Any ideas as to what might be going on??

[Mambo]

Vital Stats

Years: ~4
Species: Furcifer Pardalis
Lights :5.0 repti glow, GE Reveal 75 on a timmer with 12 hour shifts of on/off
Misting: set timer two times a day for 15 minutes
Feed: 8-10 crickets every other day, with occasional super meal worms
Calcium: Repashy Superfoods Leopard Gecko calcium plus given every feediing
Vitamins: Zoo Med;s Reptivite Reptile Vitamins "with D3" Given every other feeding
Housiing: 4 x 2.5 feet wood frame wire screen panals..I have a real umbrella plant and two fake vines one thick and one thin wrapped arounf the cage-plant....

problem

So I have been waking up one more than occassion to find my cham "Mambo" at the bottom of his cage,seemingly lethargic dark coloraration looking dead..When I approach I see his eyes are still moving (only sign of life).. I grab him (cold to the touch) and put him up near the heat lamp, but is seems that when ever he falls, which also happends more than id like to admit, he stays in his fallen postion (for hours) and has an exteremly hard time climbing back up to his fav perch...Other sign of potential probs I have noticed are that his aim in horrible, i find myself having to hold every cricket for him and pushing it into his tounge before he shoots..I should add that When he eats he usally eats well..Sometimes I do notice that she shows no intrest in eating..I have also caught him sleeping while the lights are still on?? And on other thing i did notive was old stool that rather than looking like a full healthy sausage/s, it looked like a pile of flakes made up of cricket peices??
any ideas of what might be going on??Id really appreciate any help/insight...

On the upside,,his overall appearence looks good,,no deforemations, no sunken eyes, healthy bright coloration for the most part,,Im really at a loss??

Mario

 

[camimom]

well for one thing.
his supplements are off.
he should be getting d3 twice a month.
and if you are using the repashy, you dont need the d3.
the repashy is an all in one. so you are probably over dosing him

can you post pictures of him and your set up please?

 

[SSimsswiSS]

What's the high temp that he or she is getting during the day? Temp under the basking spot. I fine that in winter time if surrounding temps are cooler, extra heat is needed so the chameleon can thermoregulate better and digest their food better. I would get him checked for internal parasites as well.

 

[Solid Snake]

Why are you giving leopard gecko supplements to a chameleon?

 

[camimom]

Why are you giving leopard gecko supplements to a chameleon?

its not actually leopard gecko.
the repashy all in one has a leopard gecko on the front of the package.
heres a link.
http://www.store.repashy.com/calcium-plus-bag.html

 

[Solid Snake]

its not actually leopard gecko.
the repashy all in one has a leopard gecko on the front of the package.
heres a link.
http://www.store.repashy.com/calcium-plus-bag.html

Aaaaahhhhhh...

 

[Mambo]

Will try to get pic up

 

[Mambo]

Camimom: overdose? Twice a month? Wow!! Only been following what the seller told me to do...for four years now!! So rep ashy only two times a month?and the rest of the time just crickets/no supplements correct? I mean he's been on this regemine since I've had him....maybe it's finally catching up to him? Maybe?

 

[Solid Snake]

Camimom: overdose? Twice a month? Wow!! Only been following what the seller told me to do...for four years now!! So rep ashy only two times a month?and the rest of the time just crickets/no supplements correct? I mean he's been on this regemine since I've had him....maybe it's finally catching up to him? Maybe?

Calcium NO D3 everyday.
Calcium with D3 TWICE a month
Vitamins Twice a month.
Or Repahy all in one, without the D3. Thats what shes saying...

 

[Mambo]

Ssimss: will look into this...only have one heat lamp at the moment,,could add ceramic lamp,which I do have...the high on the top left of his enclosure would be at about 80-85 degrees. But obviously, just in that immediate area...and it has been getting pretty cold lately, but never had this issue in the past...He gets pretty dark when misted, but thi has always happens,,and the source of mist is always heated to Luke warm..

 

[Mambo]

Ok solid gotcha, thanks...

 

[camimom]

Camimom: overdose? Twice a month? Wow!! Only been following what the seller told me to do...for four years now!! So rep ashy only two times a month?and the rest of the time just crickets/no supplements correct? I mean he's been on this regemine since I've had him....maybe it's finally catching up to him? Maybe?

totally possible.
the seller was very wrong.
either d3 twice amonth,

or the repashy all in one every feeding.

 

[kinyonga]

Could be that there is an imbalance in nutrients that is pushing him towards MBD. As for the stool...if the temperature where he sits in the cage is constantly too cold he likely can't digest the food properly. There could be other reasons too...can't be sure.

Here's some information I hope will help you with supplementing, etc.....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[carol5208]

totally possible.
the seller was very wrong.
either d3 twice amonth,
or the repashy all in one every feeding.

Not trying to stir things up here but just wanted to bring this out in the open as I was told about this quite a ways back and it made sense. With the supplement you are using you may have not overdosed on d3 anyways. We on the forum like to tell everyone d3 twice a month, BUT it depends on which brand you are using. I got corrected on this long ago and did some research. Let me explain...I looked up the supplement you are using and the concentration of d3 is 22,907 IU/kg(not sure what the letters stand for) as compared to my Rep-cal calcium with d3 which has a concentration of 400,000 IU/kg. That is about 17 times the amount of yours. So you giving your chameleon this at every other feeding just about equals what I give mine twice a month. Personally, I don't give my chameleon any d3 anymore at all cause he spends everyday in the Florida sun and for my situation I do not find it necessary. That is just me now. What I am trying to say, is maybe the seller was not so far off on his advice(or he may have just got lucky and did not know anything about the brand) but obviously your chameleon has made it to 4 years. Have you been changing out your UVB bulb every 6-9 months or so since you have had him? I would also recommend getting a fecal for parasites as Swissmiss suggested. Edit: I would like to say however, that that is a multivitamin with d3 and not calcium with d3which many of us use.I would agree on not giving that every other day as most of us use the multivitamin once a week or a couple of times a month.

 

[Mambo]

Thanx for the additional info carol,,I reall appreciate it..So here are two photos..One of his enclosure ( Its nothing remarkble, but its what I have)...And the second is of him (Mambo) hes actually sleeping upside down...It seems like he dosent have the energy to ever sleep upright anymore??He might start out upright, but ends up upsidedown by the next morning...