Faith_fill
New Member
Hello All, first time user and poster here:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - Sunday evening he seemed a little slow and lethargic, but still eating, drinking, and climbing. He happened to be having a rare treat of hornworms (see above) and ate 2. Monday morning was hanging over his branch like he didn’t have any energy and couldn’t climb. Took him to vet same day and best guess was dehydration based on lethargy, sunken eyes and stringy saliva so he received a shot of fluids directly into his abdomen with the hopes he would perk up by Wednesday.
(Of note, his daytime and nighttime heat lamps both burned out the week prior and as we were without backups he was without for a few hours before a replacement could be purchased. Weather here was in the high 80’s and we don’t have A/C so he was still fairly warm) After the vet visit we had an errand to run so he enjoyed the sun and heat in the car, monitored by me. The sunshine, warmth, and fluids really seemed to perk him up (for about 2-3 hours, then back to sleepy)
Also noted, Vet commented on good size, good structure, and color for his age. She reviewed his vitamin regimen and deemed it appropriate. She conducted a physical exam which didn’t reveal any other apparent abnormalities (like mBD) She did feel that perhaps he was chilled (although it was freezing in her office and he was away from his heat lamp!) Other than seeming sleepy with sunken eyes, he didn’t (and still doesn’t) appear sickly, thin, brown/gray, etc. During the vet visit he was his usual self (mad and hissing because of being handled), but since then he has been so lethargic he won’t even hiss at me when I come near to offer water.
Tuesday was still lethargic, unable to climb, so I created a soft flat perch for him to rest on so he could be near the heat without falling off of his branch. I began force feeding him water (through the method suggested with a baby medicine dropper away from trachea) I also had to offer one cricket right in front of his nose and he munched it down reluctantly without protracting his tongue.
Wednesday much the same, I continued to monitor heat, offer lots of water and mist. By early afternoon he was so out of it I thought he was on his last few hours but by early evening he had a (fairly normal looking) bowel movement and seemed to perk up (making an effort to look around, climb, albeit mostly unsuccessful)
Thursday morning (today) I offered water which he accepted in the morning but he was very lethargic and refused to allow me to give him water for the rest of the day. I purchased wax worms with the intention of grinding them up but was unable to get him to allow me to open his mouth. This evening, assuming we were still dealing with dehydration, I put him in the warm shower, out of the stream, for a good 20 minutes to steam and hydrate. As soon as I turned the water off, he made a great effort and had a massive bowel movement (think 2-3x size of normal) which was runny but not Yellow,orange, or translucent).
Based on this very hydrated bowel movement and his lack of improvement, I just don’t think this is the problem any more. Any other suggestions as to his cause of lethargy? The vet won’t be back in until Monday if we elect to do bloodwork, and I’m not even sure my husband will go for that $200 expense.
Photo 1: Monday morning, lethargic, hanging over branch
Photo 2: Monday after visit to vet and fluids, in transport box enjoying some sun
Photo 3: Tuesday, very lethargic, can’t grip his branch
Photo 4: Wednesday bowel movement
Photo 5: Today, in the shower, mouth open (not usual for him)
Photo 6: Massive BM after shower
I can post pics of his enclosure in the morning once the daylights come back on.
- Your Chameleon - Veiled Male, adult, approx 18 months old, in our care for about 16 months.
- Handling - Almost never, except to move during cage cleanings if necessary
- Feeding - ~10 med/large crickets daily, hornworms and wax worms every other month as a treat. Crickets housed here and fed on dark leafy greens and citrus.
- Supplements - Herpetivite multi1x/month dusted just before feeding off, another multivitamin given 2-3x/week (away from bottle right now)
- Watering - Waterfall. Mist 1-2x daily for a few minutes each time. I don’t often see him drinking but I also don’t spend a lot of time observing, that’s more for my husband and kiddos. We had a dripper to begin with and switched to waterfall for convenience and appearance. i added the dripper back in this week when dehydration was considered the problem. Waterfall water was changed 1-2x/week.
- Fecal Description - Brown semi-soft with white/yellow urates yesterday. No, never tested for parasites. Very large diarrhea tonight but still with good color after warm shower.
- History - No previous problems, healthy the entire time we’ve had him
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - All screen, Reptibteeze 48x24x24 was looking to upgrade size before he became sick.
- Lighting - Daylight and Basking lights on from 7a-7p, nighttime heat purple lamp on from 7p-7a.
- Temperature - Ambient: 75-80, basking: 90, overnight low 65, digital cage thermometer.
- Humidity - Don’t have a method of measuring this, just misting and dripping as often as possible.
- Plants - No, only synthetic
- Placement - In our at-home school room, not much traffic in front of cage, but some noise. No fans/vents. On a high shelf, top of cage is about 6-7 feet from room floor. He does not seem stressed based on color and behavior.
- Location - Southern California
Current Problem - Sunday evening he seemed a little slow and lethargic, but still eating, drinking, and climbing. He happened to be having a rare treat of hornworms (see above) and ate 2. Monday morning was hanging over his branch like he didn’t have any energy and couldn’t climb. Took him to vet same day and best guess was dehydration based on lethargy, sunken eyes and stringy saliva so he received a shot of fluids directly into his abdomen with the hopes he would perk up by Wednesday.
(Of note, his daytime and nighttime heat lamps both burned out the week prior and as we were without backups he was without for a few hours before a replacement could be purchased. Weather here was in the high 80’s and we don’t have A/C so he was still fairly warm) After the vet visit we had an errand to run so he enjoyed the sun and heat in the car, monitored by me. The sunshine, warmth, and fluids really seemed to perk him up (for about 2-3 hours, then back to sleepy)
Also noted, Vet commented on good size, good structure, and color for his age. She reviewed his vitamin regimen and deemed it appropriate. She conducted a physical exam which didn’t reveal any other apparent abnormalities (like mBD) She did feel that perhaps he was chilled (although it was freezing in her office and he was away from his heat lamp!) Other than seeming sleepy with sunken eyes, he didn’t (and still doesn’t) appear sickly, thin, brown/gray, etc. During the vet visit he was his usual self (mad and hissing because of being handled), but since then he has been so lethargic he won’t even hiss at me when I come near to offer water.
Tuesday was still lethargic, unable to climb, so I created a soft flat perch for him to rest on so he could be near the heat without falling off of his branch. I began force feeding him water (through the method suggested with a baby medicine dropper away from trachea) I also had to offer one cricket right in front of his nose and he munched it down reluctantly without protracting his tongue.
Wednesday much the same, I continued to monitor heat, offer lots of water and mist. By early afternoon he was so out of it I thought he was on his last few hours but by early evening he had a (fairly normal looking) bowel movement and seemed to perk up (making an effort to look around, climb, albeit mostly unsuccessful)
Thursday morning (today) I offered water which he accepted in the morning but he was very lethargic and refused to allow me to give him water for the rest of the day. I purchased wax worms with the intention of grinding them up but was unable to get him to allow me to open his mouth. This evening, assuming we were still dealing with dehydration, I put him in the warm shower, out of the stream, for a good 20 minutes to steam and hydrate. As soon as I turned the water off, he made a great effort and had a massive bowel movement (think 2-3x size of normal) which was runny but not Yellow,orange, or translucent).
Based on this very hydrated bowel movement and his lack of improvement, I just don’t think this is the problem any more. Any other suggestions as to his cause of lethargy? The vet won’t be back in until Monday if we elect to do bloodwork, and I’m not even sure my husband will go for that $200 expense.
Photo 1: Monday morning, lethargic, hanging over branch
Photo 2: Monday after visit to vet and fluids, in transport box enjoying some sun
Photo 3: Tuesday, very lethargic, can’t grip his branch
Photo 4: Wednesday bowel movement
Photo 5: Today, in the shower, mouth open (not usual for him)
Photo 6: Massive BM after shower
I can post pics of his enclosure in the morning once the daylights come back on.
i let my previous comment in case someone need it is the futur
