MNChams
New Member
This is the story of my little 3 month old Nosy Be male and his recovery from what I feared was a road to possible death. Today, I was elated to see that he appears to be back to normal. I wanted to tell the story because I think it's interesting and I'm also curious to know what your opinions are regarding the cause of his health decline and recent comeback. Was it just stress? Digestive track issues? Please read and offer your opinions.
I have a 3 month old Nosy Be male that I received via overnight shipping 10 days ago. I will provide the "ask for help form" and give a brief description of his health decline over the last 10 days.
Cage Type - Screen cage 12x24x24
Lighting - 75 watt heat lamp on a clip mounted 4" off screen to avoid burns, 5.0 reptisun 24" bulb, both lights on timer 8am - 8pm (12 hours)
Temperature - Basking 90 deg, floor temp 70 deg
Humidity - 50%-65% auto misting system
Plants - Schefflera and some artificial vines with leaves
Placement - On top of a table in low traffic area inside house
Location - Minnesota
Your Chameleon - 3 month old CB Nosy Be male, got him 10 days ago
Handling - Loves to be handled but I try to avoid - Read Story
Feeding - Read story
Supplements - Calcium dusting every day, with D3 once a week, vit/min dusting twice a week.
Watering - ProMist System every three hours (4 times a day for 1 min)
Fecal Description - Normal looking with white urate but not frequent
Here's the story... Day 1: Received cham by overnight shipping in AM. Was active with brite clean colors when I took him out of box. Extremely friendly. I was surprised by how small he was, smaller then I've seen other 3 month old chams. I placed him into a temporary 10 gal glass aquarium with leaves / vines for 1 day while I finished the set-up on his new screen cage. I didn't want to mix him with my other cham so I kept him separate. He seemed very happy, extremely active, great colors, and was actively drinking and eating 20 mins out of the shipping box. The only issue...my local feeder store had received their crickets a bit larger then normal. The 1/8" crickets came in more like 1/4"-3/8". He didn't seem to mind and was very aggressive in shooting at them. I was a bit concerned because a couple looked like they were definitely the with of his eyes / head. He swallowed them with a little effort.
Day 2: Looked great, not eating much (two smaller 1/4" crickets) but I figured it was because he ate so much the first day. Introduced him to new cage and he was actively exploring it. I was shocked at how overly friendly he was, anytime I approached the cage he came over and scratched at the walls to get out. Anytime I opened door he tried to climb on my hand. Never showed the slightest hostility since I got him.
Day 3: Looking very dark. Dark brown with some black. Very inactive and just sitting on vines near the top of his cage. Still not eating. I started offering him mealworms in his cup because he wasn't eating the crickets in the cup nor free roaming. He didn't eat anything. Still came over to me and wanted out. Colors brightened up as soon as took him out of cage but then went dark 15 minutes after putting him back in.
Day 4: No change. He ate two small crickets again. Poop and urate is looking normal as usual but started to be less frequent. No poop on this day. Still wants to come out with me but I avoid handling him.
Day 5: Becoming severely inactive. Hiding in his colder mid-level area of cage behind leaves. Almost looks like he's trying to sleep during the day but eyes are open. Tail curled up. Color is becoming black. Not eating anything at all. Never goes to basking area, always stays in 70 deg areas of cage. He dropped one very small poop with normal urate white color. I took him out in my hand and he brightened up. Then back to dark in his cage again. I offer him pinhead and 1/8" cricks to change it up but he eats nothing and ignores them. I offer nymph dubia roaches but no interest.
Day 6: Starting to look like he is dying. Entire body is dark black. Hides in cage most of the day. I was going to look for a vet but then he starting climbing around the cage but still didn't eat. No poops. I tried to stimulate his eating by puting him back into the 10 gal aquarium where he ate so well before and the feeders roamed close to him. Weird things happened...he puffed up and opened his mouth, hissing at the crickets! This is the first time I've seen any aggression from him. Yet he shows none toward me. He watches the crickets and moves away from them. Eats nothing. Color improves only when I hold him and he crawls up my arms. I'm hoping he will improve soon and maybe it's just the stress of the move.
Day 7: He eats a meal worm but nothing else. Still his whole biody is black in color, behavior is the same, never goes to warm part of cage. I am becoming very concerned at this point because I figured if the problem was stress, it should be wearing off by now. I wonder if the crickets he ate on day 1 were too large and have got his digestive system backed up.
Day 8: At the advice of vet, I provide him some fruit flies. For the first time since day 1 he starts showing interest in eating and shoots all the flies. Still very inactive and black color. I try to keep him under heat lamp to speed up his motabolism.
Day 9: Color is improving, more active, starting to chase the fruit flies around the cage but still refuses to eat crickets.
Day 10: Very active, no more black color, basking under his light for first time, eating everything in his cage including crickets!! First time in a week he has agreed to eat any crickets. He appears to be back to normal having made an apparent full recovery. Note however...I put very small crickets in there, pinhead to 1/8".
I have a 3 month old Nosy Be male that I received via overnight shipping 10 days ago. I will provide the "ask for help form" and give a brief description of his health decline over the last 10 days.
Cage Type - Screen cage 12x24x24
Lighting - 75 watt heat lamp on a clip mounted 4" off screen to avoid burns, 5.0 reptisun 24" bulb, both lights on timer 8am - 8pm (12 hours)
Temperature - Basking 90 deg, floor temp 70 deg
Humidity - 50%-65% auto misting system
Plants - Schefflera and some artificial vines with leaves
Placement - On top of a table in low traffic area inside house
Location - Minnesota
Your Chameleon - 3 month old CB Nosy Be male, got him 10 days ago
Handling - Loves to be handled but I try to avoid - Read Story
Feeding - Read story
Supplements - Calcium dusting every day, with D3 once a week, vit/min dusting twice a week.
Watering - ProMist System every three hours (4 times a day for 1 min)
Fecal Description - Normal looking with white urate but not frequent
Here's the story... Day 1: Received cham by overnight shipping in AM. Was active with brite clean colors when I took him out of box. Extremely friendly. I was surprised by how small he was, smaller then I've seen other 3 month old chams. I placed him into a temporary 10 gal glass aquarium with leaves / vines for 1 day while I finished the set-up on his new screen cage. I didn't want to mix him with my other cham so I kept him separate. He seemed very happy, extremely active, great colors, and was actively drinking and eating 20 mins out of the shipping box. The only issue...my local feeder store had received their crickets a bit larger then normal. The 1/8" crickets came in more like 1/4"-3/8". He didn't seem to mind and was very aggressive in shooting at them. I was a bit concerned because a couple looked like they were definitely the with of his eyes / head. He swallowed them with a little effort.
Day 2: Looked great, not eating much (two smaller 1/4" crickets) but I figured it was because he ate so much the first day. Introduced him to new cage and he was actively exploring it. I was shocked at how overly friendly he was, anytime I approached the cage he came over and scratched at the walls to get out. Anytime I opened door he tried to climb on my hand. Never showed the slightest hostility since I got him.
Day 3: Looking very dark. Dark brown with some black. Very inactive and just sitting on vines near the top of his cage. Still not eating. I started offering him mealworms in his cup because he wasn't eating the crickets in the cup nor free roaming. He didn't eat anything. Still came over to me and wanted out. Colors brightened up as soon as took him out of cage but then went dark 15 minutes after putting him back in.
Day 4: No change. He ate two small crickets again. Poop and urate is looking normal as usual but started to be less frequent. No poop on this day. Still wants to come out with me but I avoid handling him.
Day 5: Becoming severely inactive. Hiding in his colder mid-level area of cage behind leaves. Almost looks like he's trying to sleep during the day but eyes are open. Tail curled up. Color is becoming black. Not eating anything at all. Never goes to basking area, always stays in 70 deg areas of cage. He dropped one very small poop with normal urate white color. I took him out in my hand and he brightened up. Then back to dark in his cage again. I offer him pinhead and 1/8" cricks to change it up but he eats nothing and ignores them. I offer nymph dubia roaches but no interest.
Day 6: Starting to look like he is dying. Entire body is dark black. Hides in cage most of the day. I was going to look for a vet but then he starting climbing around the cage but still didn't eat. No poops. I tried to stimulate his eating by puting him back into the 10 gal aquarium where he ate so well before and the feeders roamed close to him. Weird things happened...he puffed up and opened his mouth, hissing at the crickets! This is the first time I've seen any aggression from him. Yet he shows none toward me. He watches the crickets and moves away from them. Eats nothing. Color improves only when I hold him and he crawls up my arms. I'm hoping he will improve soon and maybe it's just the stress of the move.
Day 7: He eats a meal worm but nothing else. Still his whole biody is black in color, behavior is the same, never goes to warm part of cage. I am becoming very concerned at this point because I figured if the problem was stress, it should be wearing off by now. I wonder if the crickets he ate on day 1 were too large and have got his digestive system backed up.
Day 8: At the advice of vet, I provide him some fruit flies. For the first time since day 1 he starts showing interest in eating and shoots all the flies. Still very inactive and black color. I try to keep him under heat lamp to speed up his motabolism.
Day 9: Color is improving, more active, starting to chase the fruit flies around the cage but still refuses to eat crickets.
Day 10: Very active, no more black color, basking under his light for first time, eating everything in his cage including crickets!! First time in a week he has agreed to eat any crickets. He appears to be back to normal having made an apparent full recovery. Note however...I put very small crickets in there, pinhead to 1/8".
