Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had to put Simon to sleep.

Some of you will remember that he was an old guy, whose grip was slowly weakening. He began to have trouble moving around. He had less and less success hunting.
Over the course of months, his abilty to move around became very limited, he became a "ground" lizard, and he was being hand fed and watered, but still seemed happy. But as he approached his eighth birthday, his desire to live seemed to leave him. He continued to weaken. His colour faded. Often he didnt open his mouth to take the food I was offering/giving him. He drank far too little. I didnt want to force feed him. In consultation with my vet, I made the hard decision to put him down.

I do have some of his offspring. But Simon was my very first Chameleon, a fine looking animal with a great personality. I really miss him.

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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada

Sorry for your loss. Its not easy to lose one even when it has lived as long life as it can....in fact, losing an oldie is often more difficult...the longer they are with us the more attached we become.

Thanks
and you're right, it aint any easier.
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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada

Hi
so sorry to hear this ,i only came across the post you made last year about him losing his grip ,the other day, and was actually searching for it again for information when i came across this awfully sad news
Perhaps when things are not so raw you might consider posting some tips on how you mamaged to keep the guy to such an impressive old age (hope this is not comming across as Ghoulish)
I know i would very much appreciate it ,as i am sure other owners would too , as you obviously doing it right
I have a Nosy Be Panther who is 13 months old who is a great joy ,amusement ,trial, confusion, tie,demanding ,the most amazing pet i have ever had ,and i have never read so much in my life ,in the hope that i am doing right by him
Nice you got some of his off spring

Hi and thanks for your post
Sounds like you have the enthusiasm and determination to do well by your Cham. I think honestly that my success with Simon living so long was as much luck as husbandry. Clearly his genetics must have been good to start with. But I did do some things right. As he was my first chameleon, I did do lots of reading and research before I bought one/him and certainly did my best to meet all his needs. My own personality probably helped. I have an unending sense of wonder watching and learning about all my pets. I have a keen interest in insects, which probably helped me to give Simon a healthy diet. I also "suffer" from a well developed sense of guilt and responsibility, so even if I wanted to be lazy I found I couldnt! I also don't accept failure well, so will go above and beyond to avoid it. I honestly had a lot of trouble accepting that Simon was at his natural end. It was just that guilt complex that stopped me from force feeding to keep him going. Sometimes the logic and the emotion arent in sinc.

When it came time to sell chamemelon babies it was almost impossible. I made the potential buyers answer all sorts of questions and I screened out most my potential business! Largely because of that, I still have one 7 month old male I didnt/dont intend to keep. sigh. But I digress.

My point was that I typed up a "how to" document for the new owners of my baby chameleons. Its based on my experience and knowledge gained from reading books and forums like this. You're welcome to it, if you think it would be of interest, Email me and I'll send you the pdf.
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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada