Need Help ASAP

[Kristen Wilkins]

@kinyonga @Kristen Wilkins Well we made it back! She was so good for the vets. I was surprised to see her being handled so well and maintaining a complacent green color! They did X-Rays and an ultrasound to check for retained eggs, but neither showed that there were any. I was also told her bone density is pretty good. I was instructed to increase basking temperature like you guys said and I was given 2 powder mixes that I have to force feed to her daily. She couldn't find any reason as to why she isn't eating, but gave me the tools to make sure she doesn't become malnourished from it.

This is great news !!. With her getting out to natural light there might be a difference . I know it sounds crazy but natural uvb is so good for chameleon. My Frances is very enclosure aggressive . Especially at her basking spot (Aka the Queen spot ) . No one is EVER allowed there not her cup , feeders , hands nothing !!. So we just don't bother her when she's up there . Just bump her up slow for basking . We just had to do same with Frances . I'm happy to hear she not retaining eggs or that there was not an issue with laying .

 

[JayAreKicks]

My chameleon is getting skinnier everyday. She won't eat. Her ribs are becoming more prominent against her skin and nobody replied to my initial plea for help and I'm flipping tf out!

My Cham stopped eating crickets a couple days ago and stopped going for superworms today, but I just went out and got some hornworms and he ate them right away, hornworms are the only thing I feed that make him actually run to the tongs. I'm going to be making a bet appt for mine too though because of another issue. If you or anyone finds a way to transport him I'd also like to know. He has the same personality as yours and really doesn't like to be handled or around people.

 

[Valcakey]

My Cham stopped eating crickets a couple days ago and stopped going for superworms today, but I just went out and got some hornworms and he ate them right away, hornworms are the only thing I feed that make him actually run to the tongs. I'm going to be making a bet appt for mine too though because of another issue. If you or anyone finds a way to transport him I'd also like to know. He has the same personality as yours and really doesn't like to be handled or around people.

Oh best of luck with your baby! So, what I ended up doing was combining a bunch of advice I got from another thread. I had the box to transport her in all set up (drilled air holes, lined the bottom with rags, and stuck a dowel through it at an incline) and I set it on a chair next to the cage. Then, I took a branch in one hand and held it in front of her while I used a wire hanger that I had bent into a square hook shape in the other hand. She bit the hanger and swiped at it a bunch before calming down, but eventually I was able to slide the branch under her belly and carefully lift upwards while still having the hanger behind her so that she would let go of the basking branch and get onto the branch I was holding. Once she had gripped on with all 4 feet, I quickly pulled her out of her cage so that she couldn't reach back for the sides and put her in the transportation box. I covered the box with another rag and she slept the entire way back home.

 

[Valcakey]

This is great news !!. With her getting out to natural light there might be a difference . I know it sounds crazy but natural uvb is so good for chameleon. My Frances is very enclosure aggressive . Especially at her basking spot (Aka the Queen spot ) . No one is EVER allowed there not her cup , feeders , hands nothing !!. So we just don't bother her when she's up there . Just bump her up slow for basking . We just had to do same with Frances . I'm happy to hear she not retaining eggs or that there was not an issue with laying .

Thank you and thanks so much for all the help! Frances knows that she's royalty in your home

It was pretty cloudy when we left this morning and then by the time we left the office it was pouring rain, but hopefully she soaked up what little bit of UVB pierced through the clouds! I stopped by Petco and picked up a 100 W heat bulb to bump up that temp. range

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Thank you and thanks so much for all the help! Frances knows that she's royalty in your home

It was pretty cloudy when we left this morning and then by the time we left the office it was pouring rain, but hopefully she soaked up what little bit of UVB pierced through the clouds! I stopped by Petco and picked up a 100 W heat bulb to bump up that temp. range

I think the cloudy day are even better they don't get the hot hot sun but get uvb . Maybe she's just in a plan old eating strike .

Frances is a Grumpy little beauty . One of my very favorite things about her is her sassiness !!. She is the queen . I'm the only other female in our house we all have to do what she says lol . We are surrounded my males scaly and Human lol .

I'm so very happy she's ok great job Momma .

 

[Valcakey]

I think the cloudy day are even better they don't get the hot hot sun but get uvb . Maybe she's just in a plan old eating strike .

Frances is a Grumpy little beauty . One of my very favorite things about her is her sassiness !!. She is the queen . I'm the only other female in our house we all have to do what she says lol . We are surrounded my males scaly and Human lol .

I'm so very happy she's ok great job Momma .

Lol much love to you, your babies, and the community!

 

[kinyonga]

Hope she recovers now!

 

[Valcakey]

Hope she recovers now!

Me too! Thanks again for your advice and suggestions

 

[kinyonga]

You're welcome.

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

@Valcakey how is the little girl doing ? Has she started to eat at all ?

 

[Valcakey]

@Valcakey how is the little girl doing ? Has she started to eat at all ?

Not real food yet. We're on day 3 of having to force feed. She has become less aggressive though and I'm able to stroke her without her lunging at me. However, I just came home from work and observed extremely weird behavior. I always check on her before bed and when I looked into her cage, she was on her sleeping branch doing that howling at the moon pose again IN HER SLEEP (her lights have been out for 5 hours). I turned my phone flashlight on low and she opened her eyes, but didn't seem at all phased by me being there and then she reached upward with one leg and latched onto the top of the cage. She then tried with her other front leg to latch onto the top too, but she missed and fell forward. Thankfully her back legs were still gripping the branch, but I don't know what to make of any of this? It felt very much like sleep-walking movements.

 

[Andee]

The "pose" makes me wonder if she has a RI? Idk... she did it before you said? I am sorry I am getting to this late at night and will reread tomorrow morning to see if I can catch it. I know the vet wasn't worried, but if she started doing it after the force feeding.... has she aspirated any of the liquid diet? How are you giving it to her? Once again sorry for the poor response, I have been off my game the last few days due to medication so I am trying to keep up where I can XD

 

[Valcakey]

The "pose" makes me wonder if she has a RI? Idk... she did it before you said? I am sorry I am getting to this late at night and will reread tomorrow morning to see if I can catch it. I know the vet wasn't worried, but if she started doing it after the force feeding.... has she aspirated any of the liquid diet? How are you giving it to her? Once again sorry for the poor response, I have been off my game the last few days due to medication so I am trying to keep up where I can XD

Don't be sorry. Truly, I appreciate any help I can get. She did this a couple of times before I took her to the vet. The very first time was when I hooked her dripper back up. She would go back and forth from the water puddle on a leaf to either that position or completely vertical for about 20 minutes. After that, she would periodically take the head sticking up position, but for far less time.

I'm not sure if she's aspirated the mix. I draw it into the plastic syringe I was given and then I get her aggravated so that she'll open her mouth at me and then I get the tip into her mouth and push down on the plunger. I was instructed to give her 2 mL of the liquid diet, but I can only typically do 1 mL at a time. She pulls away after the first mL is in.

If it helps, the mix is Oxbow brand "Carnivore Care" and "Critical Care." I was also given calcium glubionate to give to her every 12 hours through syringe too (0.1 mL).

 

[Andee]

Do you get the tip all the way to the back of her mouth and beginning of her throat?

 

[Valcakey]

Do you get the tip all the way to the back of her mouth and beginning of her throat?

No I haven't been. Is that how I should have been feeding her? I thought she could have choked if I shove it too far in. I've just been pushing it into her mouth cavity. She uses her tongue to get it down

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Not real food yet. We're on day 3 of having to force feed. She has become less aggressive though and I'm able to stroke her without her lunging at me. However, I just came home from work and observed extremely weird behavior. I always check on her before bed and when I looked into her cage, she was on her sleeping branch doing that howling at the moon pose again IN HER SLEEP (her lights have been out for 5 hours). I turned my phone flashlight on low and she opened her eyes, but didn't seem at all phased by me being there and then she reached upward with one leg and latched onto the top of the cage. She then tried with her other front leg to latch onto the top too, but she missed and fell forward. Thankfully her back legs were still gripping the branch, but I don't know what to make of any of this? It felt very much like sleep-walking movements.

The vet thought her lunges looked and sounded clear ? I agree with Andee also I have experience it many time with Frances . Just watch over the next day or two for excess stringy mucus , coughing/popping sounds . The other thing is making sure syringe is all the way back . https://www.chameleonforums.com/warning-all-chameleon-owners-80201/index3.html .

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

The vet thought her lunges looked and sounded clear ? I agree with Andee also I have experience it many time with Frances . Just watch over the next day or two for excess stringy mucus , coughing/popping sounds . The other thing is making sure syringe is all the way back . https://www.chameleonforums.com/warning-all-chameleon-owners-80201/index3.html .

Post #26 will give you a good idea of the anatomy of throats and lungs .

 

[Valcakey]

Post #26 will give you a good idea of the anatomy of throats and lungs .

Dr. Tiffany asked me about discharg and if she keeps her mouth open at all, both of which she wasn't doing at the time, so she didn't think respiratory tests were necessary. I woke up a couple of minutes ago to Chamomile in her laying bin in the same head up position, which means she probably took a fall I tried to offer her a loose branch to get onto so that I could bring her back up, but she only held on with her back legs. Her front legs were working on climbing back up a pothos vine, so I just helped from the back.

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Dr. Tiffany asked me about discharg and if she keeps her mouth open at all, both of which she wasn't doing at the time, so she didn't think respiratory tests were necessary. I woke up a couple of minutes ago to Chamomile in her laying bin in the same head up position, which means she probably took a fall I tried to offer her a loose branch to get onto so that I could bring her back up, but she only held on with her back legs. Her front legs were working on climbing back up a pothos vine, so I just helped from the back.

Poor baby girl . You might want to give vet a call . Let her know her simple also it could be how you are feeding her . I'm sorry things have been so hard for you girl .

 

[Valcakey]

Poor baby girl . You might want to give vet a call . Let her know her simple also it could be how you are feeding her . I'm sorry things have been so hard for you girl .

I just took her outside to get some unadulterated UVB and she perked right up. Loveliest colors I've ever seen on her. Super complacent. And when I tried to put her back on her branch, she started walking back up my arm. Right now, she's resting as she usually would on her branch.