It has been one week since he has not eaten. We changed his habitat completely and that is when he stopped. He is back in his old one though, and still WILL NOT eat. He moves around and drinks, but his color is greyer than normal as well. He appears to still have his tongue, but he won't even hand feed. He's about 7-8 months old and we need help - we're new to this.
Chameleon won't eat
- Thread starter Leslie
- Start date
Leilaskeeper
New Member
It's quite possible that you've stressed him out. Chameleons can go a few weeks without eating but I can relate to your stresses. I had a chameleon who could not eat nor drink and I made it my mission to get her eating.
What I did was give her light showers with my spray bottle. When she drank the water, I would use a syringe to give her a mixed bug juice concoction. I used a few crickets and butterworms, mashed it up with some water, and added some multivitamin and cal w/ d3. I sucked it up with the syringe and patiently tried to feed it to her. I gave her a days rest since I didn't want to stress her and I tried it again the following day. It worked!!! She began eating about 4 days later.
This is just an idea ... stick with your cham. Don't give up! Keep him hydrated and shower often .. about 4-5 times a day for a few minutes. Depending on how you have your drainage (if at all) set up, you may want to take him out of the cage and sit him on a plant or a towel with a branch and shower him down. Just to avoid cleaning up a potential mess. I know this from experience.
Good luck!! Keep me posted.
What I did was give her light showers with my spray bottle. When she drank the water, I would use a syringe to give her a mixed bug juice concoction. I used a few crickets and butterworms, mashed it up with some water, and added some multivitamin and cal w/ d3. I sucked it up with the syringe and patiently tried to feed it to her. I gave her a days rest since I didn't want to stress her and I tried it again the following day. It worked!!! She began eating about 4 days later.
This is just an idea ... stick with your cham. Don't give up! Keep him hydrated and shower often .. about 4-5 times a day for a few minutes. Depending on how you have your drainage (if at all) set up, you may want to take him out of the cage and sit him on a plant or a towel with a branch and shower him down. Just to avoid cleaning up a potential mess. I know this from experience.
Good luck!! Keep me posted.
We took him to the vet and the xray showed a blockage - they actually gave him an enema and said he may need 1 or 2 more - they believe he ate some sub straight from his new cage, coconut ground up, and it blocked him up - so he feels full and doesn't want to eat - he has been trying to force it out with some wierd choking moves and now we know what that was - we just hope this will solve his problems - we love him!
fluxlizard
Avid Member
You can give him a small amount of laxatone orally to help things along as well.
It's cat hairball remover which you can buy at most any pet store.
I know this because believe it or not, this morning ended a 2 week long scare with my 12 year old son's 2 year old, 3' long house iguana. The thing ate a balloon the kids were playing with and left lying around on the floor when it popped.
This week my wife and I have been giving enemas (takes 2 because he's pretty strong- I had to get his vent open and my wife had to slide aquarium airline tubing up in there 2 or 3 inches and then we used a 10 cc syringe to push the liquid in (liquid was warm water the first night and then we tried mineral oil after that) and trying mineral oil orally to him.
Yesterday, in desperation after checking around and learning that laxatone had been used with lizards successfully I went out and got some and it really did the trick- he passed a poop for the first time in 2 weeks with the ballon in there this morning after the first dose of laxatone given just last night.
I've been extremely stressed for both the lizard and my boy- the lizard is his best buddy- he's taught him to poop on command, bathes him every day, spends a good part of the evening doing homework and computer games with the lizard on his shoulders and sleeps with him every night.
One extremely happy 12 year old boy I promise you. I've never experienced anything like this with any of my lizards in the past 4 decades and thought he was a goner.
We threw a poop party as a family for the lizard this evening.
LOL
Good luck with your chameleon- that substrate is a bad idea for lizards of any kind. Toss it if you haven't already.
Try the laxatone. maybe 1/10 or 2/10 of a cc. Ask your vet about it. It coats the undigestable matter in a slippery slimy coating so it can pass easier, and stimulates the GI system to work it out.
It's cat hairball remover which you can buy at most any pet store.
I know this because believe it or not, this morning ended a 2 week long scare with my 12 year old son's 2 year old, 3' long house iguana. The thing ate a balloon the kids were playing with and left lying around on the floor when it popped.
This week my wife and I have been giving enemas (takes 2 because he's pretty strong- I had to get his vent open and my wife had to slide aquarium airline tubing up in there 2 or 3 inches and then we used a 10 cc syringe to push the liquid in (liquid was warm water the first night and then we tried mineral oil after that) and trying mineral oil orally to him.
Yesterday, in desperation after checking around and learning that laxatone had been used with lizards successfully I went out and got some and it really did the trick- he passed a poop for the first time in 2 weeks with the ballon in there this morning after the first dose of laxatone given just last night.
I've been extremely stressed for both the lizard and my boy- the lizard is his best buddy- he's taught him to poop on command, bathes him every day, spends a good part of the evening doing homework and computer games with the lizard on his shoulders and sleeps with him every night.
One extremely happy 12 year old boy I promise you. I've never experienced anything like this with any of my lizards in the past 4 decades and thought he was a goner.
We threw a poop party as a family for the lizard this evening.
LOL
Good luck with your chameleon- that substrate is a bad idea for lizards of any kind. Toss it if you haven't already.
Try the laxatone. maybe 1/10 or 2/10 of a cc. Ask your vet about it. It coats the undigestable matter in a slippery slimy coating so it can pass easier, and stimulates the GI system to work it out.
I'm not a vet and I can't find a diagram of a chameleon cloaca...but if the cloaca is similar to alligators, birds, etc. I don't see how an enema will work. The cloaca is like a sac...the intestines and urine are dumped into it. There is a muscle above the cloacal area...so how would the fluid get into the intestine?
Alligator...
http://www.kwic.com/~pagodavista/schoolhouse/species/herps/repanat.htm
Alligator...
http://www.kwic.com/~pagodavista/schoolhouse/species/herps/repanat.htm
Julirs
New Member
Right off, do you know your temps? Keeping them too cool can cause them not to be able to digest...
Since you are new to this, please help us help you by filling out the following...
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?
Since you are new to this, please help us help you by filling out the following...
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?
fluxlizard
Avid Member
You have to get up into the intestine- at 2 or 3" of the tube into my iguana- we were up in there. It would have been impossible to have done otherwise.
fluxlizard
Avid Member
edit- I don't know why last night I thought the substrate the cham had ingested was walnut shell, instead of coconut fiber, but I did.
I don't think I've heard of cocofiber being unsafe for lizards. I've used it myself in the past without problem- I think it is digestable normally.
I'm in agreement with the poster who said you might need to raise your basking temp. I'd also recommend you make sure you make water plentifully available if the cham wants it.
I do think the laxatone is still a good idea to to get the lizard cleaned out. Check with your vet- it's got to be better than enemas because it coats from the front towards the rear. Enema can only get a bit near the end of the blockage.
Edit- my sons iguana just passed a regular looking poop this morning- confirmation we got the blockage completely out in his poop yesterday. Yaaaay!
I don't think I've heard of cocofiber being unsafe for lizards. I've used it myself in the past without problem- I think it is digestable normally.
I'm in agreement with the poster who said you might need to raise your basking temp. I'd also recommend you make sure you make water plentifully available if the cham wants it.
I do think the laxatone is still a good idea to to get the lizard cleaned out. Check with your vet- it's got to be better than enemas because it coats from the front towards the rear. Enema can only get a bit near the end of the blockage.
Edit- my sons iguana just passed a regular looking poop this morning- confirmation we got the blockage completely out in his poop yesterday. Yaaaay!
Thanks to everyone - I will look into the laxatone - as for the enema, we also wondered how that would benefit, but we were assured by our local reptile doctor this was the right thing to do - he is scheduled for another enema tomorrow am if he doesn't pass something today. As for the questions from Julirs, we have very good guidance from the breeder, he is in our sunny kitchen, we handle him all the time, at his request, because he comes out on his own. Trying to keep him well hydrated, monitor temperature with a dig therm, and humidity with a hydrometer, we have his cage set up as a top dwelling at 18x18x30, with a larger one being purchased, uv and heat on 12 hour rotation, no more sub straight as this is a new cage, now just a large plant on a clear bottom. He was eating crickets, super worms, silk worms - nothing at all right now.
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