Dying veiled chameleon, no vet, need help plz!

C

CindyS

New Member
I have a 2 yr old female veiled chameleon that has spiraled down these last couple of days. There is no vet that will see reptiles around here. I have minimal experience with chameleons so I'm trying my best in trying to save her. She has refused to eat and will not drink water either. She has a screened cage 18x36 with a hibiscus tree. Has UVB and UVA lighting at temperature of 70deg. Has a dripping system as well. I am not sure why she has stopped drinking or eating. At this point she is very weak and has fallen out of her tree twice. I do not let her climb back up as she's tried several times. Her eyes are closed and when I try feeding her, she clenches her jaw. So I am feeding her through a dropper in small quantities. I crushed a cricket in spring water and that's what I'm dripping through her teeth. Her eyes have sunken, she's thinned out a lot. She walks but slowly and tends to fall asleep between steps. I don't know what else to do. It is about 150miles to the nearest animal hospital and I am not financially capable of traveling to admit her into the hospital. Forgive my post if it's a bit confusing, but I'm desperate. I love my chameleon and I don't want to lose her. I'm attaching a picture of her. Thank you to anyone that can offer a suggestion or alternative feeding methods etc..
 

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The only advice I can give besides "see a reptile vet" is:

Get some nice warm water and syringe it over the tip of her nose and see if she'll drink. She is heavily dehydrated and sick. Keep her warm during the day and don't let temperatures drop too low at night.

Whatever may help her fight off what she's going through...

I hope ferretinmyshoes or olimpia or the other higher up more professional members can reply soon.
 
Fill out the how to ask for help sheet, it's a sticky under health clinic. She seems a bit dehydrated to me too.
 
She is severely dehydrated and also looks underweight. Most people are going to tell you to get her to a vet since she is extremely ill. She probably should have fluids injected under her skin but that is really something only a vet should do. If it were me, I would work very hard to get water into to her using a dripper or syringe. You have to be very careful though not to force the water down the throat as it could accidently get in her lungs. I am sorry to say that without a vet I think it unlikely she will make it. I am very sorry your girl is so ill, if worse comes to worst I would still fill out the HOW TO ASK FOR HELP form at the top of the Health Clinic threads. Your husbandry can be reviewed and perhaps you can figure out what went wrong in the first place. Seeing her so dehydrated makes me think she has been struggling for longer than a couple days. Animals are very good at disguising their illnesses as in the wild it makes them vulnerable to predation if they seem weak or sick. Also with it being a female, I immediately think of egg binding which will kill any egg laying animal. That also will be covered in the help form. Many people do not realize that even if she has not been with a male she still needs to have a place to lay eggs. Just think of chickens. All the eggs we eat are produced by hens who have never been mated but none the less lay eggs. I used to keep cockatiels and the girls would periodically lay a clutch of eggs at the bottom of the cage and fiercely defend their infertile eggs.
 
Yes, she is dehydrated now since she won't eat nor drink so the only water going in is what I'm putting in through her teeth. I will fill out the form ASAP. Thank you
 
You can also try the shower method - since she's so weak you'll have to hold her in the shower, but face the shower head towards the wall and turn it on warm. Let the warm spray hit her, and it may make her want to drink. You'll have to do this for probably 5-10 minutes at the minimum, because she's so weak and her desire to drink has probably slowed down. If you have any hornworms or silkworms I'd try to mash them and feed them to her, since they are higher in water content than a cricket is. Good luck, and please fill out the how to ask for help page as well.
 
what about bathing in slightly warmed electrolyte solution as part of the above described re-hydration attempt(EG. Pedialyte or Dioralyte). They will absorb an amount moisture and elements through the cloaca.
 
TruBlu said:
what about bathing in slightly warmed electrolyte solution as part of the above described re-hydration attempt(EG. Pedialyte or Dioralyte). They will absorb an amount moisture and elements through the cloaca.
Click to expand...

I never heard of this. Where did you find this info??
 
TruBlu said:
what about bathing in slightly warmed electrolyte solution as part of the above described re-hydration attempt(EG. Pedialyte or Dioralyte). They will absorb an amount moisture and elements through the cloaca.
Click to expand...

Chameleons are not like bearded dragons, they don't do this as far as I know.
 
I would try un-flavored Pedialyte at room temp with a dropper.

I hope she doesnt have liver damage.

How long has she been like this?

If you can get her hydrated, she may start taking food, maybe smashed up crickets mixed with a little pedialyte into a slurry.
 
TruBlu said:
what about bathing in slightly warmed electrolyte solution as part of the above described re-hydration attempt(EG. Pedialyte or Dioralyte). They will absorb an amount moisture and elements through the cloaca.
Click to expand...

This is a theory that is not very supported. One paper on red ear sliders suggested that this was a possible means of absorption, however two other papers on same species demonstrated that is was not a significant source of absoprtion of any electrolytes. And a paper done on a species of lizard for the same thing was inconclusive. Afte the first paper though it started getting perpetuated but at this time there's no significant data to support it that I can find.
 
Thank you everyone for your help. Today she continues very weak. I've filled out the form that everyone has suggested I do. I also tried the warm water shower method that absolutbill suggested and she did not drink so I made a hammock under her heated lamp to warm her up after the shower. She responded to the heat but just laid there. I can try the pedialyte solution, I always keep some handy for my other pets but never used it on my chams. Would it hurt her more than help her? Let me know what u all think. Thanks again!
 
Did you fill out the form in a different thread, because I can't seem to find it? As for the pedialite, I don't think it will hurt her anymore than she is right now. Unfortunately I don't see a good ending to this, but I've seen miracles on this forum before, so we'll keep our fingers crossed. If you could attach that help form to this thread that would be helpful, and maybe something will jump out at us.

Are there any new stressors in her environment that weren't there a few weeks ago? Maybe a new pet in a cage within her field of sight, or something new hanging that might be reflective in her eyes? Honestly I'm grasping at straws here for an answer for you. Another idea - have you always gotten your feeders from the same source, or have you switched places recently? I'm wondering if you could have gotten a batch of crickets that was carrying a disease of some sort. Again, I'm not a vet, just a fellow owner trying to solve a mystery. Good luck!
 
@absolutbill: come to think of it, yes I had boughten some crickets out of Petco about a week before she started acting different. My Panther Cham also had some of the same crickets but he's still being himself. Maybe there was an ill cricket :(
I did have a good reaction today after she lay under the heated lamp. She opened her mouth a bit and allowed me to drip a mixture of crushed cricket with water. Nothing solid it's all liquid so she can swallow it. She still has a strong grip and opened her eyes for a short period of time.
I'm new to this site and trying find my way around. I know I had found a help thread and replied now I can't find it. Maybe it didn't go through or I was in the wrong spot all together. Does anyone have maybe a link to that form everyone mentions. Help?

@ferretinmyshoes: my location is Laredo Texas. I believe the closest veterinarian that will take in reptiles is in San Antonio Texas 150miles north of me.
 
I'm not terribly computer savvy, but try filling it out, and copying and pasting it in a reply here. Try to color your responses in a different color to make it easier for us to read. Good luck!
 
RE: the electrolyte solution treatment via absorption.. I have read a couple of papers on it. Writing in support of its use is not widespread and data inconclusive (as ferret says above)..but If she is not willing to drink of her own accord then if there would be an amount of absorption then surely it is worth trying!
 
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