4 yr. Old Veiled w/ Pneumonia Temp/Humidty Support Needed

You said…”I read some research about chams not getting fevers so raising basking temp can help fight illness. Anyone else?“…my vet always recommended raising the temperature just a bit when they were sick…and I’m sure it was for this reason.

“Although reptiles cannot generate a fever themselves when unwell or fighting off an infection there is evidence to show that reptiles will seek out additional heat. This process termed behavioural fever will see a reptile seek out heat and raise its body temperature above its normal range. It is thought that this process aids the animal in fighting off pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, which can cause infections. The process of behavioural fever is used in place of the animal generating a fever itself.”…
https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2021/04/18/can-reptiles-get-a-fever/

You might want to read this too…
https://coasttocoast.co.uk/for-the-sake-of-our-chameleons/

Has he been sitting with his mouth open at all since he’s been sick?
Thank you so much for the info! No, he wasn’t doing that at all. My only original signs of illness were him hanging at the bottom. The night before the vet I just happened to hear him making a sighing/hissing sound in his sleep. It was like every 10-20 minutes.
 
I feel like when they are sick they tend to run lower than higher too. They stick in their basking level and uvb a lot more.

Also recommend taking your boys out on a sunny day if you can @Dexter’s Mom sunshine has always done wonders when my babies get sick.
I will get him outside today…if he doesn’t hate me too much for stabbing him with a needle.
 
You said…”The night before the vet I just happened to hear him making a sighing/hissing sound in his sleep. It was like every 10-20 minutes.”…I was looking for an indication that it is something respiratory…and this could be an indication. BTW.. I’m not a vet though so I can only give an opinion.
 
You said…”The night before the vet I just happened to hear him making a sighing/hissing sound in his sleep. It was like every 10-20 minutes.”…I was looking for an indication that it is something respiratory…and this could be an indication. BTW.. I’m not a vet though so I can only give an opinion.
Yeah, and I think that’s why when I took him to the vet 2 weeks earlier he didn’t really jump to anything. All I had was behavior changes. going on the bottom, being a bit lethargic, not trying to get away when picked up. He “looked” healthy so besides the fecal, he didn’t see the point in testing anything else.
 
You said…”The night before the vet I just happened to hear him making a sighing/hissing sound in his sleep. It was like every 10-20 minutes.”…I was looking for an indication that it is something respiratory…and this could be an indication. BTW.. I’m not a vet though so I can only give an opinion.
Oh! And his color. It’s like he has his pajamas on 24/7. Even during outside time when he usually would get a little darker and more dull. In your experience, do you find it more common to diagnose RI’s with a culture? Is it common to see it on an X-ray?
 
Oh! And his color. It’s like he has his pajamas on 24/7. Even during outside time when he usually would get a little darker and more dull. In your experience, do you find it more common to diagnose RI’s with a culture? Is it common to see it on an X-ray?
I haven’t had to deal with many RI’s in reptiles over the years….and sadly I don’t remember if they did X-rays…but I know they didn’t do cultures.
 
Is this a recent pic? Looks like he has some edema.

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I haven’t had to deal with many RI’s in reptiles over the years….and sadly I don’t remember if they did X-rays…but I know they didn’t do cultures.
Just curious. Glad you haven’t had to deal with many. I feel so badly for the little guy:(
 
Am I doing damage to his general well being and shortening his life span by taking him out almost everyday and giving him injections? He needs the meds, I know that, but stress shortening his life span has always been one of my biggest fears. He is very comfortable with me and it’s going to suck if he loses his trust in me:( Ugh! I seriously hate sticking him with these needles. I might be more stressed than him. I finally felt him vibrate yesterday, I thought that was a myth lol Anyways, I guess I’m just looking for reassurance about how much stress this may be causing him.
 
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Is this a recent pic? Looks like he has some edema.

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Oh my! I don’t know how I missed your comment!🤦‍♀️ Yes, that was the day before I initially took him to the vet. The edema is why I took him in the first place, but I was sent home with basically no diagnostic testing and told he seemed fine. I brought him back two weeks later because he continued to decline, gaining more symptoms as we went. He was hanging out on the bottom, closing his eyes, and I heard him wheezing in his sleep. The vet diagnosed him with pneumonia and said the edema was caused by that. Do you have a differing opinion on that?
 
Am I doing damage to his general well being and shortening his life span by taking him out almost everyday and giving him injections? He needs the meds, I know that, but stress shortening his life span has always been one of my biggest fears. He is very comfortable with me and it’s going to suck if he loses his trust in me:( Ugh! I seriously hate sticking him with these needles. I might be more stressed than him. I finally felt him vibrate yesterday, I thought that was a myth lol Anyways, I guess I’m just looking for reassurance about how much stress this may be causing him.
I’m sorry you and your guy are going through this. Unfortunately with medication it’s a necessity. The stress spikes for him are short lived so I honestly don’t see his life span shortening just because you are giving him medication. The stress of being unwell will cause far more damage. You are doing the right thing. It sucks I know. Just do your best to have the rest of his day be free from as much stress as possible. And you can work on trust with him once he is done with his meds. It may take time to build that back up.
 
Oh my! I don’t know how I missed your comment!🤦‍♀️ Yes, that was the day before I initially took him to the vet. The edema is why I took him in the first place, but I was sent home with basically no diagnostic testing and told he seemed fine. I brought him back two weeks later because he continued to decline, gaining more symptoms as we went. He was hanging out on the bottom, closing his eyes, and I heard him wheezing in his sleep. The vet diagnosed him with pneumonia and said the edema was caused by that. Do you have a differing opinion on that?
I am not a vet but what I’ve learned about these guys is that edema is caused generally from over-supplementation. The pneumonia I don’t know. What are his humidity levels at during the day and at night? And what are his temps for the day and at night?
 
I am not a vet but what I’ve learned about these guys is that edema is caused generally from over-supplementation. The pneumonia I don’t know. What are his humidity levels at during the day and at night? And what are his temps for the day and at night?
Thank you, that’s really reassuring. He’s not doing too bad with them, and after this morning’s shot we actually just sat outside for awhile. I know it’s necessary I’m just feeling bad about it. Honestly I’m probably more stressed than him. I have all the humidity and temps listed in the original post of all my husbandry. I quit fogging at night once this all started. I’m not getting enough of a temp drop for it which I believe is why this all happened. You’ll see the issues I’ve been having because of our up and down weather in the husbandry post. He started doing much better after the very first dose, so I think he’s on the mend, but I just have a lot more injections to give👎 Thank you for your response!
 
Thank you, that’s really reassuring. He’s not doing too bad with them, and after this morning’s shot we actually just sat outside for awhile. I know it’s necessary I’m just feeling bad about it. Honestly I’m probably more stressed than him. I have all the humidity and temps listed in the original post of all my husbandry. I quit fogging at night once this all started. I’m not getting enough of a temp drop for it which I believe is why this all happened. You’ll see the issues I’ve been having because of our up and down weather in the husbandry post. He started doing much better after the very first dose, so I think he’s on the mend, but I just have a lot more injections to give👎 Thank you for your response!
Ya high humidity with high temps can get our guys sick. I am glad he seems to be doing better after his medication though. I hope he will keep improving.
 
Ya high humidity with high temps can get our guys sick. I am glad he seems to be doing better after his medication though. I hope he will keep improving.
Thank you! Yeah, it’s been a struggle in my house the last few months. It’s dry because of the AC, but not getting below 70 at night. I’m only misting very briefly a few times throughout the night. It’s only hovering around 50% right now, but I can afford to do more with the temps. Fingers crossed, he’s been doing good. He never lost his appetite and actually gained a few grams between vet appts, which the vet seemed to like. He’s a big boy! He still has that edema on his neck, but the vet didn’t seem concerned. It was suggested to me to switch him off the Repashy plus LoD and try Reptivite instead in case it’s a supplement issue. I have it on order, so we will see! Thank you again!
 
Oh my! I don’t know how I missed your comment!🤦‍♀️ Yes, that was the day before I initially took him to the vet. The edema is why I took him in the first place, but I was sent home with basically no diagnostic testing and told he seemed fine. I brought him back two weeks later because he continued to decline, gaining more symptoms as we went. He was hanging out on the bottom, closing his eyes, and I heard him wheezing in his sleep. The vet diagnosed him with pneumonia and said the edema was caused by that. Do you have a differing opinion on that?
Yes I was looking at the edema around his neck area…from my own experience it was supplement related but have also heard it can be related to liver issues as well.
 
Yes I was looking at the edema around his neck area…from my own experience it was supplement related but have also heard it can be related to liver issues as well.
I was concerned about the liver issues as well because I also heard it could be related to that. I asked my vet to do a full blood work up (because he wasn’t going to). He agreed, but then he said he couldn’t get a good sample and didn’t want to stress him out more. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
 
The vet diagnosed him with pneumonia and said the edema was caused by that. Do you have a differing opinion on that?
Edema can happen when the body is out of balance... We see this a lot with incorrect supplementation. We see it also with females that are gravid. With him having pneumonia and the body being so ill this could additionally cause edema. If your supplements are spot on and rotation is correct then it would not be due to supplements.
 
Edema can happen when the body is out of balance... We see this a lot with incorrect supplementation. We see it also with females that are gravid. With him having pneumonia and the body being so ill this could additionally cause edema. If your supplements are spot on and rotation is correct then it would not be due to supplements.
Yeah, at this point I’m chalking it up to being I’ll. My supplements are on point, so I really don’t think that’s it. The vet agreed with that as well. He still has it a little bit, but it seems to be going down. We’ll see! Thank you for your input💚
 
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