USSTrioceros
Member
Two of my buddies are now having issues with their health and I'm struggling to determine what's the cause. I'm calling the vet but am hoping to brainstorm why my healthy chameleons have diminished suddenly over the last 6 months. My 2 other chams, another Jackson and a Panther, have been ok.
All Jacksons are approx 2 +/- yrs old, wild caught, in my possession for about 1.5 years. The Panther just recently hit 1yr old, captive born, in my care for about 10 months. Healthy Jackson and Panther have same cage/parameters as Phineas, which I'll describe below.
Phineas, whom I've posted about before due to him losing his tongue @ 5 months ago, was gaping as soon as he woke up this morning. He's been gaping off and on for about 2 weeks when temps are not an issue. Like yesterday, he got some outside time and, frankly, it was hot. I expected gaping. But it's currently 64.5F in the room, at 6:15 AM, and 63F in his enclosure with no lights on yet. Why is he gaping??
His humidifier did go empty overnight but flotated at about 55%. 50-70% on average overnight. His temp dropped 10 degrees overnight (top of cage), which is normal this time of year. Daytime time (again top of cage) gets to 72-73F, with his basking hitting about 82F. He's got a screen cage with plastic in the sides. This has been the best I can do with my screen cages. UVB light was switched in March, 5.0/T5.
He's being hand fed right now and may continue so for a while. He's just not fast enough to catch his prey. He gets about 2 bugs a day before he gets mad and huffs off to be a grump. Roaches, crickets, treats of superworms, hornworms, and silkworms. BSF occasionally because he's on the fence with them. He hasn't taken to drinking on his own yet, so he is getting syringe squirts and that may be influencing his issue. It's not a perfect process but we're working on it.
Phin's enclosre
Next is Aspen. She just recently came out of 2 rounds of antibiotics because of mystery abrasions in her mouth and a TON of swelling. Been working on this for about 1.5 months. I have no clue what she got into. She was finally eating on her own again but is short shooting with her tongue as of a couple of days ago. She has stopped eating again and her tongue and mouth are white. A few days ago her mouth was more pink/grey and significantly improving from the dark, mouth-rot color. She is my biggest concern since her health is going backwards again.
She was in the same boat as Phin with temp/humidity previously, but drier/cooler because of room vent proximity with her screen cage. Late May, after she got sick, I switched her to a glass palaudarium (bioactive in process), and her humidity and temps finally stabilized and hit optimal ranges. That's when she started getting healthier with her antibiotic. Day temp/humidity hits 76-80F (basking hits 82F), 55-60% with ventilation fan encouraging air flow (doesn't make a huge difference). Night gets to 60-63F (like the screen cages) and humidity now floats between 70-90%. Again, UVB is 5.0/T5 and was replaced in March. (Note: I still have her old cage and have always held I will switch her back if the glass is an issue.)
Her feeder of choice is crickets and has been ignoring roaches lately. (They hurt right now?) She has never liked mealworms, superworms, and BSF larva. It's like she's afraid of them. She has been ignoring hornworms and silkworms. She won't take them from me right now because I stabbed her with pointy things and forced panacur down her throat. She hasn't been drinking on her own yet so, again, syringe water.
Aspens enclosure
Sorry for the info dump, but I am at a loss at this point. What has changed in the last 6 months to cause 2 of my chameleons to have problems? I want to make sure my other two don't get sick. All 4 enclosures have gotten cleaned and all plants get groomed consistently. We have a good air purifier in here. They all get the same feeder supply. Calcium every feeding, calc w/ D3 once a month, multi vite once a month. All Repashy. Air flow is solid to a fault with the screen cages. It has been great with the glass cage, even w/o a fan. Help me problem solve, please? The vet can only do so much. I'll answer any questions as best I can.
All Jacksons are approx 2 +/- yrs old, wild caught, in my possession for about 1.5 years. The Panther just recently hit 1yr old, captive born, in my care for about 10 months. Healthy Jackson and Panther have same cage/parameters as Phineas, which I'll describe below.
Phineas, whom I've posted about before due to him losing his tongue @ 5 months ago, was gaping as soon as he woke up this morning. He's been gaping off and on for about 2 weeks when temps are not an issue. Like yesterday, he got some outside time and, frankly, it was hot. I expected gaping. But it's currently 64.5F in the room, at 6:15 AM, and 63F in his enclosure with no lights on yet. Why is he gaping??
His humidifier did go empty overnight but flotated at about 55%. 50-70% on average overnight. His temp dropped 10 degrees overnight (top of cage), which is normal this time of year. Daytime time (again top of cage) gets to 72-73F, with his basking hitting about 82F. He's got a screen cage with plastic in the sides. This has been the best I can do with my screen cages. UVB light was switched in March, 5.0/T5.
He's being hand fed right now and may continue so for a while. He's just not fast enough to catch his prey. He gets about 2 bugs a day before he gets mad and huffs off to be a grump. Roaches, crickets, treats of superworms, hornworms, and silkworms. BSF occasionally because he's on the fence with them. He hasn't taken to drinking on his own yet, so he is getting syringe squirts and that may be influencing his issue. It's not a perfect process but we're working on it.
Phin's enclosre
Next is Aspen. She just recently came out of 2 rounds of antibiotics because of mystery abrasions in her mouth and a TON of swelling. Been working on this for about 1.5 months. I have no clue what she got into. She was finally eating on her own again but is short shooting with her tongue as of a couple of days ago. She has stopped eating again and her tongue and mouth are white. A few days ago her mouth was more pink/grey and significantly improving from the dark, mouth-rot color. She is my biggest concern since her health is going backwards again.
She was in the same boat as Phin with temp/humidity previously, but drier/cooler because of room vent proximity with her screen cage. Late May, after she got sick, I switched her to a glass palaudarium (bioactive in process), and her humidity and temps finally stabilized and hit optimal ranges. That's when she started getting healthier with her antibiotic. Day temp/humidity hits 76-80F (basking hits 82F), 55-60% with ventilation fan encouraging air flow (doesn't make a huge difference). Night gets to 60-63F (like the screen cages) and humidity now floats between 70-90%. Again, UVB is 5.0/T5 and was replaced in March. (Note: I still have her old cage and have always held I will switch her back if the glass is an issue.)
Her feeder of choice is crickets and has been ignoring roaches lately. (They hurt right now?) She has never liked mealworms, superworms, and BSF larva. It's like she's afraid of them. She has been ignoring hornworms and silkworms. She won't take them from me right now because I stabbed her with pointy things and forced panacur down her throat. She hasn't been drinking on her own yet so, again, syringe water.
Aspens enclosure
Sorry for the info dump, but I am at a loss at this point. What has changed in the last 6 months to cause 2 of my chameleons to have problems? I want to make sure my other two don't get sick. All 4 enclosures have gotten cleaned and all plants get groomed consistently. We have a good air purifier in here. They all get the same feeder supply. Calcium every feeding, calc w/ D3 once a month, multi vite once a month. All Repashy. Air flow is solid to a fault with the screen cages. It has been great with the glass cage, even w/o a fan. Help me problem solve, please? The vet can only do so much. I'll answer any questions as best I can.
I'll get some up here ASAP. At work and I've never thought to get a photo of them gaping. Derp.
