Please help????

L

littlesparta

New Member
Please help I've had my chameleon for 2.5 weeks and I don't think he has eaten, now he is very lethargic and i've found him hanging upside down from branches a few times is this normal? I've tried using a feeding cup but he didn't eat anything from it in over a week and a half??? I have ordered reptaid online and am planning on giving him some of this mixed in with ground up gut loaded dusted crickets and pediasure through a syringe.

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Graceful, male, age 13 months he is around 5-6 inches in the body and I've had him for 2.5 weeks

Handling - when I have been feeding him bug juice because he is not eating :( - he does appear to like being handled and he always goes a very light color when I pick him up

Feeding - the bug juice as of now he lets the crickets I put in his cage crawl over him and wont bother with them at all

Supplements - I have multi vits and calcium dusts for the crickets

Watering -I have set up a drip system and mist the cage twice a day and I have still seen him drinking.

Fecal Description - his urates are very white and he's fecal matter still appears green and tends to splatter over the bottom of his cage it is not solid

History - Bought him at the local pet store, he is captive bred has not been eating

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 3 ft by 2 ft by 2 ft 2 sides are mesh and 3 are solid walls

Lighting - zoo med repti sun hood with UVB 5.0 18inch fluorescent bulb his basking lamp is the repti basking spot lamp by zoo med 50w with double reflector

Temperature - basking zone is 94 and his cooler areas vary from this down to 72 and at night the cage is dropping to 66


Humidity - is reading 50% - 60% at the lower end and after a good misting around 80%

Plants - all fake branches, jungle vines and leafy plants for hiding and dripping water.

Placement - IN the corner of the room 4 foot off floor his basking spot is at 7 foot and hidden by leaves

Location - Indiana USA

Current Problem he is not eating and is very lethargic found him hanging upside down is this even normal?
 
Dosent sound normal, your temp might be a little high but that wouldn't cause this. He might have some sorta bacteria or illness. I would see a vet a talk to the pet shop you got it from. I generally won't buy from pet shops because most are just interested in money., and will sell anything no matter the health. Sounds like you might have bought a sick chameleon.
 
If possible, you may want to try another type of feeder. sometimes they get bored with just one thing and will stop eating it. try dubias, waxworms, silks, etc.
 
Your temps are too high, and splattering poop usually means parasites. You need to get a fecal to a Vet, and more than likley the animal to the Vet. I am highly doubting you have a CB animal there. What are you putting in the bug juice?
 
Also-are you measuring temps with a digital thermometer-looks like it is in a glass cage and the temps may be much higher than you think.
 
It is an analogue hi range gauge I have three in there.

Should I buy a lower watt bulb?

I had some meal worms in there the first couple of days but read they were hard to digest

Bug juice I used crickets that are gut loaded with flukers gut loader, pediasure original no flavor, and a little water treated With reptisafe
 
If it will eat mealworms you might want to try it at this point-just to get it eating. There is not such thing as a good analog thermometer-they are not designed to measure a basking spot temperature.
 
littlesparta said:
I've tried using a feeding cup but he didn't eat anything from it in over a week and a half??? Handling - when I have been feeding him bug juice because he is not eating :( - he does appear to like being handled and he always goes a very light color when I pick him up

Watering -I have set up a drip system and mist the cage twice a day and I have still seen him drinking.

Fecal Description - his urates are very white and he's fecal matter still appears green and tends to splatter over the bottom of his cage it is not solid

History - Bought him at the local pet store, he is captive bred has not been eating
Click to expand...

First, he is NOT captive bred (almost 100% sure of this).
He does NOT like to be handled. Turning color when picked up is usually a sign of stress/anxiety. But if he's sick he can't or won't show his normal color range.

Many chams, especially wildcaughts don't automatically understand what a dripper or a feeding cup is. He won't necessarily use the dripper to drink and may not see the feeders in a cup. If there isn't enough foliage cover in the cage he won't be drinking off leaves and able to hide enough. And, if he feels vulnerable and exposed to view he won't hunt either.

Green feces is not good...a sign of serious infection and/or parasite load. Take a fecal sample to a herp vet along with the cham.
 
Carlton said:
Many chams, especially wildcaughts don't automatically understand what a dripper or a feeding cup is. He won't necessarily use the dripper to drink and may not see the feeders in a cup. If there isn't enough foliage cover in the cage he won't be drinking off leaves and able to hide enough. And, if he feels vulnerable and exposed to view he won't hunt either.



He does drink from the dripper I have witnessed this over the past two weeks there are plenty of leaves he will bend his down off a branch to reach the water. He did eat the meal worm from a bowl on the first couple of days just hasn't touched the crickets and I took away the meal worms because the forum said they were bad.
Click to expand...
 
In the new pics he is definatly dehydrated.... This may be secondary to something else... Eyes are sunk in and tail is deflated and shrunk in. Increase mistings and drip rates. Allow the drips to land on plant material ... Get to a vet asap... Good Luck!
 
I spoke to the pet store today, they deal with reptiles a lot and were very helpful.

They said he is definitely a captive bred (they only purchase captive bred reptiles they do not import ever) the chameleon was born in Ohio and they only purchase them from the breeder when they are mature.

I am taking him to the vet on Friday this was the first appointment they had available.
 
littlesparta said:
Carlton said:
Many chams, especially wildcaughts don't automatically understand what a dripper or a feeding cup is. He won't necessarily use the dripper to drink and may not see the feeders in a cup. If there isn't enough foliage cover in the cage he won't be drinking off leaves and able to hide enough. And, if he feels vulnerable and exposed to view he won't hunt either.



He does drink from the dripper I have witnessed this over the past two weeks there are plenty of leaves he will bend his down off a branch to reach the water. He did eat the meal worm from a bowl on the first couple of days just hasn't touched the crickets and I took away the meal worms because the forum said they were bad.
Click to expand...

A dehydrated cham won't eat much if anything. The glands on the tip of their tongue dry out making it much harder for him to catch prey. And, dehydration affects his muscle tone (as in tongue control) too. He is VERY dehydrated. What is the humidity level in your cage? Even with drinking often, if the cage air is too dry he can lose ground between mistings. The cage should really be pretty full of live plants so he can hide from view and this will also keep the cage humidity up much higher.
Click to expand...
 
I would stop the "Bug Juice" and rehydrate as much as much as possible until you can get to the vet(asap). Unless the juice is the vets idea.
 
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