Please help me. (Male?) Oustalet.

[PoshPenny]

Hey everyone. I need advise on feeding. I'm out of ideas, and I really need help. The vet has only suggested force feeding reptiboost. I don't know what to do. Here is the run down.

10 month old oustalet. WC.

Handling- He is really snippy.
So only when I have to, which is not often.

In my care 11 days.

Enclosure is a 24x24x48

Lights-10.0 reptizoom
40 watt reptiglo bulb.

Basking temp 85-88 ( I was told by the vet to up temp so perhaps he would start eating) room temp 70-72.
Night temp 68-70.

Misting- 8-10x a day for 3 min with
warm water.

Parasites- fecal said yes, blood and lungs I do not know, but not deworming until he has time to adjust( which he isn't) the vet says we need to wait.

Supplements- he isn't eating so none. But I did give him reptiboost.

Drinking-iv not seen him drink.

Poop- last time he pooped which was days ago (7 days) it looked good. Urates looked good. Iv not seen fresh poo in days.

Behavior- sad. Paces the cage, aggressive, anorexic. Stress colors. I keep the cage covered with muslin cloth. He has started resting his head on branches. He is depressed.

Enclosure is 4 feet off ground , top of cage is at 6 feet.
Plants- umbrella and pathos. Bamboo sticks and woods rods.

I think he ate some pathos. Iv not seen him eat personally, but the leaves looked chomped on.

Iv tried every worm possible. His dubias came today. He showed interest. He acted as if he was going to eat one. But then stopped. He hunted one, but then stopped. I had covered the cage and peeked through a crack hoping and praying he would eat. I left the room, came back an hour later and found him pacing the cage, all 3 dubias alive. Iv looked in his mouth when I
First got him and when he gapes I peek in and it seems ok. The specialist sees him feb 8th. He is the zoo Atlanta herp vet. I don't want anyone else touching him honestly. So I'm patiently waiting. Blood tests will be done. Iv been leaving him alone, I want to do just one vet visit. I keep praying the zoo vet can help him. I feel scared for him, I don't want him to die.

Has anyone had a WC do this. I opened his cage yesterday to see if he would stop pacing and come out and he did. He sat on the door (I'll attach the picture) for an hour. Then i coaxed him back into the enclosure for lights out. I gave him
Reptiboost again today. (Day 11 of no feeders.)

Is there anything else I can do? I'm attempting to hatch blue bottle flies. I think he is a male. Attaching pics of his tail base.

Please help. The vet is sick of hearing from me. I'll attach pics from today.

 

[fluxlizard]

I think your vet is right about upping temp not so right about waiting to deparasitize.

Totally just my opinion. It's a hard call to make- not saying what is right or wrong in your particular situation, only how I would feel about it if it were my animal.

But maybe I'm a little more "aggressive" about acclimating WC chameleons than some... I go straight to cleaning them up when they arrive in my care.

Dehydration will effect appetite. If you can run a mister on him for an hour or two every day would be a good idea when acclimating. They are similar to veileds in that they don't have a super high water requirement but a week is a long stretch to go even so and no telling when he drank last prior to your care...

 

[Lathis]

Poor little Hoggle. I know you are doing everything you can to get him well. The specialist vet really can't see him any sooner than Feb 8?

I am absolutely not a vet, but it does seem odd to wait on parasite treatment, especially since parasites are reported to lower appetite and he needs to start eating again.

Has covering the cage seemed to calm him down? Was he too stressed out being able to see everything? I am just wondering about the reason behind doing that?

He was probably interested in the dubia, but maybe they just didn't move enough to really perk him up. Did you try offering one with a set of long tongs? I know Hoggle is a lunger, but maybe if you cover your hand in a green cloth, he won't freak out. You could wiggle the dubia around and see if that catches his attention more...

I bought some at Petco similar to this :http://www.thatpetplace.com/stainle..._id=26456947&gclid=CKKq66rIlbwCFepFMgod920Ahw

 

[CarlC]

I am one that is hesitant to give any treatments until somewhat acclimated. In situations like this I would deworm him just for the simple fact it will eliminate a known problem that could cause his lack of interest in food. If his stomach lining is filled with sores the best treatment is to get rid of the problem causing the sores. Did the results of the fecal indicate which parasite was present? What was the recommended treatment?

Carl

 

[PoshPenny]

Thanks for responding you guys. The zoo Atlanta herp vet comes one Saturday out of a month. but I agree. I want to start the panacur. I think at this point something has to be done. I'm afraid two vet trips are going to kill him so I was waiting, but force feeding him stresses him a lot. I wonder maybe if his tongue is injured.

So take him to see the non specialist? Get the parasites taken care of? And don't give reptiboost? I don't have to hold him anymore to do it, he just takes it. While hissing and gaping the whole time in protest.

 

[PoshPenny]

Carl she didn't, she just said it was positive. Then she said we still need a blood sample and mouth swab. I took the poo in to her.

Lathis- Yes it did!! He seems to rest easier. I went and bought muslin because of how thin it is and the color. Kind of earthy.

 

[CarlC]

If your vet told you Panacur was her treatment there is no need to go back to them to get it. There are many source's online for it. I go to my local farm supply store for it. You need to get him on a scale and know what percent in solution the Panacur (Fenbendazole) is. This link is what I use and the dosage's are at the bottom of the page.
http://www.beardeddragon.co/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=fenbendazole&product_id=113

Carl

 

[CarlC]

Carl she didn't, she just said it was positive. Then she said we still need a blood sample and mouth swab. I took the poo in to her.

You paid for the fecal tell them you want the results. Once you know what tested positive I'm sure we can guide you along.

Carl

 

[rshewfel]

His dubias came today. He showed interest. He acted as if he was going to eat one.

He is just shy. If he showed that much interest in the dubias I think he will eat. The problem with dubias is, for some reason, none of my chameleons well eat them out of a bowl. They must not move enough. If you try twelve inch tongs holding the dubia on a leaf I would be very surprised if it did not work. Someone else recommended this also. Just expose your arm, and try and watch his shadow.

Good luck. Sorry this has been such a stressful situation for you.

 

[PoshPenny]

I'll call and ask tomorrow. They want to test for other parasites but I'm not sure what she meant, just that she needed blood. Do you know why she would need blood?

Today I prayed for him. I really prayed god wouldn't let him die. Not like this, after all the bad crap. The importation process, and repticon. I want him to at least have some peace first and if it isn't meant to be then so be it.

 

[PoshPenny]

I let it crawl on the cage. Half of my dubias were dead, I think I got the wrong packaging, I selected feeder packaging... Not sure. I'll order more tomorrow. Frita ate the dead babies. She is such a fatty.

He is just shy. If he showed that much interest in the dubias I think he will eat. The problem with dubias is, for some reason, none of my chameleons well eat them out of a bowl. They must not move enough. If you try twelve inch tongs holding the dubia on a leaf I would be very surprised if it did not work. Someone else recommended this also. Just expose your arm, and try and watch his shadow.



Good luck. Sorry this has been such a stressful situation for you.

 

[PoshPenny]

I placed it on the screen. He has never shown interest In anything iv given him so I feel hopeful! He actually looked at them. I left so he could hunt in peace. But a hour later those dubias were chillin on a pathos.

 

[CarlC]

I'll call and ask tomorrow. They want to test for other parasites but I'm not sure what she meant, just that she needed blood. Do you know why she would need blood?

There are blood born pathogens also. Maybe let the zoo vet finish the testing.

Carl

 

[rshewfel]

I just think you are dealing with an experience that is unfamiliar to you. Based on all your previous posts, from what you have described, his behavior sounds fairly normal. Also from the looks of your pictures, his tail is pretty thick and he does not look sickly. I think you well figure it out. Just keep trying different suggestion until one works for you. Relax a little.

 

[PoshPenny]

I will, I'll try honestly, I hate being so high strung. So I'm going to do the panacur. And attempt to get a mouth swab. I know how to do a gram stain, I could technically check his mouth, but I have no idea what it would mean. Gram - or positive id be ignorant to anything I'm not aware of that might be present in a reptile swab verses a humans.
I could go the whole nine yards to narrow it down too. I have access to my colleges lab. Are animal bacteria the same as ours? I could do it tomorrow.

 

[rshewfel]

Gram testing just tests for the type of cell wall a bacteria has. It can help determine the type of antibiotic used to treat an infection. Many antibiotics break down the cell wall. I'm sure reptiles do not have the exact same bacteria as a human but they most likely have similar cell walls. I'm pretty sure your test would work; might be interesting to try.

I used to know quite a bit about the different parasites. Hopefully I will own a microscope someday. Last time I kept chameleons, I too was a biology student. I constantly brought samples to school. I had a vet that I would just call and tell him what I saw. A lot of vets are very excited to be able to work with your chameleons. Sometimes they are learning along with you.

 

[Lizardguy1]

Is your Oustie an import or WC from florida? In my experience with WC adults from florida, 10-15% don't acclimate to captivity- I treat all prophylactically with Panacur, provide lots of hydration, and keep then outdoors in natural sunlight as much as possible. I had a friend lose a couple trying to acclimate under artificial light, not sure if there was another issue with his husbandry, but I have had better results in outdoor enclosures.

 

[PoshPenny]

I'm not sure. The breeder was from Tampa, it's possible. I wish I could keep him outside but it's 14 degrees out right now. Summer just can't arrive fast enough. This all has me so bummed. I swear if he dies I'll be so upset. I was even debating giving him to someone who could keep him outside in Florida or California. I'd rather see him thrive then die.

 

[nightanole]

Mine goes nuts for banded crickets and super worms crawling up the screen of the cage. he wouldnt touch a dubia till he was an adult and done with his growth spurts.

 

[PoshPenny]

I moved his new enclosure by the window so he can see the sunshine. It's worth a try.t