problem

[scottyb]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass case with a side air ventialtion and wire frame on top
Lighting - 75w until today but 40 watt since ive had it
Temperature - in the shade it varied between 60f-65f but since got the new bulb its 70f
Humidity - moderate between 50-70
Plants - broken bamboo from own garden
Location - In the living room, warmest part in the house

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - A 1 year old female veiled
Handling - Once a day at night
Feeding - Tried varied amount of worms but no intrest so only crickets and dusting the crickets in calcium powder and once a week a drop of cod liver oil before feeding directed by shop
Supplements - UVB supplement once a week
Watering - spay atleast 3 times a day or when humidity levels drop
Fecal Description - normal grey pellet shape
Current Problem -
Hello
I have had my chamleon for about 2 months and since the last week or two ive noticed alot of change, it doesnt move around much and closes its eyes like it just goes for a nap and it even does it when i handle it, on a few occasions it has regurgitated a cricket that it has eaten which has never happened since this last week or two.
I thought it might be because of the cold spell that hit britain last week because the temperature was alot lower than it should be so i took measures by buying a more powerful wattage bulb and insulating the top of the cage but it still seems lethargic, it does eat one or two crickets a day but i was told it eats up to 5! Her colour has changed dramtically and it gets alot more stressed when i go to handle her latley when before there was no trouble I also keep a bowl of wax worms in its case but nothing intrests her even if i try and vary her diet. I see her drink water which i boil before hand and i have done everything i have read about on the internet and what the shop has told me and its been fine till now, what am i doing wrong and what is wrong with my chameleon?

Please feel free to ask me any other questions because i just would like my chameleon to be normal again.

Thanks in advanced

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I don't know what's wrong, but I did notice a couple of husbandry practices that I have questions about.
How are you administering the cod liver oil? a drop a week is too much preformed vitamin A.
What do you mean when you say you are supplementing with UVB once a week?

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

 

[scottyb]

a drop of cod liver oil on a cricket then fed to the chameleon, if once a week is to much how often should i do it?

http://www.freshmarine.com/t-rex-solar-drops.html

As i dont use a uvb light i drop this either on the tip of the chameleons mouth or on a live cricket which is then fed to her.

Thanks

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Hmmmmmmm.
I cannot stress enough how much I believe a UVB light to be an essential part of proper chameleon husbandry.
I would not use the drops you are using.
I recommend a Reptisun 5.0 linear tube.
The drop of oil should be given once or twice a month (in my opinion)
The link I provided you is a good source of information for veiled husbandry.

-Brad

 

[scottyb]

ok thanks for your input and will look to invest in one.

But why has my chameleon become so lethargic all the time all of a sudden?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Do you have a laying bin for her?
Can you post a picture?

Again, can't really diagnose a problem, but can try to help you troubleshoot.
lighting is essential (and missing)
hypervitaminosis is possible (too much vitamin A)
She may be cycling a clutch of eggs (needs a place to lay them)

The list could go on and on ....

Do you have a qualified reptile vet with chameleon experience?

-Brad

 

[scottyb]

theres quite a few vets around my area im sure one of them would be but il add a uvb light in tommorow and gut load my crickets with alot more nutritious foods and see where we go from there, do they get affected by very cold weather because thats when it all started. But here are some pictures, dont know if they will help but maybe you can give me some tips.

thanks

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I have to go back to work and don't have time to address all of the habitat and husbandry issues that have come to light with those pictures.
I am glad you found the forums.
She seems very dehydrated.
PLEASE go to the link I provided and do some reading. Correcting her environment is the first step toward helping her.

-Brad

 

[smyth]

that cham doesnt look well for a 1 year old, my old female was small for her age but she had alot more meat on her legs than urs, if ur keeping ur cham in a tank like that ur goin to need a thermostat which im suspecting u havent got one as i cant see one anywhere on ur setup which means shell be overheating. her eyes look sunken too in that top pic from what i can make out, this cud be dehydration or if uve not been using a uvb tube then it cud be anything .

 

[scottyb]

well she eats and drinks regulary because i see it, i take it that a uvb light will give some sort of energy as they need it?

 

[smyth]

yes a uvb tube is needed for a cham to grow and live healthily ,

 

[kenya]

I am going to be blunt with this, but this is what you should change right away and at least in the next week. You can wait a bit on the new cage if you have to, but I don't suggest it if you can get one now.

Get the UVB light. Reptisun 5.0 linear tube style fluorescent is the best and you can get it at a great price ($13.99?) from lllreptile.com. You can get a fixture for it at Home Depot or Lowes.

Ditch the sand. It is a horrible impaction risk and chameleons need to not have substrate. If you have to have something, use paper towel.

Get a screen or mesh cage as soon as you can. lllreptile.com is a good place for this as well and they are even having a sale on the 24"x24"x48" cages If you are strapped for cash (who isn't) get a Reptarium- they are cheaper.

Get some biovine from a petstore or nice branches from outside (bake them to sanitize first) for her to perch on. Bamboo is very slick and she needs more perches.

Get some live plants for her- ficus benjamina, schefflera, poths, wandering jew- these are perfect. You can get them for a deal at Home Depot right now. Look them up online before you go so that you know what you are looking for. Let us know when you have some and we will help you with how to repot them and give them to your cham. You could also get a few more fake plants to fill in holes. Chameleons like privacy and she is probably stressed out by being so exposed.

Stop feeding her so many waxworms. One waxworm a week is almost too many- they are addicting to chams and very high in fat and not very nutritious.

Start gutloading crickets, superworms, and roaches (whatever you can get of these three) You can use my recipe; here is a copy paste from another thread.

"What I do for gutload is get a whole bunch of veggies and fruits together (think blueberries, strawberries, whole mango, several different varieties of whole squash, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, whole yucca root, prickly pear leaves, apples, a whole plantain, whole kiwis, whole oranges, whole limes, carrots, whole zucchini, whole yams, dandelion greens, endive, parsley, whole eggplant, brussel sprouts, whole sweet potatoes, green beans, whole (no top) pineapple, and lots of others that I can't even think of- it is an all day project) and wash them off, blend them together and dole the mix out into ice cube trays and put them in freezer bags. I can then pop out one cube at a time for my gutloading containers and it seems to work fine (and has for the last year) When I say "whole" I mean skin and all! Just wash well and use organic when you can. The more variety, the better. I also use a nice dry mix that I blend with a coffee grinder. It has lots of stuff- some of it is bee pollen, wheat germ, 10 grain cereal, sunflower seeds, kelp powder, dry egg yolk, hemp seed nuts, spirulina, irish moss powder, dry yucca root, alfalfa leaves, lecithin, and lots of other stuff that I can't think of off the top of my head. I offer both mixes- the wet one has enough moisture for the bugs so you don't have to provide water gel. I put in enough for a day or two and clean often- it is prone to mold so only put in however much your bugs can eat that day.

If you have problems finding some of these ingredients, check the frozen section of the store. Read the ingredients and make sure nothing is added- that it is just the fruit or veggie. This is how I get berries and some of the other fruit year round. You can also check health food stores- I work at one so all of this is available to me."



She is super dehydrated. You should try giving her a warm shower by placing her on a safe plant in the bathtub and bouncing warm water off the wall so the spray comes back and hits the plant. Leave her like that for 45 minutes or so. You should be misting her at least three times a day for 5 minute long sessions- her eyes should be plump, not sunken in like that. It may take a bit to get her to drink, but keep spraying her gently and use warm water.


Do you supplement her with calcium and vitamin powders? How often? What kind?

I am not trying to be mean, I really want to help. I hope she gets better

 

[scottyb]

calcium powder that i dust the crickets in before i feed her but i must get some vitamins
well thanks for your help and il start straight away and il keep you updated, thanks again

 

[kenya]

well thanks for your help and il start straight away and il keep you updated, thanks again

No problem. Ask all the questions you can and read Brad's site. Keep us updated! We just want your chameleon to be well.

 

[tburgcris]

Brad is right. She seems to be dehyderated. Good luck...

 

[scottyb]

how long do you think it would take her to become hydrated again if i soak her 3 times a day for a while?

 

[ciafardo 4]

is she drinking from one of those bowls?

 

[ciafardo 4]

i mean when you say you see her drinking is it when you mist or from that bowl

 

[ciafardo 4]

you also need to get rid of that substrate have you seen her ingest any of that before

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."Temperature - in the shade it varied between 60f-65f but since got the new bulb its 70f"...the basking area should be in the high 70's to low 80's. The ambient temperature is low too. You need to provide a UVB long linear tube light or daily exposure to direct sunlight. The UVB from either source should not pass through glass or plastic. Exposure to UVB allows the chameleon to produce D3 which allows it to use the calcium in its diet...so its important.

You said..."Feeding - Tried varied amount of worms but no intrest so only crickets and dusting the crickets in calcium powder and once a week a drop of cod liver oil before feeding directed by shop". IMHO once a week for the cod liver oil it too often. Most feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous, so its important to dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder.

You said..."Supplements - UVB supplement once a week"...UVB is not a supplement. Supplements used include phos.-free calcium (I explained how to use it above) and a vitamin powder and if the chameleon gets no exposure to the sunlight, a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder.

The calcium/D3 can be used twice a month. D3 from supplements can build up in the system so don't overdo it.

I use a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene will not build up in the system like preformed vitamin A will. Excess preformed vitamin A can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD. Because its not known for sure that chameleons can convert beta carotene to vitamin A some people use a little preformed once in a while.

Gutloading the insects with a wide assortment of greens and veggies would also be a good idea.

Has she got a place to dig to lay eggs? Unmated veiled females can lay eggs.
She is old enough to lay them and this might be part of the problem too.

You said..."Fecal Description - normal grey pellet shape"...there should be a white part too. I hope the kidneys are okay.

Your chameleon does not look good to me. The way she holds the body, the eyes and your description of her (sleeping, not moving much, regurgitating, etc.) makes me feel that she needs to see a vet NOW. It could be that the low temperatures have played a good part in this but I'm worried that there is more to it than that.

Good luck with her!