Need Help!

[Skim302]

I have had my female Veiled chameleon, Boogey, for about a year now. She just recently started shaking when she moves around. I know that it could mean she isn't getting enough calcium in her diet but I dust her food once or twice a week. However, now there is a bigger issue because she is barely moving. I found her last night at the bottom of her cage and I was worried but eventually she found her way back up to her normal sleeping spot. Today is even worse though, she hasn't moved all day and isn't eating anything. I've been worried that she might be dehydrated so I've misted her about 6 times today. She has layed eggs before and has had some of the same symptoms but I don't know if that is it or not. I'm really worried about her. Her is some of her general information.


Age- About a year and a half

Sex- Female

Enclosure- I believe it's a 65 gallon screened cage

Diet- Crickets gutloaded with flukers complete cricket diet, about 10-15 large crickets every other day; superworms and waxworms gutloaded with whatever veggies are around, about 3 superworms and 6 waxworms every other day until I run out then I wait awhile because I heard superworms can cause digestive problems and waxworms are high in fat.

Lighting- 75w basking lamp which stays on from 9am till 7pm and a 50w night lamp that is on all the time

That's all I can think of but please ask if there is anything else you need to know. Thanks for your help.

 

[Syn]

I dust her food once or twice a week

She has layed eggs before and has had some of the same symptoms but I don't know if that is it or not.

gutloaded with whatever veggies are around

Lighting- 75w basking lamp which stays on from 9am till 7pm and a 50w night lamp that is on all the time

Once or twice a week? What do you dust with? I dust ~5 times a week.

Take her to a vet, you should have done that the last time this happened.

What veggies are you using???? Hopefully not broccoli or spinach...

75W? What are her temps at??? You don't need a 50w bulb on at night unless you are VERY cold..

Could you please get us a picture of her cage.

 

[Skim302]

Once or twice a week? What do you dust with? I dust ~5 times a week.

Take her to a vet, you should have done that the last time this happened.

What veggies are you using???? Hopefully not broccoli or spinach...

75W? What are her temps at??? You don't need a 50w bulb on at night unless you are VERY cold..

Could you please get us a picture of her cage.

1. I've read many articles on how often I should dust the food and I've never heard of 5 times a week. I do 1-2 because that is what they all say.

2. I am thinking about taking her to the vet but I don't see why I should of done it last time.

3. I usually use tomatos, cucumber, and maybe a little apple every once in a while. But what I am feeding the superworms and waxworms doesn't have anything to do with it because I haven't fed her any in about a month. I feed the crickets flukers complete cricket diet so I don't feed them any veggies.

4. They stay at around 85 during the day and drop to about 75 at night. And the reason I used a night light is also because I read that I needed one.

5. There is a fake flower vine, fake bamboo sticks, random drift wood that has been properly washed, and there is repti bark by zoo med on the bottom.

As far as I can tell she looks fine. Her legs aren't bowing and her casque doesn't look curved which are symptoms of lack of calcium. She is just acting weird. I have pictures of her if you want them but I don't think you'll be able to see any issues.

 

[Syn]

Who are "they" and only 1-2 times a week? Maybe for older chameleons.. but.. I use herptivite and minerall as well as calcium and calcium w/d3..

Because a vet could have helped you figure it out last time so you aren't unsure of what to do this time.

Tomatoes?... facepalm. Stop with the tomatoes. I'm not even sure cucumbers are good, unsure if they have oxalates.. Try carrots, kale, sweet potato..

She doesn't need to be that warm, it will make her lay eggs more often.

Get rid of the repti bark... No substrate for chameleons. GET LIVE PLANTS.

I wasn't asking for pictures of her, I was asking for pictures of her setup.

Thank you!

 

[Skim302]

Who is "they" and only 1-2 times a week? Maybe for older chameleons.. but..

Because a vet could have helped you figure it out last time so you aren't unsure of what to do this time.

Tomatoes?... facepalm. Stop with the tomatoes. I'm not even sure cucumbers are good, unsure if they have oxalates.. Try carrots, kale, sweet potato..

She doesn't need to be that warm, it will make her lay eggs more often.

Get rid of the repti bark... No substrate for chameleons. GET LIVE PLANTS.

I wasn't asking for pictures of her, I was asking for pictures of her setup.

Thank you!

I've read on many forums and some websites that it is only supposed to be 1-2 times a week and age was never mentioned.

I agree that the vet would be the best thing to do now.

Thanks for the suggestion on the veggies.

I will redo the lighting situation as soon as I get a chance but for now I'll keep the night light off.

I've been trying to get live plants but I cant find anything that will really fit in her enclosure.

I was offering pictures of her just incase.

 

[Syn]

Plants.. schefflera, ficus, hibiscus.. all of those should be easy to find at home depot etc..

 

[Minihuey]

Syn, stop scaring the children!

I love the slippery slope method.

Your cham is sick which is going to cause our nukes to launch. AHHHHH

Just go to the vet. If you can afford it anyways...

Good luck

oh and Syn gives great advice believe it or not...just in a very straight forward way.

 

[Syn]

lolsry. I won't do it again!

Keep us updated, Skim. I don't want to see anything bad happen to your little one.

 

[kinyonga]

You said your chameleon laid eggs before...where they infertile? When were they laid? How many did she lay?

You said..."she is barely moving. I found her last night at the bottom of her cage"...this could be caused by a number of things including eggbinding. Does she have a place to dig in her cage to show you that she needs to lay eggs?

You said..."75w basking lamp which stays on from 9am till 7pm and a 50w night lamp that is on all the time"...what brands and types (compact, spiral, long linear tube) UVB light do you use? What is the night lamp you use? (A chameleon doesn't need light at night and unless the temperature of your room drops below 65F it shouldn't need heat at night either.

You said..."I usually use tomatos, cucumber, and maybe a little apple every once in a while"...a wide variety of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, etc.) would improve your gutload.

Exposure to UVB either from an appropriate UVB light or direct sunlight allows the chameleon to produce D3 which allows it to use the calcium in its diet. The UVB from the sun or the bulb should not pass through glass or plastic.

Many/most of the feeder insects we use have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous...so dusting at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder helps to make up for this.

Preformed vitamin A...and D3 from supplements can build up in the system...so those ones you have to be careful with. Vitamin A from beta carotene (prOformed) won't build up in the system because only the amount needed should be converted, but its not proven whether any/all chameleons can convert it or not..so some people give a little prEformed vitamin A once in a while. Excess prEformed vitamin A can build up (as I said) and prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. Some of the species of chameleons are more sensitive to vitamins than others.
Many people use vitamins (with a beta carotene source of vit. A) and phos. free calcium/D3 twice a month lightly.

Gutloading/feeding your insects a nutritious diet will also help provide the chameleon with the nutrients it needs...as will appropriate temperatures which allow for proper digestion thus plays a part in nutrient absorption.

Here are some sites that may help you to understand it better...
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=93
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=96

 

[summoner12]

Sounds like MBD and I think Linda is right about the egg issue.

You really need a UVB lamp.

Right now I think the main thing is get her to a vet if you can. What part of the world are you in?

 

[Skim302]

I'll try to answer all of your questions.

She layed eggs about 6 months ago and there were maybe 25-30.

I am going to put a box of moist sand in today so she does have a place to go if that is it.

The 75w bulb is a Sun Glo basking lamp but I'm not 100% sure. The night light was a 50w Sun Glo red bulb.

I am definatly going to take her to the vet as soon as I can. I live in Delaware so you can imagine a vet specializing in reptiles is going to be scarce. I did hear their is someone an hour or so away so I'll see if I can get their information.

Since you guys seem to really know about chameleons, what is your set up? What kind of lights, how long do you keep your lights on, what do you feed them and how often, what do you dust with, what do you have in the enclosure. Just anything you can tell me that will help me. Thank you.

 

[Syn]

Everyone has a different setup, not everything is the same!

I would suggest going here
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Read up, soak up, as much as you can. It is a great source of information.

 

[PardalisGirl]

No UVB?

It sounds like there is no UVB in your lighting set up. She needs a UVB linear tube light that spans her cage. If it's true that you only have those two bulbs (basking and red) than she would definitely have some major issues. You can not help but have problems with no UVB light source. Get her to the vet........and get the proper light.

 

[thealissa]

If you do have a UVB light, it may just need to be replaced. You should be replacing them every 6 months or so. Without the right kind of lighting, she can really suffer.

If possible, take her out at least once a week for some real sun.

And, like everyone else said, absolutely no tomatoes! I've found that the easiest greens to get (which can also be fed directly to your cham) are romaine, arugula, and collard greens (all organic and prewashed) which can be found at any grocery store. Most stores don't carry dandelion greens, at least not here.

 

[kinyonga]

You didn't mention a UVB light as has been said already.

You said you dust the insects twice a week...with what specifically?

I think she is overdue to lay eggs and if its true, from her behavior you should IMHO get her to the vet ASAP. You can try the egglaying site first (for a day or two at most) while you are waiting to go to the vet.

 

[Skim302]

Why do you think she is overdue?

 

[kinyonga]

You asked..."Why do you think she is overdue? "...because you said she hasn't laid for over 6 months and they generally lay at least 3 times a year....and from the amount you feed her she would likely produce eggs regularly. From her size in the photos she looks like she is carrying eggs.

You said she's not eating, sitting lower in the cage and barely moving...which could be an indication of egg-laying issues...or MBD...or maybe even something else. You also said she's shaking and you only dust her food twice a week...and if she's getting no UVB....it might mean that she has MBD...but I'm not a vet and can't tell you if she has MBD with certainty unless there are obvious physical deformities in any further pictures you post "cause the photo that you posted isn't clear enough to see properly.

If she is overdue and/or if she has MBD then she needs to see a vet.

BTW...MBD can play a part in egg issues since calcium is involved with egg production and laying.

 

[Skim302]

I am taking her to the vet today hopefully. Here are some pictures of her, sorry about the quality.

I don't see any deformities or anything. No bowed legs or curved casque. Hopefully if it is MBD then it was caught soon enough to do something about it without any long lasting symptoms.

 

[Chameleoco]

Her eyes look very sunken to me and her limbs do not look straight as they should. She looks very uncomfortable! i would suggest a vet asap

 

[PardalisGirl]

Vet needed.......

Do get her to the vet today. With the way she looks I don't see much hope without one. She does look like she is gravid and full of eggs. In her condition she does not have the strength to lay eggs on her own. A good vet will be able to confirm this and make a plan to help her. Thanks for the pictures. She's not showing signs of long-term MBD issues but not being able to properly lay the eggs may be part of the early stages. You still MUST have a proper UVB light if you don't have one. Thanks for the pictures.