what do I do-Is my Chameleon sick????

[phattycakes]

the vet knows chameleons, but we cannot see her till tuesday.....the receptionist told us to hand feed her gut loaded crickets, or baby food. as well as put her in the smaller cage for now to ensure that its not sucha large environment for her to travel around in.

is there a trick to getting them to eat from you for with crickets?? we tried yesterday with no sucess, but she did manage to get one on her own.

I think, and this is just speculation, that the problem might be two things. def dehydration, as well as maybe not the proper diet? we gut load the crickets with reptocal, but thats it. nothing else.

 

[phattycakes]

the uvb light came with the cage that we bought from a company in the states that specializes in lizzard cages. we beleive it is okay. is not having the basking light okay for a chameleons light source?

 

[sandrachameleon]

we gut load the crickets with reptocal, but thats it. nothing else.

check the link I already provided you with regards to good gutloading. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

What is in the reptocal?

There are quite a few people who believe that offering a little pre-formed vitamin A is essential for young chameleons and their eyes. this seems especially significant when the owner is not offering a good variety of well gutloaded bugs. Be mindful though that pre-formed vitamin a is also dangerous - too much kills. B vitamins (from fresh leafy greens, seeds, nuts) also are important. As is a balance with calcium etc. Read this info on supplementing: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html

The chameleon needs a heat gradient, so I wouldnt turn off her heat lamp. The UVB tube is likely just fine, but I understand there there have been cases of a batch having a manufacturing issue, whereby too little or too much UVB is produced (not putting out what the box says it does). They can go without UVB for a few days without issue, so turning off the UVB tube just to see if it helps with the eyes is harmless. Not that I expect you'll see a difference, but why not try it jic.

 

[phattycakes]

thanks everyone for all your help. Izzy turned really sick today and died just recently. I guess there was nothing left we could do....

 

[jannb]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss of Izzy. Jann

 

[Fool2Think]

That sucks so bad. Now, reflect on what you did and didn't do and turn it into a learning experience. That's how we grow...

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

I'm really sorry for your loss. In the future you should dust the crickets before feeding them off, not just when you get them. The dust washes off/ falls off very easily.

 

[pssh]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. As said above, turn this into a learning expirience.