Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...how's the little brevi doing?
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

When i got home a few mina go I went to look for her and she was dead She was on the bottom with a moutfull of dirt... I dont know why, there were lots of pinheads in there with her. I'm starting to think she didn't just shoot at the poo,b ut was on the ground eating dirt and it was in the way. There was no sign of a cricket in her mouth... I'm not sure why she'd do this though??
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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)

...how sad! What are you using for substrate?
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

coconut fibre... i'm going to get some more reptibark today to put in the tank for them... It bothered me that it happened, but I could tell right away yesterday that something wasn't right... she's always been the smalles of the three and I always wondered in the back of my mind how she'd make out in life
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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)

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Did you observe her eating prior to this? Was her aim accurate? Did she often miss? Every now and then, you'll get that cham that just doesn't have an accurate tongue, and it takes them a few tries to get their target.

You may be correct, in that this was not the first time she has eaten dirt. Complications hay have arisen if she ate too much of it. To be on the safe side, you way want to try a safer substrate, if any at all.

Vincent
http://www.screameleons.com

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Farrah & Vincent
Email: Screameleons@yahoo.com
Phone: (571) 437-0642
Website: http://www.Screameleons.com

I have seen her eat before, but not much recently.. I can't think of whether or not i've seen her miss. She was pretty skinny though and I wouldn't be surprised if she was having problems eating. I'm going to cover the coconut fibre with reptibark... the pieces are big enough that they can't fit it into their mouths even if they do catch a piece.
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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)

Well it also could have been a heavy parasite load too. She was wild caught wasn’t she? If she was a runt and stayed a runt that may have had something to do with it. Even if she was CB there was chance she had parasites. Did you have your brevs checked for parasites? I wouldn’t necessarily run out and get different substrate either, the cham before dying may have made a few last gasps and taken in some substrate. Unless you saw her zap the substrate yourself then anything could have happened. I have a couple of different species on coconut fiber and haven’t had any problems – I lightly pack it down to avoid accidental consumption. In fact a lot of people use it for a substrate for leaf chams. As you said, this may have just been an isolated incident. If your other brevs are thriving then I would keep things as is. If you haven’t already, I would have the others de-wormed. You may be able to get the meds from your vet and administer them yourself as well. I am currently in the process of doing this myself with my leaf chams. Sorry for your loss.

-roo

This has happened to me with leaf chams, the sad thing is that animals give everything into keeping healthy looking until they can no longer hold out, then when symptoms show it is usually quite serious. I have also personailly seen these animals die with a "mouthfull of dirt" later I actually noticed it was dirt sticking to their hanging out tounge, maybe she pulled her tounge back in before death? Im sorry for your loss, if you have anymore ques feel free to ask.

So sorry for our loss!!
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1:0 Veileds (Gene, RIP Aurora)
1:1 Albino Clawed Frogs (Phedre and Jos)
?? Fire belly toad (Harold)
Various cats and dogs