Diarrhea, Vomit - need advice please

Mtnlaurel

Mtnlaurel

Member
  • Male - Ambilobe Panther - 6 months - I have had him 2.5 months now
  • Handled - as little as possible. Had a Respiratory Infection a few weeks after acquisition - had to do 4 shots of Fortaz, trip to the vet, held him maybe 2-3 times
  • Feeding - crickets, dubia, super worms and hornworms. I use Repashy bug burger plus whatever other fresh food I have around - typically mustard greens, collards, sweet potato, kale, orange
  • Amount - he was readily eating 10-12 crickets hand feeding when I got him. He has been getting progressively less hungry. Yesterday he ate 3 hornworms, two superworms and a cricket. Possibly some dubia but they could be lost in his cage. This morning my husband put some crickets in the cage, but i dont know if he ate them or not
  • Supplements - zoo-med calcium daily on hard bodied feeders, rep-cal with D3 biweekly, herptivite bi-weekly
  • Watering - Mistking mister, 5 minutes at 8 am,10 am, 15 minutes at Noon, 5 minutes at 2, 5 minutes at 4, i see him drink all the time
  • Fecal Description - Fecals were large, about 1.5" for the first month. about the time he got the respiratory infection, his fecals were smaller, maybe 3/4', but firm and brown, but not eating as much, which I attributed to medication. Urates always have a slightly orange cast, no matter how long I mist. His eyes look good and I see him drink - he has never been tested for parasites
  • History - Purchased from Chameleon Paradise on Dec. 6, started treatment for a Respiratory Infection around the first of the year.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - DIYcages 24 x 24 x 48, three sides wrapped in shower curtain
  • Lighting - Dual T5 fixture from Lightyourreptiles.com, arcadia 6% and 6500K plant light
  • 65W Incadescent bulb with bell reflector, from 8 am to 8 pm
  • Temperature - Highest available basking area is up to around 90, lowest part of cage gets to about 65, low overnight temps around 60, measured by probe thermometer. I use an incandescent bulb and a ceramic heat emitter.
  • Humidity -Humidity ranges from 40 - 70+, measured by home depot hygrometer and maintained by regular misting and a home made fogger/humidifier piped into the cage, runs 24/7
  • Plants - Live plants are Pothos and Ficus
  • Placement - My cage is upstairs in the family room. moderate evening traffic, (we watch TV up there), top of cage is 7-8 feet off the ground
  • Location - Lynchburg, VA

Current Problem -
He hasn't been as interested in food lately, been looking stressy colors sometimes, and he has been pacing his cage. This morning, he had diarrhea - maybe 1/2' brown, relatively looser feces and about 5 drops of orangish white fluid. Shortly after, he vomited two masses. One piece looks very similar to feces and about 1" long. The other piece was a large piece of bark, (1/4 - 1/2") and a partially digested cricket. I don't have access to those photos right now but I did take some.

It sounds like impaction to me. What do I do to help this guy?

I could use some advice, please
 
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I should also add he shed three days ago.

No, I have not had him treated for parasites. The bark in his vomit leads me to believe he must be chewing on the sticks in his cage, which I find odd but not out of the realm of possibility. Maybe he is deficient in something.

So there is the possiblity that the waning appetite was caused by the meds. The bark caused the vomit. The diarhea was caused by eating three hornworms. And he is just being a picky eater because he is royally sick of large crickets gutloaded on bug burger.

He ate another superworm this morning. I have silkworm eggs coming in the mail, but it will be a couple weeks before they are ready.

Otherwise, he seems pretty ok. Doesn't look dehydrated, roaming around his cage, basking and drinking. He will periodically get colored with green and black bars, which always makes me think something is wrong. Not eating crickets though, that's for sure. I swear I am constantly worrying.
 
I agree vomiting in general is usually a time I take a chameleon to the vet whether I know why or not. Impaction is usually something that cannot be solved without vet intervention especially if it is cause by foreign objects and not feeders. Sometimes impaction has a poor prognosis. For temporary help, high water and soft bodied feeders are recommended and I don't recommend anything with higher chitin levels like super worms etc. Also increase water intake in general. I highly recommend doing a nice warm and steamy shower.
 
Vet visit and shower as soon as possible.

He ate a few more superworms before I got your advice, so hopefully that won't complicate things.
I'm also hoping that an appetite is a good thing.

I may be able to get hornworms, they are hit or miss around here. I have read about giving a few drops of mineral oil. Good idea or bad?

I hate not knowing what is going on.
 
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You should call you vet and get their opinion since you've seen them recently they can tell you if the meds are affecting his appetite. I'm fairly sure they are going to want to see him for the vomiting/diarrhea. Make the appointment you can cancel if you see normal stool and appetite.
You probably did this already but the branches with the loose bark need to come out of the cage.
 
I honestly wouldn't do mineral oil. Especially not with chameleons. Usually with any type of oil and with too much of it, if they get too much in their mouth it can cause more vomiting.
 
Talked with the vet. Appointment for Monday.
All good advice. I can stop by the pet store and see what they have, but they typically only have a few hornworms and quite frequently they are inappropriate sizes.

I have been thinking maybe I need to be feeding a smaller cricket? His breeder said he was eating large crickets before he came. But maybe smaller would be better.

The pet store has crickets, dubia, superworms, waxworms and hornworms.
He is off cricks, iffy on dubia.
So what would you advise feeding? I'll be lucky to get three hornworms. Do I feed the waxworms?

Thanks for all the help. I'm trying my best.

My silkworm eggs arrived today.
 
Definitely look for hornworms, and remember sometimes there is a little wiggle room with the feeder sizes with soft bodied ones because they are mostly water. I would lean more strongly towards the wax worms just to keep something in his stomach, but honestly that is a risky business. I would keep crickets around and just not offer superworms. Offer dubias if you can and he might take them, just offer smaller and super plump nymphs. I wouldn't try to feed a whole meal either. Maybe just a couple feeders a day, 2-3 and just make sure he has something to keep him going. Right now I think his stomach really needs to rest and try to work out whatever is going on it. Also try to get soft bodied feeders in as one feeder every day.
 
So he had a very normal poo this morning. Still no interest in crickets though. Mildly interested in everything else, though still not the voracious eater he once was
 
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On the way to the vet. Will be very interested in what he has to say. Normal poo, but won't eat anything now. Doing a very odd coughing/gagging thing. Will try to post a video
 
Mtnlaurel said:
Talked with the vet. Appointment for Monday.
All good advice. I can stop by the pet store and see what they have, but they typically only have a few hornworms and quite frequently they are inappropriate sizes.

I have been thinking maybe I need to be feeding a smaller cricket? His breeder said he was eating large crickets before he came. But maybe smaller would be better.

The pet store has crickets, dubia, superworms, waxworms and hornworms.
He is off cricks, iffy on dubia.
So what would you advise feeding? I'll be lucky to get three hornworms. Do I feed the waxworms?

Thanks for all the help. I'm trying my best.

My silkworm eggs arrived today.
Click to expand...
You can buy insects online. Linda's gone buggy offers nice feeder packs. And she will be willing to work on sizes.
 
Dr. Rick says we are going to chalk this one up to irritation due to swallowing a giant piece of bark. Watch and see if he doesn't pick up his appetite soon.
Should he continue not eating and loses too much body mass, he will do a barium test to see if there is blockage. As for now, he can't feel anything and small bark doesn't show up on a x-ray.
So it's wait and see.

Most tempting foods?? I'm thinking flies maybe. Not much interest in hornworms, but he never has been crazy about them.
 
Mtnlaurel said:
Dr. Rick says we are going to chalk this one up to irritation due to swallowing a giant piece of bark. Watch and see if he doesn't pick up his appetite soon.
Should he continue not eating and loses too much body mass, he will do a barium test to see if there is blockage. As for now, he can't feel anything and small bark doesn't show up on a x-ray.
So it's wait and see.

Most tempting foods?? I'm thinking flies maybe. Not much interest in hornworms, but he never has been crazy about them.
Click to expand...
My cham loves anything that flies.
 
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