Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband's work has a male veiled chameleon, they've had him about a year. He's in a special cage built just for him, with the mister and everything. He gets crickets, big mealworms, collard greens, etc. But for about a week he's been less active, a bit whiter, and didn't hang on with his rear feet. So my husband and I took him to my reptile vet last week (right away when it was noticed). She gave him meds for worms, and he seemed to be doing better, though he still won't eat (but drinks some). Today, he seemed to go downhill all in an hour, and ended up climbing down to the bottom of his tank and laying there (not on his side). His eyes now look somewhat sunken. We rushed him back to the vet, who gave him antibotics, but suggested we get some advice from experienced chameleon folks.
We want to do all we can to save him, but not make him suffer needlessly. Thanks in advance for any info you can give us.

Any idea how old he is? Has anything changed in his environment if the past few weeks? Why did they think he had worms?

I'm not a vet, but I know that some anti biotics can be harsh on the liver.

Sunken eyes are one sign of dehydration. But I don't think thats whats causing him to behave that way. Is he getting enough water, while taking the anti biotics?

I hope somebody on this forum has more answers for you.

Good Luck.

Vincent.

Good luck.

any idea how/if he is being supplemented? Are the crickets gutloaded and other feeders dusted? This could be part/all of the problem. Maybe find another vet in your area? Here's a list by state. Also look for herp societies for a recommendation.

What has changed in his environment? Even if something seems small it may be big to him. Hope others with more experience reply. Also post on http://www.chamresearch.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=2 it's not as active as here but maybe someone (Dr. Ivan Alfonse) will reply.
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

Some vets over medicate without knowing what the problem is.
It could be organ strain from chronic dehydration if he wasn't drinking enough daily. It could be from over or under supplementing. Did the vet do blood or fecal tests before prescribing meds.
Let us know more info about his setup, temps, supplementation scheduele, diet. Describe evrything. Also if he was at work in a high traffic area he could have been doing that because of stress.
Older chams (past the juvenile stage) do not deal well with visual stress when their hormones kick in they become frightened of things that did not scare them before.
I take some chams to display at my work also but take them home when they start maturing because if not they stress out by seeing too many people. My adults only see me and usually only twice a day.

The stress thing may be the answer - he's about 2 by our best guess, and he's in a high traffic area. The guys used to take him out to sit on their arms when he was younger, but about six months ago he got "grumpy" and they don't do that anymore. But he is in a high activity area, and can see lots of folks.
He's alone this weekend (office is closed) - if he seems a bit better (and he did after last weekend, I believe) that may be the answer. To isolate him better, we could either cover his cage so he can't see out, or I'll see if they can move it somewhere else. For now, we could take him here in my home, but I don't have anywhere near the perfection of his cage for his needs, and wouldn't moving him stress him, too?
Thanks for the advice, and for your patience with my questions! LOL!

the outcome in stress relief in the future may well be worth it.
Can you move him cage and all?
I am surprized it took this long. Usually they start getting fearful way before two.
Maybe there is something new that is scaring him in the environment.
Maybe too much attention lately or even a new person (they learn to recognize their keeper)
Also re check temps, humidity, ect.
Something could be different or malfunctioning.

In my experience, chameleons do not do well at all around more than one or two people. My roommate has a male veiled about 1 yr old and i have a male jackson at about 6 months. If i was you, i would take him out of the work place and take him home. Remember, too much stress can kill a cham.....