HELP!!! i think my cham is dying --please help asap!!!!

[dectr6]

Earlier posts said he had no UVB since he purchased him in July I think. Vet also said chams were very fragile as have others. The chameleon is well enough today to be at the top of the cage. I wouldn't have thought it would even be alive or at least not able to stand. I should have said no advanced MBD. Seems like it's main problem was dehydration. That's what I understood anyway.
David

 

[Justin Carl]

yea, after 6 months of NO UVB it would be nearly dead i would think.
He must have been getting UVB somehow.
possibly natural?

 

[superstiney]

i used to leave him outside for hours during the summer so thats natural sunlight

 

[Chase]

That helps but UVB is needed for growth.

 

[superstiney]

ihave him in that mesh cage which ill keep him in for prob till the end of the month but the uv light i have t the top doesnt seem to shine thru alot... being on the stop it should still get thru enough to him right?

 

[Chase]

Ya but how far away is he/she??

 

[superstiney]

less that 20 inches

 

[Chase]

Thats pretty far away.

 

[superstiney]

dang...what can i do?

 

[Chase]

Get a bigger plant.

 

[superstiney]

i have sticks that go quite close to the top- the vet said i need to keep him low b/c he is still weak....

 

[Chase]

Do that then. Whenever he gets stronger.

 

[DarkRapture]

less that 20 inches

uvb can only penetrate about 12" in the best of the fluorescents. in order to receive full spectrum uvb please make sure that he can get within 8-12" of the light.

I also read in an earlier post where you said the temp is about 90F... did you measure the basking temp or the ambient temp? its a good temp for basking but the cham needs to thermo regulate. they require ambient temp of about 70-80F.

 

[superstiney]

yes that is basking- normal is about 80 -85
ill measure the cage quick to check the hight

 

[superstiney]

the cage hight is 14' and currently he is sitting in the middle almost directly under the florescent light

 

[Chase]

Ok.

 

[AFH]

Do get repti-SUN over repti-GLO if at all possible. It is a superior light and I'm thinking your guy needs the best he can get right now!
-Brad

I am just getting into this thread and wanted to say first off I'm pulling for Rafiki. Sounds like he's got a fighting chance and it's good to see everyone getting together to help.

But kind of off topic, what is the difference between these two tubes and what makes the repti-sun that much better?

AFH

 

[superstiney]

as i believe the repti-sun is much stronger light power...

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

Alright,

Just wanted to point out that this animal was getting supplements with D3 in it
I would expect a stressed out veiled to last 2-3 weeks
before showing signs of metabolic inability on a non-supplemented diet w/ no UV exposure.
Those symptoms wouldn't include him lying around with the behaviors as described.
There would be some decline in activity and more sleeping/resting.
but not the same behaviors as described that told me that he was simply dying of thirst.

He *could* have gone longer without any proper UV
if he was giving the supplements (despite another's warning)
the primary issue was lack of water... not humidity.. not misting
but drinking.

Don't misunderstand... UV is good... it should/must be there in the proper amounts,
in the proper way... don't try going without it.
But these animals aren't as fragile as some would believe
and they don't die at a drop of a hat for unknown reasons
They die for reasons either not understood or neglected by their owners....
Thereby spawning all kinds of excuses that blame the animal.

YMMV

 

[dectr6]

Superstiney, If temps allow, get him outside in full sun for at least a few hours a day. There's no better source of UVB. I'm glad you mentioned that in one of your last threads, I was scratching my head and wondering if everything I thought and learned over the last 5 years was B.S. Good luck and try and keep us updated daily if you can. David