Chameleon heart attack

[Chameleon8896]

Do chameleons have heart attacks or die from being scared? I had my veiled chameleon in different room and i went in room and turned light on and he woke up and freaked out and was breathing heavy looking at me. The next morning he was dead on his side at bottom of cage with his tounge out. What could have happened? He was healthy and was about 4 months old.

 

[absolutbill]

I've never heard of this. Could you please fill out the How to Ask for Help questionaire and maybe we can find an answer?

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Yes please copy/paste and fill out

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:
The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Chameleon8896]

Hes a veiled ive had him 2 months hes about 4 months old. Hes im a 2×2×4 reptibreeze cage. I have fake plants and a golden pothos. 100 watt basking lamp 5.0 uvb tube. Misted him 4 times a day 2 min each. Fed him 10 crickets or so a day. Dusted them with multivitamin without d3. Gut loaded with flukers gutload. He was eating and acting normal it seems he got scared and died because I dont know what else could have happened.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

What were his temps? What were his humidity levels? Did you use anything other than just calcium for dusting? Did you get a fecal exam done? What did his feces look like? Left out a lot. I can tell you right off the bat flukers is not a quality or nutritional gutload what so ever.

 

[Chameleon8896]

Humidity was around 50% temp was 88 basking. His cage was out of high traffic areas. His feces looked normal. He just got scared and died so i dont know if they can die isntantly fromm stress or what. I know they can die from stress over time but not instantly. What is a proper gutload to use?

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Humidity was around 50% temp was 88 basking. His cage was out of high traffic areas. His feces looked normal. He just got scared and died so i dont know if they can die isntantly fromm stress or what. I know they can die from stress over time but not instantly. What is a proper gutload to use?

Where'd you get him from?

 

[MSPINAZ1]

sorry to hear this news. my guess is it was a husbandry issue. some thing you may have missed. he may have been more stressed for longer than you thought. and yes enough stress for a long enough period can kill.

 

[iMi]

First, I am sorry to hear about your loss. Don't give up.

It's a human nature to try to find correlation between seemingly related events. The reality is that being frightened is not the likely reason he died. The heavy breathing may have been a symptom of some type of respiratory infection. He was still a baby. Even if there were no husbandry issues it's possible for his health to deteriorate rapidly ones a problem develops. There could have been an unknown hereditary issue or even untreated/undetected parasite. We don't have enough info to determine if improper husbandry played a role.