Nosey Be rescue turn for the worse... please help!

Katy52

Member
Hi all,

Something isn't right with my little Pablo and I'm now getting very worried. He is a rescue who had a really bad first owner, I took him on about 8 months ago and he's been doing great until recently.... I really want to give this guy the best life he deserves so any help would be SO appreciated.

Background: male, 2.5 years with first owner who fed him only mealworms, no supplements and incorrect lighting, tiny glass enclosure so he has previous burn marks and rubbing on his nose, edema (My past post details this)

Problem: lethargy / constipation / dehydration

- He has been very lethargic for 2 weeks, staying on his sleep branch with curled tail until lunchtime when he finally moves to basking branch. He is always awake but takes hours to move to bask which isn't normal.
- He hasn't pooped in 2.5 weeks but still has an appetite, just slightly reduced. During this period he has eaten dubias, BSFL, waxworms, morioworms
- His last poop had white urates with a bit of orange, solid fecal but an unusual granular/dry bit in it

Significant changes at time this started: I switched from a monsoon to a mist king and removed his dripper. The weather has also become very cold.

I am concerned that he has become dehydrated without the dripper, although the mist king gives him chance to drink 3 times a day and sprays onto the exact same plant the dripper dripped onto so it should be familiar to him.

Is it possible for Cham's to not like drinking from misters? When it sprays it sometimes triggers a sleep response, he will curl up his tail and move to his sleep branch. He is not a shy drinker but I haven't seen him drink with the mister. I have offered him pipette water which in the past he has accepted but he's only drank from it once during this period, despite having offered it every other day so maybe dehydration isn't the issue?

His eyes are a little more wrinkly/shallow but they are not sunken. His colours are a bit more dull by his standards and he shows more black colours under basking than he did in summer.

Below is my husbandry form and photos,

If anyone has time to help I would really appreciate it! I will do what it takes to give this guy a good home.

Katy


Husbandry Form

Your Chameleon
- Male, Nosey Be panther chameleon, a rescue approx 3 years

Handling - he was previously handled a lot and free roamed the previous owners house. Most days he will come out of his enclosure in the afternoons, he then explores hanging plants, branches & ropes.

Feeding - Staple: dubias, silkworms Secondary: BSFL, waxworms, morioworms (although the UK silkworm breeders were out of stock Dec/Jan)

Feeding 3 x per week and offering 3 feeders a time, has the odd treat bug in between when interacting with me

Gut loading - Dubias: Repashy bug burger / Silkworms: mulberry leaf / worms: Arcadia Insect Fuel
Fresh: sweet potatoes, watercress, dandelion greens, bell pepper, zucchini, carrots, green beans, oranges.

Supplements - Daily: Repashy SuperCal no d3, alternate friday's: Repashy Calcium plus LoD

Watering - Mistking: 1 minute in the morning at 7:50am (10 min before lights on) / 1 minute at 1pm / 2 minutes at 7:30pm (30 min before lights off)

Feacal Description - creamy white/ light orange urate along with solid brown poop, sometimes mucus coating

Cage Type - customised reptibreeze, 46x46x92, vinyl & mesh mix for chimney effect. No substrate, water drains through holes drilled into the base, umbrella plant on top to weigh it down (this cage came with him, I know it needs to go up a size)

Lighting -

UVB: Arcadia ProT5 22" with Arcadia Forest 6% bulb.
Basking: 75 watt halogen bulb

Basking branch 7 inches below top of screen, UVB light is raised 10 inches from branch, basking bulb at angle for overlap

Light Schedule - 8am - 8pm

Temperatures -
26-29C / 79-84 F basking temp
14-22C / 57-71F ambient

Humidity -
58-75% daytime (the 75 spike is when the mister goes on then it lowers to average 65)
65-85% nighttime

Plants - all live plants: pothos, zebra fern, dischidia, button fern, monstera, pepperomia, sansivera, umbrella tree

Placement - low traffic bedroom, away from windows, 1.2 metre off the floor
 

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He actually looks really good and you have an awesome setup. My nosy be definitely goes through a winter funk because I keep outdoors in summer and his indoor enclosure is much cooler. I observe decrease appetite and less bowel movements when he comes inside. I would not worry about lethargy unless eyes start to close.

You may want to add some 6500k plant lights to brighten the cage.. would greatly benefit the plants and might make him more active.
 
Hi Don,

Thank you for your time!

Is it not a concern that he hasn't pooped in nearly 3 weeks? Upon further research I think his last poop had urate crystals in.

Good idea about a plant light, thank you! English winter's are pretty dull...

Katy
 
Is the dischidia poisonous? Do you free range any of the insects?

If he's eating he should be pooping. Is he producing urates?
 
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Hi Don,

Thank you for your time!

Is it not a concern that he hasn't pooped in nearly 3 weeks? Upon further research I think his last poop had urate crystals in.

Good idea about a plant light, thank you! English winter's are pretty dull...

Katy
Yes 3 weeks is definitely a long time. Is it possible that poop isn't visible, maybe fell into a plant etc? Anything in the cage that could have caused impaction?
 
Yes 3 weeks is definitely a long time. Is it possible that poop isn't visible, maybe fell into a plant etc? Anything in the cage that could have caused impaction?
Joint answer, thank you both so much! @kinyonga

Honestly no poop and no urates... most of the plants are fixed at a horizontal angle so theres only two pots that anything could fall into and i've been checking them. There's of course a chance I've missed a small urate but definitely no poop, they have always been quite large and noticeable. He hasn't left his cage during this period due to his lethargy.

He shed right before this episode started, if that is relevant at all.

No I don't free range, he is cup fed meals and hand fed treats.

Re. Impaction - I don't think so 🤔 I striped the bark off the sticks before I put them in so they don't peel etc. There's no soil or floor substrate, just the plastic cage base. The plants don't drop leaves and he never explores inside the pots, just stays on the branches. Everything is fixed by glue gun, no string etc. Is there anything else that can cause impaction?

Re. Dischidia - I didn't actually check as it's small and sits at the top out of reach. I will look up which type of dischidia/hoya it is and check!

I really don't know what to do with the little guy, he's not himself.... I can take him to the vets asap if you think it's needed, I'm just concerned about how cold the weather is here and the stress it will cause.

Are there any general constipation remedies I can try?
 
I would give him back his dripper, what could it hurt. I think it will help keep him hydrated since it’s what he’s used to. Does the mist king mist during the day or only at night? I have mine set to only mist at night for two reasons, number one there’s some thought that the higher humidity at night helps chams to rehydrate through breathing the higher humidified air, number two not many chams like to be in the direct spray of a mister during the day. That’s possibly why he’s closing his eyes. I doubt he’s asleep, just annoyed. i live in Maine-in the USA and it’s very cold here in the winter. I have a Jackson’s Cham and he slows down in the winter as far as his movement but he still eats and poops. He pretty much stays under his basking light most of the day. If you’re worried it might be worth a trip to the vet.
 
By the way, temps here are in the 20s Fahrenheit during the day here and lower at night and there are people that successfully keep chameleons here.
 
Hi guys,

Little Pablo still isn’t himself, he hasn’t pooped in nearly a month now and I haven’t noticed any urates either. He is still eating but a bit less than usual. I have reinstated his dripper.

He has developed a swollen area between his front legs, I’ve attached photos. He had edema when I first got him so could it be a return of this? I haven’t changed his supplements but as he is eating a bit less I guess this impacts his supplement uptake.

Are there any home care tips for constipation?
Does the swollen area look worrying?

Any help would be hugely appreciated!

Katy
 

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Hi. It is a concern that he’s so constipated. A vet visit is definitely in order to determine what the issue is and treat it. The problem with home remedies is the cause of the problem isn’t known and there’s risk of making things worse. It could be constipation/impaction, a problem with peristalsis of the bowel or even maybe a growth or stricture blocking the passage of stool. The longer the problem persists, the harder it will be not only to resolve it, but for him to recover. I wouldn’t delay seeking veterinary care any longer.
 
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