Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My roomate's new male Ambanja needs some help. He arrived last Thursday (he was dropped off in person by his previous owner) and was fine and happy his first evening and on the next morning. Then he saw the iguana (see post "Chameleons and Iguanas Don't Mix," below), and went into a total panic. The chameleon was moved immediately to a different tank (wall mounted cages), pending the emplacement of lizard privacy screening in the living room. At first he seemed ok after being moved, however, he has gown downhill since then. He sleeps much of the day, and has a low appetite. My roomate has a vet appointment, but not until next Tue. (he had one earlier but the vet cancelled, it is a travelling vet.) What can we do to help him out, I would hate to lose him due to an iguana induced panic before the vet can see him.

BTW: Cages are 60" x 22" x 32" (made to be divided, removable dividers not currently installed), with a heat bulb and a Reptisun 5.0 on each side. Chameleon is misted twice daily and his lights are on a 12-13 hr schedule. He is ~1.5 years old and looks pretty well full grown.
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Currently
2.0 F. silvestris (NFO)
1.1 E. macularius
0.0.~100 E. prosticus

Please e-mail me...Jean

Change to a new home may have brought out longer standing health problems due to stress. Chams can be very sensitive to moves. How was his previous care? You need to know what he was fed, gutloads, dusts used and how often, whether the ReptiSun lights are old, etc. If you are keeping him at different temps and humidity levels than he's used to that can contribute. I'd get him to a vet sooner than next week. By the time symptoms show up he's in big trouble.

I would add a drip that runs all day on top of
the twice a day misting. When they're inactive they don't tend
to drink on their own, you may have to shower him for about an hour once a day in lukewarm water to make sure he's drinking enough, or try spraying lightly on his nose until you see him drink aloT.
Also make sure the ambient room temp is up around the mid 70's,
mabee a heater next to the cage, or insulating a few sides of the cage to get the temp up. At lower room temps, say 60-65, my chams will slow down and become inactive, even with a warm bask site. Get him to the vet soon, they can crash pretty fast.
gw

He already has a dripper, and he drinks when he is misted and from the puddles afterwards. Every morning, when he gets up, he eats one or two things, and does some strolling. But he ends up napping for too much of the day. My roomate did have an appointment today, but it got cancelled by the herpvet. There is no other vet to get him into sooner, as the herpvet is a travelling vet. Tuesday was as soon as the vet could get him in.

Jean. Check your mail, I did mail you.
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Currently
2.0 F. silvestris (NFO)
1.1 E. macularius
0.0.~100 E. prosticus