chameleon ate paper towel

[Sarabeth71]

So today I was wiping out my chameleons cage, which I do almost everyday. I left a piece of paper towel in the cage, walked away for a few seconds, and when I came back he had the paper towel in his mouth and swallowed it. It was a considerable size piece if paper towel. Will he be okay or do I need to take him to a vet? He has never done this before and I have had him for nearly two years. I'm just really worried...

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

How large? Did it have cleaning chemicals on it?

 

[Lathis]

It probably won't hurt him and should break down in the digestive track. I would keep him well hydrated over the next few days and watch his droppings to make sure he is going on his normal schedule. What a dummy (the cham, not you)

 

[JaniP]

I kind of had this happen. When my veiled was younger I had paper towel on the bottom of his cage and one of the crickets was down there. He went to strike it and took the corner of a piece of paper towel with him and picked up the whole sheet of paper towel (this particular one wasn't pinned down) with it. I grabbed it and had a gentle game of tug of war and then when I finally got it from him, he had munched the corner off.
I was worried but paper towel should break down easily. I gave him an extra horn worm (he normally gets 2 a week) for moisture, thinking it would maybe help and there were no problems. Completely normal poop the next few times.

How big are we talking?

 

[Sarabeth71]

Since I didn't see him actually grab it, I'm not sure how big it was, but there wasn't any cleaner on it or anything. I was just wiping out the excess moisture. I was kind thinking it would break down but he's my first reptile and I constantly worry about him. Thanks for the responses! I will keep an eye on him for the next few days and make sure he's behaving normally.

 

[carol5208]

That is why I don't like using paper towels! We have had a few similar stories such as these over the years. I say nothing is best!

 

[Sarabeth71]

Soooo update: here we are almost a month later and Marshal still hasn't pooped since the 24th. I haven't brought him to the vet yet because I have been working with a local breeder I know. I have tried showers and horn worms plus I am misting him almost every 15 minutes. He looks a little dehydrated to me but I have been misting him so much it doesn't make sense. Could this be related to the paper towel? What's going on? I feel like he should see a vet but I'm worried because it's below freezing here I don't want to take him out of the house unless I absolutely have to.

Edit: I also heard I could try a drop of mineral oil. Has anyone else heard of this or tried it before?

 

[kinyonga]

Is he eating? Drinking?

 

[kinyonga]

Couldn't exit my post to add this...sorry.
You said you tried showers and hornworms...but you didn't say if he ate the hornworms or drank.
Have you tried giving him water with a syringe?? IMHO...you have to keep pumping the water through him to get rid of that paper towel. Just my best guess since I'm not a vet. I also think he needs to see a vet if it hasn't passed yet.

 

[alphakenc]

Hopefully that paper towel will come out in poop soon...what brand of paper towel is it? Bounty,Brawny,Cottenell,Viva...I will check the ingredients and see if any weird stuff in there,then tell that to the vet asap,just in case it didn't come out in the other end for this long,best luck to your chamy

 

[Sarabeth71]

He is drinking and eating but he isn't drinking as much as he normally does as far as I can tell. I think it was bounty but I am not really sure to be honest.