Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my chameleon is really skinny, his eyes are sunken in, and his grasp is pretty weak. what should i do? hank is only 5 or 6 months old. i feed him everyday, but ive been slacking off on the calcium, only because the guy at the petshop said to do it once a week. i really need help!
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its all about DFL. no questions asked.

First off, I have to say I am NOT an expert...I have only owned one chameleon...so this is based on my meager experience.

Are you seeing him drink?
The sunken eyes are an indication of dehydration.
My experience with Zoe was that once he was dehydrated...every thing fell to pieces.
He wasn't strong enough to eat, or move around too much. He ended up with a couple brutal respiratory infections.
Is Hank breathing with his mouth open? Is there a lot of stringy mucous in his mouth? Any clicking or wheezing when he breaths?

If you can, get some water into him. I actually have to use large syringes and drip water slowly onto Zoe's nose, and then after a minute or so, he will start to drink the drips that fall on him. This is the ONLY way that Zoe will drink.

Hopefully once he's rehydrated he will have more strength to eat and that will fatten him up.
You may have to force feed him too.

Of course...the bottom line is: If you are concerned about him...nothing can replace good veterinary care!

Good luck to you and Hank!!!!
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Kim

thanks

i'll try.
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its all about DFL. no questions asked.

First I will say that in order for any of the more experienced keepers (not me) to answer this is what they will need to know so you may as well post it now. Even if you have written this in previous posts don't expect them to remember:

species
housing (size, type, etc.)
what you are feeding him
are you gutloading your feeders, if so what
what and how often are you dusting them
what sort of watering/mist system
what sort of lighting (UVB, basking, etc.)
how old and how long have you had him

I just know from being here for awhile that this is what they will need to know so maybe reply to this and put your answer next to each question. I have probably forgotten something but this will get them started.

My personal suggestion for now is to get him well hydrated via misting and or/ making him drink. One thing that I just used for Bart (and used it for a cat with kidney failure) is Pedialyte (or generic brand - doesn't matter) that you can get at a supermarket in the children's section or your local drug store. Give him this in place of water if you can - can't hurt and might help (helps replenish and balance electrolytes).

Also, do you have a herp vet? After my experience with Bart I don't htink I will ever be without this neo-cal glucon - see if your vet will give you some - it's not expensive.

I am sure you will be hearing from others soon so get those questions answered!!

lele

species: |veiled.|
housing (size, type, etc.) : |glass 29 gallon, soon to be 30"x30"x6' screen cage|
what you are feeding him: |mealworms every now and then, and crix.|
are you gutloading your feeders, if so what: |flukers cricket feed.|
what and how often are you dusting them: |twice a week, all meals, 6-8 crix a day|
what sort of watering/mist system: |hand sprayer.|
what sort of lighting (UVB, basking, etc.) : |UVA. i know i know, i need UVB, but my parents "havent gotten around to it." but hopefully i'll get one soon.|
how old and how long have you had him: |hes 6 months old, and i've had him for at least 3 weeks|

thats the info. hope some of you can help me. i know im not the greatest chameleon keeper around, but im trying to get a job so i can buy stuff for him to further benefit his health.

thanks for reading.
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its all about DFL. no questions asked.

The sunken in eyes are of course one of the signs of dehydration and the weakness of his paws could be a sign of upcoming MBD. You should definitely get a screen caged, because this is stressing your chameleon out alot. You should not feed your chameleon alot of mealworms, lets say you should feed the chameleon twice a week with these. You should be feeding your chameleon 5 crickets a day and dusting them three times a week.I am going to try diagnosing him with something and I don't think it is dehydration.

I need some more information on how he eats,what does he look like, anyhting unusual, bent casque, bent limbs, deformed spine, what is the temp, the humidity, and do you clean it out regulary?

here are a few pics. he doesnt look bad, but thats only because some of the pics are blurry. sorry. his grasp is so weak. i havent cleaned the cage out, only because the guy at the pet store said that if i bought this "repti-bark" stuff, that i woudnt have to clean it out much. he said once a month. i think hes dead wrong. hank eats well(like a pig), and hes always eager to eat. he'll stalk the crickets for a while before he strikes. he eats violently. his casque is strait. his arms and legs are straight. but when he chills on his vine, his back feet are grasping, but his front feet are relaxed. i could just be paranoid. and when i handle him, his front feet have the weak grasp. im so worried. heres a pic...

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its all about DFL. no questions asked.

well i am probably wrong but he may not be fed enough i have a female veiled about that size and probably even a little smaller,(i think it is i don't really know how big your hand is to tell how big hank is)and she eats 10-15 medium-large crickets a day . i am just guessing it is very possible i overfeed. the only other thing i can think of is uvb, has he been without it for a ll three weeks? hope this helps (and that i am not wrong). JK

Whether you are being paranoid or not is going to be a moot point if you don't heed the advice that Sonia (anson) and Carlton gave you regarding the all glass enclosure, lighting feeding, etc. The only cham that should be in a glass enclosure permanently AND have any substrate at all are the pygmy leaf chams.

Print this whole thread out, or better yet bring your parents to the computer to show them the advice and experience on your situation. As has been pointed out you'll be spending a lot more on vet bills or end up with a sick and/or disfigured cham if you don't do something NOW!!

Have your folks loan you the money to get him set up right and then get yourself that job to pay them back and give continual proper care. I am assuming you will be back in school soon and will not have a job so you need to plan for all that now.

One last word of advice? Don't listen to that pet store guy. He is wrong on everything he has told you so far and if you look over past threads you will see that 99.99% of us put little to no stock in what most pet store employees say. Even some breeders have given bad advice.

Be sure to go to www.adcham.com and read up on the profile for your species and also check out the MANY articles on Cham News. But MOST IMPORTANTLY change his setup NOW!!!!!! for your cham's sake...

lele

Cham News

my parents did get me a screen cage (coming in next week). and im getting a uvb bulb today. so i guess im good to go. my cham is looking a little better already, and his eyes arent sunken in anymore. overnight, he kinda just got better. i sprayed him last night for a long time, and he was drinking, too. i warmed up the water, and that must have stimulated his drinking. thanks!
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its all about DFL. no questions asked.

When you first get a cham it's hard to realize how much they need to drink and the lengths you have to go through to get them to drink properly. If the water is too cold they run for it and don't get any down. It almost has to fall softly on their head like rain would in the wild. Kinda dripping down on them from the leaves and branches in the rainforest. If you notice some gathers around their mouth and they kind of suck it in and you see a swallowing motion. I have one that will not drink from a dripper at all I have to "rain" on him for about 10 minutes at least twice a day for him to get enough water.
Stick with a heavy watering routine with him my vet told me most of the chams he sees are dehydrated and he feels that is what most of them in captivity die of. I would also get a small humidifier for him when you can. Forget those expensive fogger things in pet stores (they are a bunch of junk) when you get one get one that is for people like you use for colds (it will last a long time). I like the cool air ones (safer won't burn your cham) and I aim it at the cage or use pvc to aim the fog into the cage. I got mine at a Walmart or Walgreens and they are around $30.00

First of all if the eyes are sunken in you should suspect dehydration. It is not enough to spray for a few seconds once or twice a day. It sometimes takes a while for them to start drinking. When you spray them sometimes spraying with warm water will start a drinking response from them.
If your chameleon is very weak you may have to give him small amounts of water with a syringe but start out with spraying first because with the syringe you have to place the drops of water far back in his mouth almost to the throat to keep him from breathing it in and choking.
Try reading www.icomm/ca/dragon/hydrate.htm
It has charts showing amounts of water by weight
Next thing to worry about is UVB but you can't put him in the sun if he is dehydrated. Once you make sure he is well rehydrated you will have to make sure he gets some sun every day.
Set up something that allows him to get shade when he wants to and where birds or animals cant get him. His reptarium would be a good thing to take him out in or a bird cage.
Morning sun is best for him and is high in UVB try for at least 1 hour a day but make sure he can get to the shade when he wants.
A good UVB light would be the most important thing for you to buy and maybe a small humidifier you can aim at his cage or put in it. Humidity for a veiled is best from 60% - 80% it will help keep him hydrated also.
The best thing though is to get him seen by a reptile vet if he does not respond to anything you do for him.
A veiled chameleon is not a kids toy. Your parents should have realized that it was a big responsibility and if you are a minor they are really responsible for that animals well being if they allowed you to have it.
If you convinced them to get it and told them you would be responsible then you will need to find a job to help pay for his up keep.
Chameleons are not cheap to keep properly they need lots of expensive things (lights, proper caging, supplements, live food, vet care, just to name a few) Maybe your parents did not know this when they let you have one. If you knew this, I think it is only fair to the animal for you to find a job so he can have a good and healthy life and I am glad you are ready to take on that responsibility and are looking for one.
Good luck with Hank and I hope he is better soon.

Unfortunately a lot is wrong here and Hank is running out of time. You say you don't have the $$ to change anything now so you're facing a decision. If you do nothing he's in deep trouble that will only get worse. Either set him up correctly ASAP or find someone who can care for him until you can. If you don't do this you will need a vet which costs more $$ and may be too late. Hank is most likely suffering from several things probably vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The lighting is critical NOW, as all the mineral dust on earth won't do him any good without it. Can you take him outside to bask or put him in an open screened window? The glass tank needs to go NOW as he's much too old to be kept in any tank. Try to get a birdcage at least. The gutload is probably not great and needs to be improved. Go to www.adcham.com to find a really great recipe. You didn't mention what type of dust...it needs to be BOTH vitamin dust (many of us use Herptivite sparingly, but rely on a better gutload for most nutrients) in addition to mineral dust. The money to set up a cham will be paid sooner or later.