Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here's a pic of her eye. It's not a very good closeup, but it's the best one I have. Her tail is a strange color too. I've been force feeding her cricket goo (yummy by the way), and water, but she's catching on and won't open her mouth any more. She's holding steady at 38 grams and had a poop yesterday. I hope this breaks soon. Her eye is looking better. It's open most of the time, and not as retracted. It has a film over it, but that's the antibiotic ointment. I'm pleased with the eye progress, but not the appetite. What a fiasco!

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Doug.

0.1 Veiled Chameleon
1.3 Ambanja Chameleons
1.1 Blue bar Ambilobe Chameleons (now 1.0 )
1 marine reef aquarium (home)
1 marine aquarium store

I am trying to rescue a veiled cham from a friend who didn't want her in the first place. He had her for about 4-5 months, she is weak, malnurished and both of her eyes are closed. When she walks she just puts one foot out there hoping to grab something. I had an iguana for 10 years before I moved to Italy and had to sell her. That was in 1992. I have never dealt with chameleons before.

I just got her this past thursday and last night tried dipping a Q-tip into warm water and putting a drop on her eyes. It worked to some extent, she opened both eyes for the first time. It looks like they were dried shut.

She's now in a 10 gallon aquarium with 2 misting jets tapped from my snake cage. We've put a UVB/UVA tube on her and a 45 watt for heat. She has lots of fake greenery and I keep the 45 watt on 24/7. Should I put flexwatt heating under the cage? Every time I pick her up she feels cold.

Can you tell me what I'm doing right / wrong / etc. Any help you could give me would be appreciated.

Wow, poor thing. If it were me (not that I have extensive experience in reviving them) here's what I'd do. I would get a heat pad for the bottom of the tank (FOR NOW), turn the heat lamp off at night unless it's a ceramic which emitts no light. She needs her rest. Second, get her eating something. You can try the fluker's repta aid. I just started using it on Silk and she likes it better than the cricket goo I was making. I still have to force feed her though. I hold her chin gently and she pulls away, opening her mouth. Your's might be so weak that you can just pry it open with the handle of a thin spoon or something to that effect. It comes with a feeding syringe. She looks pretty small, I'd estimate her at about 40-60 grams. Keep spraying a tiny bit of water on her eyes. Hopefully that will moisten them up and make it more comfortable for her to open them. Always warm your water, just to luke warm though, like baby milk. Then, once you've got her eating (even if it's still by force), as soon as you think she's on the road to recovery and goes on her own to the heat lamp, GET HER OUT OF THE TANK!!!! It'd be a shame to get her going again only to lose her to a respiratory infection. She needs to be in a screen enclosure. Chameleons are very prone to respiratory infections, ESPECIALLY IF KEPT IN A TANK (even if it has a screen top). Hopefully you'll get her eating on her own shortly, but I'd still give her the repta aid as a supplement to help her get back to normal weight. There's a few REALLY good books out there. Here's the name of the ones I have...Care and Breeding of Chameleons-The Herpetocultural Library (found in all Petsmarts-$10), Chameleons...Nature's Hidden Jewels-Petr Necas (Reptile Show $60), Chameleons Their Care and Breeding-Linda J. Daivison (Reptile Show-$25). GOOD LUCK! Keep me posted.
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Doug.

0.1 Veiled Chameleon
1.3 Ambanja Chameleons
1.1 Blue bar Ambilobe Chameleons (now 1.0 )
1 marine reef aquarium (home)
1 marine aquarium store

I can make her a screen tank in about an hour. How do you keep it warm? What temp should she have? Where can I find a GOOD care sheet?

DZ

Care sheets I'm not so sure about. For those I'd ask one of the breeders. I just refer to the books. Try that $10 one from Petsmart I told you about. Normally I wouldn't recommend anything from there, but it's a great and inexpensive book. That's why I said not to put her in a screen cage right away. If she doesn't have enough strength and/or sight to get to a heat lamp, then leave her in the tank for a few days with a heat pad (85-95 degrees) under it so she can lay on the bottom and warm up if she needs. Then as soon as you think she can make her way to the heat lamp regularly, build her a screen cage. I'd recommend 18"x18"or 24"x30" high. I attached a pick of my cage here for you. It cost me about $25 to make including everything (except lights). You can also check out my cages post too. It's up here as well. Good luck.

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Doug.

0.1 Veiled Chameleon
1.3 Ambanja Chameleons
1.1 Blue bar Ambilobe Chameleons (now 1.0 )
1 marine reef aquarium (home)
1 marine aquarium store