Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am looking for some info . We wad a 2year old male Valid chameleon that just past away and I need answers . He was healthy and well filed out and his colors were grate ,even at death his color was good . He had not been eating as many crickets as normal but he would do that from time to time so I would not say it alerted me . His eye had started to sink in some so I stared adding electrolytes to help with the dehydration and gave him a dose of Baytrill (not shore of the spelling ) and he died the next day I am just at a loss as to what could have happened to him ,and my wife is just devastated . Thanks David of DS Reptile Rescue , Removal & Rehabilitation ps his name was Cameo , rest in peace little buddy

I'm sorry you lost him, but the reality is that we can't diagnose or tell you the cause of death without a lot more information. If you haven't frozen him the best way to find out what happened is a necropsy by an experienced herp vet who can recognize the more obvious problems. We would need all the details (and I mean details...even down to the brand of light)about his setup, lighting, misting, humidity levels, drinking habits and diet, gutloading, his age, how long you had him, how he was cared for before you got him (he could have had some problems if his previous care was poor). There are just too many possibilities and complications to guess at. Even a seemingly small detail like how often you dusted with vitamins could have a major effect on his health. Chams usually hide their problems until they are so sick they can't behave normally. By the time most keepers realize something is wrong there may not be much you can do. One thing you could do is read the more recent articles about veiled chameleon care. By comparing what experts suggest to what you did it might give you some possible answers. But without a necropsy they would still be guesses. Check out the health and species articles on the www.chameleonnews.com website. You can trust what you read there.