so sad

[mountaindani]

Was doing my nightly misting and visiting with my wc pygmy Chameleons, who have lived with me since spring of this year, and I found my female dead with her eyes sunk and black patches on her sides. What could have done this? They have tropical UV lamp, and I feed them tiny dusted crickets or wingless fruit flies. She is usually a real good eater, its my male I watch close because he's the picky eater and I can't think if I seen her eat in the last few days. She was such a pretty little thing. What did I do wrong?
Dani

 

[carol5208]

First of all, I am sorry for the loss of your cham. Please fill out the following and let's see if there is something that is maybe wrong with your set up. Don't be hard on yourself. https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[morpheon]

I am not pygmy pro at all, however i know that pygmys can play dead, especially when they are scared. Is that something possible? Since it was nightly misting, maybe you surprised her?

 

[mountaindani]

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Kenyan Pygmy, WC unknown age, adopted spring of this year from a reptile show
* Handling - Never
* Feeding - Fed every second day about 3 crickets each and wingless fruit flies once in a while, yet they aren't crazy for them. Crickets are about 1/4 inch and dusted with Rep-Cal D3 a few times a month
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? shallow dish. How often and how long to you mist? Once a day. Do you see your chameleon drinking? yes
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. dark with occasional white and solid. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 12 by 12 by 12 exo terra glass with screen top
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? repti glo 5 uvb
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? room temps. How do you measure these temps? mid 70's
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? between 50 and 70 How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? hydrometer
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? potho and mini palm planted in organic soil
* Placement - Where is your cage located? my office a quiet room. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? nope. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? 2 feet off the ground
* Location - west coast of BC. Vancouver Island

Current Problem - She died

 

[Elizadolots]

I know nothing about pygmys (other than that they are SOOOO CUTE!!!) but I wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss.

 

[mountaindani]

omg!!! she could have been playing dead!?!?!? her eyes were sunk and dry and she had black patches on her!!! Please don't tell me she was faking it!!!

 

[carol5208]

Maybe someone on here has experience with Pygmy's and can help you with your set up and see if something is amiss. I hope someone will respond so you can get to the bottom of what is going on. It may have nothing to do with your care at all.

 

[Elizadolots]

Well...again, I don't know pygmys but I sincerely doubt they could "play dead" to that point. My experience with playing dead was with my Fischer's...he just closed his eyes and curled up in the sleepy pose....no sunken eyes, no weird patches....

 

[mountaindani]

Thanks Elizadolots... the thought that she may have been still alive would have been too much for me. I do hope to find out what went wrong because I don't want to lose my male also.

 

[Metric]

From what I've heard, WC pygmies don't often last very long in captivity, do to the many stress factors they face and potential risk of carry parasites.

But again, I don't keep them so I cant judge your husbandry unfortunately : /

 

[mountaindani]

I actually had my reservations about purchasing them because they were wc, and I don't think I will do it again. I never planned on breeding them, I just thought they were really darling.