Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My chameleon laid eggs about 3 weeks ago and she has deteriorated in condition. She hangs her legs off vines, hugs the vine,and doesnt eat much. I gave her antibiotics about 2 weeks ago for a swelled toe-she had lost the nail digging in roots. She also got a calcium shot on precaution 2 days before she laid perfect eggs. If anyone knows could be her problem, please help-she's my baby.

Can you give us some more details about her past and current setup/care? Also, what species? How old? Fertile or infertile eggs? Is this her first clutch? Is she dehydrated? Can you post a photo? How long have you had her?

You can try the bugjuice recipe at adcham.com (look under husbandry on their site) you can also try Repta-aid by Fluker's. Available at most pet stores ($10)

Setup info:

# Cage type: What size and type of cage (screen, glass, etc.)?

# Temperatures: What is the basking temperature? How do you measure the temperature in your setup? What is the temperature in the warmest spot? The coolest spot? At night? During the day? You should measure the temperature of the chameleons' skin or the surface of its current branch to get a more accurate reading. Do you leave any heat on at night? What is the temperature in the room at night?

# Lighting: What brand is your UVB light? How long have you been using it? How long are your lights on each day? Do you leave any lights on at night? Where are the lights? on top?

# Humidity: Do you have a humidity gauge? What is the range of relative humidity (RH) from lowest to highest? How long does it take to go from high to low? Do you use a humidifier? Do you live in the north or south (or other)?

# Water: Have you observed your chameleon drinking? How often do you mist? Do you have a dripper?

# Food: Have you observed your chameleon eating? What is the chameleon's diet? Where do you get your live feeder prey? What are you feeding the feeders? Fresh veggies? Gut load? If you use a commercial gut load what is the brand? If you make your own what are the ingredients?

# Supplements: What type of supplement(s) do you use? Brand name(s)? How often do you use supplements?

# Veterinarians: Do you have a veterinarian who KNOWS chameleons?

>>My chameleon laid eggs about 3 weeks ago and she has deteriorated in condition. She hangs her legs off vines, hugs the vine,and doesnt eat much. I gave her antibiotics about 2 weeks ago for a swelled toe-she had lost the nail digging in roots. She also got a calcium shot on precaution 2 days before she laid perfect eggs. If anyone knows could be her problem, please help-she's my baby.
-----
Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
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 is a veiled chameleon a little more than a year old. this was her second clutch. I dont have a picture right now..when i took her to the vet, the vet assistant gave me a lot on information, including this site. I'm having silkworms shipped to me right now from her advice. She seemed to know a lot about chameleons, she also said she had one herself.

Elanore has about a 100-120gal tank thats all screen.at her basking spot, i have measured it to be about 90-100. it's a UVA, UVB, and heat bulb and i haven't been using it for 6 months yet. at night her enclosure goes down to about 70-65. i have 2 lamps on the top. one of them only gives off UVA. she has stayed close to the basking bulb recently, just hugging the branch under it. the major light(basking bulb) is on at 7 in the morning and goes off at about 930 at night. the other one stays on the give a little heat(should i turn it off?).

My humidity gage stays at about 60-70. i live in central CA and its raining right now. her enclosure is right next to a window, the window is closed for the most part. i only open it to add to the circulation sometimes in the summertime (it can get to about 110 here..).

Elanore will drink for me whenever i offer it to her, i spray her in the morning and afternoon, 2-3 times a day.

Right now i have crickets and mealworms. i've stopped giving her the mealworms recently so she can absorb more from the prey. i feed the crickets gut-load that gives food as well as water for them. i dust them with a calcium supplement everytime i offer them. i use flukers products for the crickets. she doesnt eat much. she doesnt like to move that much, and the food bowl is a little ways from her basking spot(dont want to roast the crickets!). i also feed her strawberries, hibiscus flowers when in season, and im trying banana right now but she hasnt gone for it yet(she likes the color red..).

I'm glad that you are seeing a vet and that the vet seems to know quite a bit about chameleons.

I use florescent tubes to give UVB to my chameleons (usually Repti-sun 5.0's). My basking light is an incandescent light in a hood. I don't give them extra UVA. If she isn't getting any natural sunlight (not through glass or plastic) then you may need to dust the crickets a couple of times a month lightly with a calcium/D3 powder to ensure that she gets enough D3. Please note that D3 is stored in the body so you don't want to overdo it. Also, the D3 (either from UVB or natural sunlight) is what enables a chameleon to use the calcium....so calcium given without enough D3 won't be able to be used. Its a balancing "act".

You said..."the other one stays on the give a little heat(should i turn it off?)"...a chameleon needs darkness to sleep IMHO. If you need a source of heat at night because the temps will drop too low without it you need to use something else. How cold does it get in the house in central CA at night?

You said..."Elanore will drink for me whenever i offer it to her, i spray her in the morning and afternoon, 2-3 times a day"...you should use a drip system too. It can be as simple as a deli-cup with a small hole in the bottom of it so that it drips at the rate of about 2 drips per second.

You said..."im trying banana right now but she hasnt gone for it yet(she likes the color red..)"...most lizards seem to like the color red. I never use banana because I believe it has a lot of phosphorous in it. I feed my veileds apple and pear wedges, melon bits, diced squash, carrot, red pepper, dandelion greens, kale, collards, and more. They also nibble on the plants in the cage.

How did your female look after her first clutch? How many eggs did she lay both times? She's young and should have been able to get through this clutch okay if she laid the last one without problems as far as normal egglaying goes IMHO. It sounds like this clutch was harder on her than the last one, (and because you said she is declining in health since the last clutch was laid) I think there has to be a reason....and if she is declining, I don't think you don't have much time to solve the problem. I think you need to talk to the vet again.

I think im gonna have to agree with lele on this one. We need more specifics on her conditond prior to laying eggs.

My guess would be dehydration and exhaustion. Gravid females need LOTS of water. I have seen simliar results in my female beardie after she dumps a clutch of over 30 eggs. She is tired and also usually a little dehyrdrated, even though she drinks plenty of water. She won't eat for a few days, dosnt really bask, and rarely ever drinks. I have taken her to the vet, and he says she is usually tired out beyond belief! She usually perks up within a few days.

Keep goin' to the vet because your little girl might just be plain exhausted!
-----
Eric

I'm living in a room without any view
I'm living free because the rent's never due
The synonyms of all the things that I've said
Are just the riddles that are built in my head
Hole in the sky, take me to heaven
Window in time, through it I fly
( Pantera: Hole in the Sky)

Laying eggs takes an incredible toll on females. Having a gravid female you should always be well perpared for her pre and post gravid care. Feeding them extra 'special' food such as hornworms, silkworms, roaches, give them a much needed surplus in vitamins and hydration. One of my females just laid her second clutch, 37 eggs, and yes she shows the stress. They all will. It is the post care that you need to give her that will boost her energy and her over all health. I don't feed any of my chameleons super worms, or meal worms at all.
-----
0.2 Chameleo Chameleo Calyptratus
1.0 Leopard Gecko
1.0 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)-Hooloovoo

Elanore's first clutch was about 6 months before this one, maybe 7. She laid about 55 eggs then, and 63 this time. How long should she be exhausted? it's been at least half a month and she doesnt eat much at all.im afraid that if she doesnt stop having large clutches then she'll kill herself from the load.

Your UV light might need to be changed.

Because you say that she has deteriorated in condition over the last three weeks, hangs off the vine, etc. I think there is something else going on other than just a poor/slow recovery....only a vet can tell you for sure.

Maybe she has retained eggs or is having some other difficulty with her reproductive system...or maybe the infection that was in the toe has spread through her system. If you didn't clean out the cottage-cheese like pus and have it tested to see which antibiotic kills the bacteria involved, then the bacteria could have spread.

I certainly hope that the problem can be solved and she can recover.

I agree. Usually, the females that die after egg layign do so relativly quickly, unless there's something else wrong.

However, a major factor to consider is her clutch size, and her age. How old was she when she laid her first clutch? And, how many eggs were in each clutch?

Females that lay massive clutches(50-85*)often die shortly after the second clutch. What was the condition of the eggs, were they fertile, or infertile? How many of them were yellowish, squishy, or infertile, and how many were white and solid looking? If the eggs were fertilized, and many were not calcified, it could be an indicator of the female having stretched her reserves a bit thin.

I have seen a higher mortality in females that were mated young. The biggest problem I've seen is when females are mated very young, they often lay a few eggs, but can't lay the others. It is often dismissed as egg-binding, which is often cited as being a result of poor nutriton or inadequete heating. In many cases, a necroscopy will find that the eggs are NOT bound together, but merely blocked by the intestines of the female. When mated young, it seems they have a higher chance of this - I think they're not completley developed.

I doubt this is the case for you, as she already laid a clutch.
Feel her belly for remaining eggs.

*to some small females, 50 eggs is a LOT of eggs.