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Well my girlfriend calls me and says that her chameleon Kamil is dead!

I drive over there as fast as I can and she calls when I'm in the car saying she isn't dead but looks like it.

Well her eyes were sunken SOOOO far in. Like when I read about sunken eyes for chams...I guess I never thought about what it really looks like...it makes them look awful!

Anyway her eyes were incredibly sunken and her casque was deflated and she looks all wrinkly on her skin.

And then all of a sudden right before my eyes she turned a bright, bright yellowish green color. She is usually a pretty bright lime green color..but she started turning yellow and some orange..it was weird.

Anyway I she wasn't drinking so I gently opened her mouth and got some water in. I also looked and felt for egges (she is 6mo old and she should have some infertile eggs...however she hasn't tried to dig a tunnel in the dirt yet).

Anyway she was incredibly weak and wans't moving and she kept closing her eyes. I forced water in her for a while and then I went and got some pedialyte and a dropper. I stuffed her full of pedialyte until she couldn't take anymore. I know she was full of it because after I put it down her throat it came back up again and it looked like runny clear snot.

I also gave her a "shower" for 15min so she could get some warm mist.

Only two hours later and she looks A LOT better. Her eyes are still a little sunken but nothing like they were before. Her casque is still a little sunken but better. Her color is a lot brighter and she is moving around more.

I think I'm gonna give her some pedialyte tomorrow also...but I was surprised at how quick it helped. Pedialyte really does work.

Does this sound like just a common dehydration case ? I switched her dirt to sand because my girlfriend thought that she was down in the dirt once but didn't really dig in it. Her chameleon has always drank WAY more than Dexter..and she loves being soaked in water droplets. Kinda weird this happened to her. Now I know why not the common pet lover can own a chameleon..dexter has been so easy so far (knock on wood) as far as being healthy.

So moral of the story: pedialyte (I used unflavored) works wonders.
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1.0 Sunburst Veiled Chameleon -- Dexter
1 year old

I'm not sure, but the deflated casque sounds like MBD. But I'm not completely positive, so if I'm wrong, I apologize for gettin ya worried.

Never heard of a deflated casque being a sign of MBD. Its usually a rubbery casque or crooked casque that indicates MBD from everything that I have read/heard.

Right. A thin casque is a sign of severe dehydration or starvation. When giving Pedialyte, remember once the cham is drinking on its own and starting to eat stop using it. If you give it too long it can start unbalancing electrolytes again.

That odd bright color is a sign the cham was close to death. Chams lose "control" of their color changing abilities when they are dying and you often see odd patches of strange colors, an entire leg a different color than the others, or big blotches of light or dark color on their body.

Veileds should have a flat, or even slightly concave casque. If they're bulging out significantly, it's a sign of them being chubby. Some veileds will never bulge out the sides, instead, they get this big fat, fleshy bulge in the back of the casque.

I've seen some veileds where the casques were bulging out so far, they looked like a conehead.

Been there, done that. I hope your outcome is far better than mine. According to dosage charts, you should hydrate 2-4% by body weight in multiple doses through out a 24 hr. period. I hope you didn't overdo it, doc. Best of luck to you and Kamil. Diane
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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago

She is a lot better this morning and drinking on her own again. Thanks for the advice Carlton; it looks like the pedialyte has done its job and we don't need to use it anymore.

Interesting info on the color changing also.

This is a rescued cham so I'm glad I was able to save her and give her at least a little more life.
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1.0 Sunburst Veiled Chameleon -- Dexter
1 year old

that sounds much like Luna the day she died. It all happened very fast, but the first thing I noticed were the odd colors: white (pale), yellow, strange green. Over the next few hours she seemed better than bad again. I won't go into details, I have pics if you want me to email them to you (I don't want to post them - it's upsetting to me ) She died on the way to the vet on my lap. Nothing he could have done as something burst internally.

Did your girlfriend notice the sinking eyes, casque and skin? Luna was doing better than she had in quite some time so it really took me by surprise (relatively speaking for those who know her history). Hope your story has a better ending...

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she's back!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

She said that she looked fine the night before and then the next morning she was like that. She called me immediately.

Pictures would be great. dcmander@gmail.com

We are still being extremely cautious but she drank lots on her own today and tried to get a cricket. I would think she would be ready to lay her eggs soon though..so maybe we'll see her appetite decrease.
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1.0 Sunburst Veiled Chameleon -- Dexter
1 year old