Chameleon suddenly dying??

[Lamp_Post]

I have a ~2 year old Veiled Chameleon who was doing great, eating, drinking, super happy and colorful all day.

Earlier today I heard what sounded like her falling, (about one foot) but heard and saw her running around afterwards.

Two hours later I find her laying on her side at he bottom of her cage, not breathing, black sunken in eyes and a black sides.
I quickly picked her up and put her under the heat bulb and got water in her mouth. She takes deep breathes every 5 minutes or so, but that's it.

Now about an hour later all her color has returned, and she occasionally moves her head, but very rarely.

I currently have her perched up underneath the lamp sitting on a blanket, all her color is back, but she is totally non responsive.

I don't have an emergency exotic vet in my area, so that is out of the option.. Sadly. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do?

Or at the very least what I can do to help her release easily.. Because I can't stand seeing her struggle to breathe.

 

[Lamp_Post]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, ~2, in care for 1 year, 6 months
• Handling - Daily
• Feeding - Free feeding crickets (vet recommended)
• Supplements - ReptiCal calcium
• Watering - Exo Terro Monsoon, every hour for 4 seconds. Yes I see her drinking often
• Fecal Description - Normal consistency whole life, has not changed.
• History - 1 year ago she had a build up on her head which the vet cleaned and gave me antibiotics to fight infection, has since completely healed

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen cage 16x16x36
• Lighting - Exo terra 100w basking bulb, 75w red light, 26w uvb. Uvb, basking on during day (9am-10pm) red light on at night
• Temperature - basking spot is usually ~90°, cold spot is never under 80. I use a nubee temperature gun
• Humidity - 70% average, monsoon to maintain and digital hydrometer to measure
• Plants - all fake
• Placement - Agajnst wall, no fans, top of cage is ~48 inches off ground
• Location - washington state, USA

 

[GrimCamel]

Now I am no expert on emergency cases like this but how does your supplement schedule look? Does she get her calcium without D3, with D3 and vitamins? This could be a factor if she isnt getting the right amounts
And about the lighting. Trash the red light at night. She should have complete darkness and lower temps at night

 

[Lamp_Post]

I powder the crickets as I give them, so every 2-3 days and she eats anywhere from 5-6 immediately, the calcium has D3 in it, but hats all I give.

If she makes it through the night I'll remove the red light.
She is currently wrapped in a small towel underneath the basking bulb, but is slowly losing color.. So I may have lost her.. I don't know though.

 

[GrimCamel]

Well then I can say youve overdosed her in D3. As I said it might be a factor. Calcium without D3 every feeding, calcuim with D3 two times a month the same as multivitamine two times a month.
Too much D3 will stop the body from picking up calcium which will weaken the bones in a MBD manner and make your chameleon very weak.
In my opinion you should get the right supplies and seek help of a vet for maybe liquid calcium etc.
Good luck

 

[gotwqqd]

Well then I can say youve overdosed her in D3. As I said it might be a factor. Calcium without D3 every feeding, calcuim with D3 two times a month the same as multivitamine two times a month.
Too much D3 will stop the body from picking up calcium which will weaken the bones in a MBD manner and make your chameleon very weak.
In my opinion you should get the right supplies and seek help of a vet for maybe liquid calcium etc.
Good luck

I think it's rather ambiguous when you are talking about advice given coupled with the numerous supplements available and their potencies. Some have units of each mineral/vitamin but not in relation to anything.
And what about surface area of bugs covered? How much gets washed away?
I find this very hit or miss when you have advice ranging from 2 days a month with vitamins/d3 to using it every day

 

[maryanne27]

What are you gutloading your crickets with? A few years ago, I was only feeding my graceful crickets and using Bug Burger, and he was not doing well - intermittent lethargy, apathy, etc. I was advised to mix up another gutload to alternate with that had a more comprehensive nutrition content and throw in a few other types of feeders.

I'm certainly no pro so that's really the only help I have for ya! I hope you can get to your vet soon; I know how that goes with their limited schedules for exotics. Sorry... good luck!

 

[oneillchameleons]

There is a lot wrong with your husbandry. Cage is too small, temps are too high, supplement schedule is wrong, crickets not gutloaded, only one type of food, etc. Sorry but it may be too late for your little friend. Could you send us a pic of her so we can determine what shape she's in? A trip to a vet is the best option if there's a chance to save her. The care sheets on this forum will help you greatly if you mimic them in your future husbandry.

 

[GrimCamel]

I think it's rather ambiguous when you are talking about advice given coupled with the numerous supplements available and their potencies. Some have units of each mineral/vitamin but not in relation to anything.
And what about surface area of bugs covered? How much gets washed away?
I find this very hit or miss when you have advice ranging from 2 days a month with vitamins/d3 to using it every day

Im sorry for my loose discription, I was on my mobile and still am but felt I had to answer the tread anyway even though my english isnt the best and I actually have a problem understanding how much of your post is pointed to me or to OP. Sorry for that mate. If you think Ive missed something youre welcome to fill in. I just gave him the basic info on whats usually recommended here on the forum. And I never recommended D3 and vitamines every day did I?

Oneillchameleons are making very valid points!

 

[Andee]

Your misting schedule is off too, only 4 seconds even if it's every hour is hardly enough time for her to get enough water. She needs around one minute at least, preferably two.

 

[Lamp_Post]

Sorry if I miss anything, I'm on mobile.

First off I want to thank all of you for your tips, but she died shortly after the first response.

My feeding setup was suggested by my vet, since when she had that first injury(?) she wasn't eating too well.

As for the D3 every couple days, the vet ensured me that any excess vitamins would be passed through her system normally.

The misting set up was like that to ensure that the back of the cage was always wet, which it was, so she had infinite access to water. The monsoon was able to soak the back of the cage in just those 4 seconds and the water didn't evaporate completely before it sprayed again.

Again, I appreciate everything and I'll be sure to take your tips to heart when I feel I can take care of another Chameleon.

Thank you.

 

[carol5208]

Seeing she is a female, it could be possible she has eggs. Has she ever laid eggs before?? I just saw a chameleon that died suddenly on Chameleon Central on FB and it was loaded with eggs. It was very young though. They did a necropsy and showed all the eggs inside. The owner had no idea.

 

[Lamp_Post]

She was a rescue from a very bad owner, who massively over stressed her. When I took her to the vet they informed me that it would most likely stop her from laying eggs, because she never had for the year I had her at that point.

I had a bin on the bottom filled with coconut fiber for her to lay eggs in, so if she had them suddenly, I don't know why she didn't lay them.

 

[Andee]

There is no need to have the cage soaked all the time, it's supposed to be able to dry out in between sessions. Otherwise you run a risk of respiratory infections.

 

[Lamp_Post]

Sorry I should have clarified, only the back right side of the cage is wet (maybe 4"x4"x4") and the rest is dry. I would sometimes mist the entire cage, but rarely.

Would that still be too much?

 

[Andee]

I would think that would still be too much, though someone might have a better answer. The issue is with the air constantly being wet is that it would cause her lungs to get moist. I would let the entire cage get wet by misting for one to two minutes at a time and then give it a few hours in between to let it dry out. That's for your next chameleon when you are ready.

 

[Lamp_Post]

Will do, thanks for the tips everyone.

 

[Carlton]

Sorry if I miss anything, I'm on mobile.

First off I want to thank all of you for your tips, but she died shortly after the first response.

My feeding setup was suggested by my vet, since when she had that first injury(?) she wasn't eating too well.

As for the D3 every couple days, the vet ensured me that any excess vitamins would be passed through her system normally.

The misting set up was like that to ensure that the back of the cage was always wet, which it was, so she had infinite access to water. The monsoon was able to soak the back of the cage in just those 4 seconds and the water didn't evaporate completely before it sprayed again.

Again, I appreciate everything and I'll be sure to take your tips to heart when I feel I can take care of another Chameleon.

Thank you.

And, once your heart heals and you think you want to get another cham you should find a better vet! The advice you got from the current one about supplementation was poor. Sorry you lost her! To get more detail and explanations of the issues discussed in this thread you might want to read our cham husbandry articles to see what may have contributed to her death. Located under the forum Resources tab.

 

[carol5208]

She was a rescue from a very bad owner, who massively over stressed her. When I took her to the vet they informed me that it would most likely stop her from laying eggs, because she never had for the year I had her at that point.

I had a bin on the bottom filled with coconut fiber for her to lay eggs in, so if she had them suddenly, I don't know why she didn't lay them.

Just because you had a bin in there does not mean she would necessarily lay. I have seen females on here have to get shots to induce egg laying. I am just putting this out there as a possibility, especially if you ever decide to own another female. The only way you will ever know if she was eggbound is to get a necropsy done.

 

[kinyonga]

So sorry you lost your chameleon. There were quite a few things that could have been better with your husbandry but since you were rescuing get her you had a learning curve thrown upon you that would be hard to cope with if you had no chameleon experience. If you decide to get another one please come on this Site and ask lots of questions before you do. You should get lots of good advice here.