Bad news :(

[OldChamKeeper]

I'm actually very curious about this too. That's a very very good question. I sometimes spray air freshener, not much since I got my Cham, but the question definitely is legit! I hadn't really considered that with a Cham but now I am!

I have a stupid amount of experience in both seeing critters die (years of retail experience and forty years of keeping pets) and also a knack for eliminating possibilities to find logical paths. What you described is not common from my experience. Such gaping and the suddenness of the incident (if correct as described) is similar to what a kids panther did after Raid had been sprayed in a far corner of the room it was kept in, yet they had a celling fan on. While I still don't think that was the cause of death, I think they forgot to wash their hands since they fed it not long after using the insecticide, their animal did the same thing you described.

 

[Courts_spyro]

Oh god, I am so sorry hun, did you have a necropsy done? Or do they know what made him pass? I just always worry whether it's passable to other reptiles when it's that sudden.

We do not know how or why this happened. And my sister did not want a necropsy, she just wanted to put his body to rest.

 

[Courts_spyro]

Troubleshooting this is a big deal, but only if you plan on keeping more.

You described something, and in thinking on the totality of things, a combination of all the things described combined with the suddenness of this, did anybody accidentally spray any aerosols near him within the last day?

I will have to ask her, I am not sure. She does use air fresheners quite frequently though.

 

[Courts_spyro]

I have a feeling they are extremely upset right now, I would leave the questions for couple days later since the OP states

Thanks. I'm okay with it. If anyone can learn from it or give us some closure as to why or how this could happen then it could benefit us all and maybe save another before it's too late.

 

[Courts_spyro]

Any autopsy performed?

No. She did not want to

 

[Courts_spyro]

Was your panther in the same room or area of the house? It wasn't affected, right? There are always things that can go wrong with any individual cham, but without a necropsy you won't be able to rule out anything. What about burning incense, aromatic oils, using room air fresheners? Cleaners?

We live in separate house so no my panther is doing fine. She does use lots of air freshener and candles. I will mention it to her one day when the subject is not so sore

 

[Courts_spyro]

I have a stupid amount of experience in both seeing critters die (years of retail experience and forty years of keeping pets) and also a knack for eliminating possibilities to find logical paths. What you described is not common from my experience. Such gaping and the suddenness of the incident (if correct as described) is similar to what a kids panther did after Raid had been sprayed in a far corner of the room it was kept in, yet they had a celling fan on. While I still don't think that was the cause of death, I think they forgot to wash their hands since they fed it not long after using the insecticide, their animal did the same thing you described.

That is a very good point and poisoning of some sort by cleaner, bug spray, air freshener or some aresol my very well be the culprit. It makes me very nervous of what my panther could have been exposed to accidentally. I will definitely keep this in mind always. Thanks

 

[Carlton]

Think of chams as relatives of birds...with sensitive respiratory systems that are vulnerable to inhaled irritants. We get used to so many household chemicals that are NOT compatible with small pets.

 

[jajeanpierre]

We live in separate house so no my panther is doing fine. She does use lots of air freshener and candles. I will mention it to her one day when the subject is not so sore

Using those around birds is the kiss of death to them. I am not sure if chamleons have as delicate a respiratory system but I would never use that stuff around a baby or a pet.

 

[Millz&Jukka]

sorry for your loss, thinking of you

 

[trickedoutbiker]

What about burning incense, aromatic oils, using room air fresheners? Cleaners?

I don't use sprays or candles in the same room as my chameleon because a candle puts off smoke which is bad for the cham and sprays put all sorts of micro smelly good molucules into the air. I do however, use one of those wax warmer devices in the same room as my chameleon, the kind that melts the smelly-good waxes you know. It's halfway across the room from where his cage is. I've never seen any ill effects from the wax warmers and I've heard of lots of people using them. The air fresheners and candles are what you want to avoid using in the same room.