Please help

mirabuca

New Member
Hello everyone. I am so glad I found this site, as it looks like there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here where it comes to taking care of chameleons.
My daughter got a veiled chameleon for Christmas from her sister, and the little thing has been doing great until recently.
His name is pascal - although after reading a lot in here, I have a feeling pascal is a she and not a he.
Anyhow, yesterday we noticed Pascal at the bottom of his cage looking dead. He was very dark in color (between gray and brown with very light green on him) and I though he was dead, but then we realized he was still breathing. he looked very sleepy at first but we then realized he couldn't even stick his tongue out to drink water, so my first though was that he was dehydrated. we tried giving him some water which he took in and after a few minutes when we put him back in his habitat he ate a cricket.
I don't want to make this message 100 pages long so you don't get bored.
He is still not looking good. He is still staying at the bottom of the cage although his color is now a light green. We have seen him eat 1 cricket today and not sure if he has drank any water. He is staying at the bottom of the cage, and is moving very little. I think he has changed positions maybe twice in the last 7 hours. Also, one of his eyes has been closed since yesterday and I am not sure if I am right about this, but I think I notice a bump under his tail. Could he be constipated? We haven't seen any feces for a couple of days.
Please be understanding, I thought we were doing a great job with this little buddy until i came across this site and found out we are doing a lot of things wrong. we are going to fix them once he/she makes it. for example, he lives in a 10 gallon fish tank, with a lot of fresh plants and plenty of water that my daughter mists every couple of hours or so.
We were giving him mealworms because that is what we read somewhere that that is what they eat and not until just a couple of days that we found out they are supposed to eat crickets. My daughter bought him/her from petsmart :( we didn't know that was not a good place to buy them from.
I am including some pictures and hopefully a video ( https://photos.app.goo.gl/R1fN8TZ3DKi8Xe3g8 ) so you can see how he/she is and see if that can give you an idea of what he/she looks so maybe you can advise better.

Thank you for your help. We are all really attached to pascal and will hate to loose him/her.
 

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Hi there and welcome to the group. If you could fill out the information that I posted here and then one of our experienced Cham owners will review it and then let you know what may need to be done.

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.

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?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
 
It's a he. Post pics of entire enclosure please. Cham needs to be taken to the vet and put in hospital bin asap. He suffers from MBD and honestly I don't think his chances are high. I don't mean to be harsh but this is due to incorrect care that has been like that for a while, and MBD doesn't show up overnight.
Also buying a pet for someone for christmas is not generally the brightest of ideas because it is a comittment. By putting an animal in their care you are making the comittment for them, and especially with a chameleon and a young daughter (judging from the background of the room) it is just plain irresponsible. A chameleon has no business in the hands of a 5-11 year old girl. She will involuntarily be rough with the chameleon, and they are very delicate and prone to stress.
Now, onto the research aspect. You bought this chameleon with extremely little research, this tank is wide and a chameleon needs a tall enclosure with space to climb. Also, I can see there are no lights in the cage. This chameleon's bones are bent and broken because of the lack of calcium powder and no UVB to process to calcium. I can see from the dish you are dumping mealworms in the bowl along with the mealworm food?? You do realize the mealworms poop in there right? Also even if you didn't include the mealworm substrate in the dish, mealworms are not chameleon food. They are to be fed once a week MAX since they have extremely little nutritional content.
Since you said this chameleon was from christmas??? This means you have had this chameleon in this conditions for a whole year?? This cham has the size of a 3 month old cham. This is my enclosure, and my cham is a year old. Spot the difference.

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Pascal is a he with very advanced MBD from not having the correct UVB lighting or husbandry...
You need a very experienced chameleon vet that can treat him. While he will never live a normal life hopefully they will be able to get him on the right track to help the MBD stop progressing. Honestly... And this is my opinion only. I do not think this chameleon can be rehabilitated based on the jaw deformation and limb deformation. He is very very small for his age as well. IT will be a very long road... and many vet visits. I am sure he is suffering greatly. MBD sucks the calcium out of the bones. Makes them very very easily broken.

I highly recommend reading through this site as it will tell you the correct husbandry https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Look up Sweetpea on facebook. This was a female that was taken in and rehabbed.
 
Poor little guy is not looking good at all. As others are telling you, he has severe mbd. While it predominantly shows in the bones, in later stages it progresses to neurological problems and then death. If your little guy is going to have any chance of pulling thru, you need to get him to a good vet yesterday.
 
Being rude to the OP will not help the chameleon. They did not know they were given the wrong information... So if you can not be helpful then how about we apply the golden rule to this thread.....
Thank you Beman. This is really hurtful for people not to understand, we are not hurting the little guy because we wanted to, but because as I stated before, we were not aware of all the care it needed. I appreciate your understanding.
 
Thank you Beman. This is really hurtful for people not to understand, we are not hurting the little guy because we wanted to, but because as I stated before, we were not aware of all the care it needed. I appreciate your understanding.
I do understand that. Passion runs high in this forum. We are all very devoted to these animals. I will tell you he does not have long. He is dying hun. Prepare your daughter. I really really feel he won't last much longer. My honest opinion based on my 2 years keeping chameleons and seeing what I have within this forum is that you should consider humane euthanization at a vet's office. He is suffering greatly. :(
 
Hi there and welcome to the group. If you could fill out the information that I posted here and then one of our experienced Cham owners will review it and then let you know what may need to be done.

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, boy? We have had him since June ( I was mistaking on my assumption that it was giving to my daughter for Christmas)
  • Handling - Once a day, maybe less
  • Feeding - Mealworms, about 8 a day. He seemed to really enjoy them so we though we were doing good
  • Supplements - we have been adding powder calcium to his mealworm about once a week
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? mist, he was often drinking the droplets from the glass or the plants
  • Fecal Description - long, brown with a little yellow . Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
  • History - He has always been a pretty happy and active guy. exploring his cage and the live plant we would take him to play during the day (about 30 min a day)

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - glass cage with screen on the top
  • Lighting - the zoo med uvb light for 12 hours
  • Temperature - the temperature we have it to 78
  • Humidity - 70 we mist the cage every hour or so.
  • Plants - yes, snail tails for the cage and then when we take him out we put him in a hibiscus plant that we have in the house
  • Placement - he is placed near a window about 3 feet of the floor
  • Location - florida

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
 
Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond to my question. My stomach hurts just to think how much this poor little guy is hurting. I want to clarify that my daughter is no a 5-11 year old kid who doesn't know how to take care of an animal. she is a well matured 14 year old girl who just happen to be very attached to her stuffed animals for sentimental reasons ( no that a room decor should be any indication of a maturity level of a kid) she and her sister have taken care of all kinds of animals. they raise and breed chickens- currently they have over 30 chickens THEY tent to, along with a rabbit, a dog and a few parakeets.
The chameleon was something that she has always wanted, and her older sister waited to get it to her for her birthday in June (sorry, i thought it was in christmas, but i was wrong) I can guarantee you that this little fella was not neglected out of cruel intention. he has been extremely loved since the day we got him and this hurt everyone to know that he is in so much pain.
Again, thank you for your help.
 
Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond to my question. My stomach hurts just to think how much this poor little guy is hurting. I want to clarify that my daughter is no a 5-11 year old kid who doesn't know how to take care of an animal. she is a well matured 14 year old girl who just happen to be very attached to her stuffed animals for sentimental reasons ( no that a room decor should be any indication of a maturity level of a kid) she and her sister have taken care of all kinds of animals. they raise and breed chickens- currently they have over 30 chickens THEY tent to, along with a rabbit, a dog and a few parakeets.
The chameleon was something that she has always wanted, and her older sister waited to get it to her for her birthday in June (sorry, i thought it was in christmas, but i was wrong) I can guarantee you that this little fella was not neglected out of cruel intention. he has been extremely loved since the day we got him and this hurt everyone to know that he is in so much pain.
Again, thank you for your help.
I didn’t even notice the room decor and it’s ok...I’m in my 50’s and still love my plushies and Hello Kitty.
Right now you need to make him a hospital bin. Get a medium sized plastic bin and put a towel on the floor of it. Put a small plant and/or some little branches for him to cling onto. Give him his uvb and some heat...watch that temps stay below 82ish. Easy on the misting...just mist a few times a day. I’ve tagged another member who may know of a good vet closer to you, although Orlando shouldn’t be too bad of a drive if need be.
I’m so sorry that this has happened to you, your daughter and your little guy. Of course it’s not intentional! I really hope he pulls thru.
 
Pascal is a he with very advanced MBD from not having the correct UVB lighting or husbandry...
You need a very experienced chameleon vet that can treat him. While he will never live a normal life hopefully they will be able to get him on the right track to help the MBD stop progressing. Honestly... And this is my opinion only. I do not think this chameleon can be rehabilitated based on the jaw deformation and limb deformation. He is very very small for his age as well. IT will be a very long road... and many vet visits. I am sure he is suffering greatly. MBD sucks the calcium out of the bones. Makes them very very easily broken.

I highly recommend reading through this site as it will tell you the correct husbandry https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Look up Sweetpea on facebook. This was a female that was taken in and rehabbed.
I didn’t even notice the room decor and it’s ok...I’m in my 50’s and still love my plushies and Hello Kitty.
Right now you need to make him a hospital bin. Get a medium sized plastic bin and put a towel on the floor of it. Put a small plant and/or some little branches for him to cling onto. Give him his uvb and some heat...watch that temps stay below 82ish. Easy on the misting...just mist a few times a day. I’ve tagged another member who may know of a good vet closer to you, although Orlando shouldn’t be too bad of a drive if need be.
I’m so sorry that this has happened to you, your daughter and your little guy. Of course it’s not intentional! I really hope he pulls thru.
Will do. Thanks for the help
 
Dr. Bruce at https://myavho.com/ is knowledgeable about chameleons and his prices are very reasonable. As @MissSkittles said, hopefully not too much of a drive for you. Give them a call and let them know it's an emergency. Best of luck to you with Pascal...keep us posted.
 
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