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I just checked on her and she was hanging from her hind legs with fluid around her mouth - I thought she was dead. I took her and she gaped, I took her outside for some sun. She just kept gaping.

Now her mouth is partly open and she is not moving at all. I don;t @#$%^&*( believe this!

That's horrible!! Do you have any idea what it was?? It's aweful to lose an animal, but to see it happen.. I am truly sorry! *hugs*
~Lindsay

Thanks, Lindsay

There is a thread below with progress. She was fine until I gave her the meds. I lost two of three in two days...now I only have Bart in a huge 30 gal. tank

>>That's horrible!! Do you have any idea what it was?? It's aweful to lose an animal, but to see it happen.. I am truly sorry! *hugs*
>>~Lindsay

That's aweful. Maybe she choked? I know that one time I got some water up Orion's nose by accident, and she shook her head like that. It's hard to say.
I'm so sorry!!! Poor bart. He's probably a little confussed right now.

omg, that is truly devistating! i'm not going to say that i know how to feel as that isnt possible, two animals die in 2 days, that is very very horribe!

Im really sorry lele, give a kiss and a hug to bart for me
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-Jamie Whitehouse
-corn_snake_123@msn.com
-formally known as corn_snake_123

Ed called me back and we just spoke at length. It probably was aspiration that killed Kaiya. Not sure how as all the med went in her mouth not her nose, but if it "went down the wrong way" the symptoms fit. There was fluid around her nose when I found her hanging upside down.

We talked about Makeda, too and I told him that there was a whole thread on KS about pygmy mortality. I asked him about supplementaion and what do THEY do. For ALL species they give no supplementation for the first two months. After that once a week of vitamin and every other week vit. and calcium/d3. They give the cal/d3 less for the pygmies. I am wondering if I over supplemented Makeda!?! Does anyone know the signs of over supplementing? I am just devastated.

darnit Lele, don't feel bad. Pygmies are like aliens from another planet right now, I don't think anyone is positive about their exact requirements. Think about it this way, if we figure out what happened it will be alot less likely to ever happen again to you or to others, so your girls dying so publicly will probably help alot of other people's pygmies from dying as well. If the one that died today aspirated, figure out how this happened and learn from it. They are so tiny I cant imagine trying to give them meds on a regular basis...Just don't give up on Pygmies. We all feel for ya, truly, it is obvious that you were very attached to them.

Lele-

I got your email! What bad new to wake up to. What meds were you giving and how much? Also I read about the vet visit and the doc said he may have to cut her foot off? Why, do you have pics of the problem foot, I know it is to late but maybe you got bad vet advise! If I am correct you have only had them of 3 months, and I don't see the foot going bad that fast. How many times has she shed, I can only remember once from what you posted.

I to had concerns about over supplementing from our first emails. I do not use that dust from herpnutrition.com I use Herptivite, Calcium , and Miner-All (I) not all at the same time but in a rotation for my pygmy and pardalis. The pygmy gets 1 dusting per week of Miner-All, and once per month or so 1 dusting of calcium/Herptivite. Being that these guys are a monate species there vitamin/calcium intake needs to be watched carefully. It is easy to over dose, by dusting there food 2-3 times a week. Edema will start to develop in the eye/throat area food intake will stop, animal becomes week and dies.

One of my female Ulu shed last week with no problems, the male is shedding today, and he is almost finished. The shed is like one piece of skin for the head one piece of skin for the body and one for each limb. The shed for both lasted only two days max. The day before you can see the little white dots appearing and the next day the skin is off.

My 1.2 group seems to be going fine. I house them in a 20 gal acrylic tank, with a 2.0 UVB bulb resting on top , and a 40w basking light for use in winter. The tank is set up with suppersoil (baked in oven @ 400F for 15min) two small umbrella trees, a few wax plants that grow like vines and flower, large feeding bowl, live moss around the feeding bowl, and branches crossing over the feeding bowl and in the umbrella trees. I use leafs to cover some areas of the soil, I do not use any vermiculite, prelite, gravel, stones, bark, dead moss, peat moss, or anything else in the tank. I use a temp gun to check all my cages with, the temps will vary from 76-82. I mist 3 time per day lightly the whole tank. I feed only pinhead and silkworms right now. The tank has two 1 1/2"-2" holes drilled in the back to allow for extra air flow (they are there from when the tank use to be a fish tank).

Another thing to think about, is that the weather is changing from cold to HOT. So the weather could be playing a role in the heat factor. I don't use my basking light unless the tank is below 76F, but I have the 2.0 UVB on all the time. Heat=dehydration=stress=death. Factor that in with over supplementation, and things don't look good. I sure I left something out! Hope this helps!
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John @ Chameleon Paradise
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers
1.2 Rhampholeon uluguruensis

Do you use a dripper at all?
Thanks
Kristen

>>Do you use a dripper at all?
>>Thanks
>>Kristen
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John @ Chameleon Paradise
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers
1.2 Rhampholeon uluguruensis

I cant believe this. I feel so sorry for you lele. Two Pygmys in a couple of days. My male (I presume) also died from aspirating. I misted him and he kept gaping and gaping and finally died. Hmmmm, these chameleons are just too delicate! If the water droplets are too small, the chocke and die. And the feamles are all dying from an unknown cause. This sucks lele, good luck with poor lonely bart! Well, hugs for you and the remaining pygmy.

I cant believe this. I feel so sorry for you lele. Two Pygmys in a couple of days. My male (I presume) also died from aspirating. I misted him and he kept gaping and gaping and finally died. Hmmmm, these chameleons are just too delicate! If the water droplets are too small, the chocke and die. And the feamles are all dying from an unknown cause. This sucks lele, good luck with poor lonely bart! Well, hugs for you and the remaining pygmy.

Anthony