Not eating.. dehydrated?

ajmoneyy

New Member
My chameleon Merlin hasnt been eating for about a week now, he just went to the Vet on 3/23/11 for his lazy sleeping during the day and the vet said he looked alright. I had given him "Boost" vitamin suppliment for a week by mouth and he seemed to perk up a very litle bit but now he hasnt been eating. I also changed his UVB bulb to a brand new one. I had a feeling he was dehydrated so i gave him a shower two days ago and again just 10 minutes ago today. I keep him in there for about 20 minutes each time. He loves it and drinks up a lot. He feels brittle in my hands but he still has strenght. I havent seen him eat or drink (other than in the shower) in over a week and im getting worried. Will dehydration make them go on hunger strikes? Also, when i had him in the shower today he was rocking his head back and forth and then what looked like a spit bubble came out of his mouth. Any information will be great help. I appreciate all of your experience and knowledge.

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – Panther Chameleon, male, approx. 1.5 years old. In my possession since shortly after birth.
• Handling – When he was younger he wasn’t handled very often, as he got older it seemed he would come toward me when I came to the cage so handling was up to 3 times or so per week for short periods of time, no more than 5 minutes at a time and sitting in one place, not walking around with him.
• Feeding – I feed him crickets only. He will not touch any other worms. I gutload my crickets with Flucker’s “High-Calcium” Cricket Diet and I powder them once a week with Zoo Med’s “Reptivite with D3”. I feed him about 10 or so medium sized crickets a day in the morning. He usually eats all but like 3 or 4.
• Supplements – Once a week I dust my feeders with Zoo Med’s “Reptevite with D3”
• Watering – I have a misting system in place that mists every hour for 30 seconds. I also manually mist about twice a day using bottled water only, no tap water. I do see him drinking in the mornings usually.
• Fecal Description – Fecal matter is usually white and slightly orange with urate accompanying it. He has never been tested for parasites.
• History – He was to the vet once when he was 6 months old for an eye infection. The vet gave me an antibiotic cream to put on it and it healed up fine. Again to the vet on 3/23/11 for laziness. Vet said he looked alright and to give him "boost" vitamin supplement by mouth. I also changed his UVB bulb.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – 48 X 24 X 24 cage enclosure from DIYcages.com
• Lighting – Lighting includes one 18” Repti sun 5.0 UVB Florescent Bulb, one 75w blue daytime basking bulb. Daily lighting schedule: all lights go on at 8am and off at 8pm
• Temperature – High temp:90 basking spot/top of cage. Low temp:68 bottom of cage. Lowest overnight temp around 65. All temps measured by digital thermometers.
• Humidity – Humidity levels between 50 and 60. Keep a covered water dish with a perforated lid as well as the misting system to maintain humidity. Humidity is measured with a humidity gauge in the middle of the cage.
• Plants – No live plants are being used. All plants are artificial.
• Placement – The cage is located in my room in the finished basement of my house. Not near any fan or high traffic areas. There is an electric wall heater located on the same wall 3 feet away that circulates heat throughout the room periodically. The cage sites on my carpeted floor.
• Location – I live in Eastern Pennsylvania.
 
My chameleon Merlin hasnt been eating for about a week now, he just went to the Vet on 3/23/11 for his lazy sleeping during the day and the vet said he looked alright. I had given him "Boost" vitamin suppliment for a week by mouth and he seemed to perk up a very litle bit but now he hasnt been eating. I also changed his UVB bulb to a brand new one. I had a feeling he was dehydrated so i gave him a shower two days ago and again just 10 minutes ago today. I keep him in there for about 20 minutes each time. He loves it and drinks up a lot. He feels brittle in my hands but he still has strenght. I havent seen him eat or drink (other than in the shower) in over a week and im getting worried. Will dehydration make them go on hunger strikes? Also, when i had him in the shower today he was rocking his head back and forth and then what looked like a spit bubble came out of his mouth. Any information will be great help. I appreciate all of your experience and knowledge.

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – Panther Chameleon, male, approx. 1.5 years old. In my possession since shortly after birth.
• Handling – When he was younger he wasn’t handled very often, as he got older it seemed he would come toward me when I came to the cage so handling was up to 3 times or so per week for short periods of time, no more than 5 minutes at a time and sitting in one place, not walking around with him.
• Feeding – I feed him crickets only. He will not touch any other worms. I gutload my crickets with Flucker’s “High-Calcium” Cricket Diet and I powder them once a week with Zoo Med’s “Reptivite with D3”. I feed him about 10 or so medium sized crickets a day in the morning. He usually eats all but like 3 or 4.
• Supplements – Once a week I dust my feeders with Zoo Med’s “Reptevite with D3” this needs to change. see post below.
• Watering – I have a misting system in place that mists every hour for 30 seconds. I also manually mist about twice a day using bottled water only, no tap water. I do see him drinking in the mornings usually. personally i would set it to go off three times a day for 2-5 minutes.
• Fecal Description – Fecal matter is usually white and slightly orange with urate accompanying it. He has never been tested for parasites.
• History – He was to the vet once when he was 6 months old for an eye infection. The vet gave me an antibiotic cream to put on it and it healed up fine. Again to the vet on 3/23/11 for laziness. Vet said he looked alright and to give him "boost" vitamin supplement by mouth. I also changed his UVB bulb.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – 48 X 24 X 24 cage enclosure from DIYcages.com
• Lighting – Lighting includes one 18” Repti sun 5.0 UVB Florescent Bulb, one 75w blue daytime basking bulb. Daily lighting schedule: all lights go on at 8am and off at 8pm
• Temperature – High temp:90 basking spot/top of cage. Low temp:68 bottom of cage. Lowest overnight temp around 65. All temps measured by digital thermometers.
• Humidity – Humidity levels between 50 and 60. Keep a covered water dish with a perforated lid as well as the misting system to maintain humidity. Humidity is measured with a humidity gauge in the middle of the cage. do you have a dehumidifier in the room? electric heat? the reason for all these questions is unless you live in a arid area of the country..your local humidity along with your 2-3 times a day mistings will be sufficient.
• Plants – No live plants are being used. All plants are artificial.
• Placement – The cage is located in my room in the finished basement of my house. Not near any fan or high traffic areas. There is an electric wall heater located on the same wall 3 feet away that circulates heat throughout the room periodically. The cage sites on my carpeted floor.
• Location – I live in Eastern Pennsylvania.

do you hear any crackling sounds or weezing when he is breathing? is his head usually pointed up?

Supplements any brand you choose but should consist of this regiment: repcal calcium phos free w/o d3 every feeding, repcal calcium w/d3 twice a month, repcal herptivite twice a month

pics of the animal and cage would be helpful.
 
Are you saying you mist round the clock for 30 seconds? Does the cage ever have a chance to dry out then?
 
It mists 12 times durring the day, one every hour, then the mister shuts off at night with the lights for 12 hours.
 
I have an electric wall heater and no humidifier.
The mister is actually down to 15 seconds every hour now.
 
do some research and look at respiratory infections in chameleons and see if symptoms match your guys. you have quite a bit of moisture in the cage that this can be a possibility. personally i would only mist 2-3 times a day 2-5 minutes a session. a properly ventilated and temperature controlled environment should dry out between sessions.
 
Ensure its not inhaling water in the shower, this can be fatal. Try hand misting, not directly into the mouth but from above its head, if you persist it will drink.
If you continue to see bubbles see your vet.
 
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