PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
My cham had a very, very runny bowel movement this morning.. best way I can describe it is diarrhea. Urate was solid and looked good. This is a completely new one on me as he’s never had a runny stool in the six months I‘ve had him. He actually hadn’t had a bowel movement all last week and I was beginning to get concerned just based on that. Not sure that him holding it in for a while would result in loose stool? I can‘t say he’s had any particularly juicy feeders, I haven’t ordered horn or silkworms in a while. He’s been eating crickets, dubia roaches and BSFL (and he’s only been getting 4-5 of the larvae during feedings). I’ll occasionally feed him blue bottle fly spikes, as well as the pupated flies. Everything is gutloaded with Repashy Bug Burger.
I did a bit of digging and read that diarrhea in chameleons usually means one of two things - too many watery feeders (like horn worms), which he hasn’t had, or coccidia. Are there any other possible causes, or is this usually pretty accurate? Freaking out more than just a little bit at this point. I’ve got an appointment with the vet scheduled for him next week, but I’m trying to get it sooner. He’s waking up every morning to bask. Appetite is definitely the same, he comes running to the cage door for food every time I open it.
In the event that it is coccidia, should I pull out all the branches and plants and toss them? Is there any way they (the sticks, at least) can be sanitized for re-use? What sort of solution should I use to deep clean?
**Editing to add that he is being misted quite a bit more often now. I added a 11:30 am misting, as well as a 2:30 PM misting to combat low RH. He’s also misted at 7 AM, 30 minutes after nights on, and at 6:30 PM, 30 minutes before lights go off. He is then misted 4 times throughout the night while he sleeps to keep humidity high. I’ve ALSO been using a dripper. Could excess moisture be the cause?
I did a bit of digging and read that diarrhea in chameleons usually means one of two things - too many watery feeders (like horn worms), which he hasn’t had, or coccidia. Are there any other possible causes, or is this usually pretty accurate? Freaking out more than just a little bit at this point. I’ve got an appointment with the vet scheduled for him next week, but I’m trying to get it sooner. He’s waking up every morning to bask. Appetite is definitely the same, he comes running to the cage door for food every time I open it.
In the event that it is coccidia, should I pull out all the branches and plants and toss them? Is there any way they (the sticks, at least) can be sanitized for re-use? What sort of solution should I use to deep clean?
**Editing to add that he is being misted quite a bit more often now. I added a 11:30 am misting, as well as a 2:30 PM misting to combat low RH. He’s also misted at 7 AM, 30 minutes after nights on, and at 6:30 PM, 30 minutes before lights go off. He is then misted 4 times throughout the night while he sleeps to keep humidity high. I’ve ALSO been using a dripper. Could excess moisture be the cause?
Last edited:
