Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well this morning see my female laying ont he towle i put under last night, se is laying their alive, but not moving and here eyes are barley open...i'm goin to see what i can do(but really don't know what to do), imma try to get her to the vet today.i'll keep you posted

seems very weak, o man , panic mode is sbout to set in

get off the computer and go to a vet, it sounds like your chameleon is dying!!! If you are near me, I can recommend a few good ones (I am zip 10509, NY) if not open your phone book, call any vet that says they will see herp or exotics, if not any, call all the local emergency veterinary hospitals, not all agree to see exotics but sometimes a good vet is on duty and will. You must do something to save your chameleon, you are beyond the advice of this forum now.

If you need help, email me immediately and i will try to put you in touch with a vet, if you are anywhere near me.

~Kerry
TwinOats@hotmail.com

well took her to the vet, he told me she was fine sid she had soem small burns on her rear feet, that's happend b4 from an ill placed vine.they said they took xrays, but didnt charge me. i got home eher back in her cage and she fell nasty.i have her in a smaller cage nowbt she is sitting there with her eyes closed. this problem seemd to happen overnight.as i had her out 2 days ago and she was fine.by the way at the bottom of my vet invoice it reminds me to bring her in for rabies shots in june.
if she makes it thru the night, imma take her to another vet.

hey, I'm no expert, but...sure sounds like more than burned feet! Hopefully you can find a more competent vet. Did he say what he was looking for on the x-rays? You may wnat to get them to bring to the next vet.

In the meantime, if you post the usual info (think you've been here long enough to kno ) lighting, food, gutload, supplements, temps humidity etc. maybe some of the folks here can give you some ideas.

Can you post a picture of her and her setup?

lele

>>well took her to the vet, he told me she was fine sid she had soem small burns on her rear feet, that's happend b4 from an ill placed vine.they said they took xrays, but didnt charge me. i got home eher back in her cage and she fell nasty.i have her in a smaller cage nowbt she is sitting there with her eyes closed. this problem seemd to happen overnight.as i had her out 2 days ago and she was fine.by the way at the bottom of my vet invoice it reminds me to bring her in for rabies shots in june.
>>if she makes it thru the night, imma take her to another vet.
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

This info may come a little too late, but you will at least
have it in case you have another emergency. I keep a bag of
Lactated Ringers solution available at ALL times. I use a 12cc
syringe and a 24 gauge needle, ( get several of them). Any cham
that can't hang onto a branch, probably can't maintain hydration
either. I give 6 to 10cc's of Ringers to females and 10 to 12cc's to adult males. Inject the needle subcutaneous, ( under
the skin). Inject both sides of the cham. Keep the cham under
a basking light. Next you will need to give the cham some nutrients. I use Lafaber's Critical Care. It is a enteral formula
for birds, but works real good on chams. A vet will be able to
order this for you. If you can't get it from the vet, e-mail me
and will get you some. I can order direct from the company, because I am a microbilgist with a lab. I add LOW sodium chicken
baby food to the slurry. This increases the protein content of
the mixture. You will need to either tube feed or syringe feed
this to your cham. The reason that I am telling you to do this,
is that while this will not cure your cham, it will buy you a
significant amount of time to find out what is wrong and start
treatment. In addition to X-rays, a good vet should do bloodwork
and a fecal. Bloodwork and show how the kidneys and liver are
functioning, etc. GOOD LUCK!

Legendcham

No offense to safo, or you, but is this the best idea for an inexperienced cham keeper? I don't think I would be comfortable doing this. I had a cat in kidney failure and had to give her subcutaneous fluids twice a day and I cannot imagine doing it to Luna. Maybe if I had a vet intially show me how (as I did with my cat) I would be more comfortable doing it, but not without any guidance.

Please don't take this the wrong way as I understand your reason for giving this advice, I just think it could be for one, rather intimidating to the novice and two, too much possiblitiy of a serious, or even fatal, mistake.

just my thoughts...
lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Keeping chams or any exotic pet, means that you need to
gain the experience that it requires to maintain them. The subc.
injections are very easy to perform, as long as you have a secure
hold on the cham. If YOU do not feel comfortable performing
this, then have a vet go over it with you. Safo would have to
obtain both the Ringers and syringes from a vet anyway. These
items are not found in a drug store. These are LIFE SAVING
procedures that can buy time.

Legendcham

the vet did give me 40cc's of ringers, i dropped some into her mouth and she seemd to drink it, i have her under a light.I have worked at a vet b4 and do have experiance giving shots(got tail slapped by an iguana once)as far as the cage/feeding goes for her, she get's fed daily15-20(less when i see alot in the cage) crickets(dusted when need)(there is also cricket food in the chams cage , i also use herptavite mutli vitamin in addition to calcium. Her cage has and umbrella plant and a ficus and an assortment of flukers bend vines.she gets misted twice a day water put in the drip'r twice a day(warm water is used for both). i am going to get a second opinion, If a Vet or qualified herp scpecialist recomends and meds, i can get those no problem and do treatment myself, but i need to know what i will be treating for obvious reasons.tnx for your help/support/info, i'll keep you posted. Dave

I can't find anything wrong with your set-up, getting a vet
with more experience on reptiles would be a wise move. They
can tell from bloodwork if the vital organs are functioning.
There are more detailed tests that a experienced vet can perform
to try and find out what is wrong. Right now the fluids are
essential.

Legendcham

I understand the importance of a comfort level, having certain emergency supplies on hand etc. I guess my concern was not
knowing the level of knowledge of safo (from his response post it is clear that he has knowledge and experience to do this).

if Luna needed fluids I would have the vet show me (fortunately my herp vet works a lot of varied hours (weekends and evenings)and is almost always on call)). So again, I think this thread is good for other cham keepers (or want-to-be keepers) to realize the importance of having a vet readily available, having appropriate meds on hand and knowledge/comfort with administering.

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I'm with you, Lele. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. This should only be done under a vet's supervision. I suppose there are some keepers with such extensive experience and so much experience with vets that they can do this. But even there it's a risky business. To suggest that novices do this is, IMO, courting diaster.

Also IMO, a good, experienced keeper can spot the signs of dehydration early enough so that a drastic treatment such as administering subQ physiological saline would not be necessary or would be necessary only in such a severe situation that a vet has already been consulted. That being said, giving it subQ may be safer than trying tyo give it PO (i.e., by mouth) because of the danger of aspiration.
ERd

Ed,

yes, sadly when I had my trio of leaf chams Kaiya - my strongest-ended up aspirating on her anti-biotics. My vet showed me but did not alert me to the dangers of this. I was a new keeper and I have to admit I was nervous doing it. With Luna, when I giver her Ncg or Repta-aid I am EXTRA careful, but there is quite a difference b/t a 1" long cham and a 5"...I think I would have lost Kaiya anyway along with bart and Makeda to whatever the problem was (Kaiya was on ab to stave of possible infection from unshed, constricting skin). I was devastated that basically I killed her...makes me sad to think about it

So, point being...one must know what one is doing. Wouldn't it be great if you couldn't buy a cham without permission from your vet and after you have completed a series of classes in cham care? oh...what planet am I on?? :-/
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I tried to look back at previous post to see what her problems were (not so much that I can help, but just to understand what led up to this. Is she young? old? any chance she is graved and is egg bound?????

here is a vet link by states and countries - PLEASE find someone and let us know what happens - I wish you the best!
vets by state and country

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

tnx, im on it