question about inverted chameleon

[themonsheshe]

This morning I woke up to my chameleon not acting himself. He's fairly dark, and what's got me worried now is he seems to need to be almost inverted, head up but back to the ground.when I held the animal it seemed to need to be that way as well in my hand. He moves quickly to this position when he gets there doesnt seem to move. Any Ideas? Thx in advance

 

[dodolah]

This morning I woke up to my chameleon not acting himself. He's fairly dark, and what's got me worried now is he seems to need to be almost inverted, head up but back to the ground.when I held the animal it seemed to need to be that way as well in my hand. He moves quickly to this position when he gets there doesnt seem to move. Any Ideas? Thx in advance

There are 2 suspicions:
1. What is the temperature? Did he do that when he bask?


2. The most likely one is the case of Upper Respiratory Infection.
put your ear real close to him and listen well.
Did he wheeze when he's breathing? coughing? popping, crackling, or meowing noise?
Any excessive mucus or bubble in his mouth?

either way i think it safe to say that you will need a vet soon.

 

[RhettusMaximus]

Vet

Yah listen for any ugly noises when it's breathing. Take him to the vet anyways, it's alwasy good to get a checkup and it will alleviate worry from your mind.

 

[themonsheshe]

I believe it had something to do with digestion. noticed he took a larger than average poop. Ive always fed a few meal worms and never had a problem( my cham wont eat superworms) maybe he had a few too many?

 

[Scooter]

Is there any reason you are not feeding crickets ? What is your lighting like ? how ofetn are you misting ?

 

[dodolah]

I believe it had something to do with digestion. noticed he took a larger than average poop. Ive always fed a few meal worms and never had a problem( my cham wont eat superworms) maybe he had a few too many?

mealworms generally are not a good staple feeder for your cham.
you should stop giving him mealworms daily.
There are many feeder options that better nutrition wise than mealworms.
If he does not like superworms (like mine), you can try:
crix, dubia, silkies, goliath worm, house flies, and Phoenix worm.

 

[themonsheshe]

No my staples are always crickets and silkies. Just unfortunately the batch of silkworms i got have been painfully slow to grow, and i dunno why. the pet store had run outta crickets over the holidays i guess, so i had to wait a couple days, i fed a few more mealworms,( i always offer a few) and in this situation i upped the offering. Like i mentioned my cham wont eat superworms,and he gets the standard variety of treats waxworms, butterworms,phoenix...etc. He seems to be back to normal after he pooped, which is a relief, and ive got my eye on him. My chameleon free ranges in a fairly large room, as far as chameleon cages go, and there several light sources, automated misting...

Hey Dodolah, do you breed housefly's, or does your animal just catch the ones around your place?.Id like to try and get some going but im a little worried about bacteria. unfortunatley roaches are not an option in Canada.

 

[Jordan]

Hey Dodolah, do you breed housefly's, or does your animal just catch the ones around your place?

No offense intended but that line just made me laugh.

 

[nightcrawler]

does it look like he is howling at the moon or something? mine did something like the howling at the moon thing and i didnt know what it was. ill show you a picture.

 

[Brandy]

if that cham is a female its hard to tell from that shot but the chubby-ness makes me think female and prego she might need to lay eggs and that head back position is a clear indicator of egg laying issues. I may be wrong just my first impression of the pic

 

[nightcrawler]

no it is a male. thats a good idea tho i havent thought of it that way.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

No my staples are always crickets and silkies. Just unfortunately the batch of silkworms i got have been painfully slow to grow, and i dunno why. the pet store had run outta crickets over the holidays i guess, so i had to wait a couple days, i fed a few more mealworms,( i always offer a few) and in this situation i upped the offering. Like i mentioned my cham wont eat superworms,and he gets the standard variety of treats waxworms, butterworms,phoenix...etc. He seems to be back to normal after he pooped, which is a relief, and ive got my eye on him. My chameleon free ranges in a fairly large room, as far as chameleon cages go, and there several light sources, automated misting...

Hey Dodolah, do you breed housefly's, or does your animal just catch the ones around your place?.Id like to try and get some going but im a little worried about bacteria. unfortunatley roaches are not an option in Canada.

Here's where you can get some flies

http://www.shopspiderpharm.com/servlet/Detail?no=26

-Brad

 

[dodolah]

No my staples are always crickets and silkies. Just unfortunately the batch of silkworms i got have been painfully slow to grow, and i dunno why. the pet store had run outta crickets over the holidays i guess, so i had to wait a couple days, i fed a few more mealworms,( i always offer a few) and in this situation i upped the offering. Like i mentioned my cham wont eat superworms,and he gets the standard variety of treats waxworms, butterworms,phoenix...etc. He seems to be back to normal after he pooped, which is a relief, and ive got my eye on him. My chameleon free ranges in a fairly large room, as far as chameleon cages go, and there several light sources, automated misting...

Hey Dodolah, do you breed housefly's, or does your animal just catch the ones around your place?.Id like to try and get some going but im a little worried about bacteria. unfortunatley roaches are not an option in Canada.

NOOO lol
I buy the pupae from Kammers. I'll try the spidershop that Brad suggested.
It's cheaper.
There are bacterias and nastiness if you catch them from outside.
But, the one you buy is clean as they are never exposed to nasty stuffs.

heck, i say they are even cleaner than your average crix.
(as long as you don't feed them with rotten foods)

 

[buzkill]

does it look like he is howling at the moon or something? mine did something like the howling at the moon thing and i didnt know what it was. ill show you a picture.

my cham always did this after she ate....not all the time though, mostly when it seemed she had a larger cricket....

 

[Justin Carl]

the howling at the moon thing.... i do have a reason for that.
1) when my cham(veiled) drinks a lot right under his dripper. the dripper must me going at a high speed, he sits under it and collects a ton of water in his mouth than "howls at the moon" to swallow it.
2) he also does it when i give him his liquid vitamins. about 3ml right into his mouth.