UrbanChameleon
New Member
Ok. Please bare with me people. This is serious and I know this post is long. Please read this carefully and give me advice to the best of your ability. I'd made a previous thread as things unfolded. As new things have progressed, I feel as if I should make a more "clear" and updated thread.
- I will be taking him to the vet ASAP if things do not get any better by the time the vet is open. So please do not urge me to go. I am waiting for the vets office to open.
I purchased a 3.5 month old Ambilobe Panther male one week and two days ago. The first two days after he was shipped, he seemed to eat well. The first day he ate maybe 6, the second 10-15 crickets. He also had silkies (until I ran out). After that day everything started going downhill. His appetite started decreasing, which is odd because he was supposed to be settling in. As of two days ago he stopped eating. I tried free range and cup fed crickets. Supplemented and non-supplemented crickets. He refused to eat.
The same thing happened yesterday. However, in a turn of events, he vomited. The vomit was clear mucus on the outside (stomach fluid) with brown digested something in it. It was clear that his stomach had broken whatever it was down. He hadn't ate that day, so it was food from the day before. When he vomited he moved back and forth sporadically. It scared me to death. He fired up red and blue, all while holding his mouth open. He then proceeded to regurgitate. He seemed to feel better afterwords. His colors lightened up and he moved around more. He did seem a bit disoriented. He was trying to climb but looked weak. He then went to bed, and looked fine while sleeping.
Today he still hasn't had anything to eat.. again. I've been watching him closely since all of this started occurring. Today I took out his live plant (thinking this could have been the cause). I also moved his basking light, checked temps, and humidity. As a side note.. he has spent the past few days on top of his cage hanging upside down straight under the basking light. I raised the fixture off of the screen a little so he could not burn himself. I really didn't want to disturb him, but he wouldn't eat today.I tried to make sure he wasn't too hot/cold and remove the plant in case that was the problem.
Around 6 PM today I went to hand mist him as to keep him hydrated. He immediately started drinking. He drank quite a lot too. As he was drinking, he opened his mouth (like when he went to vomit) and held it open for a minute. I was completely freaking out thinking he was going to aspirate. I'd recently read a post from another member that had this happen. So I backed away a little while watching him. He eventually closed his mouth and started turning darker. I moved closer to make sure he was breathing. At first I couldn't tell, but then I saw him stomach moving in and out slowly.
As the rest of the day went on, he chilled out on two fake plants. I can now see that he has a wrinkle on the top of his body. I'm assuming it's because he hasn't ate in three days. He is a baby.. so he should be eating 15 crickets a day at the least. His eyes don't look huge but he looks hydrated. His poop has been fine the past few days and the urate has been white. He seems to not have energy. He is moving throughout his cage but he seems a little disoriented. He tries to grab onto the wall of his cage or just kind of scratches. Today it seemed like he just gave up on climbing at one point.
I'm extremely worried. I've never had a Cham not eat or regurgitate. I have been in contact with the breeder every day. He doesn't have an RI, positive he has no parasites, and we can't think of any possible reason. The crickets are the right size. And he is a pretty slow eater. There was one time that I saw him get two crickets at once, but he continued eating after that. I saw him drink off of his Umbrella Plant. Which apparently the sap or eating of the leaves can cause vomiting. Which is why I took it out. His care is no different than my first Chameleon's, other than Loki has a linear UVB, whereas Bodhi had a CFL. This all came about the day after I got him. And he seemed fine and ate when I picked him up from shipping. Something is not right and I can't pinpoint it. He had no signs of illness other than not eating, and then regurgitating last night, and now holding his mouth open after drinking today. Even when I knew something was wrong, he was ok. Now the effects of not eating are making him weak.
I was hoping something would change for the better today. I will have to contact a vet on Monday if things aren't better. They only see herps twice a week so it will probably be Tues. or Thurs. before he gets in there. There has to be something I can do. I've had someone mention giving him one of those Aids to help him eat. However, there is a possibility that his problem could be something stuck in his throat. I don't want to give him something to help him eat if that could be the case.
My thought now is that he could have some kind of stomach bacteria. You would think that if he had a bad feeder, or something went down wrong, that he would be okay after throwing up. I really need some member insight until I can get him into the vet. I just got him a week ago and I feel like I'm going to fall apart. If anyone has gone through something similar to this, or you have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't want this to get worse.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - 3.5 months old male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon. He has been in my care for 1 week and 2 days.
Handling - He has only been handled twice. Once to remove him after shipping, and once when he climbed on my arm.
Feeding - He has only had crickets and silk worms. The crickets are gutloaded with Cricket Crack.
Supplements - He had Repashy Calcium Plus for only two days. The breeder had him on a different schedule. I was sent Vit A to give him once a month but had not yet given it to him.
Watering - I have an Exo Terra Monsoon (blah) in his cage. I also hand mist daily to make sure he drank. He isn't shy when it comes to drinking.
Fecal Description - His poop is firm and held together. Urate is completely white. As far as I know he hasn't been tested for parasites. He was kept in a completely hygienic and secure environment previous to my ownership.
History - No history.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - He is currently housed in a 18x18x24 Exo Terra. I have made efforts to ensure the best airflow. He will live in this until he is a juvie and will be moved into his adult screen cage from LLL. This was my other Chameleon's baby cage. It was properly and thoroughly cleaned before Loki was housed.
Lighting - I have a 25 watt Exo Terra bulb and a 5.0 Linear from Exo Terra.
Temperature - The basking temp is at 86.7 right now. On the top of the screen it gets to about 90. Mid level is around the high 70's and towards the bottom it's about 73-74.
Humidity - His humidity fluctuates from 60%-80%. I will probably have to up it a little because I removed his living plant. Which sucks because his cage doesn't dry out well. I have been wiping water off of the bottom. It has a lot of foliage which makes it difficult for the light to dry it out. Especially since I moved the light today.
Plants - I was using an Umbrella. It has been removed as of today.
Placement - His cage is almost touching my ceiling. It is very high off of the ground. It is close to my door but the only traffic is me and I don't go in and out often.
Location - Ashland, KY
Current Problem - Loki ate a little for two days after he arrived. Appetite slowly decreased. He then stopped eating all together 3 days ago. Yesterday he vomited when he saw crickets. Today he still hasn't ate, and held his mouth open for a minute after drinking. In every other way he looks healthy and was showing signs of health. After all of this he is becoming weak. I'm not sure why this happened, nor how to get him better. I want him to eat, but I'm afraid that he might have something caught in his throat. He doesn't seem to be struggling to breathe. But after today's water incident I'm even more worried.
- I will be taking him to the vet ASAP if things do not get any better by the time the vet is open. So please do not urge me to go. I am waiting for the vets office to open.
I purchased a 3.5 month old Ambilobe Panther male one week and two days ago. The first two days after he was shipped, he seemed to eat well. The first day he ate maybe 6, the second 10-15 crickets. He also had silkies (until I ran out). After that day everything started going downhill. His appetite started decreasing, which is odd because he was supposed to be settling in. As of two days ago he stopped eating. I tried free range and cup fed crickets. Supplemented and non-supplemented crickets. He refused to eat.
The same thing happened yesterday. However, in a turn of events, he vomited. The vomit was clear mucus on the outside (stomach fluid) with brown digested something in it. It was clear that his stomach had broken whatever it was down. He hadn't ate that day, so it was food from the day before. When he vomited he moved back and forth sporadically. It scared me to death. He fired up red and blue, all while holding his mouth open. He then proceeded to regurgitate. He seemed to feel better afterwords. His colors lightened up and he moved around more. He did seem a bit disoriented. He was trying to climb but looked weak. He then went to bed, and looked fine while sleeping.
Today he still hasn't had anything to eat.. again. I've been watching him closely since all of this started occurring. Today I took out his live plant (thinking this could have been the cause). I also moved his basking light, checked temps, and humidity. As a side note.. he has spent the past few days on top of his cage hanging upside down straight under the basking light. I raised the fixture off of the screen a little so he could not burn himself. I really didn't want to disturb him, but he wouldn't eat today.I tried to make sure he wasn't too hot/cold and remove the plant in case that was the problem.
Around 6 PM today I went to hand mist him as to keep him hydrated. He immediately started drinking. He drank quite a lot too. As he was drinking, he opened his mouth (like when he went to vomit) and held it open for a minute. I was completely freaking out thinking he was going to aspirate. I'd recently read a post from another member that had this happen. So I backed away a little while watching him. He eventually closed his mouth and started turning darker. I moved closer to make sure he was breathing. At first I couldn't tell, but then I saw him stomach moving in and out slowly.
As the rest of the day went on, he chilled out on two fake plants. I can now see that he has a wrinkle on the top of his body. I'm assuming it's because he hasn't ate in three days. He is a baby.. so he should be eating 15 crickets a day at the least. His eyes don't look huge but he looks hydrated. His poop has been fine the past few days and the urate has been white. He seems to not have energy. He is moving throughout his cage but he seems a little disoriented. He tries to grab onto the wall of his cage or just kind of scratches. Today it seemed like he just gave up on climbing at one point.
I'm extremely worried. I've never had a Cham not eat or regurgitate. I have been in contact with the breeder every day. He doesn't have an RI, positive he has no parasites, and we can't think of any possible reason. The crickets are the right size. And he is a pretty slow eater. There was one time that I saw him get two crickets at once, but he continued eating after that. I saw him drink off of his Umbrella Plant. Which apparently the sap or eating of the leaves can cause vomiting. Which is why I took it out. His care is no different than my first Chameleon's, other than Loki has a linear UVB, whereas Bodhi had a CFL. This all came about the day after I got him. And he seemed fine and ate when I picked him up from shipping. Something is not right and I can't pinpoint it. He had no signs of illness other than not eating, and then regurgitating last night, and now holding his mouth open after drinking today. Even when I knew something was wrong, he was ok. Now the effects of not eating are making him weak.
I was hoping something would change for the better today. I will have to contact a vet on Monday if things aren't better. They only see herps twice a week so it will probably be Tues. or Thurs. before he gets in there. There has to be something I can do. I've had someone mention giving him one of those Aids to help him eat. However, there is a possibility that his problem could be something stuck in his throat. I don't want to give him something to help him eat if that could be the case.
My thought now is that he could have some kind of stomach bacteria. You would think that if he had a bad feeder, or something went down wrong, that he would be okay after throwing up. I really need some member insight until I can get him into the vet. I just got him a week ago and I feel like I'm going to fall apart. If anyone has gone through something similar to this, or you have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't want this to get worse.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - 3.5 months old male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon. He has been in my care for 1 week and 2 days.
Handling - He has only been handled twice. Once to remove him after shipping, and once when he climbed on my arm.
Feeding - He has only had crickets and silk worms. The crickets are gutloaded with Cricket Crack.
Supplements - He had Repashy Calcium Plus for only two days. The breeder had him on a different schedule. I was sent Vit A to give him once a month but had not yet given it to him.
Watering - I have an Exo Terra Monsoon (blah) in his cage. I also hand mist daily to make sure he drank. He isn't shy when it comes to drinking.
Fecal Description - His poop is firm and held together. Urate is completely white. As far as I know he hasn't been tested for parasites. He was kept in a completely hygienic and secure environment previous to my ownership.
History - No history.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - He is currently housed in a 18x18x24 Exo Terra. I have made efforts to ensure the best airflow. He will live in this until he is a juvie and will be moved into his adult screen cage from LLL. This was my other Chameleon's baby cage. It was properly and thoroughly cleaned before Loki was housed.
Lighting - I have a 25 watt Exo Terra bulb and a 5.0 Linear from Exo Terra.
Temperature - The basking temp is at 86.7 right now. On the top of the screen it gets to about 90. Mid level is around the high 70's and towards the bottom it's about 73-74.
Humidity - His humidity fluctuates from 60%-80%. I will probably have to up it a little because I removed his living plant. Which sucks because his cage doesn't dry out well. I have been wiping water off of the bottom. It has a lot of foliage which makes it difficult for the light to dry it out. Especially since I moved the light today.
Plants - I was using an Umbrella. It has been removed as of today.
Placement - His cage is almost touching my ceiling. It is very high off of the ground. It is close to my door but the only traffic is me and I don't go in and out often.
Location - Ashland, KY
Current Problem - Loki ate a little for two days after he arrived. Appetite slowly decreased. He then stopped eating all together 3 days ago. Yesterday he vomited when he saw crickets. Today he still hasn't ate, and held his mouth open for a minute after drinking. In every other way he looks healthy and was showing signs of health. After all of this he is becoming weak. I'm not sure why this happened, nor how to get him better. I want him to eat, but I'm afraid that he might have something caught in his throat. He doesn't seem to be struggling to breathe. But after today's water incident I'm even more worried.
