Chameleon not eating.

[MrPebbles]

Hoping to get some help with my chameleon, Pebbles. He has been sad the last two days. The first day he was on the bottom of the cage with his eyes closed. He went to the top on his own will but has not eaten for the last couple of days. Nothing has changed and the last time that I saw him poop it looked very watery. I got a vet visit with Greek and Assc(Vet in Yorba Linda CA) but it's two days from now. Anything I can do in the meantime.


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther Ambilobe, Male, around 9 months old, has been with me since July.
• Handling - I pet him twice a day, trying to get him to climb on my hands on his own will.
• Feeding - Feeding black soldier fly larvae, crickets, and superworms twice a day. Two of each worm and crickets on the last meal. This last week he has been eating less. Gut loading with carrots and greens.
• Supplements - Zoo Med Repti Calcium.
• Watering - Use a mister three times a day for 30 seconds.
• Fecal Description - Have not tested for parasites, last poop was watery brown.
• History - Nothing has changed since I got him.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen screen, 16X16X30.
• Lighting - Using a 60W zoo med blue bulb, Repti Sun 10UVB, 4 months old, on for 12 hours (7 am-7 PM.)
• Temperature - Cage is around 75 degrees, about 65 at night.
• Humidity - Humidity is 73, gauging with Zoo Med meter.
• Plants - Have plants not sure which kind.
• Placement - Cage is by a window with no traffic that allows natural light.
• Location - Los Angeles, Ca

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. Your guy looks terribly dehydrated. I see a couple of things in your husbandry. Give me a few minutes to go over it.

 

[MissSkittles]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther Ambilobe, Male, around 9 months old, has been with me since July.
• Handling - I pet him twice a day, trying to get him to climb on my hands on his own will. Food is a great motivator for building trust. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - Feeding black soldier fly larvae, crickets, and superworms twice a day. Two of each worm and crickets on the last meal. This last week he has been eating less. Gut loading with carrots and greens. At his age he should be fed just once a day in the morning. As he gets older he’ll start eating less on his own and you’ll know to cut him back to less feeders and every other day.
• Supplements - Zoo Med Repti Calcium. Very important! Does it contain D3? Are you giving any multivitamin?
• Watering - Use a mister three times a day for 30 seconds. It would be much better to mist for at least 2 minutes right before lights go on and off. If needed (urates are dark), you can add a 1 minute misting or use a dripper for about 15 minutes a day.
• Fecal Description - Have not tested for parasites, last poop was watery brown. You most definitely need to get him checked for parasites. Take a fresh poo when you go to the vet. It needs to be less than 24 hours old and can be stored in the fridge if needed.
• History - Nothing has changed since I got him.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen screen, 16X16X30. This is too small. The minimum is a 2x2x4’ or equivalent. If you can go even bigger, your cham will appreciate the extra space.
• Lighting - Using a 60W zoo med blue bulb, Repti Sun 10UVB, 4 months old, on for 12 hours (7 am-7 PM.) Important! Is your uvb a screw in bulb or a linear/long fixture?
• Temperature - Cage is around 75 degrees, about 65 at night. What is the basking temp? 75 is too cool for basking. Needs to be at least 80 and preferably 85 for a male of his age.
• Humidity - Humidity is 73, gauging with Zoo Med meter. This is a bit too high. Range is between 50-70%, and closer to 50% is better imho.
• Plants - Have plants not sure which kind. I see a dracaena and the other is safe but can’t recall the name.
• Placement - Cage is by a window with no traffic that allows natural light.
• Location - Los Angeles, Ca

From the info you’ve provided and the way your guy looks, my first suspicions are parasites and/or lack of proper supplementation and not sure about your uvb source. Supplements should be a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding. Then a source of D3 and a multivitamin one feeding every other week (or twice a month). Those can be either separate and given alternate weeks or in a combination product like Repashy Calcium Plus LoD. D3 is a fat soluble vitamin and if given too often can build up to toxic levels. If this happens, only time can bring the levels down. The screw in uvb bulbs aren’t able to provide the levels nor range that chameleons need. The standard is a linear T5HO with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. Then for optimal levels the basking area needs to be about 8-9” below.
For now, just try to keep your guy hydrated. You say your night temps are 65, so you could and should add a cool mist humidifier and boost night humidity as high as possible. This will help hydrate him the way fog hydrates chams in the wild. You could also offer him some hornworms or silkworms to help with hydration. From what I’ve heard of him, Dr Greek is excellent and one of the best vets for chameleons. He’ll definitely take great care of your guy.

 

[MrPebbles]

• Supplements - Zoo Med Repti Calcium. Very important! Does it contain D3? Are you giving any multivitamin? Does not contain D3, I have Reptivite with D3 that I give once a month.
• 
  
• Lighting - Using a 60W zoo med blue bulb, Repti Sun 10UVB, 4 months old, on for 12 hours (7 am-7 PM.) Important! Is your uvb a screw in bulb or a linear/long fixture? Linear, Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 T8-HO UVB

 

[MrPebbles]

Should I be doing anything while I wait for the Vet?

 

[Beman]

Should I be doing anything while I wait for the Vet?

I am going to jump in as @MissSkittles is offline right now.
Your UVB is incorrect. With you using a T8 fixture unless he can get within about 6 inches of that fixture he can not get the UVB levels he needs. This would account for all the health issues you are seeing as well. When they do not have the UVB they need their immune system becomes compromised. Their body becomes compromised and illness starts taking over along with the development of MBD. There could be additional things going on as well but this would be a major component and cause.
The multivitamin you are using should be used two times a month say the 1st and the 15th and you have to use a calcium without D3 at all other feedings.