Hello, my fellow chameleon keepers, some of you may have seen me and my girl throughout the forums over the last few years. This community has always been here for the both of us, and I send out all my love to everyone here, but everything at some point must come to an end. This blog is a tribute to my girl, Nachito, who this forum helped me nurse back to health. While she no longer explores the branches of her enclosure, she is sure to be somewhere free of pain with all the food she could ever want. Even so, while she isn't here physically anymore, we shall get into the story of how she lived and never gave up.
The Beginning
As many of you know, a lot of chameleons may start off in pet stores that get them sent off to families who don't know any better than to trust the chain stores. Nachito was one of these chameleons. She started her life within a pet store, before being taken home and becoming a classroom pet. She spent around the 5 first months of her life within the widely sold Zoo Med Chameleon Kit, nicknamed the ‘death’ kit within this community. In a classroom, she was often handled and taken out of her ‘home’ to be held by very young children, the thought that her decreased activity and ‘sleeping’ as a normal chameleon behavior. Unfortunately, as many of you know, this is considered a response to stress or illness, where, in this case, she was so stressed that she was shutting down.
This is the part of the story where my family comes in. The year that this occurred, I was in the late end of high school, winter break being right around the corner. I had gotten a call from my mother who worked at this school, telling me about how ‘the chameleon's babysitter had left early for the break’ and that she needed someone to care for her over the two weeks. This was the first time I met Nachito, when she was a small, young thing, just trying to survive. Being a curious one, I went online, searching for a place to learn about this new creature in my room. Hence, the forum named Chameleon Forum seemed like the perfect place to start. That was when everything both went down, and uphill at the same time. Right away I was informed, that she was in fact, not in a quality living situation, that if this small and bare cage wasn't updated and changed soon, then she would decline further, her untimely death being the unavoidable result. I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked and scared, realizing, while I had this creature in my hands, there was almost nothing I could do for her, as she wasn't my pet. I thought this was where our paths and story would end, a short two weeks of learning about this stunning creature before we had to send her back to the classroom, the one that likely would lead her to her grave.
The Rescue
But the story doesn't end there, it picked back up three months later when I got another call, this one heart breaking. The chameleon that I had cared for those months earlier had, in fact, declined, but in a horrifying way. This girl, Nachito, had been left all alone, for four days without food, water, or prior notice before she was found again. With sunken eyes, bumps along her rips, stunted growth and a malformed back leg, it was clear that she was struggling. Once again, back in our care, we were faced with a decision: Do we send her back or do we insist on keeping her? Luckily, when we contacted her previous owner, it was quickly settled, the agreement being reached that we would take over the ownership of her.
Then the first course of action was clear. Once we officially had her into our care, we needed two things: a final decision on her name, and more importantly, a new enclosure. To begin, her title. She had been called two things, Nachito Burrito or Watermelon. It wasn't a hard choice, as I was never good at naming my pets, my four in the past being called some sort of food. Taking the creativity of the elementary schoolers, we decided she would forever be known as Nachito.
At the moment of writing this, I learned something that was perfect: Nachito, within some languages, could mean fiery one, which is a flawless description of her personality.
Permanent name now appointment, the next task was getting her into a home that she needed and deserved. With the guidance of this forum and the support of my bank account, we transferred her into her new abode. Going from a cramped 12x12x18 inch bare and slowly breaking cage to a 24x24x48 inch (2x2x4 foot) plant and stick filled enclosure along with a lay-bin and correct lighting, it was the kickstart she needed to thrive.
The first hurdle was finally overcome, getting her into her own forever home within her larger forever home. But this wasn't the only hill she had to climb, as we had a whole mountain range ahead of us.
The First Months
The first few months were likely Nachitos most pain free and relaxing times during her whole life. While she was still recovering from some issues remaining from her previous home, such being the development of MDB and what was suspected to be calcium deposits along her ribs, Nachito was able to grow steadily, enjoying her supplement dusted bugs and climbing around her leafy home. Even with some minor bumps in the road, she was able to thrive, finally reaching a normal size and weight for a female veiled chameleon.
Growing Health Issues
As much as we wanted her health to stay strong and all of her issues to evaporate, we unfortunately were just reaching the beginning of the mountain. As many of us keepers know, there are some chameleon species with females who are able to produce and lay eggs even without interacting with or ever seeing a male. Nachito was one of these species, the Veiled/Yemen Chameleon, or one of the chameleons who were notorious for maturing early and having the ability to lay upwards of a hundred eggs in one clutch. The best precursor to helping decrease in clutch size, and even laying frequency, is keeping temperature and feeding amounts under control. By making sure her basking spot was no more than 80 degrees and keeping her weight and production abilities under control with only three feeding of a few appropriately sized bugs, Nachito took months before she produced her receptive colors. But another issue showed its fangs first.
During the November of 2022, we noticed that Nachito seemed to have some swelling within her legs, causing her to hang and not fully use them. Even so her activity level did not change, and she was her normal spicy self. With x-rays and blood work, it was settled as a mystery, as no broken bones or signs of gout showed on the tests.
Even with the strange swelling, soon we had another, rather normal hurdle, that it was time to overcome. The long-dreaded date had arrived when Nachito finally started to show her receptive colors.
Now searching for a male and keeping us on our toes, we waited for the day when she would take up interest in her lay bin, the day she would begin digging, and the day she would get rid of those eggs. But it never came, a month soon became two, and in what seemed like a blink of the eye, she hadn't laid at all within half a year.
During that time, we took her to the vet, concerned as post ovulatory egg binding (also known as dystocia) could lead to death, and her mannerisms and weight gain had made it clear that she had started to produce eggs. But within a doctor's office, we learn through ultrasounds that, while she was not necessarily struggling to have the eggs, she did have something called follicular stasis. This diagnosis was something pre to the egg binding after ovulation, it was when the follicles that have matured, don't ovulate or progress towards calcification and laying. Unlike post ovulatory stasis, her disease does not have a clear or confirmed cause. The only option for treatment was surgery, and while there was a possibility of reabsorption, it was rare and almost unheard of.
And so, we decided that surgery would likely be the best option… but there was another problem. During blood work we found out that she was anemic, and due to a few other factors, the possibility of her surviving the operation was very low. In the end she was put on what was essentially a hospice type treatment, one where we would give her the best life possible until she started to fully decline.
With the choice of hospice, we talked with her doctor and expected her to deteriorate within months, but true to her stubborn nature, Nachito just didn’t stop trucking along.
When we estimated only a few months with her, we didn’t expect her to just not stop, far surpassing the time limit we thought she had. She never seemed to show major signs of discomfort, the only one that we actively battled and tried to figure out was her swollen ankles, and that mystery would finally be solved almost a year after the initial symptoms.
What now was almost routine, we had gone in for some more x-rays and blood work, the current concern being a clogged pore on her elbow, but we had come out with a final diagnosis on her leg issues. With the guesses of many other keepers online, the inflammation was confirmed to be gout, with the evidence of elevated uric acid levels. While it was another diagnosis to write on her laundry list of issues, it was a relief to finally learn the reason for her swelling. We were finally able to give her some medication to help with pain.
The Choice to Finally Let Her Go
With recent events of her third birthday and brighter colors, we believed that she was feeling better, but this is where the story wraps up. After a few months of pain treatment with meds, Nachito finally started to show us she was declining. First with a decrease in her normal activity such that she hardly moved from her sleeping spot for three days, then second, with the first time in my time as her keeper, she closed her eyes when lights were on. The sign of her not having enough energy and the eyes, I consulted some of my fellow keepers and friends, in the end, coming to the decision. After three amazing years of being her owner, it was finally time to say goodbye.
The choice to let a beloved pet go is not an easy one. Even with the loads of second guessing, it was the best time to relieve her from the fight. On February 5th, around 6pm, I said goodbye to the friend and reptile that sparked my love for the hobby, the chameleon who made it to college with me and the beautiful creature who blessed me with her fierce and full personality.
A Thank You
While Nachitos story has come to a close, I want to thank everyone who helped the both of us through this journey, from Missskittles, Beman and Kinyonga to Elizaann2, Jannb, Grannyk, Sonny13, and so, so many more keepers. You all saved the both of us, and I can't express my gratitude enough. These past three years within the community have been a blast, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Every single one of you holds a special place in my heart, and it means the world to me that we could share this journey.
With all the love and gratitude in the world, fly high Nachito. We love you. Goodbye <3
The Beginning
As many of you know, a lot of chameleons may start off in pet stores that get them sent off to families who don't know any better than to trust the chain stores. Nachito was one of these chameleons. She started her life within a pet store, before being taken home and becoming a classroom pet. She spent around the 5 first months of her life within the widely sold Zoo Med Chameleon Kit, nicknamed the ‘death’ kit within this community. In a classroom, she was often handled and taken out of her ‘home’ to be held by very young children, the thought that her decreased activity and ‘sleeping’ as a normal chameleon behavior. Unfortunately, as many of you know, this is considered a response to stress or illness, where, in this case, she was so stressed that she was shutting down.
This is the part of the story where my family comes in. The year that this occurred, I was in the late end of high school, winter break being right around the corner. I had gotten a call from my mother who worked at this school, telling me about how ‘the chameleon's babysitter had left early for the break’ and that she needed someone to care for her over the two weeks. This was the first time I met Nachito, when she was a small, young thing, just trying to survive. Being a curious one, I went online, searching for a place to learn about this new creature in my room. Hence, the forum named Chameleon Forum seemed like the perfect place to start. That was when everything both went down, and uphill at the same time. Right away I was informed, that she was in fact, not in a quality living situation, that if this small and bare cage wasn't updated and changed soon, then she would decline further, her untimely death being the unavoidable result. I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked and scared, realizing, while I had this creature in my hands, there was almost nothing I could do for her, as she wasn't my pet. I thought this was where our paths and story would end, a short two weeks of learning about this stunning creature before we had to send her back to the classroom, the one that likely would lead her to her grave.
The Rescue
But the story doesn't end there, it picked back up three months later when I got another call, this one heart breaking. The chameleon that I had cared for those months earlier had, in fact, declined, but in a horrifying way. This girl, Nachito, had been left all alone, for four days without food, water, or prior notice before she was found again. With sunken eyes, bumps along her rips, stunted growth and a malformed back leg, it was clear that she was struggling. Once again, back in our care, we were faced with a decision: Do we send her back or do we insist on keeping her? Luckily, when we contacted her previous owner, it was quickly settled, the agreement being reached that we would take over the ownership of her.
Then the first course of action was clear. Once we officially had her into our care, we needed two things: a final decision on her name, and more importantly, a new enclosure. To begin, her title. She had been called two things, Nachito Burrito or Watermelon. It wasn't a hard choice, as I was never good at naming my pets, my four in the past being called some sort of food. Taking the creativity of the elementary schoolers, we decided she would forever be known as Nachito.
At the moment of writing this, I learned something that was perfect: Nachito, within some languages, could mean fiery one, which is a flawless description of her personality.
Permanent name now appointment, the next task was getting her into a home that she needed and deserved. With the guidance of this forum and the support of my bank account, we transferred her into her new abode. Going from a cramped 12x12x18 inch bare and slowly breaking cage to a 24x24x48 inch (2x2x4 foot) plant and stick filled enclosure along with a lay-bin and correct lighting, it was the kickstart she needed to thrive.
The first hurdle was finally overcome, getting her into her own forever home within her larger forever home. But this wasn't the only hill she had to climb, as we had a whole mountain range ahead of us.
The First Months
The first few months were likely Nachitos most pain free and relaxing times during her whole life. While she was still recovering from some issues remaining from her previous home, such being the development of MDB and what was suspected to be calcium deposits along her ribs, Nachito was able to grow steadily, enjoying her supplement dusted bugs and climbing around her leafy home. Even with some minor bumps in the road, she was able to thrive, finally reaching a normal size and weight for a female veiled chameleon.
Growing Health Issues
As much as we wanted her health to stay strong and all of her issues to evaporate, we unfortunately were just reaching the beginning of the mountain. As many of us keepers know, there are some chameleon species with females who are able to produce and lay eggs even without interacting with or ever seeing a male. Nachito was one of these species, the Veiled/Yemen Chameleon, or one of the chameleons who were notorious for maturing early and having the ability to lay upwards of a hundred eggs in one clutch. The best precursor to helping decrease in clutch size, and even laying frequency, is keeping temperature and feeding amounts under control. By making sure her basking spot was no more than 80 degrees and keeping her weight and production abilities under control with only three feeding of a few appropriately sized bugs, Nachito took months before she produced her receptive colors. But another issue showed its fangs first.
During the November of 2022, we noticed that Nachito seemed to have some swelling within her legs, causing her to hang and not fully use them. Even so her activity level did not change, and she was her normal spicy self. With x-rays and blood work, it was settled as a mystery, as no broken bones or signs of gout showed on the tests.
Even with the strange swelling, soon we had another, rather normal hurdle, that it was time to overcome. The long-dreaded date had arrived when Nachito finally started to show her receptive colors.
Now searching for a male and keeping us on our toes, we waited for the day when she would take up interest in her lay bin, the day she would begin digging, and the day she would get rid of those eggs. But it never came, a month soon became two, and in what seemed like a blink of the eye, she hadn't laid at all within half a year.
During that time, we took her to the vet, concerned as post ovulatory egg binding (also known as dystocia) could lead to death, and her mannerisms and weight gain had made it clear that she had started to produce eggs. But within a doctor's office, we learn through ultrasounds that, while she was not necessarily struggling to have the eggs, she did have something called follicular stasis. This diagnosis was something pre to the egg binding after ovulation, it was when the follicles that have matured, don't ovulate or progress towards calcification and laying. Unlike post ovulatory stasis, her disease does not have a clear or confirmed cause. The only option for treatment was surgery, and while there was a possibility of reabsorption, it was rare and almost unheard of.
And so, we decided that surgery would likely be the best option… but there was another problem. During blood work we found out that she was anemic, and due to a few other factors, the possibility of her surviving the operation was very low. In the end she was put on what was essentially a hospice type treatment, one where we would give her the best life possible until she started to fully decline.
With the choice of hospice, we talked with her doctor and expected her to deteriorate within months, but true to her stubborn nature, Nachito just didn’t stop trucking along.
When we estimated only a few months with her, we didn’t expect her to just not stop, far surpassing the time limit we thought she had. She never seemed to show major signs of discomfort, the only one that we actively battled and tried to figure out was her swollen ankles, and that mystery would finally be solved almost a year after the initial symptoms.
What now was almost routine, we had gone in for some more x-rays and blood work, the current concern being a clogged pore on her elbow, but we had come out with a final diagnosis on her leg issues. With the guesses of many other keepers online, the inflammation was confirmed to be gout, with the evidence of elevated uric acid levels. While it was another diagnosis to write on her laundry list of issues, it was a relief to finally learn the reason for her swelling. We were finally able to give her some medication to help with pain.
The Choice to Finally Let Her Go
With recent events of her third birthday and brighter colors, we believed that she was feeling better, but this is where the story wraps up. After a few months of pain treatment with meds, Nachito finally started to show us she was declining. First with a decrease in her normal activity such that she hardly moved from her sleeping spot for three days, then second, with the first time in my time as her keeper, she closed her eyes when lights were on. The sign of her not having enough energy and the eyes, I consulted some of my fellow keepers and friends, in the end, coming to the decision. After three amazing years of being her owner, it was finally time to say goodbye.
The choice to let a beloved pet go is not an easy one. Even with the loads of second guessing, it was the best time to relieve her from the fight. On February 5th, around 6pm, I said goodbye to the friend and reptile that sparked my love for the hobby, the chameleon who made it to college with me and the beautiful creature who blessed me with her fierce and full personality.
A Thank You
While Nachitos story has come to a close, I want to thank everyone who helped the both of us through this journey, from Missskittles, Beman and Kinyonga to Elizaann2, Jannb, Grannyk, Sonny13, and so, so many more keepers. You all saved the both of us, and I can't express my gratitude enough. These past three years within the community have been a blast, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Every single one of you holds a special place in my heart, and it means the world to me that we could share this journey.
With all the love and gratitude in the world, fly high Nachito. We love you. Goodbye <3
