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suggestions on housing a sick chameleon?

gecko_gal Jul 03, 2003 05:05 AM

My Fischers cant walk, he has factured himself from a fall,I have a gold dust day gecko in with him, and Ive had to kill all crix, cuz they where bitting him. I had took him to vets and he is on Baytril,antibiotic,and I give him a little hydro-life,also I put a mild iodine cream on his wounds, so he has been happier since the treatment,its just, I dont know how to protect him from falling???,you see I have a long plastic leafy decoration, for him to climb on,which my day gecko hides behind, because its only thing in viv, today I put my chams umbrella plant back, but he struggled, and looked like he was doing chin ups!. I dont think he is getting much sleep, because the wee soul cant get comfortable!.
Can anyone suggest safe plants,sustrate,ways to make him feel at home,so he can have better sleep???????

Replies (5)

corn_snake_123 Jul 03, 2003 11:17 AM

It really isn't wise keeping the gecko in with your cham. Id seperate then, to decrease stress levels for your chameleon.

>>My Fischers cant walk, he has factured himself from a fall,I have a gold dust day gecko in with him, and Ive had to kill all crix, cuz they where bitting him. I had took him to vets and he is on Baytril,antibiotic,and I give him a little hydro-life,also I put a mild iodine cream on his wounds, so he has been happier since the treatment,its just, I dont know how to protect him from falling???,you see I have a long plastic leafy decoration, for him to climb on,which my day gecko hides behind, because its only thing in viv, today I put my chams umbrella plant back, but he struggled, and looked like he was doing chin ups!. I dont think he is getting much sleep, because the wee soul cant get comfortable!.
>>Can anyone suggest safe plants,sustrate,ways to make him feel at home,so he can have better sleep???????
>>
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Jamie whitehouse

lil_frogger2 Jul 03, 2003 11:28 AM

You might want to use bed-a-beast as a substrate, I think it mught be softer if he falls again. And instead of using plants, use sticks like driftwood and stuff, they have different sizes, depending on the size of your chameleon. Try blackjungle.com. They have alot of good wood. And lay the driftwood closer to the ground. Maybe even buy a hammock, or something that can support him while he sleeps, likes something he could lean up on or get in, like a little container or something that he can crawl in and out of, a nice confined space, he might feel safer in it and it wouldn't be so horrible not to stand. And they have these fake vines at the pet store with leaves. You can wrap it around the driftwood for hiding places. Also, they have this bowl that shakes when you turn it on, so when you put somethng dead in it, the animal thinks it's alive and eats it. You could try that too.
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~Julie~

Carlton Jul 03, 2003 01:21 PM

I would not use any type of particle substrate...it is too easy for the cham to get it on his tongue and swallow it. I would lay bunched cloth (not terry towels as he may get his claws caught in the loops) such as old flannel shirts in the cage bottom and put a network of branches right over it...very low down. He will have something to cling to or can lay on the cloth if he prefers. Chams will sleep if it is dark. So, at night you need to make sure there is NO visible light around the cage. You will most likely have to hand feed and water him as any loose crix could easily chew on him and water will just soak the cloth too much. Give him a lot of privacy so he doesn't feel he has to keep climbing to be safe. Drape a sheet over the cage to block his view of activity in the room if you have to.

anson Jul 03, 2003 11:49 AM

Please remove the day gecko. I think you will be doing your cham a great favor. Chams are visual animals and recieve great stress if they can see other animals and especially if one is in his enclosure. He really needs to be stress free to get better.
Also if he likes crickets try cup feeding them to him in a shallow glass bowl. put a vine or small climbing thing over the bowl but very close so he can reach them.
What have you been feeding him instesd of crickets?
Hydro-life is good but only for a day or two he needs food besides that. If he still tries to eat on his own provide him with insects to eat. If he won't eat on his own and you are force feeding use Repta-aid for carnivores. It is made by Fluker and you can probably get info about where to get it on their site www.flukerfarms.com

chameleoncrow Jul 04, 2003 06:18 AM

If i might suggest, i think the main problem is the day gecko that the chameleon shares his space with. I don't know asactly what the situation is or how long they have been housed together, but that is my guess at what the problem is. Chameleons in the wild sometimes purposely fall to the ground in an attempt to escape its predators. I have seen this behaviour first hand, since i have one super feisty chameleon that does this everytime i try to gently catch her. Your chameleon is most probabaly stressed by the sight of the day gecko, and a stressed chameleon would rarely heal, if ever. the best thing you can do in my opinion is to take the day gecko away and house him seperately.

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