Sick Panther with Worms

cryogen

New Member
Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Panther, male, we were told he's about 1 year old. We've had him for a week now.
* Handling - We don't. He was handled yesterday when we took him to the vet and this morning when we tried giving him water. But we don't want to stress him out so we usually don't handle him.
* Feeding - We've been giving him crickets from the pet store that we got him at. He was eating about 6 large ones throughout the day (usually fed him about 2-3 in the morning and then another 3 or so in the late afternoon. We've been giving the feeders turnip greens (rep guy at petstore recommended that).
* Supplements - We hadn't started dusting yet because we realized our supplement powder we had leftover from our first chameleon had become clumpy and just needs to be replaced. Going to go to a different pet store today to get some more because the one we've been going to has been out. One week of no supplements isn't too bad, right? :confused:
* Watering - We have a ZooMed HabbaMist set up that mists every hour for 15 seconds onto his fake plants. I also hand mist throughout the day until I see the water dripping off all the leaves. He drank a lot yesterday when we brought him home from the vet, more than I've ever seen him drink. Was standing with his mouth open underneath where the water drips off his upper plants after misting, drinking it all up and then went and drank off all the leaves he was near.This morning we used a eye dropper to put some water in his mouth because he looked so weak.:(
* Fecal Description - Dark brown with the white urea. Most appears solid, but some have looked slimy. But then again he's been consistently throwing up so it's hard to tell what's poop and what's puke. He's never been tested, but he's throwing up thin, peach colored worms. Vet gave him panacur.
* History - We've only had him a week so no history from us. At the petstore we got him at the guy would hand feed him crickets a lot. He let us do it when he was trying to convince us to buy him over another Panther. So I'm guessing he'd let other people hand feed him before too. Not sure if he could've gotten something from someone with bad hygiene or something, since he never made us wash our hands before hand.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - ZooMed Screen cage. probably about 2 feet in length, 2 feet in width, and about 3 feet tall.
* Lighting - ExoTerra hood ontop of the cage, with two 5.0 UVB bulbs in. On a timer to be on from 7AM -8PM
* Temperature - Temp range of 80-90. lowest overnight temp is 74. our thermometer is malfunctioning in that cage (I got a bit overzealous in my misting near it and it hasn't worked great since, buying a new one today also).
* Humidity - Unknown for now since the hygrometer was part of the faulty thermometer. The HabbaMist is set up and I hand mist regularly.
* Plants - Nope, just some fake ones for now. Searching for some nice chameleon safe ones though.
* Placement - It's in our computer room, not near a vent, there is a fan in the room but it hasn't been on since the weather has been nice. The cage is about 3 feet off the floor on an old table.
* Location - Central Florida


Current Problem - The chameleon started throwing up yesterday morning and his throw up had small, thin, pink colored worms in it. We took him to a local exotic vet and he gave him panacur and told us to come back in 3 weeks for him to get another dose. I'm not 100% on the dose but on our receipt it looks like it was .10 cc. not sure though. He didn't do a fecal, but we brought him the thrown up worms. He was active at the vet's office and then drank a lot when we got home. He didn't eat at all yesterday, started hunting after a cricket that had escaped us in his cage but then gave up on it when it jumped away. wouldn't eat when we offered to hand feed him multiple times that day either (he's lazy since the guy at the pet store always hand fed him). He wasn't looking all that happy yesterday evening, was darker colored than usual. This morning when we woke up he wasn't looking good at all. Very dull colored, no energy, threw up a huge pile of worms and had thrown up more in the middle of the night too. He still won't eat and hasn't been going anywhere near the wet leaves so we've been using a dropper to drop some water in his mouth. Is this normal for a chameleon with a heavy parasite load? Is it ok that he's not eating? Should we try to mush up something for him and dropper feed him?

He also appeared to be sleeping a lot during the day when we first got him. We were just keeping an eye on him and chalking it up to him getting used to his new environment. But now I'm thinking it was all the parasites?

Attached a picture I just took of him and a picture of his worm puke.
 

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Wow-he is in very bad shape, and very, very infested with round worms. Taking him to the Vet was the right thing to do and he needs the Panacur, but he is EXTREMELY dehydrated-his eyes are completely sunken in. Did this Petstore tell you where he came from? Did he look a whole lot better than the picture when you brought him home? You need to be very sure of your temps-and I would keep him at about 85 degrees for now-you do not want to have him dehydrate further from extreme heat.
 
Yeah, I was worried he was dehydrated, but he's just not drinking on his own. Should we keep using the dropper on him and is there anything we can give him for dehydration?

They didn't tell us where he was from, I assumed captive bred since he was so tame. I'm planning on going over there once they open to give them a piece of my mind! :mad:

Here's a pic of him on the first day we got him, it's not great but its all I have.
 

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Mist/shower regularly, if it wont drink on its own, droplets running over its face will see it get some. If its willing to eat at all, offer juicy stuff, he'll have a hard time with digestion being so badly dehydrated.
Getting fluid into him is your only concern at this point. Id be asking the vet about other means of rehydrating him, meanwhile dripping some water/pedalyte mix over his mouth
is worth a shot too.
Best wishes :)

P.S it was dehydrated badly on the day you got it, this has worsened considerably.
 
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No chameleons are friendly, some are just tolerant, but when they are sick they are just to weak to put up a fight. The best bet would be for a Vet to get fluids in them. Or put him in the shower, on a plant or stick, with the water bouncing off the wall and see if you can get him to drink. You want to be careful with a dropper so you do not aspirate him, water can go into their lungs easily. When did his eyes sink in so extremely? I just noticed central Florida where you have a very good cham vet in the way of Dr. Alfonso in Orlando.
 
So do we need to take him to the vet again today? I don't think ours is open on Sundays. We live in Melbourne and took him to Aloha Pet & Bird Hospital and he saw Dr. Fogelberg. Can you give me the info for Dr. Alfonso?

Is it ok for him to drink the shower water? I wasn't sure about the chlorine and such in it. We've been giving him filtered water.

His eyes just started looking that bad this morning.
 
Thanks! It looks like he's closed today too. :(

If we set him up in the shower and do the water/pedalyte mixture will he be ok? I'm not sure how knowledgeable the emergency vets in the area are and right now they would be our only choice if we needed to take him in today.
 
Any water!!! , at this point thats not a concern. I do suggest another vet visit about hydration as soon as is possible, if your lizard continues to dehydrate his renal system will shut down, and death will follow quickly after without intervention. Time is ticking.
p.s not sure if you can put a canula into a cham, tiny veins, (tail maybe) but sub skin fluid injection/s may be done, any vet is better than no vet at this point.

His eyes just started looking that bad this morning...

Cryrogen, his state of dehydration indicates it's been a problem for some time. Not being familiar with the normal appearance of a chams eyes, I suggest you didn't notice till it became quite apparent. :)
 
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if his eyes suddenly sunk in today like that, his systems may already be shutting down. I would get him in the shower now, warm water bouncing off the wall with him in a plant or on a stick or vine, and leave him in there for 20 minutes making sure he is only getting the spray off and not getting hit directly with the water. It certainly cannot hurt at this point. The fact that he drank alot yesterday concerns me.
 
Is it ok for him to drink the shower water? I wasn't sure about the chlorine and such in it. We've been giving him filtered water.

For concerns with chlorine, you can use a pump sprayer with warmed up filtered water and place a large ficus or any plant for that matter in the bathtub and give a shower that way. If you have the kind for spraying insecticide it has a locking mechanism on the trigger so you can pump it up and leave it on for several minutes at a time. Of course, get a brand new sprayer from HD or Lowes that has not had anything in it and wash it thoroughly before using. Spray should be more like rain droplets than a fine mist and give him time to start licking his lips before continuing to spray him. Temp of the water should be slighly more than room temp. If he freaks out when the water hits him its either too hot or too cold so watch for his reaction before continuing. Hope this helps and good luck with your cham.
 
Exactly, never the less, it needs fluids NOW!
Your 'day we got him' photo also shows a bad state of dehydration.
You seem a bit defensive, please understand, our concern is for your lizard and we are not judging you,
its not your fault, but if you dont get off your computer and do something, your lizard will deteriorate beyond help soon.
 
There is a danger in animals that infested with Panacur killing the worms and the decaying worms causing sepsis in the animal. I hope you can get him through this, he looks like a beautiful animal.
 
Thanks everyone.

Just so you know, I'm not just sitting around doing nothing. My husband is taking care of him and I'm telling him all your suggestions.

I'm calling the emergency vet now to see if they will see him.

PS. He's hating the shower. But he's in there now under my husband's supervision. we put our shower head on mist and have it bouncing off the wall on him.
 
Called all the emergency vets in the area, no one will see chameleons.

Guess we're just going to have to hope the shower and pedalyte keep him going for the day so he can go to the vet again tomorrow morning. :(
 
You are doing the best you can. I would give him a good 15 minutes in the shower now, get him back in his cage and keep him at mid 80's undisturbed, and then repeat maybe around 5-6 o'clock. Then see about getting him into the Vet. I suspect that even though the Panacur is not the culprit, the large amounts of roundworms dieing from the Panacur are.
 
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