Sudden change in urate

[mbist]

So I came home from work and found a strange urate at the bottom on Raymond’s enclosure. I was immediately concerned, first by how orange it was. I know orange urate=sign of dehydration, but I’ve never seen a urate from him this orange. His dripper is on 2-3 hours everyday and I see him drink often. His physical appearance doesn’t show any other signs dehydration (the photos of him are from just a few days ago). I also noticed there was no poo with it, strange again but not too bad. Then I took it out for examination, and my feeling of confusion doubled. It was slimy all around, but the urate itself felt hard as a ROCK, it reminded me of kidney stones. Also it looked like something else was in it, I really have no idea what it is. If you look at the photos you’ll know what I mean, it looks like a white string of something. Does this warrant a vet visit, should I wait and observe his future urates, there are many things going through my mind. Does anyone have an idea of what could be going on?

 

[PoseidonTheChameleon]

Well that white thing looks like a sperm plug. The urate does look kind of weird, what do you feed him?

 

[mbist]

Well that white thing looks like a sperm plug. The urate does look kind of weird, what do you feed him?

He eats crickets that are gut loaded with a variety of veggies (collard greens or kale majority + carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, squash or whatever else I pick up minority). He rarely gets superworms as treat, he’s on a diet because his fat pads on his face and the rear of his casque were getting a little plump. I also give him horn worms occasionally, but because of the cold weather they’ve been more difficult to get. He’s kinda picky, never has showed interest in dubias and was oddly a little scared of silk worms. Should I be concerned about the sperm plug? I’ll look into that as well

 

[mbist]

He eats crickets that are gut loaded with a variety of veggies (collard greens or kale majority + carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, squash or whatever else I pick up minority). He rarely gets superworms as treat, he’s on a diet because his fat pads on his face and the rear of his casque were getting a little plump. I also give him horn worms occasionally, but because of the cold weather they’ve been more difficult to get. He’s kinda picky, never has showed interest in dubias and was oddly a little scared of silk worms. Should I be concerned about the sperm plug? I’ll look into that as well

Forgot to mention he only gets 2-3 crickets every 3 days and I put him on his “diet” about a month ago

 

[Shanar808]

Those long pieces definitely look like sperm plugs. Here’s a video that shows the sperm plug being pushed out:

But the white parts of the urates do look a bit odd, my chameleon passed a urate or 2 that looked similar but only a couple and not that many rounded shapes. Hopefully someone here has experienced the same or maybe a quick call to the vet will help.

 

[PoseidonTheChameleon]

Yeah I'm not really sure what's going on. @Beman Can you help?

 

[caroline?]

Those long pieces definitely look like sperm plugs. Here’s a video that shows the sperm plug being pushed out:

But the white parts of the urates do look a bit odd, my chameleon passed a urate or 2 that looked similar but only a couple and not that many rounded shapes. Hopefully someone here has experienced the same or maybe a quick call to the vet will help.

okay im not the original poster but i have a question about that video, I honestly never knew this and idk if it's cool or im disgusted but anyways is this something you would take your cham to a vet to do or something you can do at home also how often do you need to check them for this? and is it something they can pass themselves??
sorry i have so many questions..

 

[PoseidonTheChameleon]

okay im not the original poster but i have a question about that video, I honestly never knew this and idk if it's cool or im disgusted but anyways is this something you would take your cham to a vet to do or something you can do at home also how often do you need to check them for this? and is it something they can pass themselves??
sorry i have so many questions..

They usually pass by themselves. If they get stuck, this is what you can try if you feel comfortable doing it.

 

[Beman]

So I came home from work and found a strange urate at the bottom on Raymond’s enclosure. I was immediately concerned, first by how orange it was. I know orange urate=sign of dehydration, but I’ve never seen a urate from him this orange. His dripper is on 2-3 hours everyday and I see him drink often. His physical appearance doesn’t show any other signs dehydration (the photos of him are from just a few days ago). I also noticed there was no poo with it, strange again but not too bad. Then I took it out for examination, and my feeling of confusion doubled. It was slimy all around, but the urate itself felt hard as a ROCK, it reminded me of kidney stones. Also it looked like something else was in it, I really have no idea what it is. If you look at the photos you’ll know what I mean, it looks like a white string of something. Does this warrant a vet visit, should I wait and observe his future urates, there are many things going through my mind. Does anyone have an idea of what could be going on?

Hi there... IME... so on the right the stringy thing is a sperm plug. The left side stringy thing looks like mucus. Then you have the urate but looks as though he was holding this one which is why it is more crystallized.

Have you gotten a fecal done to rule out parasite issues?

 

[mbist]

Hi there... IME... so on the right the stringy thing is a sperm plug. The left side stringy thing looks like mucus. Then you have the urate but looks as though he was holding this one which is why it is more crystallized.

Have you gotten a fecal done to rule out parasite issues?

I haven’t done a fecal yet, but I have been looking for vets near me and am planning on doing it soon. I live in a small town so finding herp vets is a little difficult. I found one last night that’s only an hour away from home (the closest I’ve found), so I want to bring him there. I still need to look into them more, the last “herp” vet I went to knew absolutely nothing about chameleons so I want to make sure I’m not wasting my time or putting Raymond through unnecessary stress.

 

[Beman]

I haven’t done a fecal yet, but I have been looking for vets near me and am planning on doing it soon. I live in a small town so finding herp vets is a little difficult. I found one last night that’s only an hour away from home (the closest I’ve found), so I want to bring him there. I still need to look into them more, the last “herp” vet I went to knew absolutely nothing about chameleons so I want to make sure I’m not wasting my time or putting Raymond through unnecessary stress.

Well that would be a good place to start. You should be able to drop the sample off. If it comes back positive though then they would need to see the cham before they can give meds.

If you have not done a husbandry review this can be very beneficial for our new members. It allows us to review what your doing and see if there are areas that can be improved upon.

 

[mbist]

Well that would be a good place to start. You should be able to drop the sample off. If it comes back positive though then they would need to see the cham before they can give meds.

If you have not done a husbandry review this can be very beneficial for our new members. It allows us to review what your doing and see if there are areas that can be improved upon.

I did one when I first joined, but I just posted an updated one as some things have changed. Here’s a link
Thread 'Updated Husbandry Check'
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/updated-husbandry-check.181524/

 

[Beman]

I did one when I first joined, but I just posted an updated one as some things have changed. Here’s a link
Thread 'Updated Husbandry Check'
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/updated-husbandry-check.181524/

Everything looks on point in your updated form. I would keep an eye on the urates... I notice in winter all of my boys hold them longer. They produce urates that are much larger half orange and half pure white. It may be due to your boy just holding it in longer. I would add a misting in the early morning though. A fecal is always a good idea just to ensure that there are no issues...

FYI with the herptivite. This is a beta carotene base. So it does not have preformed A. There is a bit of controversy on if they can actually convert the beta carotene to vitamin A for use in the tissues and body.

Physically he is looking good though.

Dragon strand makes dragon ledges for mounting your pots high and your branches...
https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/
https://dragonstrand.com/getting-the-most-from-your-dragon-strand-dragon-ledges/

 

[mbist]

Everything looks on point in your updated form. I would keep an eye on the urates... I notice in winter all of my boys hold them longer. They produce urates that are much larger half orange and half pure white. It may be due to your boy just holding it in longer. I would add a misting in the early morning though. A fecal is always a good idea just to ensure that there are no issues...

FYI with the herptivite. This is a beta carotene base. So it does not have preformed A. There is a bit of controversy on if they can actually convert the beta carotene to vitamin A for use in the tissues and body.

Physically he is looking good though.

Dragon strand makes dragon ledges for mounting your pots high and your branches...
https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/
https://dragonstrand.com/getting-the-most-from-your-dragon-strand-dragon-ledges/

Thank you so much for your advice. We’re just getting over the bitter cold of MN winter, so that makes total sense. I’m monitoring his urates closely now but I haven’t seen anything yet. I also misted this morning so I’ll continue to do that. I’ll look into alternatives for a multivitamin, do you maybe have any recommendations?

Also, I have dreamed of having a dragon strand enclosure lol. I would just rather invest in making a sturdy cage for Raymond that’ll last than try to glam up the semi decent old one I have I may add those ledges to his new one though.

 

[Beman]

Thank you so much for your advice. We’re just getting over the bitter cold of MN winter, so that makes total sense. I’m monitoring his urates closely now but I haven’t seen anything yet. I also misted this morning so I’ll continue to do that. I’ll look into alternatives for a multivitamin, do you maybe have any recommendations?

Also, I have dreamed of having a dragon strand enclosure lol. I would just rather invest in making a sturdy cage for Raymond that’ll last than try to glam up the semi decent old one I have I may add those ledges to his new one though.

You can buy just the ledges for your cage if you need to. You don't have to get the entire set up. I have all DS cages. I am pretty partial to them lol But I have had other less expensive cages as well they just did not hold up the way my DS cages do. I think the DIY cages are better then the reptibreeze ones though.

So per your supplements.... Below is what you have on your updated form. You have two options.
A. toss the herptivite and add reptivite without D3. This is a multivitamin with preformed A. Your rotation would remain the same just replacing the herptivate with the Reptivite WITHOUT D3.

B. toss the herptivite and the rep cal with D3... Replace with Reptivite WITH D3. Rotation would change.... You would give the Reptivite with D3 two times a month only (every other week at one feeding). Say the 1st and the 15th. then you could rotate back and forth between your EP-A and your Repti calcium no D3 for the other feedings week to week. This version of the reptivite is still your multivitamin with preformed A but it also contains calcium with D3. So your still only giving it 2 times a month with it being combined.

Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?: I’ve been using a variety of supplements... Arcadia Earth Pro-A, Repti calcium, Rep-Cal calcium w/ d3, and Rep-Cal herptivite multivitamin. My supplement schedule - Week 1: Calcium w/o d3 Mon-Sat and Calcium w/ d3 on Sun Week 2: Earth-Pro A Mon-Sat and Multivitamin on Sun - Repeat

let me know if this makes sense or if I have confused you

 

[mbist]

You can buy just the ledges for your cage if you need to. You don't have to get the entire set up. I have all DS cages. I am pretty partial to them lol But I have had other less expensive cages as well they just did not hold up the way my DS cages do. I think the DIY cages are better then the reptibreeze ones though.

So per your supplements.... Below is what you have on your updated form. You have two options.
A. toss the herptivite and add reptivite without D3. This is a multivitamin with preformed A. Your rotation would remain the same just replacing the herptivate with the Reptivite WITHOUT D3.

B. toss the herptivite and the rep cal with D3... Replace with Reptivite WITH D3. Rotation would change.... You would give the Reptivite with D3 two times a month only (every other week at one feeding). Say the 1st and the 15th. then you could rotate back and forth between your EP-A and your Repti calcium no D3 for the other feedings week to week. This version of the reptivite is still your multivitamin with preformed A but it also contains calcium with D3. So your still only giving it 2 times a month with it being combined.

Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?: I’ve been using a variety of supplements... Arcadia Earth Pro-A, Repti calcium, Rep-Cal calcium w/ d3, and Rep-Cal herptivite multivitamin. My supplement schedule - Week 1: Calcium w/o d3 Mon-Sat and Calcium w/ d3 on Sun Week 2: Earth-Pro A Mon-Sat and Multivitamin on Sun - Repeat

let me know if this makes sense or if I have confused you

Makes sense to me! Thank you, I really appreciate your help here on the forums. I think I’m going to get rid of the rep-cal w/ d3 and the herptivite, get the reptivite WITH d3 and switch up the rotation. That’ll make it easier for me too.

 

[Snuits]

Any update to why his urate was like that?

 

[mbist]

Any update to why his urate was like that?

I wasn’t able to exactly pin point why, but my suspicion is he needed to pass a sperm plug and held onto his urate for longer than normal. I changed his supplement schedule to the one posted above, and his urates became more normal. Not sure if that’s because of the vitamins or the passed sperm plug, probably a bit of both. I wish I could just talk to my cham and he could tell me what he needs but alas, I’m stuck in reality haha

 

[Snuits]

I wasn’t able to exactly pin point why, but my suspicion is he needed to pass a sperm plug and held onto his urate for longer than normal. I changed his supplement schedule to the one posted above, and his urates became more normal. Not sure if that’s because of the vitamins or the passed sperm plug, probably a bit of both. I wish I could just talk to my cham and he could tell me what he needs but alas, I’m stuck in reality haha

O okay . That's good. & I wish I could talk to mine too hahahaha.