Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,
I just recently (about 2 days ago) adopted a young female veiled chameleon from a friend who runs a petstore. someone had brought it in saying they couldnt take care of it. its problem right now is unknown, though the visual is pretty bad. its considerably underweight and refuses to open its eyes. i cannot tell whether its paracites because i havent been able to take a fecal to a vet but if anyone knows what could be causing this please tell me. someone said it was stress and that beyond a certian point they just give up, is that true, and could that actually be it? i am leaning more twards nutritional problems.. anyhoo if anyone knows what could be causing this please drop me a line as soon as possible.

Thanks a lot, Keith

It would be a very good idea to take it to a vet.

In the meantime, do you know anything about its husbandry? Did it have a UVB light? Basking light? Was it fed gutloaded insects? Were the insects dusted? How was it watered? Temperature? Substrate?

Can you give me answers to these same questions concerning the way you are keeping it now please?

Does it have any signs of MBD? (Flexible jaw, flexible or crooked casque? What looks like an extra elbow? Crooked legs?)

You said..."You said..."its considerably underweight and refuses to open its eyes."...has it eaten at all since you have had it (I'm aasuming not since it doesn't open its eyes)? If so, does it extend its tongue fairly far out to get the insect? Does it drink? If it drinks but doesn't eat, try putting the head-end of a cricket in its mouth so it bites it when its drinking. I'm hoping it will chew and swallow it. These things need to be addressed quickly along with appropriate cage set-up and nutrition IMHO.

You said..."someone said it was stress and that beyond a certian point they just give up, is that true, and could that actually be it? "...the stress/giving up thing is usually experiences with wild caught chameleons....and usually happens a short time after first being in captivity. I'm leaning more toward nutritional too.

I hope you can help it.

Hello Kinyonga,
thanks for the help regarding the veiled chameleon, yeah its got a 10.0 uvb light,screen wall enclosure, a ceramic heating light, and i mist the cage two times a day. the substrate is paper towel, temprature is 75 cool end and 100 under the ceramic. no MBD that iam aware of. i doubt it has eaten at all so when i get home i am going to try force feeding it. heres a picture of it i took this morning.

if anything i am probally going to take it to Dr. Fitzjerald (probally spelled wrong) and see what he says.
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It appears be bloated but shows lack of fat stores along the spine and tail base and some signs of dehydration. Do you know what (if any) substrate it had before you got it....both at the store and with the previous owners? I'm wondering if its impacted? Has it pooped? You could let it soak in luke warm water to see if it would encourage defecation. There could be other reasons for the bloating too.

I don't see any apparent signs of MBD.

You said...it has a "a ceramic heating light" do you mean that it is a light or just a ceramic heater? Where is it sitting in the cage (under the heat or elsewhere)? The UVB light shouldn't pass through glass or plastic.

You said you mist it...have you seen it drink? If its eyes never open, its not likely drinking enough. Try dripping water on its nose and see if it will drink that way. It might take a couple of minutes to get it started. If it drinks, try sticking an insect in between its teeth so that it will bite/chew/eat it hopefully. This is less stressful on the chameleon than force feeding it. If it doesn't work, then you many have to truly force it. Hydration is more important IMHO first though. If it doesn't drink, you can give it water with an eyedropper or a needleless syringe...just east it in so it won't aspirate it though.

I don't know Dr. Fitzjerald....but I'm glad you are taking it to a vets. The vet should be able to tell you if its impacted or what's going on.

I wish I could be of more help....but I'm not a vet and can only give possibilities. Keep me posted though. I hope you can help it....poor thing.

Kinyonga,
I think The bloating you're seeing was the chameleon puffing up when I moved her from her enclosure onto that peice of cactus wood for the picture. I dont know what kind of substrate the previous owners had used but at the place where I got it from it was a mulch mix for reptiles and a ton of fake plants, vines and sticks to climb on.
I tried soaking it in warm water but got nothin, and as far as we can tell its a nutrition problem. so I am giving it a dissolved mix of vitamin A and water 1/2cc orally once every 7 days now. so unless it shows no improvement thats all we can see wrong with her right now. I didnt force feed it but took your advise and was able to get her to take one wax worm. but only one. I chose wax worms because of the high fat content and being slim I think that is probally what im going to be feeding most of for a while.
the heat light is actually a ceramic heat emiter. those no light ones. its outside the cage in one side on the top corner, at a safe distance so the chameleon wont burn itself or feet. te enclosure is an open air enclosure thats made of heavy screen so the UVB light passes through perfectly. and the UVB light is about a month old so its still good for a while.

thank you for all your help and I will keep you posted on her progress -keith

You said..."I think The bloating you're seeing was the chameleon puffing up when I moved her from her enclosure onto that peice of cactus wood for the picture"...is she normally much thinner?
Was she in that condition (eyes shut, etc.)when she arrived at the pet store? Is she pooping? (I'm still wondering if she's impacted.) Do you know about how old she is? (I can't tell her size from the picture.) If she's old enough she could be carrying eggs, but I would have expected to see egg-bulges just in front of her back legs. (Female veileds can produce eggs without having been mated and need a place to dig to lay them....but she wouldn't do that unless she was over 6 or 7 months old.)

You said..."I am giving it a dissolved mix of vitamin A and water 1/2cc orally once every 7 days now"...why vitamin A?

You said..."I didnt force feed it but took your advise and was able to get her to take one wax worm. but only one. I chose wax worms because of the high fat content and being slim"...I'm glad she took it and didn't spit it back out.

You said..."the heat light is actually a ceramic heat emiter. those no light ones"...I'm not sure that chameleons recognize these as a place to bask. I think its actually the light that draws them to a place to bask. I use a regular incandescent light (usually 60 watt...depends on the heat/temp. that results) in a hood. Where does she sit in the cage? Near the heat source?

Are you still going to take her to the vets? I don't know what else to suggest right now.