Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all i have a very urgant matter, i have four hatchling (hatched on thanksgiving) veiled chameleons. all were doing great for about until a few days ago when one suddenly stoped eating started sulking and looks very stressed out with its color all splotched and very intense. it refuses to open its eyes and just hangs by its back legs. its becoming very slim and im worried it wont make it long enough to figure out how to fix the problem. if anyone has an idea of whats causing this or how to fix it please let me know immediately!
any and all help is greatly appreciated! thanks in advance!

Presumably you have separated it from the others.
Did you observe it eat previously?
You may have to force feed and water a little - very carefully -for it to get its strength back.
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Sandra
BC Canada

yes i have seperated it from the others, but i am wondering how i am going to force feed it? and what can i add to the food to help nutritionally? ive dealt with sick reptiles before with great sucess but never any this small... what would you do?

You said..."one suddenly stoped eating started sulking and looks very stressed out with its color all splotched and very intense. it refuses to open its eyes and just hangs by its back legs. its becoming very slim and im worried it wont make it long enough to figure out how to fix the problem"...there is a mortality rate with baby chameleons. Not everyone will always survive. Hanging by its back legs is not a good sign. You should take it to a vet.

That being said, what temperature is the basking area at? Ambient?

What brand of UVB light do you have on it? Is is a tube light or a compact?

Is it drinking?
Pooping? Do you have any substrate in the cage?

You can try to force feed it but do it carefully so that it won't end up with food in its lungs.

Here is a recipe for a slurry to use..
http://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/bug-juice.html

(That being said, what temperature is the basking area at? Ambient?)
The basking temp is around 93 and the cool side 75.

(What brand of UVB light do you have on it? Is is a tube light or a compact?)
the UVB light is a compact and the brand name is ESU Reptile. its a new bulb and is rated at 7%UVB. is that a good one?

(Is it drinking?
Pooping? Do you have any substrate in the cage?)
it drinks whenever i mist the enclosure, but hasnt pooped since i isolated it. the substrate is paper towel so i can note everything that falls on it. i've seen it start to go after fruit flies so i am tending to beleive that this problem may have been caused by bullying from the others, so force feeding may have a disasterous effect from new stress. i am not so sure i want to try that yet... but i will keep that recipe in mind
thanks for the help so far.

Yes if it will eat on its own that would certainly be best. Good sign that its at least drinking. Pls let us know how things work out.
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Sandra
BC Canada

You said..."The basking temp is around 93 and the cool side 75"..93F is too hot for a baby chameleon. I would lower it to the low to mid 80's. Their small bodies dehydrate and overheat quickly.

You said..."the UVB light is a compact and the brand name is ESU Reptile. its a new bulb and is rated at 7%UVB. is that a good one?"...some of the compacts have been causing photo-kerato-conjunctivitis (like snow blindness in people) which makes the chameleons shut their eyes...but if the rest in the same cage are not having problems this might not be the cause. Is the bulb on its new cage the same as was on the one you moved it from?

You said..."it drinks whenever i mist the enclosure, but hasnt pooped since i isolated it. the substrate is paper towel so i can note everything that falls on it. i've seen it start to go after fruit flies so i am tending to beleive that this problem may have been caused by bullying from the others"...I hope that this is all that is going on and that now that its isolated it will be okay.

You said..."force feeding may have a disasterous effect from new stress. i am not so sure i want to try that yet... but i will keep that recipe in mind"...force feeding should always be the last resort IMHO. Sometimes you can get them to eat by putting an insect between its teeth while its drinking.

Keep me posted please?

Crisis averted! the little guy opened his eyes and is eating like a hog! i am pretty sure whatever was affecting him/her is fixed and over with. i added nekton to its water to provide vitamin A and i wonder if thats what helped... anyhoo it looks like its going to be just fine. thanks for the advise everyone =)