Need help.. Cham dying

[chamel1]

We have a male panther cham he is about 25 weeks. I will put a post up later about all our stats when i get home but for right now i just need some suggestions. Our male Cham is dying he will not open either of his eyes so he can not eat or drink. I read some posts on here about people giving them pedasure. So we bought some of that last night and ground up some crickets in it and added some spray vitiamns in it. We manually fed him with that last night and will do the same tonight but we wonder how much do we give him and also how much pedasure is ok for him. It is sweet so we dont want to overload him with sugar. Can anyone please let us know if we are doing the right thing or if not what else can we give him to help him survive? Thanks

 

[mommycurzon]

Wish I could answer any of those, but all I can suggest is get him to a vet asap. The other people on this forum are brilliant and will likely have better suggestions.

 

[jannb]

Get him to a chameleon vet ASAP and find out what's wrong with him and his eyes. I would force feed till I got him the the vet.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I think it would be best to get him to a vet.

Let the vet tell you what and how much the poor boy needs. You will have to act fast. Once they start to go down hill it happens quickly.

 

[Lancecham]

I agree with the other posts. Don't delay going to a vet because you are able to force feed and hope he will get better(not saying you are). There is a reason why the way he is. A vet will figure that out.

 

[panthercrazy]

A vet trip is his only hope at this point. Find out what is causing his issue and then treat from there.

 

[kinyonga]

What is the brand and type (spiral, compact, long linear) of the UVB light you are using?

Even if he can't open his eyes, he should be able to drink if you drip the water on the end of his nose.

A vet trip would be a good idea at this point.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Give us an update....

Can we get an update on what is happening with your cham? Don't worry about getting him food or vitamins. I've heard that people use Pediolyte to get electrolytes into the system. Is Pedasure the same sort of thing? Force feeding a chameleon is not a good idea unless you know what is wrong. It may sit undigested in his stomach and cause more problems. Getting him hydrated and making sure he is warm is the only thing you sure worry about until he can get to the vet. Can we get a picture to see the overall body condition? A vet is probably the only chance he has if things are truly this bad.....

 

[chamel1]

Ok guys sorry for the long wait, here is his info on cage zoo med repti sun 5 uvb 24", zoo med 60w heat lamp, zoo med 100w night light. We keep the temp around 80 degrees during the day and 70 degrees at night. The cages are 2' x 2' x 4' tall. We ended up taking some crickets, pedia lyte and vitamin-calcium supplement and put them in a blender and started feeding him this way once a day. We do have appt with a highly recommended vet in Tacoma, but we could not get in until monday June 15th. Here are some pics of him and his cage.

 

[Syn]

June 15th is too long of a wait in my opinion. Is there another vet?

www.herpvetconnection.com

You didn't mention humidity levels.

Your basking spot is too close to the light. 80 degrees when basking can get pretty hot if you are just sitting there.

 

[kinyonga]

What supplements (be specific please) have you been using and how often for each?

 

[merumontanus]

Infrared (or red) bulbs are used primarily with high-heat-loving reptiles, and seldom used with chameleons, unless in really large cages and where additional heat is needed. Also, I would suggest using a separate reflector with your incandescent (blue) bulb so you can concentrate the heat (and light from the bulb) more efficiently, giving your chameleon a better chance to thermoregulate.

I would not recommend force-feeding or force-watering your chameleon if you do not have experience doing so as you risk inhalation (this will stress your animal even more). Simply mist lightly, and constantly, as they can drink even with their eyes closed. The key is keeping him hydrated until you can get him to the vet. Food is secondary and less important at the moment, unlike with mammals and birds.

Good luck,

Fabián

 

[cacoonkitty]

Hiya, oh dear poor little man..and you too, well agreeing with the others...no i wouldnt force feed him either ,wait to see the vet but try to get in sooner...say its an emergency and perhaps they may see you sooner!!, i would start though by taking the night light away all together, chameleons need a good night time temp drop and can cope with quite cool temps at night and compleat darkness at night is very important to help them sleep properly so check the temperatures recomended for your specise and try to match these and if he does need a little heat at night...if your in a cold area perhaps use a ceramic bulb instead as they emmit no light, just heat but it will need to be on a thermostat to control the heat output as they can get very very hot ..i dont use any heat at night on my chams and i live in the u.k so does get cold here! and they are just fine, also as he a baby he may not be able to take the higher day time temps that an adult panther would so perhaps a little cooler by a few degrees as heat can kill reps quickly, make sure the u.v lamp you have is working well its a good brand you have but check it isnt old or it could be deficiant in the u.v output which can effect him and his metabolism, and make sure he isnt dehydrated ( very important!!)as babys do get this very,very,very easily!!!, so keep spraying his enclosure and him too...but gently tho with warm water(not hot!!)for ten 15 minutes at a time at least twice a day to keep up the humidity and also to stimulate him to drink as they wont really use bowls to drink from, i have had to in the past give a sick chameleon water via a clean seringe barrel ..a few drops at a time into his mouth , waiting while he swalowed each drop so as not to drown him, i hope these ideas can help you in some way but definatly a very prompt visit to a herp vet !!!!, or it may be a sad ending!. but i will keep my fingers crossed for you. good luck and keep us informed ok.

 

[Olowanpi]

Where is his dripper??? Do you have a mister? How often do you offer him water?

 

[panthercrazy]

I agree with what has been said already. Keep him well hydrated, more importantly. I do not see any dripper/misting set up for him.

Another observation, IMO based on pictures showing size of him, that cage may be too big and too bare which will not make him feel comfortable & this will start to create issues as well. I'd fill in the cage more with a pothos or two, if possible section off the cage to give him a smaller one for now (especially until he is better).