Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my male veiled cham for a few years now. A few days ago, I fed him some lettice (I give him some about once a week) and he seemed have a hard time swallowing it. He was standing with his head high in the air, like he was trying to get it down. I thought nothing of it at the time, he usually does that when i give him lettice. But he's still doing it, and today and yesterday, he seemed like he was trying to throw up. Today, he got something out. His eyes are really deep in his head today and he's falling asleep every 15 minutes or so. I'm worried.

Was the lettice "iceburg" by chance?

No, it was Romaine

I found him dead this morning lying on the bottom of his tank. This is so sudden, what happened, what did he die of?

It could have been implacations due to something that he ate, what types of plants did you have in your setup? Also i mentioned "iceburg" lettice because it is pretty much like water, there is no nutients in it at all and he could have been trying to vomit it up because it wassn't really a type of solid food in his stomach. I'm really sorry to hear about your loss to!!

-paul

I didnt have any other plants in his tank, I was thinking it might be because of eating too much Zoo Med Eco Earth .He used to get a big mouthful whenever he misses a cricket.

When you say "tank" waht type of setup do you mean?

Erin
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1:1 Veileds (Gene and Aurora)
1:1 Albino Clawed Frogs (Phedre and Jos)
?? Fire belly toad (Harold)
Various cats and dogs

I'd think he would just poop the sand out... thats not like ground up bark substrate I was using. I dont use substrate anymore since my cham went from a hex to a 22 gal reptarium which i use when i take him outside to a chest of drawers conversion which is bigger. I have a tub that just fits inside the conversion to "collect" any excess water. A reg tank with just a screen top doesnt give proper circulation of air. And substrate is just for humidity purposes but ya have to clean/ change it frequently as it will harbor bacteria and if not mold. not to mention crickets what not will lay thier egss in it.Hand feeding ur cham too much will make it tongue lazy.And you have to be carefull that ur plants are not toxic or that ur feeders dont eat something thats bad for the cham. Proper hydration is a must also. Sorry for rambling.
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Eco-Earth is coco fiber, not sand, and could definitely cause impaction.

>>I'd think he would just poop the sand out... thats not like ground up bark substrate..."
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

my bad i saw earth and asumed it was like sand or dirt , dont know where my brain was. i was using a diff substrate then decided it was a bad idea.
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I have to disagre with the cham. pooping the "eco earth" out. There has been many aurguments about that coconut fiber substrait and it is a fact, with frogs in particular, that there has been cases of frogs getting implacaited from ingesting to much of that particular substarit and they ended up dieing from it. Your cham. could have possibally got implacaited from from to much subsrait ingested! I would have to say that my guess is 65% chance that thats what could have been the problem.

-Paul

Sorry this happened

Other than the forest floor dwelling pygmy chams it is generally not a good idea to use substrate. A mouthful of coco-fiber every time he missed a cricket could defintely cause some problems.

If you describe the rest of your setup (lights, supplements, feeders, gutload, temps, water etc.) maybe we can help you figure things out. Would you consider a necropsy from your vet to determine cause of death? You also said you had had him for a few years - how old was he?
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

Ya, it was probably the substrate then, he had been missing maybe something like 3 times a day, so he would have eaten a lot. As for the other questions, I've had him for about 3 years now. I had him in a largre glass tank, ya, I know there isnt good air cicrulation in there, but I took him out a lot, and it wasnt at all damp in there. I cleaned it regularly too. I had an Exo Terra 100W ceramic heat emitter (I used to use infared lights a long time ago, but he couldnt sleep with them on because they were too bright) and for light, a ReptiGlo I bought it 3 years ago, so I dont remember the number, but I think it was a 7.something.

Don't want to kick you when you are down - so please don't take it that way...but if you are thinking of getting another cham you should really re-think your setup. An adult male veiled would have to have been in an awfully big "tank" even if it was an OK set up. Just taking him out a lot is not going to do. Do not use substrate, a repti-glo "something" 3 years ago has been useless for at least 2 years, a 100 watt heat emitter in a glass tank probably took its toll. You didnlt meantion food and supplement or water. Anyway, rather than rehashing what may have gone wrong I think if you do consiuder another you need to do more research and by all means check in here - you owe it to any future herps.

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

if im correct doesnt coconut husk expand a bit when wet?
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Yes, it does expand, thats all I use when it comes to my packman frogs that I have.