Old age signs

Jevin

Jevin

Chameleon Enthusiast
Hey, so while Chandler is doing well he has had some behavioural changes recently. He's eating less, has reduced grip strength and he's hiding a lot more. Once October gets here I'll have owned him for 5 years with an unknown hatch date. I guess I want to know what are the signs that a chameleon's time is on the horizon?
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First I'm going to double check his basking spot, it might be low. It's temp regulated, but it was also originally setup for a different time of year when the ambient temperature in the room was higher. I currently run a 100 watt basking bulb but have noticed recently that the regulator isn't limiting the bulb under full power as it was during the winter months. Granted the setup is in a basement that is cooler in the summer months as the furnace hardly runs at all. The basking spot is distanced so that even running a 100 watt basking bulb, the basking area can just barely reach above basking spot temps. Essentially designed to keep it warm enough without risking injury as the thermostat regulates how hot it can get. However if airflow is high and ambient air temp is low, it can struggle to get warm enough.
 
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Well looking at the estimated time temps based on bulb distance, it may be I was not running a warm enough backing spot, essentially the 100 watt could just barely get within spec at the distance it sat. Essentially the distance from the bulb to the temp prove is 11" which at that distance the temp should sit around 88° F max with my 100 watt, which it did in the winter, but I think in the summer when the basement is a cool air sink, it doesn't have to enough power. The new bulb should hit a max of 92° F at this distance, but the thermostat should limit it to proper basking temps. New bulb is in and already Chandler's behaviour is better. The ambient enclosure temp is also 70° F. In the winter it was around 75° F. So it may just be low temps affecting his metabolism.
 
And checking over care sheets, this might actually have been the culprit. The seasonal drop of ambient by 5° would have pushed the basking spot temp out of spec. I'm going to monitor him over the next few days. I know he's also an old man, but I'll make sure my care is within spec first. He was also hanging out by other heat sources in the enclosure prior to this. Humidity and misting is still good. Also just hit warm weather in the past month here so the furnace isn't running as much.
 
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Honestly, even if his time is drawing near, it's oddly appropriate considering the situation when I bought him versus where I stand now. I acquired him during one of the most trying times in my life to date, of which I'm now hitting the other side of. Even the upgrades in his care I've done since acquiring him are oddly representative of my own journey. Oddly enough the biggest upgrades coincide with me building myself back up from one of the lowest points in my life. Looking back now, life really put me through a lot in a really short span of time, as in just managing to recover from one thing and another hit. Kinda poetic in a way. Looking back at photos, he's definitely around 5 years old at this point.
 
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I am very sad to hear about your chameleon Chandler. Without an x-ray and blood work you want know what's going on with him. My guess would be arthritis in his back legs but it could be more than that. If it's arthritis that can be treated with Medacam or Adequan injections. Where do you live and how experienced is your vet with chameleons? I have worked with many senior citizen chameleons and they need an experienced vet because they get allot of the same health issues that we get when we get old.
 
jannb said:
I am very sad to hear about your chameleon Chandler. Without an x-ray and blood work you want know what's going on with him. My guess would be arthritis in his back legs but it could be more than that. If it's arthritis that can be treated with Medacam or Adequan injections. Where do you live and how experienced is your vet with chameleons? I have worked with many senior citizen chameleons and they need an experienced vet because they get allot of the same health issues that we get when we get old.
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I know of a good vet with experience I've used before. He hasn't changed behaviour much, but enough that I'm worried, I will check his enclosure parameters first before a vet visit. If he doesn't improve after ensuring his enclosure parameters are good, then I will book a vet appointment. If he ends up requiring injections, I know he won't be too happy about it. He does have a disposition for gout but that hasn't flared up in a few years. Based on my best estimates, he's around 5 years, 3 months to 5 years, 6 months old right now.
 
JacksJill said:
I've seen some tail drooping, no tight curl with age probably related to arthritic changes. You still need to eliminate any potential problems.
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I will be, I've tended to catch stuff before a vet thinks it's a concern, so first I'll be ensuring his care requirements are good. The only thing I found that was out so far was his basking temps which have been corrected. He hasn't fallen yet, just showing signs that he needs heat as in he was really dark earlier today. Low temps would also be impact his digestion and appetite. As of right now, the call to the vet is on a hair trigger. I have already called my vet and they recommended to double check care requirements and watch for about a week for changes if something needed correction.
 
I may be making a vet visit after all. While his grip strength is better today, I noticed that he was sleeping during the day. Colors are better today as well too.
 
Well I was already prepared for this but it looks more likely that it's old age. It sucks but I also know based on acquiring him from PetSmart that odds were against him living to 5 years of age. I'm getting a full analysis done but it's most likely just old age, he still has fight left in him, but I was aware that it could be just old age. I'll see what the tests give, but I'm already preparing myself for the inevitable. This one's hitting hard because of what he represents to me. He has been a therapy animal from the start, in the time I've had him, I've increased my level of care significantly both for my animals and myself. His care is represented in my own journey of undoing trauma and hurt caused by my past, to keep pushing to do better every day. He went from a subpar setup to a bioactive setup, despite my family not understanding the choice to go bioactive due to cost, but I did it because I knew his level of care would increase.
 
I’m so sorry! I know he means a lot to you and he’s done a lot for you but just remember you are strong and you can get through this and he would want you to!
 
I got the results back, waiting for a bowel movement to do a fecal but bloodwork came back really good. X-rays show he's got major arthritis and one knee is failing as a result. So in summary he's just old. I haven't received the X-rays via email but I'll post his bloodwork results. A few parameters are low but it's due to his lack of eating. He still has fight left in him, he's just hurting from age. Time to adapt my care to suit his needs. The vet was surprised by his bloodwork, was honestly expecting it to be much worse.
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So I've got to cut the height of his enclosure and change the climing paths to give a more gradual vertical change.
 
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