Gloriawood
Chameleon Enthusiast
Mine became more grumpy and sassy after I started giving him his meds. He doesn’t like it and he knows he gets them in the morning now. As the day goes on he gets less grumpy.
New Chameleon Questions
- Thread starter MistyBlue
- Start date
Yeah it is such a struggle getting the meds in her. No matter what I do, she won’t get mad enough to open her mouth, it sucks. She has never tried to even bite me, what a sweetie. She has been doing the gagging/coughing thing today. Really hope this dose is enough to help her.
Also everyone, she is actually gaping now, a lot. This is something she didn’t really do before. Anyone know why this could be? It isn’t a side effect of the medication is it? I am so worried that since they had her weight wrong, the dose isn’t strong enough. Definitely going to call them first thing tomorrow. Yesterday she acted a bit better but today I’m noticing symptoms again and not pointing her head straight up as much but now gaping for sure.
ChamelaChameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
administering meds made me more uncomfortable than my Cham. The method that worked for me was wrapping his front feet and upper body in a towel, holding him in a way that I could use my thumb and index finger at his bottom jaw (1 on each side) then applied a small amount of downward pressure. He would open wide. Meds given by my granddaughter. I would then hold him (without towel) to allow him to calm down before he was returned to his enclosure. It became a quick process with no drama.
Gloriawood
Chameleon Enthusiast
I was just wondering how your little one is doing???
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yes, me too.
I was going to give you both an update today! She is actually doing much better than she was!! I am happy to say that she has stopped star gazing, gasping for air, falling asleep during the day. That one thing that she did (would look as if she was gagging but sounded like she was blowing air out of her Lungs…kind of hissing but def not bc her whole body would move while she did this) didn’t happen at all yesterday, that I saw, at all and two times the day before. She did get mor fiesty, grip is better, colors are darker green with lines and spots, and is exploring her enclosure like a champ! She is not dehydrated, her urates are good….some orange but mostly white. She is even starting to eat better….not great, but better. She ate 7 crickets yesterday. Today the horn worms and roaches will be here!! Also ordered her a full throttle feeder since I keep losing all the bugs in the top part of the shooting gallery. She will show interest and look in it but she doesn’t look up where they all seem to hide. She has been basking less and going down farther. Have a question about the temp gun also. I have been making the mistake of measuring the basking spot with that. I have a therm/hydro but the prongs aren’t directly on the basking branch and it reads about 78-80. It is a few inches away from where the basking bulb hits but is the same height in the cage. The temp gun always says it is same when I measure the basking branch but now i am wondering if I have an accurate temp. Over all, great news though bc she was struggling there for a few days. Her symptoms are improving everyday. Thank you all for thinking of us, it means so much. You have been such w life saver!
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yay! I’m sooo very glad that she’s doing better and bouncing back. You are doing great! It’s really not at all easy with the little ones, so give yourself lots of pats on the back. Heck! It’s not at all easy with the big ones either!
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it. Means the world to me!!!Yay! I’m sooo very glad that she’s doing better and bouncing back. You are doing great! It’s really not at all easy with the little ones, so give yourself lots of pats on the back. Heck! It’s not at all easy with the big ones either!
Gloriawood
Chameleon Enthusiast
Didn’t get a chance to reply earlier. I’m so glad to hear she is doing better!
Beppo
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yay!! So glad she’s doing better
Me too!! I honestly didn’t think she was gonna bounce back. I am off work right now though so I have been giving her my full attention, while trying to hide at the same time. Still worried though…now that this has happened, it showed me how delicate they truly are.
Question guys….Ivy ended up eating a couple BSFL yesterday and I believe a roach or two. Anyway, she was doing so good. Today, I was here till about 3 bc I had to go out of town and while I was here she didn’t really move from the area she slept. She didn’t go to her basking branch. Maybe she did while I was gone but she definitely didn’t eat anything from what I saw either. I am just so confused. Going from doing so good to like what the heck? Still haven’t seen any gaping or making the sounds that she did before. I saw her kind of drinking from the ice cubes on the top of her enclosure yesterday also. First time I have seen her drink like that and she had the best urate yesterday. Could it be the different things she ate? Messing with her stomach or something? Also today is the first day I didn’t get her out to give her the meds. They are all done. Am I just worrying for nothing?
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
With chameleons we are always worrying. It’s part of their charm.
Eating different bugs shouldn’t cause her any problems. Continue to offer extra hydration for another few days to week, just to help her little kidneys. See how she does today. Hopefully she’ll be a bit more active.
With chameleons we are always worrying. It’s part of their charm.
Eating different bugs shouldn’t cause her any problems. Continue to offer extra hydration for another few days to week, just to help her little kidneys. See how she does today. Hopefully she’ll be a bit more active.
So, she is walking around her enclosure again. That is a good thing for sure but still having problems with eating now. It is almost like she is scared of the new bugs. She would stare at it, walk up to it and then just walk away. So weird. Got my full throttle feeder in the mail today. Hoping that this is the answer to my problems. She hasn’t even been hunting the crickets on the screen today though. It is starting to get warmer here in WV. I am going to start having problems with higher humidity during the day for sure but I do have a dehumidifier. I am wondering about a fan? I have air conditioner in the rooms surrounding hers and a ceiling fan in hers. Is it ok to run a fan? Also, how do you feel about one of those systems that control the heat light to keep it at a certain temp? I am going back to work, horrible timing. Worried about how the temp is going to fluctuate during the day for her and I won’t be here to be able to control it….I worry about her not eating. Also, is a temp gun ok to measure the temp of the basking branch? Or do I need a probe also. I have one in the enclosure but it is not at the basking branch….it is the same height of the branch but about 8 inches on the other side of the enclosure. Thanks!!With chameleons we are always worrying. It’s part of their charm.
Eating different bugs shouldn’t cause her any problems. Continue to offer extra hydration for another few days to week, just to help her little kidneys. See how she does today. Hopefully she’ll be a bit more active.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Are the new bugs small enough for her? Are they actively moving? Are they dusted too heavily? Are her basking temps warm enough? I can’t recall if you had a fecal done for parasites (being too lazy to reread everything) It’s impossible to get into their heads - does she not recognize the new bugs as food, has she tried them and doesn’t like them, etc. Right now until she’s bigger and stronger, give her whatever you know she’ll eat…as long as it isn’t just the ‘candy’ bugs like wax worms, superworms and such. Some chameleons are secretive about eating as it is a vulnerable time for them. Little girl needs to be eating and if she won’t, you may need guidance from your vet.
Yes about using a herpstat or other device to maintain basking temps if your house temps may get too hot. Those come with a probe end that you’ll place at basking area and brands like herpstat are quite reliable afaik. I use a temp gun but do keep in mind that we can only measure a surface temp with those.
Not sure what to tell you about using a ceiling fan. I had my chameleons in my bedroom for a time and I keep the fan on (low) all the time. Their basking spots were farther back and they do always have fake plants on the outside of their screen doors. I never saw any of their leaves moving in their enclosures, so I don’t think it affected them at all.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi. Just thinking about you and your little sweetheart and wondering how you’re doing.
Hey!! I typed like half of a reply back and my phone died the other day. So, she has been eating more. I have just been putting crickets in the full throttle and she seems to walk by and grab one or two at a time!! She never just sits in front of it and eats a ton of them though….but I’m happy she is eating the crickets for sure. The crickets I just had were smaller. She may not like the roaches….even though I think she ate a few, it isn’t something she loves bc she leaves them almost all of the time. I was hoping that this feeder would do the trick and provide enough movement and hunting for her. She isn’t where I want her to be but much better! I think it is that she is scared. When I go to work and nobody, nothing is around she usually eats way more. I don’t dust the crickets too much. I was at first lol but I learned that powdered donuts are not good! If I leave the door open, I find that she comes to it and ventures out onto the top of the door. If I didn’t have a cat, I would sit something up beside of the enclosure so that she could climb out. I have to keep my cat in another room most of the time now bc I don’t want him to scare her. My biggest problem now….well a few actually…is the gnats. My god it isn’t even hot here yet and there are about 50 in there. I tried putting vinegar out but haven’t caught any. What do you do? I was getting the soil in my plants wet, spraying them directly even (didn’t know that was bad) and now I don’t know exactly what to do. I’m not sure if I need to take my plants out and do something to them or what. I am afraid they are bothering her….but I do see her eat them from time to time also. Maybe she is filling up on gnats lol i did have a fecal done and it was negative and I have been making sure to keep it as dark as possible when she is sleeping. I give her a dripper most of the day so she can stay hydrated and she climbs up on her pothos plant to take drinks from the top. I use a cup with holes in the bottom or some ice cubes. Her basking branch is usually 80….but like I said, since it is getting warm, I know I’m going to have to adjust. The humidity is a problem now….didn’t have it high enough at night before but now it is already like 50-60 during the day. I got out my dehumidifier and cleaned it, so I am going to start using that tomorrow. Hoping my air conditioner keeps it cool enough in here or I will have to get another one I suppose! Do you think that I can vacuum the gnats out of that cage!?? lol what do you suggest for them? Getting some type of plug in light up traps? That way they will go there and out of the enclosure when it is dark? Do i need to take all of my plants out and do something to them? i do have my ceiling fan on in there right now, on low, and none of the leaves are blowing so im hoping it is ok. Today, it was 80 degrees outside, so im going to get my air conditioners in tomorrow i hope. so happy her respiratory infection is completely gone. No more sleeping during the day or putting her head up….she is much more active. thank you so much for your support and advice! i
could not have done this without you!
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
So very glad that she’s doing better. 
I think sometimes I worry as much for other’s chameleons as much as for my own. Soil gnats are rotten and no joke to try and get rid of. Keep in mind that I have 4 chameleons and they are all in bioactive enclosures, so my battle with gnats is doomed. I run 2 Katchy traps which are ok for keeping the numbers down a bit. I also have a sundew plant (drosera capensis) which I pretty much just keep in the kitchen. The problem is that most traps will only catch the adult gnats, leaving the larvae in your plant soil. Some use a product called mosquito bits that I believe is supposed to be safe. https://www.chewy.com/summit-mosqui...hnO8BalixEIfpfO57DfdTKerZWTmBaYBoCJJoQAvD_BwE Then there’s always the fun option of hatching a mantis ooth in your enclosure. The baby mantids eat the gnats and then your cham has fun hunting down the mantids. I’m not sure if they are available still at this time of year. I get them from eBay. Avoiding overwatering your plants and letting your soil dry a little is also a big factor in reducing gnats.
I think sometimes I worry as much for other’s chameleons as much as for my own. Soil gnats are rotten and no joke to try and get rid of. Keep in mind that I have 4 chameleons and they are all in bioactive enclosures, so my battle with gnats is doomed. I run 2 Katchy traps which are ok for keeping the numbers down a bit. I also have a sundew plant (drosera capensis) which I pretty much just keep in the kitchen. The problem is that most traps will only catch the adult gnats, leaving the larvae in your plant soil. Some use a product called mosquito bits that I believe is supposed to be safe. https://www.chewy.com/summit-mosqui...hnO8BalixEIfpfO57DfdTKerZWTmBaYBoCJJoQAvD_BwE Then there’s always the fun option of hatching a mantis ooth in your enclosure. The baby mantids eat the gnats and then your cham has fun hunting down the mantids. I’m not sure if they are available still at this time of year. I get them from eBay. Avoiding overwatering your plants and letting your soil dry a little is also a big factor in reducing gnats.
