
Plants - pothos, benjamin ficus, umbrella plant
Placement - nontraffic corner of our main level. heating vent underneath helps keep ambient temps stable although it compromises humidity, height is 6'
Location - central ohio
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male ambilobe about 1 year old in my care for 9 months.
Handling - rarely handle cham. maybe once a week for a quick check over
Feeding - appetite has slowed greatly since nov--figured it was a winter hunger strike. I offer horn, silk, butter and phoenix worms. He prefers supers. He only eats one or two every other day. Gut load with diet from the forum including bee pollen, dried milk, blue-green algae, and fresh veggies/fruit.
Supplements - Repti-cal calcium 3x/week, with d3 2x/month, multivitamin 1x/month
Watering - Habbamist 30 seconds every 3 hours, one or two good mistings by hand/day. He drinks with the hand misting. he has always appeared well hydrated
Fecal Description - fecals have been slowing down with decreased PO intake. 1x/week. urates are white, fecals look brown and well formed.
History - was treated for an eye infection 2-3 weeks ago
Current Problem - bilateral lower extremity paralysis
I took Urlich to the vet 2-3 weeks ago bc he was unable to close his right eye when I misted him. He was found to have an eye infection, and given neopolybac to treat. Eye cleared up well, and Urlich was acting normally.
Yesterday, I noticed Urlich climbing slowly. He ate 2 supers for me. When I came by the cage later, he was in one of the plant pots at the bottom of his enclosure. He, at that point, stopped using his back legs as he climbed. His legs and tail turned dusky. I got him into the vet in the next hour.
She took x-rays, and determined that the infection had made it to his spine, weakened the bones, and he fractured when he fell. She asked me to put him in a small enclosure with very little to climb on to discourage activity. she prescribed Rimadyl (NSAID) and calcionate 2x/day, and fortaz (antibiotic) q 72 hours.
My concerns are:
feeding:
He hasnt pooped much in the past week, and the vet said he had fecal evident on his x-ray. Im concerned about feeding him if he's not pooping. How do I get him to poop without handling him (bc of the fracture). I bought fish oil, but lost the link that said how much to give. (If his paralysis is caused by bowel impaction, and not a fracture then treating the impaction will help.)
hydration: With few branches and leaves to soak, and trying to limit motion, his options for water are limited. should I supplement water with his meds 2x/day. if so, how much? He weighs 107 grams.
The vet wants to see us back in 3 weeks. She didnt sound overly optimistic. I am responsible for this guy, and as long as he seems to have quality of life without pain, I will do my best to sustain him. Please dont tell me to put him down. I will make that decision if I have to. Right now, I am interested in life sustaining advice. I work in a hospital where people are sick, on ventilators and face the decision of whether to remove life sustaining measures daily, so I am fairly realistic about when it is time to let go. I want to give him some time before I pull the plug.
Many thanks,
Terri
Cage Type - Wood frame with screen on 3 sides. ~1.5' deep x 3'wide x 6' high
Lighting - 2 100w domes 6" away from top perch, with a reptisun 5.0 also 6" from top. lights on at 6am, off at 5pm
Temperature - I have a digital temp gauge with a basking spot of ~85 degrees, ambient temps of 75 degrees. overnight, temps drop to 65 degrees
Humidity - Humidity levels are between 40% and 60%. He has live plants and coconut husk to try to maintain levels. He is watered every 3 hours for 30 sec, and misted 1-2x/day for 3-4 min.
Plants - pothos, benjamin ficus, umbrella plant
Placement - nontraffic corner of our main level. heating vent underneath helps keep ambient temps stable although it compromises humidity, height is 6'
Location - central ohio
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male ambilobe about 1 year old in my care for 9 months.
Handling - rarely handle cham. maybe once a week for a quick check over
Feeding - appetite has slowed greatly since nov--figured it was a winter hunger strike. I offer horn, silk, butter and phoenix worms. He prefers supers. He only eats one or two every other day. Gut load with diet from the forum including bee pollen, dried milk, blue-green algae, and fresh veggies/fruit.
Supplements - Repti-cal calcium 3x/week, with d3 2x/month, multivitamin 1x/month
Watering - Habbamist 30 seconds every 3 hours, one or two good mistings by hand/day. He drinks with the hand misting. he has always appeared well hydrated
Fecal Description - fecals have been slowing down with decreased PO intake. 1x/week. urates are white, fecals look brown and well formed.
History - was treated for an eye infection 2-3 weeks ago
Current Problem - bilateral lower extremity paralysis
I took Urlich to the vet 2-3 weeks ago bc he was unable to close his right eye when I misted him. He was found to have an eye infection, and given neopolybac to treat. Eye cleared up well, and Urlich was acting normally.
Yesterday, I noticed Urlich climbing slowly. He ate 2 supers for me. When I came by the cage later, he was in one of the plant pots at the bottom of his enclosure. He, at that point, stopped using his back legs as he climbed. His legs and tail turned dusky. I got him into the vet in the next hour.
She took x-rays, and determined that the infection had made it to his spine, weakened the bones, and he fractured when he fell. She asked me to put him in a small enclosure with very little to climb on to discourage activity. she prescribed Rimadyl (NSAID) and calcionate 2x/day, and fortaz (antibiotic) q 72 hours.
My concerns are:
feeding:
He hasnt pooped much in the past week, and the vet said he had fecal evident on his x-ray. Im concerned about feeding him if he's not pooping. How do I get him to poop without handling him (bc of the fracture). I bought fish oil, but lost the link that said how much to give. (If his paralysis is caused by bowel impaction, and not a fracture then treating the impaction will help.)
hydration: With few branches and leaves to soak, and trying to limit motion, his options for water are limited. should I supplement water with his meds 2x/day. if so, how much? He weighs 107 grams.
The vet wants to see us back in 3 weeks. She didnt sound overly optimistic. I am responsible for this guy, and as long as he seems to have quality of life without pain, I will do my best to sustain him. Please dont tell me to put him down. I will make that decision if I have to. Right now, I am interested in life sustaining advice. I work in a hospital where people are sick, on ventilators and face the decision of whether to remove life sustaining measures daily, so I am fairly realistic about when it is time to let go. I want to give him some time before I pull the plug.
Many thanks,
Terri
. I think the next week will tell if he is going to do well or not.
