thoughts on this poop?
- Thread starter flashjord101
- Start date
SaintJimmy
Avid Member
The front and back look okay, but the middle looks really funky. Red coloration?
I hope someone else can help.
I hope someone else can help.
flashjord101
New Member
some redish orange speckles. I dug through it and there were some small hard pieces in there. I'm hoping he got out whatever was irritating him. I guess his behavior and next bm will be more telling.
flashjord101
New Member
There were also some partially digested feeders in there. lots going on in this poop.
GabeCastro
Established Member
Looks kinda funky...
Usually a good healthy poop will be mostly black with a thick white urate. Or if he's been eating silkworms/hornworms it looks normal, minus that orange urate since those 2 feeders hydrate your cham.
Orange means your cham is little dehydrated. Just make sure he's drinking and getting his proper water. Be sure he's spot on with a correct basking temp, humidity temp, ambient temp, etc.
All those 3 temps are key to help a chameleon digest. He may be having a hard time digesting his food, which is why it's so soggy & runny. Also your vitamins / supplements should be on point. Calcium W/ NO D3 everyday, Calcium WITH D3 2x a month + Multivitamin 2x a month.
IF...the poop smells (yes, we smell our chams poop) then i'd def go take that poop sample to a herp vet for a fecal test. A fecal test will determine if your cham has a parasite or not. A bad smell will indicate something may be wrong with your cham.
The best way to help your cham rehydrate is letting him hang out in the shower for a good 15 minutes. To do this, run warm/hot water so it hits against a wall and creates a mist. Stick a large plant or something inside to help your cham chill out on. Sometimes chams will start drinking or will simply hate it. Be sure to keep an eye on your little guy and make sure the waters not really hitting him. Only do this once a week maybe twice as it could be somewhat stressful.
You can even feed your cham hornworms which is a great source of getting water, and usually chams go crazy for them
I also suggest having a dripper in your cage if you don't have one. Chams need lots of options to drink from, some are super picky, some drink from anything lol.
Usually a good healthy poop will be mostly black with a thick white urate. Or if he's been eating silkworms/hornworms it looks normal, minus that orange urate since those 2 feeders hydrate your cham.
Orange means your cham is little dehydrated. Just make sure he's drinking and getting his proper water. Be sure he's spot on with a correct basking temp, humidity temp, ambient temp, etc.
All those 3 temps are key to help a chameleon digest. He may be having a hard time digesting his food, which is why it's so soggy & runny. Also your vitamins / supplements should be on point. Calcium W/ NO D3 everyday, Calcium WITH D3 2x a month + Multivitamin 2x a month.
IF...the poop smells (yes, we smell our chams poop) then i'd def go take that poop sample to a herp vet for a fecal test. A fecal test will determine if your cham has a parasite or not. A bad smell will indicate something may be wrong with your cham.
The best way to help your cham rehydrate is letting him hang out in the shower for a good 15 minutes. To do this, run warm/hot water so it hits against a wall and creates a mist. Stick a large plant or something inside to help your cham chill out on. Sometimes chams will start drinking or will simply hate it. Be sure to keep an eye on your little guy and make sure the waters not really hitting him. Only do this once a week maybe twice as it could be somewhat stressful.
You can even feed your cham hornworms which is a great source of getting water, and usually chams go crazy for them
I also suggest having a dripper in your cage if you don't have one. Chams need lots of options to drink from, some are super picky, some drink from anything lol.
SaintJimmy
Avid Member
Little hard debris in his poop probably meant he ingested (and passed) some little rocks or something from plants. Maybe?
Or cricket heads.
Sometimes I find cricket "tails" sticking out of the end of the poop but I dug through it once and there were no other parts.
He might be having some digestion issues but I dunno.
Or cricket heads.
Sometimes I find cricket "tails" sticking out of the end of the poop but I dug through it once and there were no other parts.
He might be having some digestion issues but I dunno.
flashjord101
New Member
definitely some undigested cricket matter. I have been heavily regulating his conditions since he originally go sick. I was def giving him too many vitamins. only using calcium now and giving him natural sun as much as possible. He alternates crickets and silk worms. Doesn't have much of a taste for horned worms or supers.
Psychobunny
Avid Member
My chams chew on sticks, fake leaves, etc when they are hungry, and not just my veiled either!!
So they do injest tiny pieces of junk while we are not watching.
Of course, a partial digested feeder is more likely, just thinking out loud
So they do injest tiny pieces of junk while we are not watching.
Of course, a partial digested feeder is more likely, just thinking out loud
Slicknick09
New Member
My chams poop looked something like that last week. I had to bring it to the vet to get tested which came up positive for two parasites. Now I'm not saying the reason the poop looks like that is because of parasites due to the fact that when I feed my cham waxworms his poop looked very dark with a white urate. After feeding him superworms, his poop looked pretty much like the one in your picture. Today my cham actually avoided the superworms and went for crickets today. I think the superoworms along with mealworms are no good.
Slicknick09
New Member
I don't supplement much. Calcium with D3 twice a week. I would attribute this type of feces to the diet. I also feel the supers are not digested well. I want to begin to feed silkworms. From what I read they are a good staple.
GabeCastro
Established Member
My previous comment tells you the supplements you should be using along with a schedule.
Also reasons why your fecal may look the way it does.
-Gabe
Lovereps
Avid Member
Calcium with D3 2x a week IS supplementing too much--too much D3 for a chameleon.
It will lead to his vital organs being damaged by calcification.
You don't have to take my word for it read what has been written by veterinarians about D3 and chameleons.
All of the following are quotes from veterinarians about D3 and chameleons.
"excessive use of D3 causes severe liver issues and premature death"
"Excess vitamin D3 supplementation -- especially in combination with calcium -- may result in organ toxicity. Metastatic calcification and gout are common results. Gular edema is a common clinical sign. "
"Gular edema is a common clinical sign of organ dysfunction in chameleons."
"Treatment for hypervitaminosis is difficult because the clinical disease is usually well advanced by the time the chameleon is presented (ex. gular edema with renal failure). "
"With adequate UVB very little Vitamin D needs to be given orally and it is possible to cause toxicity with excessive oral administration"
"If D3 is consistently given dietarily, the pituitary will not be able to regulate calcitriol (active D3) that quickly and spikes of hypercalcemia will most probably occur. Over time, hypervitaminosis D and hypercalcemia will cause clinical signs of soft tissue calcification, depression, anorexia, excessive drinking, urination, and weight loss."
"High levels of Vitamin D3 and calcium combined will lead to toxicity of their organs."
This comment below was posted on a different forum and is what someone reports that their vet has told them:
"My vet has done plenty of lizard, gecko, and chameleon Necropsies in which it was determined the cause of death was massive over-calcification of the soft tissues, so this isn't "just talk". My vet's website (Dr. Mark Burgess) with all his info available = Southwest Animal Hospital"
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1-general-topics/f5-general-discussion-news-members/88053-calcium-d3-issue.html
http://www.swanimalhospital.net/html/thedoctors.html#doc1
Sources:
http://www.uvma.org/chameleon/vitamind3.htm
http://www.vetlocator.com/newsarticles/pet_lizard_conditions.php
http://www.vulcanveterinary.com/Care of Chameleons.pdf
http://www.gregrichdvm.com/pdfs/care/chameleon-care-sheet.pdf
http://www.chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://www.ivanalfonso.com/2011/06/calcium-deficiencies-the-secret-to-avoid-them/
http://www.seavs.com/lizards/chameleons.html[/QUOTE]
Plain calcium without D3 should be given at each feeding with D3 only administered 2x a month, 2x a month for a multivitamin as well.
Experienced cham owners and knowledge shared by cham vets are the basis for the recommended supplement schedules.
