[Photos coming very shortly, my computer just screwed up....]
VIDEO of Clark pooping can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDAiGCjKTFM
Hello all,
I've now had clark since January and all has been well since my "first time paranoia" has settled. However, over the past week or two, Clark has been developing some weird fecal problems and I'm not exactly sure why or where to go from here....any advice would be appreciated.
Long story short:
Clark has a large swollen area directly BEHIND his rectum (as in, closer to his tail). The area is quite visibly swollen and feels "squishy" to the touch...it certainly doesn't feel "right". Clark has had this for a little over a week now but his behavior has otherwise not changed at all (he is eating, drinking, active, docile colors, etc.)
Today, I witnessed Clark defecating. Several things:
1) His stool was in several pieces...it was mildly formed but it was quite soft and diarrhetic. He pooped 4 small stools quickly, and then a 5th (this one was VERY liquidy) was stuck on his ass. He began to wipe it along a stick to clean himself off, at which point I gently cleaned him up (he did not have any problems with me handling him nor with me gently wiping his butt...in fact it almost seemed like he could tell i was cleaning him; not sure, but anyway he wasn't stresssed by my touching his rectum/swollen area).
2) Swelling seems to change in size with his defecation. It was noticeably bigger immediately before he went and smaller afterwards (although it is still noticeably swollen).
3) Urate was totally normal
4) Clark is my first chameleon so I am not sure if this is normal, but his feces (before this problem began) were HUGE in comparison to the size of Clark's body. Both me and my gf are absolutely amazed at how a tiny chameleon can drop a 1" stool... again, not sure if this is just normal for chameleons and i'm not used to it as a lack of experience or if the large sizes of his stools before this problem began might be an indication of something else?
Initial thoughts:
Impacted stools? - I thought this because his stool came out in multiple pieces and the swelling. On the other hand, it seems like impacted stools should be more dry as opposed to more wet, right? I don't know too much about them but I'm just trying to reason this out...
Diarrhea? - If not impaction, then diarrhea? Not sure why he would get it or how to treat exactly besides offering him more water......but also if it was diarrhea would the urate not be more dried out (orangish in color?) His urate was pretty much white like a normal healthy one should be...
General caretaking stuff you will want to know:
-uvb, heat bulb, gradient from 70-85
-large freerange (floor to ceiling and about 3 ft wide, plenty big enough for him)
-Hand mist him multiple times a day; I witness him drink from leaves and occasionally drinks directly from the misting nozzle.
-Multivit 2x month; Cal+D3 2x month; Calcium daily
-Although its impossible to track daily, I do see at least on avg of 3 stools / week so I am guessing he must be pooping at least 3-5 times a week (assuming I don't see every stool he drops)
-I was away from my home for the past 3 days and Clark has been eating exclusively mealworms for these 3 days. Over the past week I have increased his mealworm count and decreased his cricket count... Can this be part of the problem? I did find some undigested mealworm casing in his stool...but it just seems almost too sudden of a reaction to have been caused by the increased number of mealworms I am feeding him. I've already switched back to exlcusively crickets as of today just incase....
VIDEO of Clark pooping can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDAiGCjKTFM
Hello all,
I've now had clark since January and all has been well since my "first time paranoia" has settled. However, over the past week or two, Clark has been developing some weird fecal problems and I'm not exactly sure why or where to go from here....any advice would be appreciated.
Long story short:
Clark has a large swollen area directly BEHIND his rectum (as in, closer to his tail). The area is quite visibly swollen and feels "squishy" to the touch...it certainly doesn't feel "right". Clark has had this for a little over a week now but his behavior has otherwise not changed at all (he is eating, drinking, active, docile colors, etc.)
Today, I witnessed Clark defecating. Several things:
1) His stool was in several pieces...it was mildly formed but it was quite soft and diarrhetic. He pooped 4 small stools quickly, and then a 5th (this one was VERY liquidy) was stuck on his ass. He began to wipe it along a stick to clean himself off, at which point I gently cleaned him up (he did not have any problems with me handling him nor with me gently wiping his butt...in fact it almost seemed like he could tell i was cleaning him; not sure, but anyway he wasn't stresssed by my touching his rectum/swollen area).
2) Swelling seems to change in size with his defecation. It was noticeably bigger immediately before he went and smaller afterwards (although it is still noticeably swollen).
3) Urate was totally normal
4) Clark is my first chameleon so I am not sure if this is normal, but his feces (before this problem began) were HUGE in comparison to the size of Clark's body. Both me and my gf are absolutely amazed at how a tiny chameleon can drop a 1" stool... again, not sure if this is just normal for chameleons and i'm not used to it as a lack of experience or if the large sizes of his stools before this problem began might be an indication of something else?
Initial thoughts:
Impacted stools? - I thought this because his stool came out in multiple pieces and the swelling. On the other hand, it seems like impacted stools should be more dry as opposed to more wet, right? I don't know too much about them but I'm just trying to reason this out...
Diarrhea? - If not impaction, then diarrhea? Not sure why he would get it or how to treat exactly besides offering him more water......but also if it was diarrhea would the urate not be more dried out (orangish in color?) His urate was pretty much white like a normal healthy one should be...
General caretaking stuff you will want to know:
-uvb, heat bulb, gradient from 70-85
-large freerange (floor to ceiling and about 3 ft wide, plenty big enough for him)
-Hand mist him multiple times a day; I witness him drink from leaves and occasionally drinks directly from the misting nozzle.
-Multivit 2x month; Cal+D3 2x month; Calcium daily
-Although its impossible to track daily, I do see at least on avg of 3 stools / week so I am guessing he must be pooping at least 3-5 times a week (assuming I don't see every stool he drops)
-I was away from my home for the past 3 days and Clark has been eating exclusively mealworms for these 3 days. Over the past week I have increased his mealworm count and decreased his cricket count... Can this be part of the problem? I did find some undigested mealworm casing in his stool...but it just seems almost too sudden of a reaction to have been caused by the increased number of mealworms I am feeding him. I've already switched back to exlcusively crickets as of today just incase....
