Veiled Chameleon very sick. Please help.

K

KonfusedFae

New Member
I have a female veiled chameleon, she's only about 3.5 - 4 months old. I have had her for two months.

Just two days ago, I noticed that she seemed to be constipated. She was having trouble going ot the bathroom and there was a small bloody lump hanging from her, which at the time I thought was part of the defecate.. but she eventually was able to go, and the bloody thing was still hanging out of her. It was small, and I worried.

I could tell she was slightly dehydrated when this first happened, which woudl explain the constipation, so I've been "showering" her, which she loves. She'll be a really dark stressed color in her cage, but when I stick her in the shower on her plant she turns a bright, bright green and drinks up lots of water. And everytime after I do this, about an hour later the "thing" has come out of her further.. I thought that perhaps it had just been constipation and she needed help passing this (hence the warm bath), but it's gotten worse. It's clearly not poop. The thing is a dark red, just hanging out of her, and it's about an inch in length now and rather wide too, for such a small chameleon.. she's clearly very distressed, and I have NO idea what it is.

I have no idea what to do. I don't even know how to describe it, except that it looks to me like her intestine or something.

I have been searchign endlessly online for some answers.. and I can't find anything. Could anyone here please help me?
 
Last edited:
You need to call the vet right away!!!
The only thing I can think of right now is that
you actually have a male veiled and it is a prolapsed
hemipenal gland. Regardless the animal needs professional medical
attention immediately.

-Brad
 
It sounds like a rectal prolapse. This really isn't something you can deal with yourself. Keep it moist and get her to the vet. The vet will try to reinsert it and then use a purse string to keep it in, if necessary. Not a huge procedure, but definately an immediate concern. This one can't wait... emergency vet time.
 
To keep it moist apply k-y jelly to it.

Also if your cham will not get too stressed, put her in a tuperware container with a dish cloth on the bottom. Fill the container with warm water up to the level where it will cover half your cham (definitily the cloacal opening) for 5-10 minutes at a time.

My guess is that your cham ( without knowing your husbandry or whether she is a he ) is getting too many mealworms +/- not enough water...

This may buy you a little time, but you need to get to a vet ASAP so that they can put it back in and apply a pursestring.

Good luck,
Matthew
 
I know this is a terrible question, but how much does this surgery costs? Just an idea, if anyone's had it done.

I really don't have any money, otherwise I would've taken my Magenta there in a heartbeat. But I don't want the alternative.. I've only had her 2 months. :(

I really do appreciate all the replies though.
 
I am certainly not trying to add insult to injury but when you own a chameleon, it’s important to have a few hundreds dollars on stand by for situations like this. Not saying the procedure will cost that much but I would be surprised if it cost more then $75 to have it done – just my guess. Good luck and take the advice given.

-roo
 
I'm well aware of that. It's just that I put $250 into having my last lizard checked out, only to have them tell me that there was nothing they could do for him. And I just finished paying a ton of bills, so this just happened at a bad time.

If it's something that's going to cost $75, I can definitely swing. I guess I'll call the vet tomorrow and find out.
 
Well, I did it. I called and begged them to take her today, because I didn't think she'd survive until Monday. So they let me in on an emergency visit.

$173 and one surgery later, we THINK she's better. Can't be sure, because we don't know what caused it (he thinks perhaps the crickets were too big. But he gave her a deworming medicine just incase it was that.) Now we wait to see if she starts to eat again and if THAT goes well, wait to see what happens in three weeks when the stitches come out.

Keep your fingers crossed for my baby girl. My baby girl who is very, VERY pissed at me right now. Not a very cheerful color. I'm a little worried about her, she's rather despondent (she HATED the car ride, although it was only three minutes down the road).. but she's been through a lot today, so hopefully she'll perk up by the end of the day.
 
I'm so glad you got her to the vet, and that she seems to be OK! Hopefully the prolapse will heal and not recur, and she won't get an infection or anything. Good luck!:)
 
She still hasn't eaten. Any suggestions on what I can do to get her to eat? Or is this just stress still from her traumatic weekend, and she'll eat when she's ready?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

aduesler93
Sick veiled girl
Replies
13
Views
356
Beman
Beman
nl.mau
Tongue injury
Replies
3
Views
107
kinyonga
K
salish_31
Worried for female chameleon and she’s dark colors at night
Replies
10
Views
436
Sonny13
Sonny13
N
Help, Veiled Chameleon egg laying complications
Replies
10
Views
619
kinyonga
K
SunkistCham
I think my female veiled is dying
Replies
3
Views
263
kinyonga
K
Back
Top Bottom