Weak grip and blood in his poop!

[mswilly]

I have a 6 month old Nosy Be Panther male and he has seemed healthy and is growing a lot so far. I haven't really had any problems, but as of late his grip definitely isn't as strong as it should be. He can grip, but if he's climbing on me he will sometimes slip off my arm. I just saw him fall off his branch a couple minutes ago, and I am concerned. Sometimes he will rest on his perch instead of standing as well. He's eating and drinking normally, his temps and humidity are fairly normal. When I came home from work tonight, there was a strange looking poop in his cage and it looked like there was blood in it. I will attach photos. I heard a weak grip can be associated with a vitamin A deficiency as well, is this true? If so, what do you recommend for Vitamin A? I had him at the vets about a month and a half to 2 months ago and she said he was doing great. I still have him in his baby cage, but I haven't had the time nor money to go get him his big boy cage yet, but it is my top priority.

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - 6 month old nosy be panther male
Handling -everyday for about 5-10 minutes
Feeding - 3 to 4 week old crickets, gutloaded with cucumber, dandelion greens, carrots and bug burger. He usually eats 5-10 a day. I fed him mealworms for food yesterday because I ran out of crickets. (I normally really limit his mealworm intake because I know they're not very nutritious, could this have caused the weird poop?)
Supplements - exo terra brand calcium without d3 every day, exo terra brand calcium with d3 twice a month.
Watering - This one is tough because I work all day and I don't yet have an automatic mister. I have a dripper going all day for him, I mist an hour after his lights come on and then I mist as soon as I get home. Sometimes my roommates will mist him for me in the middle of the day as well.
Fecal Description - His poops have been normal up until today's which had what looked like blood in it. Never been tested for parasites.
History - He is a CB chameleon, as were his parents.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 18x18x24 exo terra glass cage, he will be graduating into his big boy cage right away here
Lighting - 5.0 repti glo exo terra coil bulb as well as a 60 watt household bulb for warmth, both use exo terra lamps.
Temperature - temps measured with digital thermometer with a probe, bottom of cage around 70 while the top is around 85. Basking is 85 - 90. Night time temps are 70.
Humidity - 50-80% humidity, I try and maintain it like that all day but like I said, I am gone most of the day and sometimes it dips below that
Plants - I have 2 large ficus plants in his cage
Placement - It is in my room, off the floor where none of my roommates animals have access.
Location - Located in Calgary, Alberta Canada

Current Problem - See above.

 

[squeekz1992]

Can't tell if its blood, but he's definitely dehydrated. I would at least set up a drip system so he can drink while your at work. Misting is for more than just humidity, it's also his only wayto ge ta drink and if he only gets that twice a day, you will hve issues with dehydration, which if left untreated can cause other issues as well.

 

[mswilly]

I do have a dripper set up for him during the day though, it goes all day long

 

[squeekz1992]

Hmm... idk then, it seems yellowish to me but maybe someone else can chime in?

Also I think your basking temp is too high. It should be 80-85.

 

[mswilly]

Do you think a faster drip rate will encourage him to drink more? It drips about once every 10 seconds. I will try the lower basking temps.

 

[squeekz1992]

Yeah, I would try that and lowering the temps. I know that if the water isnt moving "fast" enough they may ignore it so maybe thats whats happening. But if it keeps up I would see a vet, cuz I can only guess at the problem

 

[DrRhymes]

Ya I can't see any blood but it looks rather orange to me. You may want to mist him a bit more or give him a shower. Just based upon your description it sounds like he should getting vitamin A from his crickets that get it from the gutload but it is possible that he is not getting enough vitamin A. I would say you should be dusting with a multivitamin(with vitamin A) twice a month. A lot of products contain beta carotene( aform of Vitamin A) but is much harder for reptiles to convert into vitamin a ,so it can lead to vitamin A deficiencies which can be serious. So keep that in mind when buying the supplement and also I believe you can get shots of vitamin A administered by your vet. Hope this helps and good luck

 

[carol5208]

That is not blood but a very orange urate. Just beacause you run a dropper does not mean he is drinking from it. I drip my dripppers right on my chams noses. Also 80 is rather low for basking and panthers can easily take 90 plus degrees for basking temp

 

[carol5208]

I do not agree with your suggestion for basking. 80 is too low IMO. They definitely can comfortably bask at 90 or more. I live in fla and they are fine in the higher temps

 

[Rango183]

i suggest a vet asap ,cant know till test are being done cause it can be many things

 

[DrRhymes]

i suggest a vet asap ,cant know till test are being done cause it can be many things

Ya I agree with it is always best to get advice from an expert.

Regards,
Nate

 

[ChameleonMom]

I have to agree with Carol and say that your temps seem fine and even have a bit of wiggle room to go a bit higher. I don't see a mention of a multivitamin which is something you would give twice a month as well (such as Herptivite). As mentioned above the multivitamin will have beta carotene in it which is then converted to vitamin A once in the body. He may have a vitamin A deficiency that is causing the problems but you truly won't know what ails unless you take him to the vet. Also, I would suggest you rig your dripper so your dripper releases 1 drop per second that way they see it drip more often and will know that is a reliable source of water!

Good luck - he's a beauty and I'd be devastated to lose him too!!

 

[mswilly]

Alright well I will keep the temps where they're at then, I've had him at those temps for the last couple of months and he seems to do fine with them. I will go get a multivitamin supplement ASAP. Can I give it with my calcium +D3?

Also, I'll schedule a vet visit and a fecal as soon as possible as well.....could it be a parasite?