pamnsam94
Established Member
Although I've kept chameleons since the mid 80s, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly a chameleon can die. My female melleri, died last night, 6 days after she laid her eggs. So sad. 
Yesterday morning her eyes were partially sunken, and I was immediately worried. Before going to bed, I knew she would be dead by morning. Chameleons seem to turn on a dime sometimes.
Ever since I bought her as part of a breeding pair in December, I've been wanting to treat her for parasites, but I was delaying the process until she laid her eggs. After she laid 21 eggs, I didn't think there was any need to hurry because I first wanted to give her a little bit of recovery time before treating her. Too many dead worms taxing her immune system might be detrimental to her health. Upon receiving her until the day she died, I put the highest priority on hydrating her. About two to three weeks before she laid, which was on 2/21, she started having loose stools, but again, I wanted to wait until she laid before treating her for parasites.
I assume all WC melleri are going to have a number of parasites and knew that the pair I had purchased had not been treated. With many species, including melleri, I feel that importers should use a shotgun approach and at least treat them with fenbendazole (maybe Flagyl too) but only after doing everything they can to make sure they are well hydrated. With other species (e.g. quads that don't seemed to be as heavily parasitized), I would prefer the importer not to use the shotgun approach.
Although I don't know the cause of her death, looking back, I wish I would have treated her with Panacur a day after she laid, even though that might have caused additional stress or possibly about a week after I got her. I suspected she had parasites due to the way her stool looked (at first it was more solid, but then it became kind of loose) and because her appetite was never really good. At first, I didn't let her low appetite concern me too much because I knew she was gravid and a female sometimes won't eat as much when they're close to laying, but when a couple of days had passed since laying, I strongly suspected that most of her low appetite was due to parasites. Besides, I once had another gravid melleri that didn't seem to lose any of her appetite at all, even right up to the day of laying, even though she laid about 70 eggs! So, while many keepers experience loss of appetite with their gravid animals days before laying, many times I think it just depends on the particular animal or other factors.
This morning, I cut her open and found an additional 5 eggs, close in size to the ones she laid, but they weren't calcified. I've seen eggs in various stages of development along the oviduct in other chameleon species, so I don't think anything like egg-binding was the cause of her death. Anyway, I'm just glad she was able to successfully lay the 21 eggs I now have incubating. She even did a great job concealing the nest, even though she may have been weakened somewhat not only due to the process itself but because of the parasites too.
So, I'm trying to learn what I can from this. What would most of you have done if you were convinced she had parasites but knowing full well she was gravid? I was especially trying to minimize stress, especially giving her a lot of privacy and making sure she was well hydrated. If I would have treated with Panacur before she laid, although the medicine itself shouldn't harm the eggs, I was concerned about what effect massive worm die-offs might have on her. Who knows? Maybe with that stress alone, she might not have successfully laid. My wife says that I shouldn't beat myself up over this, but I keep wondering what I might have done differently to have kept her from dying.
At first, I was just glad to have a guaranteed pair of melleri, let alone a compatible, breeding pair. Well, that was short-lived. At least the male is doing well and hopefully the eggs will hatch. Now, I need to find another female.
Perry
Yesterday morning her eyes were partially sunken, and I was immediately worried. Before going to bed, I knew she would be dead by morning. Chameleons seem to turn on a dime sometimes.Ever since I bought her as part of a breeding pair in December, I've been wanting to treat her for parasites, but I was delaying the process until she laid her eggs. After she laid 21 eggs, I didn't think there was any need to hurry because I first wanted to give her a little bit of recovery time before treating her. Too many dead worms taxing her immune system might be detrimental to her health. Upon receiving her until the day she died, I put the highest priority on hydrating her. About two to three weeks before she laid, which was on 2/21, she started having loose stools, but again, I wanted to wait until she laid before treating her for parasites.
I assume all WC melleri are going to have a number of parasites and knew that the pair I had purchased had not been treated. With many species, including melleri, I feel that importers should use a shotgun approach and at least treat them with fenbendazole (maybe Flagyl too) but only after doing everything they can to make sure they are well hydrated. With other species (e.g. quads that don't seemed to be as heavily parasitized), I would prefer the importer not to use the shotgun approach.
Although I don't know the cause of her death, looking back, I wish I would have treated her with Panacur a day after she laid, even though that might have caused additional stress or possibly about a week after I got her. I suspected she had parasites due to the way her stool looked (at first it was more solid, but then it became kind of loose) and because her appetite was never really good. At first, I didn't let her low appetite concern me too much because I knew she was gravid and a female sometimes won't eat as much when they're close to laying, but when a couple of days had passed since laying, I strongly suspected that most of her low appetite was due to parasites. Besides, I once had another gravid melleri that didn't seem to lose any of her appetite at all, even right up to the day of laying, even though she laid about 70 eggs! So, while many keepers experience loss of appetite with their gravid animals days before laying, many times I think it just depends on the particular animal or other factors.
This morning, I cut her open and found an additional 5 eggs, close in size to the ones she laid, but they weren't calcified. I've seen eggs in various stages of development along the oviduct in other chameleon species, so I don't think anything like egg-binding was the cause of her death. Anyway, I'm just glad she was able to successfully lay the 21 eggs I now have incubating. She even did a great job concealing the nest, even though she may have been weakened somewhat not only due to the process itself but because of the parasites too.
So, I'm trying to learn what I can from this. What would most of you have done if you were convinced she had parasites but knowing full well she was gravid? I was especially trying to minimize stress, especially giving her a lot of privacy and making sure she was well hydrated. If I would have treated with Panacur before she laid, although the medicine itself shouldn't harm the eggs, I was concerned about what effect massive worm die-offs might have on her. Who knows? Maybe with that stress alone, she might not have successfully laid. My wife says that I shouldn't beat myself up over this, but I keep wondering what I might have done differently to have kept her from dying.
At first, I was just glad to have a guaranteed pair of melleri, let alone a compatible, breeding pair. Well, that was short-lived.
At least the male is doing well and hopefully the eggs will hatch. Now, I need to find another female. Perry
