Am I going crazy?!

[herbiethechameleon]

hi everyone! It’s been a minute since I’ve posted in this forum! All of you are the best chameleon people so I wanted to run some things by this group of amazing people to see if there is anything going on. Herbie is my panther chameleon that I’ve had for almost 2 years and I feel like a helicopter parent because Im always a bit stressed about his behavior. After running over some husbandry with you guys everything seemed fine on my end and I took him to one of the best visiting herpetologists at UGA to run some bloodwork in June of last year. Overall his bloodwork was fine but they suggested it was possibly the beginning of renal failure so to up all his humidity. So I did that for a while and things seemed to get better! I got him some insurance and he started acting a bit weird again and I took him to an exotic vet who ran some bloodwork in November and all of his bloodwork improved which was great (and at this point I’m just convinced I’m crazy) but I took pictures of his weird behavior and they all agreed that something is not exactly right but bloodwork and fecal seem to be perfect. He stopped acting weird miraculously after and then today I caught him with his eyes closed towards the bottom on his enclosure (tail not curled) and I’m just at a loss here. I feel like he is just not feeling well and I don’t know what could be wrong and I’ve really tried everything! He seems to have trouble getting his food (he doesn’t shoot his tongue out very far to get it) and he seems fatigued overall. Any advice or ideas what may be going on?

 

[GrannyK]

Hi there! Sooo sorry you’re having this. I’m no expert just a keeper brainstorming but when is the last time his uvb bulb was changed, do you use a solar meter by chance and are his supplements possibly expired or what supplements do you use?

 

[herbiethechameleon]

Do supplements expire? Maybe that’s what has been going on. I’ve been using the same reptivite supplements since I got him!

 

[CalamityCrow]

Do supplements expire? Maybe that’s what has been going on. I’ve been using the same reptivite supplements since I got him!

THey absolutely expire. They lose potency after roughly a year. I'd replace them and see if that helps. Make sure your UVB is fresh as well.

 

[herbiethechameleon]

THey absolutely expire. They lose potency after roughly a year. I'd replace them and see if that helps. Make sure your UVB is fresh as well.

I know his uvb is good because I replaced it only 2 months ago so that should be fine still, but I’ll replace his vitamins asap and see if that does anything

 

[CalamityCrow]

I know his uvb is good because I replaced it only 2 months ago so that should be fine still, but I’ll replace his vitamins asap and see if that does anything

I'd urge a vet visit though if you can. Eyes closed at the bottom of the enclosure are pretty hefty signs of something not going well. :/

 

[herbiethechameleon]

I'd urge a vet visit though if you can. Eyes closed at the bottom of the enclosure are pretty hefty signs of something not going well. :/

The thing is, whenever I take him to the vet I feel like it stresses him out so much and last time we went he got bloodwork done and actually fell from a branch after because he was so stressed. Everytime I take him to the vet because he starts to act like this, they run bloodwork and then say he’s fine so I just feel like it’s doing more harm than good for him. He just got lab work done only 2 months ago and everything was fine!

 

[CalamityCrow]

The thing is, whenever I take him to the vet I feel like it stresses him out so much and last time we went he got bloodwork done and actually fell from a branch after because he was so stressed. Everytime I take him to the vet because he starts to act like this, they run bloodwork and then say he’s fine so I just feel like it’s doing more harm than good for him. He just got lab work done only 2 months ago and everything was fine!

Yeah it can be pretty stressful. It's tough because they hide their illnesses SO well. You know your pet better than any of us though - use your best judgement for what you choose.

 

[MissSkittles]

Can you post some clear pics of him and the whole enclosure?

 

[Beman]

hi everyone! It’s been a minute since I’ve posted in this forum! All of you are the best chameleon people so I wanted to run some things by this group of amazing people to see if there is anything going on. Herbie is my panther chameleon that I’ve had for almost 2 years and I feel like a helicopter parent because Im always a bit stressed about his behavior. After running over some husbandry with you guys everything seemed fine on my end and I took him to one of the best visiting herpetologists at UGA to run some bloodwork in June of last year. Overall his bloodwork was fine but they suggested it was possibly the beginning of renal failure so to up all his humidity. So I did that for a while and things seemed to get better! I got him some insurance and he started acting a bit weird again and I took him to an exotic vet who ran some bloodwork in November and all of his bloodwork improved which was great (and at this point I’m just convinced I’m crazy) but I took pictures of his weird behavior and they all agreed that something is not exactly right but bloodwork and fecal seem to be perfect. He stopped acting weird miraculously after and then today I caught him with his eyes closed towards the bottom on his enclosure (tail not curled) and I’m just at a loss here. I feel like he is just not feeling well and I don’t know what could be wrong and I’ve really tried everything! He seems to have trouble getting his food (he doesn’t shoot his tongue out very far to get it) and he seems fatigued overall. Any advice or ideas what may be going on?

When you say you increased all his humidity. Where are your daytime and night time humidity levels sitting now? How are you increasing it? What are your day time and night time ambient temps?

I agree with posting pics of everything. And getting new supplements. If you are needing to replace the reptivite with D3 I would highly suggest switching this one out for repashy calcium plus LoD version. It is a better multivitamin supplement and they do not add phosphorus to it the way reptivite does.

 

[kinyonga]

Please post some photos of your chameleon and the cage. Have you moved the cage or changed the position of things inside the cage?

How did they say upping the humidity would help the renal failure, if that’s what’s wrong it’s him?