I have a pretty sick chameleon that is not able to climb or hang onto the sticks in his cage. He is currently very weak as is not able to hunt or eat. This all started when the temps in his cage got to high and he became very dehydrated. I have been giving him water through a syringe which seems to be working well, but he hasn't eaten anything in about 3 days and I feel like I need to get some food in his system in order for him to regain his strength. Any suggestions?
Nursing a chameleon back to health
- Thread starter scottinaz
- Start date
justjumpit621
New Member
How big is he? I'd say it's time to force feed. For larger chams you can just use your finger to pry open their mouth but with little guys i'd use a popsicle stick or something small so you don't hurt him.
panthercham
New Member
Welcome to the forum 
This is the best way for anyone here to be able to help you especially if you cham is sick. You will get better answers.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
Pictures are helpful
This is the best way for anyone here to be able to help you especially if you cham is sick. You will get better answers.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
Pictures are helpful
More Info
Cage Info:
Cage Type - He is in a screen cage approximately 3 foot high by 18" deep
Lighting - We use several different types of lighting. We have a UV bulb that we purchased new when we bought the chameleon back in August? We also use a 75 watt bulb to add heat to the cage during the day and 100 watt red heat light for keeping the cage warm at night. Our house can drop into the low 60's at night.
Temperature - We try and keep the cage in the mid 80's during the day with basking area in the 90's. We have a thermomenter mounted in the cage. I believe our problems started because the cage was too hot and he became dehydrated.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? Humidity levels are always a challenge. My goal is to try and keep the humidity in the 50's, but since we live in Arizona it is not uncommon for the humidity to drop into the 30's. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? I use a dripper a couple of times a day and spray 5-6 times a day. What do you use to measure humidity? We have a humidity gage in the cage.
Plants - Are you using live plants? We one live plant in the cage and some plastic foliage. If so, what kind? Not sure what kind (pothos?), but we researched it before we bought it to make sure it was safe for chameleons.
Placement - Where is your cage located? The cage is sitting on top of a bookshelf about 4 foot off the ground. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? No At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? it is about 4 foot off the ground.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Arizona
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? This is a male veiled chameleon that is about 6 months old.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? We have never really handled it much until recently when it started falling off its branches.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? We had been feeding a combination of crickets and wax worms What amount? I think he was eating a couple dozen small crickets a week and a few was worms when he was healthy. For the last few weeks he has been eating primarily wax worms that I offer him with tweezers. What is the schedule? I currently offer him food several times a day and is not currently eating anything at all.
How are you gut-loading your feeders? We had been feeding the crickets a gut loading food from the pet store.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? We are using reptivite and repti cal. We were using this a few times a week.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have never really seen the chameleon drink. We are misting him 5-6 times a day and I have a dripper setup that we use a couple times a day.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He has never been tested for parasites and it looks like normal chameleon droppings. I have not noticed any new droppings in quite a while.
Current Problem - The current problem is listed in the post above
You will notice from the photo that he is hanging on to the branch, but it not able to climb. We have had to put him in a dish because he is to weak to do mcuh.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - He is in a screen cage approximately 3 foot high by 18" deep
Lighting - We use several different types of lighting. We have a UV bulb that we purchased new when we bought the chameleon back in August? We also use a 75 watt bulb to add heat to the cage during the day and 100 watt red heat light for keeping the cage warm at night. Our house can drop into the low 60's at night.
Temperature - We try and keep the cage in the mid 80's during the day with basking area in the 90's. We have a thermomenter mounted in the cage. I believe our problems started because the cage was too hot and he became dehydrated.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? Humidity levels are always a challenge. My goal is to try and keep the humidity in the 50's, but since we live in Arizona it is not uncommon for the humidity to drop into the 30's. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? I use a dripper a couple of times a day and spray 5-6 times a day. What do you use to measure humidity? We have a humidity gage in the cage.
Plants - Are you using live plants? We one live plant in the cage and some plastic foliage. If so, what kind? Not sure what kind (pothos?), but we researched it before we bought it to make sure it was safe for chameleons.
Placement - Where is your cage located? The cage is sitting on top of a bookshelf about 4 foot off the ground. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? No At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? it is about 4 foot off the ground.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Arizona
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? This is a male veiled chameleon that is about 6 months old.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? We have never really handled it much until recently when it started falling off its branches.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? We had been feeding a combination of crickets and wax worms What amount? I think he was eating a couple dozen small crickets a week and a few was worms when he was healthy. For the last few weeks he has been eating primarily wax worms that I offer him with tweezers. What is the schedule? I currently offer him food several times a day and is not currently eating anything at all.
How are you gut-loading your feeders? We had been feeding the crickets a gut loading food from the pet store.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? We are using reptivite and repti cal. We were using this a few times a week.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have never really seen the chameleon drink. We are misting him 5-6 times a day and I have a dripper setup that we use a couple times a day.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He has never been tested for parasites and it looks like normal chameleon droppings. I have not noticed any new droppings in quite a while.
Current Problem - The current problem is listed in the post above
You will notice from the photo that he is hanging on to the branch, but it not able to climb. We have had to put him in a dish because he is to weak to do mcuh.
Attachments
pssh
Avid Member
What brand and kind (coil or linear tube) of UVB bulb? What kind of Calcium are you using? It sounds like he need a vet.
You need to properly gutload your feeders with fresh veggies like kale and collard greens. Does he hiss at all when you go near him? If he does, pop a gutloaded and dusted(with calcium w/o d3) Cricket in his mouth and keep adding more as he chews untill you feel he's had enough.
What exactly do his droppings look like? Color is important. Also, what kind of thermometer do you use? Try bringing his basking temp to 85 or so, and he doesn't need a night light unless it drops below 60. If it does get that cold, then use a ceramic bulb or bring up the temp of the whole room.
You need to properly gutload your feeders with fresh veggies like kale and collard greens. Does he hiss at all when you go near him? If he does, pop a gutloaded and dusted(with calcium w/o d3) Cricket in his mouth and keep adding more as he chews untill you feel he's had enough.
What exactly do his droppings look like? Color is important. Also, what kind of thermometer do you use? Try bringing his basking temp to 85 or so, and he doesn't need a night light unless it drops below 60. If it does get that cold, then use a ceramic bulb or bring up the temp of the whole room.
jojackson
New Member
No heat light at night.
3 days no food is not a concern.
no droppings (for how long?) and the weakness is a concern, my first thought would be consider the possibility of impaction (this can cause paralysis).
If you have any kind of substrate on the cage floor, the greater the chances of this.
DO NOT FORCEFEED ! It is not warranted in this case and will simply speed a sick cham's decline.
Further, you do not want to add to to the problem (if it is impacted) by forcing food down its throat. Misting and forcefeeding will not diagnose your lizards problem.
First discover the cause, then treat.
Nothing in your questionaire jumps out as indicator of the problem (unless you use substrate).
The best advice here is to see a reptile vet asap!
3 days no food is not a concern.
no droppings (for how long?) and the weakness is a concern, my first thought would be consider the possibility of impaction (this can cause paralysis).
If you have any kind of substrate on the cage floor, the greater the chances of this.
DO NOT FORCEFEED ! It is not warranted in this case and will simply speed a sick cham's decline.
Further, you do not want to add to to the problem (if it is impacted) by forcing food down its throat. Misting and forcefeeding will not diagnose your lizards problem.
First discover the cause, then treat.
Nothing in your questionaire jumps out as indicator of the problem (unless you use substrate).
The best advice here is to see a reptile vet asap!
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
What type of thermometre? are you certain it is accurate?
90F is still too hot for a baby chameleon. I'd reduce the basking spot to between 80 and 84F (27C). Ambient of 70-75F (21-23C)
No light at night. Instead, Keep the room he's in at 65F-69F at night with a space heater. If youre not willing to do that, consider a ceramic heat bulb (emits no light)
Are you certain it is dehydrated? Have you seen a vet about it? Were subcutaneous liquids provided?
Has it lost weight? If you feel you must force feed, consider liquifying a few bugs with some water, and provide as you do the water now with syringe
waxworms are garbage food, dont use them. use crickets, silkworms, roaches, stick insects, butterworms, hornworms....
90F is still too hot for a baby chameleon. I'd reduce the basking spot to between 80 and 84F (27C). Ambient of 70-75F (21-23C)
No light at night. Instead, Keep the room he's in at 65F-69F at night with a space heater. If youre not willing to do that, consider a ceramic heat bulb (emits no light)
Are you certain it is dehydrated? Have you seen a vet about it? Were subcutaneous liquids provided?
Has it lost weight? If you feel you must force feed, consider liquifying a few bugs with some water, and provide as you do the water now with syringe
waxworms are garbage food, dont use them. use crickets, silkworms, roaches, stick insects, butterworms, hornworms....
I am using a linear tube Exo Terra 15W Repti Glo bulb and Repti Cal for the calcium supplement.
He tries to hiss and I have gotten him to eat 1 1/2 wax worms that way. I also take that opportunity to get him to drink some water with a syringe. He is starting to catch on because as soon as I get to close he closes his mouth tight and I can't get it open. I don't try very hard though because I don't want to hurt him. I really think at this point I need to feed him with a syringe. Any suggestions on what I would mix together to feed him that way? I think I read in a recent post that someone suggested mashing crickets and pedialite together. Any thoughts on that?
He tries to hiss and I have gotten him to eat 1 1/2 wax worms that way. I also take that opportunity to get him to drink some water with a syringe. He is starting to catch on because as soon as I get to close he closes his mouth tight and I can't get it open. I don't try very hard though because I don't want to hurt him. I really think at this point I need to feed him with a syringe. Any suggestions on what I would mix together to feed him that way? I think I read in a recent post that someone suggested mashing crickets and pedialite together. Any thoughts on that?
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
To me, 90F is too hot for a baby of six months old.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Has a vet been consulted? Im curious how you are sure about the diagnosis and treatment required.
I dont think pedialite is necessary. Its only been three days. Smash up gutloaded crickets, silkworms and such together with some water and perhaps a tiny bit of bee pollen and some calcium
jojackson
New Member
How long since you've seen droppings?
Thats his basking temp Sandra, a 6 month male veiled isnt really a baby.
I dont think he's consulted a vet, like so many, He's consulted an internet forum first.
(where he's getting advised to forcefeed an animal that is undiagnosed and has eaten a few days ago. Im curious how anyone diagnosed his cham and advised treatment over the internet, period.)
No wonder folk ask on the internet, its so easy to get instructions by experts without even so much as a photo, always willing to advise 'treatment' despite not having a clue whats wrong. That dosent seem to bother folk here!
Im surprised the same experts havent yet piped up about the possibility its early stage MBD, Thats always a favorite, right up there with 'diagnosis's of vit A deficiency.
Thats his basking temp Sandra, a 6 month male veiled isnt really a baby.
I dont think he's consulted a vet, like so many, He's consulted an internet forum first.
(where he's getting advised to forcefeed an animal that is undiagnosed and has eaten a few days ago. Im curious how anyone diagnosed his cham and advised treatment over the internet, period.)
No wonder folk ask on the internet, its so easy to get instructions by experts without even so much as a photo, always willing to advise 'treatment' despite not having a clue whats wrong. That dosent seem to bother folk here!
Im surprised the same experts havent yet piped up about the possibility its early stage MBD, Thats always a favorite, right up there with 'diagnosis's of vit A deficiency.
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sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
This is a good question.
To you thats not a baby, to me it is. I call human toddlers babies too. The older I get, the younger everyone else seems.
Its irrelevant anyhow, since this chameleon cant move to thermoregulate regardless. Its stuck with what the owner gives it.
Jo,
I do have substrate on the floor, but I have never seen the chameleon anywhere near the bottom of the cage.
I am sure the problem with the chameleon was the temps inside the cage. We had a cold spell that dropped the temps in the house into the 60's during the day and 50's at night. We added extra heat lights to the cage to compensate, but when the temps in the house came back up we didn't back off on the heat lights until he started to get very weak and we noticed him falling off the branches. That is why I think we are dealing with dehydration.
Do you think we need to use the syringe to give him water or should we just leave him be and let him try and recover himself. He is far too weak to eat or hunt right now. He hasn't eaten in about 3 days and before that his appetite was down to about 2-3 wax worms a day. He was only able to eat those because I held them in front of him with tweezers. At what point do I need to be concerned about how much he is eating?
In regards to droppings I think it has been 4-5 days since I noticed any new droppings in the cage. The last dropping looks normal. How often should a chameleon poop?
I do have substrate on the floor, but I have never seen the chameleon anywhere near the bottom of the cage.
I am sure the problem with the chameleon was the temps inside the cage. We had a cold spell that dropped the temps in the house into the 60's during the day and 50's at night. We added extra heat lights to the cage to compensate, but when the temps in the house came back up we didn't back off on the heat lights until he started to get very weak and we noticed him falling off the branches. That is why I think we are dealing with dehydration.
Do you think we need to use the syringe to give him water or should we just leave him be and let him try and recover himself. He is far too weak to eat or hunt right now. He hasn't eaten in about 3 days and before that his appetite was down to about 2-3 wax worms a day. He was only able to eat those because I held them in front of him with tweezers. At what point do I need to be concerned about how much he is eating?
In regards to droppings I think it has been 4-5 days since I noticed any new droppings in the cage. The last dropping looks normal. How often should a chameleon poop?
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
No harm in giving him water with the syringe. Clearly he needs your help. No harm in liquifying bugs with some of that water either. You didnt answer as to whether or not it is loosing weight?
jojackson
New Member
Precisely!
Assuming its not being left under the basking light, then its the ambient temp thats a concern.Scot, 5 days isnt a concern (poopwise) at that age, but again, dehydration, unless its quite severe, dosent account for weakness you describe. Are the eyes sunken? skin wrinkled? Please answer Sandra weather you've monitored its weight too.
I expect it may have lost some, but it still remains an undiagnosed mystery.
Water certainly wont hurt it, but Id refrain from feeding till it does poop or you see it trying, or see a vet, whichever is first.
If you pick it up, is its grip strong in both front and rear legs/feet? If it crawls around at all, does it drag the hind limbs?
This might be an indicator of hind limb paralisis, which can occure with impaction, but bare in mind, we are all guessing.
Only a good vet can tell you whats wrong and set you on the path to fixing it.
The longer you wait here, the worse it gets.
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pssh
Avid Member
Dropping frequency depends on age and food intake. THE COLOR IS IMPORTANT! Take him to a vet, if you don't, you could just be killing him. A healthy, well fed lizard can go without eating for months. Dehydration, as far as I know, doesn't really cause paralysis in the limbs. A vet visit is important. Take him to the vets.
EDIT: do you actually monitor his weight? Or are you just saying he looks okay? Actual weight and what they look like are two totally different things.
EDIT: do you actually monitor his weight? Or are you just saying he looks okay? Actual weight and what they look like are two totally different things.
The eyes look fine and are not sunken and the skin in not wrinkled. He does not look like he has lost alot of weight.
His front legs work and he can grip the branches and hold himself up. His back legs work but it seems like he isn't strong enough to hold himself up.
I will be taking him to the vet, but am wondering now if he might have injured himself when he fell off the branches.
His front legs work and he can grip the branches and hold himself up. His back legs work but it seems like he isn't strong enough to hold himself up.
I will be taking him to the vet, but am wondering now if he might have injured himself when he fell off the branches.
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