please help - wood lice!!

at first, my baby would down 16 bugs easily everyday. he was so healthy and growing incredibly fast. then all of a sudden, his appetite decreased by a lot. i thought that it may be a hunger strike after the superworms i fed him, but i began to realize that it wasn't the case after days went by. that's when i came to the conclusion that he probably had an increasing parasite load from the start.

the results will probably take another two-three days. yes, i have a vet that's about 40-50 minutes away. after i find out what type of parasites, i will 100% go in to get prescribed medicine for him
After hearing about the sounds with gaping I’m leaning towards RI and not parasites. I’d chalk this up to immediate vet care or the Cham will likely not make it 😕
If was eating good when got him most likely it's your setup. If stressed when they have parasites and not setup right. The parasites will double and get worse. Any pet I get I always take them to the vet inless it something like fish. A wellness check up is always a good thing for any new pet.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they have a bad set up. The parasites(or RI) could get worse if they were carrying them and a stressful situation occurred, but moving to a new environment; even if it’s a chameleon dream, could temporarily compromise the immune system.
According to my vet, there are some parasites that won’t be detectable in a fecal sample that is over an hour old. I don’t recall which he told me they were, but I believe coccidia was one (if memory serves). You may need to call and ask around to some closer (cat & dog) veterinarians to see if they will be willing/able to process a chameleon fecal and collaborate with your exotics vet.
Hmmm that’s news to me. I’m sure some, but that wouldn’t make much sense with coccidia considering the oocysts stick around for ages? I’m no expert on that though so maybe someone can correct me.
The vet will still retest for parasites when you take in they won't prescribe meds for someone else's test. If you bring in poop for test think they say 24 hours old poop
Good point, didn’t even think of that!
 
i scheduled him an appointment for tomorrow morning - but i honestly do not think he will make it. he is showing the advanced signs of an respiratory infection, gasping for air while making squeaking sounds. i feel so bad for my boy but i am willing to do anything that i can for him.

i am also looking into buying pet insurance. does anyone know the most affordable one?
 
i scheduled him an appointment for tomorrow morning - but i honestly do not think he will make it. he is showing the advanced signs of an respiratory infection, gasping for air while making squeaking sounds. i feel so bad for my boy but i am willing to do anything that i can for him.

i am also looking into buying pet insurance. does anyone know the most affordable one?
So sorry to hear this! I hope he makes it. I have nationwide as do a few other forum members.
 
So sorry to hear this! I hope he makes it. I have nationwide as do a few other forum members.
moving forward, is there anything i can do to prevent a LRI? i hate to think that my husbandry caused him to become sick, and i never want to make this mistake in the future
 
Here's more information about RIs:
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-medical-respiratory-infection/

Stress can also cause the immune system to tank and let opportunistic bacteria take over.

Let's see how tomorrow goes. We can do an in depth husbandry review if you haven't gotten one already.
yes, he has been seeming really stressed lately, probably because i think he is feeling internal stress. but before, two weeks ago, he would eat 90% of bugs off of my hand.

i will submit a husbandry description tomorrow after i find out what exactly is wrong with my guy, so i will know what to emphasize in my description to see what i might have been doing wrong.

thank you all so very much for helping me through this. your time means a lot to me. in the end, i will grow from everything i have experienced with my chameleon and learned on this forum. to me, everything is a learning experience, and i will always try my best to improve for the health of my chameleon
 
yes, he has been seeming really stressed lately, probably because i think he is feeling internal stress. but before, two weeks ago, he would eat 90% of bugs off of my hand.

i will submit a husbandry description tomorrow after i find out what exactly is wrong with my guy, so i will know what to emphasize in my description to see what i might have been doing wrong.

thank you all so very much for helping me through this. your time means a lot to me. in the end, i will grow from everything i have experienced with my chameleon and learned on this forum. to me, everything is a learning experience, and i will always try my best to improve for the health of my chameleon
We are happy to help. Fingers crossed for you and your Cham.
 
i am happy to say that my cham is starting to make a recovery! he hung in there and got antibiotics just yesterday for a potential URI.

his appetite is increasing and he has shown no signs of lethargy.

i am being careful to get humidity levels up a bit more while also creating a "false fever" by increasing basking temperatures.

i think that he may make a full recovery!!
 
i am happy to say that my cham is starting to make a recovery! he hung in there and got antibiotics just yesterday for a potential URI.

his appetite is increasing and he has shown no signs of lethargy.

i am being careful to get humidity levels up a bit more while also creating a "false fever" by increasing basking temperatures.

i think that he may make a full recovery!!
That's fantastic thanks for keeping us posted!
 
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