vieled cham fungus??

[ataraxia]

i have recently took on a sick vieled and we have two issues (not extending tongue to eat and greyish skin color on head). after 4 days of not eatting or drinking. i started force feeding and he is now eatting and drinking on his own. when he eats he does not extend his tongue but maybe 3-4 inches and thats if he uses it. he will actually chase the cricket down pin the cricket in the corner and eat it ( i was pretty amazed to see this). he appears to be gaining a little weight but he has a greyish looking color on his skin around his head. im not sure if he is about to shed or if this is a fungus. im honestly looking for best educated opinion from other cham owners. a vet visit is not an option. so please do not reply if thats your only suggestion. here in terre haute indiana we do not have any cham vets. i found this out quickly with my mellers.

not the greatest pic atm but i will have some better ones tomorrow.

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - vieled, age is approx 1 1/2 yrs old, 3 weeks
* Handling - everyday, twice a day
* Feeding - crickets he eats about 6 every other day, although i put in about 24 at a time, ive tried dubai's and mealworms with no success.
* Supplements - repcal with d3 every other day.
* Watering - rain chamber (shower as long as he wants) every other day, manual spray twice a day.
* Fecal Description - white
* History - rescued off a stranger approx a month ago.

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - free range at night in bath room. 60 gallon reptarrium out doors during the day.
* Lighting - gods greatest gift the sun during the day when its permitable. 48 inch exoterra 5.0, 60watt heat emitter otherwise.
* Temperature - dont have a thermo on him atm. daytime temps here in indiana atm are in the high 80's. im sure in the direct sun he is prob hitting around 90 to a little over 100.
* Humidity - usually around 60% outside. when i bring him inside im not sure of the level but i do run the shower on warm for a few minutes to get a little dew on the glass once before i shut the lights off.
* Plants - outside 60 gallon (all fake plants and vines). inside (bathroom) pathos and umbrella plant.
* Placement - outside - on the front porch (no roof), on the ground no traffic except the mail man bathroom - he can range anywhere but usually in the pathos about 6-7 feet in the air. door is shut so no traffic except restroom breaks.
* Location - indiana

 

[tdotcham]

I know the experienced keeps will tell you to change your supplementation schedule as you are feeding with D3 every other day and that is not recommended. From what I have researched dusting with calcium without d3 every day or other day is good utilizing the d3 twice a month. I'd also suggest not soaking the habitat just before bed

 

[carol5208]

Where did you get your supplement schedule from? Was the previous owner giving him D3 every other day also?. If he is getting that much natural sun then he is on D3 overload! That can cause issues with him not being able to extend his tongue. You should be supplementing with Calcium w/no d3 just about every day or so and a multivitamin twice a month. Way too much d3 especially if he is in the sun all the time. As far as the fungus, the picture is not too clear. It might just be the coloring on his head. Also, when you say fecal is white, do you mean white/black or brown or just white? There should be two parts to the fecal.

 

[kinyonga]

From the look of the right arm the chameleon may have MBD...its hard to be sure since the picture isn't very clear. That could account for the tongue issues too. If you've only had it a few weeks, then it must have had it when you bought it.

I can't tell what the mark on the head is...but maybe its a burn.

 

[Joe A]

sounds kinda like what ive been going through, check out the info on my thread titled ( too much d3) its still close to the top of the recent health forums there are some good links people posted in there responses that might be helpful. i would attach them but i dont really know how

 

[ataraxia]

thank you very much for the replies!!the previous owner had nothing to say about calcium dusting. his tongue did not extend at his first try at feeding. so i guessed this problem is why he is very skinny. i am embarrassed to say this but i made a mistake on my calcium supplement. i am using jurassi cal, it is vitamin d3 free.

 

[ataraxia]

ok here is a better pic of the cham.

 

[kinyonga]

The arm looks okay in this photo...but the chameleon looks terrible. I would get it to a vet ASAP.

 

[jannb]

The arm looks okay in this photo...but the chameleon looks terrible. I would get it to a vet ASAP.

I agree. He needs a vet ASAP.

 

[carol5208]

I have another question, is that picture taken at night (when he is sleeping) or day because he looks like his eye is almost shut. I don't know about the coloring on his head. It looks like the same coloring on the side of him too. Sometimes they can get a burn on their casque if too close to the baskin light but that would not account for the black on his side. Maybe someone else will chime in here on the coloration. Do you know about MBD? One of the other members mentioned it about his leg. It is still kinda hard to see his leg in the pic if he has MBD or not. One of the problems with MBD is not being able to extend the tongue and also the limbs are bent in a curve. Do you give him any other kind of supplement? Also, what are gutloading your crickets with?

 

[carol5208]

Also why are you putting 24 crickets in his cage?. That is way too many feeders. And are you aware that you need to remove them from the cage at night if he does not eat them?. They have been known to bite chameleons if left in the cage at night. Just some info, not sure if you know about this or not.

 

[ataraxia]

im putting 24 in the cage so he doesnt have to chase much. i personally think it would be harder to chase after a few. he is taken out of his outdoor enclosure (where he is fed) every evening and brought inside. his crickets are gut loaded with vegetables (sweet potato, green leaf lettuce, cucumber, carrots). im not familiar with mbd in chams. i have not noticed and severe deformities although all his limbs do have a slight curve to them. this guy moves around alot and can move very fast. what other supplement do you recommend?

 

[carol5208]

Besides the calcium w/o d3(every feeding or so) he should be getting calcium w/d3 also about twice a month and a multi vitamin twice a months also. That is the preferred supplement schedule on this forum and the chams do well on it. Make sure to "lightly dust the feeders, don't coat them too much. I use Rep-cal and a brand called Sticky tongue farms. I am sure you saw the other posts about getting your cham to a vet. If you tell exactly where you are in Indiana we might be able to help you find one. You might have to drive a ways but it is all about how far you want go with possbily saving the chameleons life.