6 Mo. Female Veiled Chameleon Sick? Any tips or advice would be helpful.

[Beman]

@vraspo Does the Reptivite say with D3??? If so stop asap... It is more D3 overdose.
I am of no use on the rehab side of things. I just tagged in my friend who is knowledgeable and when she is able in the next few hours she will offer what assistance she can.
Here is a link to look at. You have to be very careful when giving her water or any syringe feeding. http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2014/05/how-to-give-different-medicines.html

Good luck with everything.

 

[vraspo]

@vraspo Does the Reptivite say with D3??? If so stop asap... It is more D3 overdose.
I am of no use on the rehab side of things. I just tagged in my friend who is knowledgeable and when she is able in the next few hours she will offer what assistance she can.
Here is a link to look at. You have to be very careful when giving her water or any syringe feeding. http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2014/05/how-to-give-different-medicines.html

Good luck with everything.

I don't think so.

 

[Beman]

I don't think so.

View attachment 229458View attachment 229459

I would hold off on adding anymore to the water until other more experienced keepers can chime in. Even that one should only be given 2 times a month.

 

[GeoCham]

Any luck finding hornworms?

 

[vraspo]

Any luck finding hornworms?

No sir most pet stores only seem to have: mealworms, superworms and waxworms.

 

[vraspo]

I would hold off on adding anymore to the water until other more experienced keepers can chime in. Even that one should only be given 2 times a month.

Gotcha, should I change her dripper fluids bag to regular then? I'll hold off on the vitamins since thats mostly what I have been giving her.

 

[Beman]

Gotcha, should I change her dripper fluids bag to regular then? I'll hold off on the vitamins since thats mostly what I have been giving her.

Yes change it all to straight water. Clean stuff out so there is no left over vitamins in there.

 

[GeoCham]

No sir most pet stores only seem to have: mealworms, superworms and waxworms.

Bummer. Those are very appealing treats and super hydrating. If you can find them, or order them that would be very beneficial.

 

[Beman]

Bummer. Those are very appealing treats and super hydrating. If you can find them, or order them that would be very beneficial.

She may be too sick to try to eat

 

[GeoCham]

Yes change it all to straight water. Clean stuff out so there is no left over vitamins in there.

Distilled water preferably.

 

[Beman]

Distilled water preferably.

At this point either or as long as she is drinking

 

[GeoCham]

She may be too sick to try to eat

I agree. If she doesn’t eat those, she probably won’t eat anything.

 

[vraspo]

I agree. If she doesn’t eat those, she probably won’t eat anything.

Was the vet just being lazy? I told him she hadn't ate in days and he said to wait till tomorrow night to see if she still wasn't eating then come in for the syringes. I feel like those would be helpful now since it's been a couple days since I last actively saw her eating crickets.

 

[GeoCham]

At this point either or as long as she is drinking

City water is often chlorinated, well water is often softened with salt.

Any 7-11 has a liter bottle of Aquafina or something.

My thought with my Cham is that if the water kills a goldfish, I’m not letting him drink it.

 

[vraspo]

City water is often chlorinated, well water is often softened with salt.

Any 7-11 has a liter bottle of Aquafina or something.

My thought with my Cham is that if the water kills a goldfish, I’m not letting him drink it.

I was told the tap water here in Florida is fine for them to drink, though I have purified water from Publix that I drink myself. Should I use this instead?

 

[GeoCham]

I was told the tap water here in Florida is fine for them to drink, though I have purified water from Publix that I drink myself. Should I use this instead?

I’m not sure what Publix is, but we have a tiger by the tail and anything helps. I have no idea about your water out there, but here in the Sacramento area, the water is “safe” for consumption, but you better put it through a Brita filter before the fish tank. My family drinks it, my dogs drink it, but I don’t give it to the small critters. But like Beman said, it may not really matter at this point. I just wanted to bring it up for consideration. If it was my chameleon in this situation, I’d crack open a bottle of water for sure.

 

[GoodKarma19]

Ok, so, hi! I haven't had a chance to thoroughly read this thread, so apologies in advance if I cover anything that has already been touched upon. Becca (Beman) has already gone over your basic husbandry and what needs to happen there, so I'll focus on short term things to do and rehab.

It's already been touched upon, but your girl is very dehydrated, and obviously quite weak. As you've already found out, administering water via syringe can be tricky, especially in ill animals that may not have a good swallow reflex. I highly recommend you place her on a plant/perch/etc and use the "shower method" to help re-hydrate her. Once (or twice) a day, bring her into your bathroom and turn the shower on. Ideally, you want approximately lukewarm/room temp water - NOT hot! Place her perch/plant in such a manner that the water bouncing off the walls gently mists her, and let her drink her fill. She can stay in there for ~30 mins, or until she stops drinking/seems to want out.

Right now, it's more important for her to be drinking so I'm not concerned at this point WHAT kind of water you're getting into her... but for drippers/misting/etc in the future, I'd highly recommend using reverse osmosis (RO) water or distilled water with the addition of ReptiSafe (dechlorinator + electrolytes).

When it comes to giving medications and force/syringe feeding, make sure you're aiming the syringe well to the back of the throat (blue arrow) - the epiglottis (red arrow) is very close to the front of the mouth in chameleons, and it's very easy to have them aspirate. It can be difficult to open their mouths if they don't want to, but I've found that when all else fails if you run your fingernail down the seam of the mouth from the front to the back and gently wiggle your way in, you can get it open enough to carefully wedge a syringe in there.

More later if I can think of anything else. She's in pretty dire straits right now... good luck, and keep us posted!

~Amanda

 

[YoshiiChameleon]

Hey! I’ve been keeping up with your posts about your chameleon. Hope she gets better. If you are looking for hornworms, a really good site is rainbowmealworms. They ship them pretty quickly and they are amazing. I get my feeders from them since I live in a remote area. I really recommend them, if you can’t find a place near you.

Also, I use to live in Florida and I don’t recommend using Florida’s tap water, unless it’s filtered and safe as everyone else has said, it really just depends on what area you’re at. But as everyone else said, It really doesn’t matter right now, she needs water.
I hope she gets better!

 

[GeoCham]

Ok, so, hi! I haven't had a chance to thoroughly read this thread, so apologies in advance if I cover anything that has already been touched upon. Becca (Beman) has already gone over your basic husbandry and what needs to happen there, so I'll focus on short term things to do and rehab.

It's already been touched upon, but your girl is very dehydrated, and obviously quite weak. As you've already found out, administering water via syringe can be tricky, especially in ill animals that may not have a good swallow reflex. I highly recommend you place her on a plant/perch/etc and use the "shower method" to help re-hydrate her. Once (or twice) a day, bring her into your bathroom and turn the shower on. Ideally, you want approximately lukewarm/room temp water - NOT hot! Place her perch/plant in such a manner that the water bouncing off the walls gently mists her, and let her drink her fill. She can stay in there for ~30 mins, or until she stops drinking/seems to want out.

Right now, it's more important for her to be drinking so I'm not concerned at this point WHAT kind of water you're getting into her... but for drippers/misting/etc in the future, I'd highly recommend using reverse osmosis (RO) water or distilled water with the addition of ReptiSafe (dechlorinator + electrolytes).

When it comes to giving medications and force/syringe feeding, make sure you're aiming the syringe well to the back of the throat (blue arrow) - the epiglottis (red arrow) is very close to the front of the mouth in chameleons, and it's very easy to have them aspirate. It can be difficult to open their mouths if they don't want to, but I've found that when all else fails if you run your fingernail down the seam of the mouth from the front to the back and gently wiggle your way in, you can get it open enough to carefully wedge a syringe in there.

View attachment 229461

More later if I can think of anything else. She's in pretty dire straits right now... good luck, and keep us posted!

~Amanda

Well said. Great picture. Very explanatory.

 

[vraspo]

Ok, so, hi! I haven't had a chance to thoroughly read this thread, so apologies in advance if I cover anything that has already been touched upon. Becca (Beman) has already gone over your basic husbandry and what needs to happen there, so I'll focus on short term things to do and rehab.

It's already been touched upon, but your girl is very dehydrated, and obviously quite weak. As you've already found out, administering water via syringe can be tricky, especially in ill animals that may not have a good swallow reflex. I highly recommend you place her on a plant/perch/etc and use the "shower method" to help re-hydrate her. Once (or twice) a day, bring her into your bathroom and turn the shower on. Ideally, you want approximately lukewarm/room temp water - NOT hot! Place her perch/plant in such a manner that the water bouncing off the walls gently mists her, and let her drink her fill. She can stay in there for ~30 mins, or until she stops drinking/seems to want out.

Right now, it's more important for her to be drinking so I'm not concerned at this point WHAT kind of water you're getting into her... but for drippers/misting/etc in the future, I'd highly recommend using reverse osmosis (RO) water or distilled water with the addition of ReptiSafe (dechlorinator + electrolytes).

When it comes to giving medications and force/syringe feeding, make sure you're aiming the syringe well to the back of the throat (blue arrow) - the epiglottis (red arrow) is very close to the front of the mouth in chameleons, and it's very easy to have them aspirate. It can be difficult to open their mouths if they don't want to, but I've found that when all else fails if you run your fingernail down the seam of the mouth from the front to the back and gently wiggle your way in, you can get it open enough to carefully wedge a syringe in there.

View attachment 229461

More later if I can think of anything else. She's in pretty dire straits right now... good luck, and keep us posted!

~Amanda

Should I just keep her cage misted and water dripping from the dripper or try to shoot water in her mouth with a syringe? I don't want to get any in her air flow hole and aspirate her so what would be the best technique for giving water? Try to shoot to back of throat or what?

Earlier my room mate held her and I got her mouth open and dropped water into her mouth with the syringe but I did it towards the front not sure if I should be aiming elsewhere?