Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All - Thanks for the suggestions for my veiled. He's still not doing too well, although his color is mucho better. He's showing interest in the food again, when we put it in a container, but still can't catch it. Here's what I have to ask of you all -- can they get brain damage from anything household? I ask because of his severe inaccuracy with his tounge. He'll see the cricket (ie) on the ground and then turn his head almost 90` and go for it. Obviously, he always misses. Makes me think something's gone wrong upstairs. I sure hope not, because it'll be a lot of work to continue at with our current methods, but he's still the baby of the family! Somebody please tell me I'm totally wrong, and you know what the deal is...

The only thing household that would have a major affect on him (other than paints, cleaners, and other obvious things like that) would be non stick cooking wear. If it is heated at too high a temp it gives off toxic fumes that can kill small birds and lizards. That would cause breathing problems though, not likely eye probs.
There are a few things i can think of, but I can't be sure if it's either...
1) something is wrong with one of his eyes. A cham needs both of his eyes working together to judge distance etc and if he can't see properly out of one then it oculd affect his judgement. Check to see if his eyes both look the same, if they both have round openings, and if one or both seems runny or super dry.
2) He is calcium deficient. Chams use a bone in their mouth/jaw to propel out their tounge. If this bone is soft b/c of nutrient deficiency, then he won't be able to use it properly. How do his limbs look? Does he seem bowlegged at all?
I know you posted about his care below, but I can't remember what you said about dusting... what brands did you use and how often?
Those are the only things I can think of. It might not be anything, but it can be hard to tell with lizards if there is a problem until it gets serious... If he looks like he really wants to eat, and can't seem to get it figured out I would get him to a vet that deals with herps. They can take an xray and tell you if his bones are properly developed or weak, and can also take a look at his eyes more closely. how much food would you say he is getting into his system right now? If he hasn't eaten anything in more than three weeks I would consider offering him some liquid food. Mix a bit of babyfood with some crix and squish them with a spoon until their guts fall out (I know sounds great, but you DON"T want to see what they do to a blender lol) and mix in some calcium powder. Mist him until he drinks then put a drop on his lips, if he is really wanting to eat he will probably drink it. If he has eaten in less than three weeks though I would just keep a really close eye on him. If he starts to look weak try the liquid diet, and try and get him into a vet. Try keeping a log of how he looks every day and howm uch he eats/drinks. If it is the start of a problem (it may not be i'm not trying to scare you) then it will help later to have that info. It will also help you judge how fast he is getting better/worse.
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~Lindsay
0.1 panther chameleon (Orion)
1.2 r. brevicaudatus chams (unnamed)
0.1 leopard gecko (Acadia)
1.0 pictus gecko (Raine)
1.1 parakeets (Bongo/Citron)
1.1 cats (Tigger/Bonzai)
1.0 dwarf hampster (Chico the monster)
someday will have 1.1 great danes (will be Osiris and Solaris)

Thanks Lindsay - Tank just returned froma week with the herp, who couldn't figure a thing. They did xrays and watched him, but couldn't nail it on anything either...

Still hand feeding (forcefeeding) him and giving some antibotics in the meantime.
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~Lydia
1.0 Veiled Chameleon (Tank)

Well, in a way that's good. If they can't see something obvious then it's probably nothing serious, at least not anything at a point where you should be worried. Keep a close eye on him and write down anything that seems off. The xrays would show if he had anything wrong with his bones, so hopefully his mineral levels are fine. Hopefully he'll come around
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~Lindsay
0.1 panther chameleon (Orion)
1.2 r. brevicaudatus chams (unnamed)
0.1 leopard gecko (Acadia)
1.0 pictus gecko (Raine)
1.1 parakeets (Bongo/Citron)
1.1 cats (Tigger/Bonzai)
1.0 dwarf hampster (Chico the monster)
someday will have 1.1 great danes (will be Osiris and Solaris)

Do you have a substrate in the cage? Do you have any potted
plants in the cage that don't have the soil covered over?
What I'm getting at is could he have ingested something that
won't pass through his system? Did any blockage show up
in the xrays? Is he defecating normally? Temperature can
affect the rate that food passes through the system too.

You didn't mention gutloading the crickets/insects that he gets
or whether you dust them with anything. Are his arms good and
straight? Is there a "knobby" bit above his elbow? It might be
worthwhile to read the articles on Vitamin A and Vitamin D3
and Calcium on this site....
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/

You mentioned that his tongue is not very accurate...
I know that calcium affects muscles...tongue extension and
intestinal contractions both involve muscles. I think that
magnesium plays a in the muscle contractions too. Perhaps you
should talk to your vet about it all?

What's byrllium? I tried to look it up but couldn't find
anything about it.

Its not a good sign that your chameleon's eyes are sunken
in....but if the reason is found soon, it might be reversible.

Please be aware that I'm not a vet. I hope what I've said will
be food for thought...things that you might consider
along with the help of your vet.

Good luck with your chameleon! I hope that the problems can be
solved.