Free Chameleon!!!

[HolyToledo]

I am so glad to hear that she was rehomed rather than left to die! That is such a good thing to do if you can't care for an animal - find someone to give it to that can! Good job!

And, I will keep fingers and toes crossed that she does well and makes a full recovery in her new home!

 

[Budandme]

I'm sorry if i'm out of line but I refuse to congratulate this man on his actions. I'm busting my butt to look after a chameleon that someone else bought on a whim which I don't regret, I love my little guy to bits. I never buy pets without doing the reading so having this little guy in my care has caught me on the back foot as I'm not accustomed to having pets without having done the reading first. The easiest information to find is the dusting, gut loading and spraying, lighting and 12/12 cycle yet all of this has been over looked despite the owner claiming he read up on chameleons before buying him?

I'm no expert, I'm not even experienced but I'm struggling to understand how any pet got in that state without it being noticed sooner? You bought a pet which you had for a few months and in that short time you went on holiday and had other commitments? More inportant than the life and well being of a pet you chose to have? You also said that your chameleon has been in good health then produce an earlier thread where you thought she may be struggling with eggs?

I'm glad you gave up the chameleon and I wish her and the new owner the best of luck for the future. I refuse to congratulate you on your irresponsible actions whether well intended or not.

Mods/admin I understand if you deem it necessary to remove my post.

 

[chameleoman]

I'm sorry if i'm out of line but I refuse to congratulate this man on his actions. I'm busting my butt to look after a chameleon that someone else bought on a whim which I don't regret, I love my little guy to bits. I never buy pets without doing the reading so having this little guy in my care has caught me on the back foot as I'm not accustomed to having pets without having done the reading first. The easiest information to find is the dusting, gut loading and spraying, lighting and 12/12 cycle yet all of this has been over looked despite the owner claiming he read up on chameleons before buying him?

I'm no expert, I'm not even experienced but I'm struggling to understand how any pet got in that state without it being noticed sooner? You bought a pet which you had for a few months and in that short time you went on holiday and had other commitments? More inportant than the life and well being of a pet you chose to have? You also said that your chameleon has been in good health then produce an earlier thread where you thought she may be struggling with eggs?

I'm glad you gave up the chameleon and I wish her and the new owner the best of luck for the future. I refuse to congratulate you on your irresponsible actions whether well intended or not.

Mods/admin I understand if you deem it necessary to remove my post.

lets not start any arguments here yes there is no need for you to tell everyone, just don't congratulate him and thank the person who has taken her

 

[twatts704]

Was not my intention to start anything up again. Just keeping the people up to date on the progress of this little girl because I know so many of you were concerned.

 

[twatts704]

I did get her to drink this morning by standing over her with my Mister barely dripping anything onto the top of her nose. So this is a good sign. Wish me luck at the vets in an hour.

 

[Kate]

Good luck Ted. Will keep checking for vets opinion.

 

[JimO]

Being new to the forums, I find it disturbing that after someone admitted to making mistakes, was open about what they did wrong, and offered to give the chameleon to someone who had more experience and could take care of it (for free), they would be ridiculed and belittled publicly. If you want to provide constructive criticism and are interested in educating the OP, then do it in a PM. It's threads like this that convince many people not to post any questions or comments that might be interpreted as indicating that person is unworthy of keeping a chameleon.

 

[Kate]

Being new to the forums, I find it disturbing that after someone admitted to making mistakes, was open about what they did wrong, and offered to give the chameleon to someone who had more experience and could take care of it (for free), they would be ridiculed and belittled publicly. If you want to provide constructive criticism and are interested in educating the OP, then do it in a PM. It's threads like this that convince many people not to post any questions or comments that might be interpreted as indicating that person is unworthy of keeping a chameleon.

Thank you for pointing that out. There is enough guilt associated with discovering you have made mistakes, without negative comments on here. The majority of members here are caring and understanding as I hope you will find out in time.

 

[deadhd5]

Being new to the forums, I find it disturbing that after someone admitted to making mistakes, was open about what they did wrong, and offered to give the chameleon to someone who had more experience and could take care of it (for free), they would be ridiculed and belittled publicly. If you want to provide constructive criticism and are interested in educating the OP, then do it in a PM. It's threads like this that convince many people not to post any questions or comments that might be interpreted as indicating that person is unworthy of keeping a chameleon.

I strongly second this statement.

Thanks to TWatts for stepping up here! I will be anxiously following the progress.

 

[twatts704]

Being new to the forums, I find it disturbing that after someone admitted to making mistakes, was open about what they did wrong, and offered to give the chameleon to someone who had more experience and could take care of it (for free), they would be ridiculed and belittled publicly. If you want to provide constructive criticism and are interested in educating the OP, then do it in a PM. It's threads like this that convince many people not to post any questions or comments that might be interpreted as indicating that person is unworthy of keeping a chameleon.

The exact reason why every one of my replies to this post has been to make people aware that the OP has made a mistake but instead of blaming him and rubbing his face in it let him learn from it and carry on. We have all been young and made mistakes. We have to start somewhere. Put yourself in this persons shoes. I'm not going to give specific details about the OP but will tell you he has a heart and it does go out for his chameleon. The thread was to keep going only to inform the rest of you how she is doing and NOT to put blame or hate on the OP. If it continues I will ask a mod to take the post down and just ask the people who are interested to PM me and I will give each of you details on how she is doing.

 

[twatts704]

I strongly second this statement.

Thanks to TWatts for stepping up here! I will be anxiously following the progress.

Thank you although I have a lot of help from my fiance too who is on the forums as well. She is susannuh on the forums

 

[maxttu]

Outstanding efforts being displayed by Twatts!! I wish you luck and hope for a happy and speedy recovery of this lil lady!

 

[squeekz1992]

species: veiled chameleon
sex: female
age: 9 months
time in my care: 6 months
handling: i handle my chameleon rarely, maybe 1 time a month at most
food: i feed my chameleon a mix of crickets and giant meal worms. im not sure how many she eats but id have to say its usually been 6 crickets or 12 mealworms a day, only up until recently its has become around 3 crickets a day or 6 mealworms. I feed her only when she runs out of her food. That is not a healthy way to feed her..only give her what she will eat in an hour at most, and if she is still hungry you can always put more in. The mealworms arent gutloaded but im fairly sure the crickets are (i buy them by the box from petco). Both the worms and the crickets should be given fresh fruits and veggies. No, the crickets you give her are not gutloaded. Even if they were, in my opinion, you should feed them the fruits and veggies because then you know for a fact they are properly fed.
supplements: i give her none That is not good! They need calcium w/o D3 at every feeding, a multivitamin 2x a month and calcium with D3 once a month! If she has MBD this is a BIG part of why!!!
watering: i use a waterfall to water my chameleon. There is so much bacteria that grows in the waterfall that will make her sick! she does fine with the waterfall, i see her go down and drink from it alot. She is not fine drinking from a waterfall, she will ingest the bacteria from the water and get really sick. This could be another reason she is having poop troubles.i only mist once a day. Misting a chameleon once a day is not enough! They need to be misted 3-4 times a day for 3-5 minutes. She has to be dehydrated only being misted like that.
fecal description:my chameleons feces are usually a darker brown tint with some slimy areas. they seem to be rather large for her size. she has never been tested for parasites.
history: my chameleon has seem very healthy up until 3 weeks ago she started having a darker shade of green, and only 4 days has she started eating less. My bet is that she hasn't been feeling well for a while. Dark green means she is cold/stressed out. You need to monitor the humidity and the temperature.
cage type: I keep my chameleon in a wire screen commercially made cage. the dimension are 16x16x28.
lighting: im using a zoomed reptispot 75watt basking lamp and a zoomed compact reptisun UVB lamp. The UVB lamp needs to be 5.0... I usually turn the lights off at 2-4 a.m. and turn them on at 2-4 p.m.. She needs a better lighting schedule...The lights need to be on for twelve hours EVERY DAY to simulate a day/night time for them.. And her poop could be messed up because she isn't given enough time in the UVB/basking lights to properly digest her food.
temperature: i dont have a thermometer anywhere but my You NEED a thermometer in the cage! There needs to be a way for you to regulate/ moniter the temperature!chameleon has always seemed to do well with the basking lamp like 5.5 inches above her head. No! You cannot assume that the temperature is fine because she "looks okay" or "seems to do well" Chams will do their best to hide any illness from you until it is far along in the illness. at night the temp of my house is around 71 degrees fahrenheit. The tempurature in your house is not the same as the temperature in the cage. In the cage the temperature needs to be 85-90, and the middle of the cage should be 75-85 and the lowest and coolest part of your cage needs to be between 65-70.
humidity: i have no idea what the humidity is, but i try to mist once a day. You need to get a hygrometer! knowing the humidity is JUST as important as the temperature! And you need to mist at least three times a day for anywhere from 3-5 minutes!
plants: i use fake plants from a reputable commercial brand. You need live plants too!
placement: my cage is placed at the corner of my large living room. its is 12 feet from a hallway so people walk by it at a relatively far distance and my chameleon has never seemed to notice.
location: i live in austin, texas.
current problem: she seems to weak to climb branches but she has good color. Too weak to climb the branches? She needs to see a vet NOW. It doesn't matter id her color "looks good" if she wont eat and can't climb! My chameleon had his most beautiful colors on when I was nursing him and he died on Saturday.

 

[twatts704]

species: veiled chameleon
sex: female
age: 9 months
time in my care: 6 months
handling: i handle my chameleon rarely, maybe 1 time a month at most
food: i feed my chameleon a mix of crickets and giant meal worms. im not sure how many she eats but id have to say its usually been 6 crickets or 12 mealworms a day, only up until recently its has become around 3 crickets a day or 6 mealworms. I feed her only when she runs out of her food. That is not a healthy way to feed her..only give her what she will eat in an hour at most, and if she is still hungry you can always put more in. The mealworms arent gutloaded but im fairly sure the crickets are (i buy them by the box from petco). Both the worms and the crickets should be given fresh fruits and veggies. No, the crickets you give her are not gutloaded. Even if they were, in my opinion, you should feed them the fruits and veggies because then you know for a fact they are properly fed.
supplements: i give her none That is not good! They need calcium w/o D3 at every feeding, a multivitamin 2x a month and calcium with D3 once a month! If she has MBD this is a BIG part of why!!!
watering: i use a waterfall to water my chameleon. There is so much bacteria that grows in the waterfall that will make her sick! she does fine with the waterfall, i see her go down and drink from it alot. She is not fine drinking from a waterfall, she will ingest the bacteria from the water and get really sick. This could be another reason she is having poop troubles.i only mist once a day. Misting a chameleon once a day is not enough! They need to be misted 3-4 times a day for 3-5 minutes. She has to be dehydrated only being misted like that.
fecal description:my chameleons feces are usually a darker brown tint with some slimy areas. they seem to be rather large for her size. she has never been tested for parasites.
history: my chameleon has seem very healthy up until 3 weeks ago she started having a darker shade of green, and only 4 days has she started eating less. My bet is that she hasn't been feeling well for a while. Dark green means she is cold/stressed out. You need to monitor the humidity and the temperature.
cage type: I keep my chameleon in a wire screen commercially made cage. the dimension are 16x16x28.
lighting: im using a zoomed reptispot 75watt basking lamp and a zoomed compact reptisun UVB lamp. The UVB lamp needs to be 5.0... I usually turn the lights off at 2-4 a.m. and turn them on at 2-4 p.m.. She needs a better lighting schedule...The lights need to be on for twelve hours EVERY DAY to simulate a day/night time for them.. And her poop could be messed up because she isn't given enough time in the UVB/basking lights to properly digest her food.
temperature: i dont have a thermometer anywhere but my You NEED a thermometer in the cage! There needs to be a way for you to regulate/ moniter the temperature!chameleon has always seemed to do well with the basking lamp like 5.5 inches above her head. No! You cannot assume that the temperature is fine because she "looks okay" or "seems to do well" Chams will do their best to hide any illness from you until it is far along in the illness. at night the temp of my house is around 71 degrees fahrenheit. The tempurature in your house is not the same as the temperature in the cage. In the cage the temperature needs to be 85-90, and the middle of the cage should be 75-85 and the lowest and coolest part of your cage needs to be between 65-70.
humidity: i have no idea what the humidity is, but i try to mist once a day. You need to get a hygrometer! knowing the humidity is JUST as important as the temperature! And you need to mist at least three times a day for anywhere from 3-5 minutes!
plants: i use fake plants from a reputable commercial brand. You need live plants too!
placement: my cage is placed at the corner of my large living room. its is 12 feet from a hallway so people walk by it at a relatively far distance and my chameleon has never seemed to notice.
location: i live in austin, texas.
current problem: she seems to weak to climb branches but she has good color. Too weak to climb the branches? She needs to see a vet NOW. It doesn't matter id her color "looks good" if she wont eat and can't climb! My chameleon had his most beautiful colors on when I was nursing him and he died on Saturday.

Great information! This is great constructive critisism to show not only the OP but anyone who may be looking at this thread and having the same problems what to do to remedy the situation and how the situation should be handled.

 

[Budandme]

Being new to the forums, I find it disturbing that after someone admitted to making mistakes, was open about what they did wrong, and offered to give the chameleon to someone who had more experience and could take care of it (for free), they would be ridiculed and belittled publicly. If you want to provide constructive criticism and are interested in educating the OP, then do it in a PM. It's threads like this that convince many people not to post any questions or comments that might be interpreted as indicating that person is unworthy of keeping a chameleon.

My intention was not to start a debate and still isn't, but since when is giving a sick pet away a better option than vet treatment before rehoming. Forgive me if I seem a little sensitive but I have a house full of rehomes thanks to people and their 'good intentions.' Deliberately overlooking these things just to keep the peace is not really me and I won't apologise for that. As a result I am left under no delusions that this is not the forum for me and also that it's the kind of forum where alternate opinions from newcomers is unwelcome. For reference, If anyone bothered to read the whole reply I did point out that I understood if mods/admin saw fit to remove my post in order to avoid a debate. Feel free to continue posting whatever you like, I'm sure you will be happy to hear I won't be back.

Thanks to anyone who helped with my chameleon upto now and best of luck to the sick cham and new owner.

 

[twatts704]

My intention was not to start a debate and still isn't, but since when is giving a sick pet away a better option than vet treatment before rehoming. Forgive me if I seem a little sensitive but I have a house full of rehomes thanks to people and their 'good intentions.' Deliberately overlooking these things just to keep the peace is not really me and I won't apologise for that. As a result I am left under no delusions that this is not the forum for me and also that it's the kind of forum where alternate opinions from newcomers is unwelcome. For reference, If anyone bothered to read the whole reply I did point out that I understood if mods/admin saw fit to remove my post in order to avoid a debate. Feel free to continue posting whatever you like, I'm sure you will be happy to hear I won't be back.

Thanks to anyone who helped with my chameleon upto now and best of luck to the sick cham and new owner.

To be more specific and before jumping to conclusions. I understand it is better to seek vet help first but the circumstances are that a kid was taking care of the cham and the parents would not pay for a vet visit because they did not see a reason for a vet visit for a lizard. (Most parents feel the same way about a smaller exotic animal that they buy for a child) so this is not his fault. He did everything he could after the obvious vet visit was not in the future for him. That next step was the right one to give her away to someone who could give her vet help. So not to step on toes but I do disagree to your entire approach on the situation. I wish you luck with your chams and do hope you stay as there is a lot of great people and information here.

 

[lisagr07]

Well I have her in my possession now and Hays was just awesome to meet. He was very forthcoming and sad to give her away but I promise you Hays we will do anything we can for her. I am taking her to the vet tomorrow and doing all I can. She does have MBD and possibly a broken leg from not being able to climb. I'm glad you decided to get her help when you did.

To everyone else, please do not take this time to point out the wrong doings he has done. He is well aware of what should have been done and what will need to be done. This is a learning experience for all of us. He could have just easily of kept her in her cage and let her die but instead decided to reach out and ask for help. There is nothing wrong with that. Hopefully Hays you will take this time to do as much research as possible about this breed and others for that matter and maybe one day when you aren't so busy and can dedicate your time you will be set! very nice to meet you again man and I will keep you and everyone else posted.

yay!!!!!! im soooooo glad you guys were able to work it out and she will be on the road to recovery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you did a great thing twatts704 and susannuh!!!!!!!!! lisa

 

[squeekz1992]

Great information! This is great constructive critisism to show not only the OP but anyone who may be looking at this thread and having the same problems what to do to remedy the situation and how the situation should be handled.

Thank you

 

[susannuh]

We really do appreciate everyone's positive words and wishes By the way we have decided to call her Hope. (I know this sounds cheesy, sorry) we all love chams and want them to be as healthy as they can be, that's what brings us together. So even if you're wondering how things got to this state, just try to keep her in your thoughts, and just keep things positive. Thank you!

 

[ISA my Veiled]

Thank you to Twatts for stepping up and taking the initiative to take care of an animal that many of us wish we could also. We need more people like this in our world that care more about animals than prices and just another profit. I admire your willingness to help and I have every bit of confidence that you will do the best job possible, thank you again!