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I have a male Cham, I have had him for only about a month, Yesterday he had 1 eye closed and would not open it, I thought he was dehydrated so I sprayed tons of water into his mouth and he drank it. Today he had both eyes closed and would not open them for 5 hours even when I picked him up, he would hardly move or do anything which is very unusuall. He has finally opened 1 eye but he will not eat or move or open the other. his cage is very well set up he has a mister that sprays every 3 hours, he is hot enough and was eating prior to yesterday.
I tried hand feeding him but he refuses to eat, I gave him enough water that I think he is hydrated, but he still wont open his eye or move or eat.
I don't know what to do because all the vets are closed untill Monday, dose anyone have any ideas??
thanks

This is almost word for word what My chameleon just made it through

Both eyes shut, not drinkin, not eating. Very VERY inactive...

What I did...

Added 3 more plants...

Upped the misting by alot, warm water, almost 15 ounces, 3 tiems a day

Turned down the temperature... reduced her basking from 100-105 to low 90's...

She's now shedding... eating... and drinking... both eyes are open

Best thing is... she's incredibly tame... Almost everyday I applied eye ointment to her and she' gotten very used to me and being picked up. When i'm in her cage messing around, she'll come towards my hand and try to climb on it Adorable...

Also... I really wanna thank everyone here for the all the help and advice, especially Kinyonga and pals. You guys have saved a little chameleon's life

Here are some updated pictures of her

http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=main/7/19519435157.jpg&s=f10

http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=main/7/19519443754.jpg&s=f10

http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=5/14118374670.jpg&s=f5

(Last one is old, but she's just as pretty now )

Thanks for the advice, My cage is not that hot, low 90's and I added 2 plants and increased misting. What was the problem with the eye? do you know why it was shut?
I'm glad yours is ok, I hope the same outcome for mine!

Well... i took her to the vet. And all he did it seemed was examine everything BUT her eye (that really annoyed me). He gave her anti protazoa injections. But as far as diagnosing anything with her eye... not too much. It took a REALLY long time btw. I just started lowering temps, misting more, and giving her eye drops... it took maybe a week or so for her to fully recover, probably more.

Hope yours gets better

faust said..."Also... I really wanna thank everyone here for the all the help and advice, especially Kinyonga and pals. You guys have saved a little chameleon's life"...I didn't think I was that much help...but I'm certainly glad that your chamleeon is doing well now!

Marissay said...."I thought he was dehydrated so I sprayed tons of water into his mouth and he drank it"...be careful when you spray water into his mouth that it doesn't go into his lungs.

I know you said his cage is properly set up....but it would be more helpful if you gave details. Does he get direct sunlight and/or UVB/full spectrum light (not through glass or plastic)?

Do you gutload the insects? Do you dust the insects with calcium, calcium/D3 and vitamins/minerals and what is your schedule?

Do you have a substrate in the cage? Non-toxic well washed (both sides of the leaves) plants in the cage?

What species is he and how old is he? Are you sure its a "he"?

It always worries me when a chameleon has its eyes shut and won't move around during the day....sometimes its not critical and other times it is.

You said that he won't eat....try putting an insect between his teeth when he is opening his mouth to drink. If he's hungry and not critically ill, he should eat it. (Its not foolproof, but it gives some indication.)

Are his arms good and straight? Does he seem weak/unable to hold himself up off the branches?

I hope you will have the same results that faust had.

his cage is 5 foot tall and wide, it is mesh, he has 5 big plants, a huge climbing stick, a waterfall, rope all around to climb on shelves to sit on, a misting system that goes off every 3 hours, 2 150 watt heat bulbs and a a big daylight bulb (one of those ones that is supposed to make plants grow and everything). He dose not get direct light but this bulb was supposed to be the same as daylight.

I tried putting both crickets and worms directly in his mouth and he spit them out. Today he seems a little better than yesterday, he is more active moving around, but that 1 eye is still shut and he won't eat, he dose not appear weak at all like you asked he holds onto the branch fine. No I don't gutload his food, what is that? should I be doing that? I have just been feeding him crickets and kingworms from the petstore.

Any ideas?

thanks for all the help!!

I never use waterfalls and never recommend them because they are very hard to keep germ-free and clean. Do you have a substrate?

You didn't say what the temperatures are in the basking area and in the rest of the cage. You didn't say what species of chameleon it is or what age it is.

The reason I asked if you were sure it was male is that females can often lay eggs even when unmated so its important to provide a suitable egglaying site.

You said...one of the lights is "a big daylight bulb (one of those ones that is supposed to make plants grow and everything). He dose not get direct light but this bulb was supposed to be the same as daylight"....any bulbs that I know of that are sold to be the same as daylight or to grow plants don't have the UVB range that the chameleons need so unless you are giving him a supplement that contains D3 he could develop metabolic bone disease.

You said..."I tried putting both crickets and worms directly in his mouth and he spit them out"...I asked you to do that because a chameleon usually will chew it down unless there is something wrong...but its not a sure test because there are other things that might make him not eat it.

You said..."I don't gutload his food, what is that? should I be doing that? I have just been feeding him crickets and kingworms from the petstore"...you should be gutloading the insects because the insects that come from the stores are not always fed properly and they should have their nutrition improved before they are fed to the chameleon and healthier insects make for a healthier chameleon. Here's a gutload that many people recommend...
http://adcham.com/html/husbandry/gutload.html

I live in a northern climate and my chameleons don't get regular sunlight, so I have a UVB light on their cages and in addition to gutloading the insects I dust them with vitamins/minerals, calcium and a calcium/D3 powder before giving them to the chameleons. I dust lightly with vitamin/mineral powder once or twice a month, calcium/D3 once or twice a month and a couple of times a week with calcium.

Here are some articles that explain about vitamin D3, calcium and the part that vitamin A plays in the balance the chameleons need...
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html

Here are some other sites that have lots of good information about chameleons too...
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/faq/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/

Chameleons are not one of the easy lizards to keep in captivity....but with proper care they can do well.

As mentioned previously...chams can be tough. I gut load my crixs by offering fresh Kale and Spinach. I also use "Cricket Yummies" which has several fresh veggies and lots of moisture, which takes care of trying to keep the insects hydrated.

The seem to eat that most. As for insects, their digestive systems work really fast. They are known for mass comsumtion! What they eat usually is out withing 2-4 hours. Dusting is vital as well. It provides Calcium and minerals that even the best gut loaded insects lack.

AS for lighting. I use a 60 watt (just one) regular bulb and a UVB bulb. Mine is a compact type and screws in like a regular bulb. These need to be changed every 6 to 12 months.

Husbandry is the most important factor to keeping any animal alive!

I wasn't sure what bred of cham you had. Male veiled chams have a "spur" on the back feet. The are very prominent which makes for ease of sexing them.

Make sure you don't over feed the "hard shelled" insects like mealworms. Their shells are hard to digest and can cause impaction. Medium sized crixs will do the job nicely.

Good Luck!

Kris
-----
2.1 Black Labs Tucker, Raider and Lacey
1.0 Lepoard Gecko Kumar (Another lost pet RIP and party on with Harold!)
2.0 Horses Smoothie and Rocky
1.0 Husbands (he puts up with me)
1.2 Kids-Trevor (congrats c/o 2006), Logan and Rylie
1.1 Ferrets Tank and Ellie (The fun fuzzies)
1.1 Veiled Chams Squiggy and Pudge (may she RIP)
0.1 Snowflake Cornsnake Lucky

My Jackson's Chamy had a little fine piece of cotton in his eye and once I spotted it and removed it he was all looking around again. They can get dust and stuff into their little eyes like we do. I did read one article online that suggested a little (warm) shower to try to rinse the eyes a bit.
Be careful not to mist too much as a damp cage can breed bacteria. They just need it when they are thirsty.

I learned that one the hard way .
Good luck
Julie