Help me!!!! New female i received has orange poop

[SRD2411]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Ambilobe female born 7-2013, had her for about a week now, bought her from Tom @ Chameleon's INC
Handling - Have not done much handling as she looks gravid, her belly has been MASSIVE since the day she shipped to me.
Feeding - Free range crix, mealworms/dubia in a container
Supplements - Calcium without d3 and multivitamins 2 times monthly
Watering - Misting, leaves catch water pools
Fecal Description - Poop and urate has been bright orange since I got her
History - The breeder swears she has been healthy and always a LARGE girl, she honestly reminds me of a puppy bloated with worms, shows no signs of dehydration but she is not super active or into the food, very fat, great fat pads, but her poop is bad. very bad. pics attached

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 24x24x48 mesh
Lighting - solar tubes so fresh sunlight every day with a uvb light hanging above cages
Temperature - 76-83, cools down in the evening, thermometers placed through out cages
Humidity -Misting 3-4 times daily
Plants - Live large schefflera
Placement - In an enclosed garage, 2 fans help keep regulated air circulted
Location - Denton, TX?

Current Problem - Her feces

WE have a vet apt today at 3pm but any additional help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Lpsouth1978]

The only recommendation I can make is to increase the misting, either frequency, duration, or both. Some chameleons take some time to start drinking. Mine do well with 4x 3minute mistings a day, though I know some people also do from 5-30 minute misting sessions and i have heard of people misting up to 8 times a day. You have to find what is best for your particular chameleon. In general the longer they are misted the more likely they are to drink their fill.

 

[junglefries]

Can't really see the poop on my phone. If is orange, definitely up her mistings. Use at least room temp water, never cold. I would also recommend upping her Ca w/out D3 to every other feeding. Some even use every feeding. Even if she is outdoors everyday, i would once a month dust a few crix with D3. If she feels she has enough, she can sit in the shade for a couple days, to level herself out.

 

[reptoman]

I would recommend getting some hornworms or silkworms or both to up her hydration. If she is not drinking from the mistings try making a simple dripper by poking a tiny hole from inside a plastic cup and putting an inch of water in it so that it drips about 1 time a second. put that ontop of the cage so that the drip hits the closest leaf and see if that triggers a drinking response.

 

[SRD2411]

I understand the misting and im in the process of putting something together so she has a larger amount of water access, but with the poop being orange like this is she going to die on me? We have a vet apt at 3pm but I don't want to drive 2 hours to the vet, spend $500, all if its something someone else has experience with and can help me home remedy. I am a biology student with emphasis in herpetology so I am pretty well versed as it is.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Orange urates are not generally deadly. It simply means that she is dehydrated. More water should remedy the issue. Horn Worms and Silk worms are a great option. They are nutritious and incredibly high in water content. I have also heard of people injecting water into their feeders before being given to their animals.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Also, I would keep the appointment. I know an appointment with fecals costs me about $90. It is well worth it to be sure she does not have any parasites. The visit should not cost anywhere near $500.

 

[ToniandGizmo]

Orange urates are not generally deadly. It simply means that she is dehydrated. More water should remedy the issue. Horn Worms and Silk worms are a great option. They are nutritious and incredibly high in water content. I have also heard of people injecting water into their feeders before being given to their animals.

Great suggestion! Not only helps hydrate your cham, but (at least for my boy)... hornworms are hard to resist when it comes to eating.

 

[SRD2411]

They want to do an exam $150
possible fecal $100
drive time/gas
if they take the eggs out a surgery will be performed so there is an over night fee of $75 to hold her

then the surgery costs.
I am going WHAT?

I will up the hydration. Parasites should not be a problem

 

[Lpsouth1978]

If there is a possibility of eggs, you need to put a lay bin in her enclosure ASAP. Without one she will become egg bound (if she's not already). If she is ready to lay and a lay bin is provided, the vet can give an oxyticin injection to help get the laying process moving along. If this works it will save you the expense of surgery and an overnight stay.

I hope she gets better, it is obvious you are trying to do everything you can to care for her properly.

 

[Saldarya]

They want to do an exam $150
possible fecal $100
drive time/gas
if they take the eggs out a surgery will be performed so there is an over night fee of $75 to hold her

then the surgery costs.
I am going WHAT?

I will up the hydration. Parasites should not be a problem

You need to find a different vet, they are way out of bounds. especially if your only concern is orange urates/dehydration.

Get her/make her a dripper and go from there.

You do not need to take her in for a fecal. Any vet can do that and simply take the fresh poop in a damp paper towel to them. I pay $19 for a fecal.

Do you have reason to think she is eggbound? Why in the world would the first inclination be surgery to remove them?

I think you need to find another vet option.

 

[SRD2411]

I have heard of people 'trapping' their females in a laying big so that they have no choice but to lay. I hve had a laying bin in with her since the moment I pulled her out of the box and saw how large she was. She was full of eggs like this prior to her being shipped.

 

[dacrazycanadian]

One problem is that it can take a month for a cham to get used to a new home and reduce stress after a shipment so she may be afraid to lay or maybe even egg bound due to being shipped. A lot of us have had urate be orange-ish color at one point but this is a sign of dehydration so keep up the hydrating. When her eyes and crest start to sink then it's getting more extreme.

Here's a list of good proven experienced vets per state:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/area-area-country-vet-list-32880/

 

[Olimpia]

Yea, that vet is a little ridiculous. I've seen many vets over the years and it's never more than $40-60 for an exotic exam, about $18-22 for an exotic fecal, and the most I've ever paid for a surgery was $150. So their prices are substantially more.

 

[ToniandGizmo]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Ambilobe female born 7-2013, had her for about a week now, bought her from Tom @ Chameleon's INC
Handling - Have not done much handling as she looks gravid, her belly has been MASSIVE since the day she shipped to me.
Feeding - Free range crix, mealworms/dubia in a container
Supplements - Calcium without d3 and multivitamins 2 times monthly
Watering - Misting, leaves catch water pools
Fecal Description - Poop and urate has been bright orange since I got her
History - The breeder swears she has been healthy and always a LARGE girl, she honestly reminds me of a puppy bloated with worms, shows no signs of dehydration but she is not super active or into the food, very fat, great fat pads, but her poop is bad. very bad. pics attached

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 24x24x48 mesh
Lighting - solar tubes so fresh sunlight every day with a uvb light hanging above cages
Temperature - 76-83, cools down in the evening, thermometers placed through out cages
Humidity -Misting 3-4 times daily
Plants - Live large schefflera
Placement - In an enclosed garage, 2 fans help keep regulated air circulted
Location - Denton, TX?

Current Problem - Her feces

WE have a vet apt today at 3pm but any additional help is greatly appreciated!

What is that with the mealworms? Looks like some of their "bran" flakes.

 

[Rodcham]

How is she doing now?

 

[scerbz]

I being from san antonio am not awfully far, and the heat can be a factor. It may be just a little much. I would recommend that you def increase the misting amount. Perhaps if it has a window, open it just a little to increase the air flow. I keep mine inside. I mist them often. as with all i still suggest a mist system.