Help, my cham may be dieing..

[broderp]

My chameleon is very sick. I think he may die soon.

He stopped eating a day ago and tonight when i got home from work, he was laying almost upside down in his terrarium.

He doesn't have the strength to hold himself on his sleeping spot.
I called the vet, but the closest reptile vet will not be in until Wednesday. I have a second vet, but I can't call until tomorrow when they are open.

Jackson is about 4 years old. Has always been a good eater and healthy. He's also very lovable and likes to be held.

I picked him up from his terrarium and he managed to grasp my hand. He curled up his tail and had put on his pajamas in my hands and closed his eyes.

What can I do? What should I do?

 

[jajeanpierre]

My chameleon is very sick. I think he may die soon.

He stopped eating a day ago and tonight when i got home from work, he was laying almost upside down in his terrarium.

He doesn't have the strength to hold himself on his sleeping spot.
I called the vet, but the closest reptile vet will not be in until Wednesday. I have a second vet, but I can't call until tomorrow when they are open.

Jackson is about 4 years old. Has always been a good eater and healthy. He's also very lovable and likes to be held.

I picked him up from his terrarium and he managed to grasp my hand. He curled up his tail and had put on his pajamas in my hands and closed his eyes.

What can I do? What should I do?

I'm very sorry your chameleon is so sick.

You might be right, that he is dying. He sound very very ill. Make him very comfortable, put him in thick plants that are low on to the ground so he feels safe and hidden but can't fall. Make sure his temps are right. Then, hard as it will be, just leave him alone. You cannot comfort him and any handling you do will only stress him more.

I honestly doubt, based on your description, that the best chameleon vet in the world could not save him. If he were mine, I would just make him comfortable. If you think he is suffering, then I recommend you take him to the vet to likely be euthanized.

I'm sure others will suggest you do everything possible, but when they get as sick as he is, there isn't a lot a vet can do, especially when you don't seem to know what is wrong.

Again, I'm so sorry.

 

[broderp]

He always liked to be held and often fell asleep while being held. That's why I'm holding him now. It's familiar. He is drinking water through a syringe. His temps are the normal evening ones, right around 65 currently. Should I give him heat, but no light to keep him warm? I can't hold him all night, but for now he's holding on to me and I'm ok with that.

I

 

[Theveiled]

Do you think you could post pictures of him? Just so we can see his condition in a picture

 

[jajeanpierre]

He always liked to be held and often fell asleep while being held. That's why I'm holding him now. It's familiar. He is drinking water through a syringe. His temps are the normal evening ones, right around 65 currently. Should I give him heat, but no light to keep him warm? I can't hold him all night, but for now he's holding on to me and I'm ok with that.

I

I think you are not understanding chameleon body language. Chameleons are not like mammals such as dogs and people that generally crave close physical contact and will fall asleep while being stroked and held.

There is nothing in chameleon's natural behavior that would suggest they like close physical contact with anything other than prey items. They are solitary animals that don't nurture their young. Courtship and mating does not involve much foreplay. Most touching before breeding is the male tentatively testing whether the female is going to eat him if he approaches.

Based on their natural behavior, I think it is pretty safe to assume that chameleons do not like to be touched.

A chameleon that "falls asleep" while being held might be a chameleon that is shutting down from the stress of being handled. It might be overwhelmed. Or, it might be very sick. Or, you might be handling well past its bedtime. It is never a good sign that a chameleon closes its eyes when it is being held.

Please, if the animal is still alive, do it a favor and just leave it alone.

 

[Jax_Cham_MAN]

there are more obvious ways to tell if your chameleon likes being held like one of chameleons claws at the cage trying to get out when i open the cage she climbs on my hand if i wan't her or not than when i try to put her down on the floor she climbs on my shirt on onto my shoulder

 

[Remkon]

there are more obvious ways to tell if your chameleon likes being held like one of chameleons claws at the cage trying to get out when i open the cage she climbs on my hand if i wan't her or not than when i try to put her down on the floor she climbs on my shirt on onto my shoulder

maybe she wants out because she doesn't like to be inside the cage for some reason?
maybe she climbs up when you put her on the floor because the floor is a scary place for a chameleon that spends his life in the trees and only goes down if it has to.

 

[wavingsnail]

there are more obvious ways to tell if your chameleon likes being held like one of chameleons claws at the cage trying to get out when i open the cage she climbs on my hand if i wan't her or not than when i try to put her down on the floor she climbs on my shirt on onto my shoulder

The more you post the more I think you don't know much about chameleons.

 

[Andee]

The more you post the more I think you don't know much about chameleons.

And the sad thing is that he is breeding a more complicated chameleon and is doing a lot wrong.

 

[alphakenc]

when i try to put her down on the floor she climbs on my shirt on onto my shoulder

Almost all chams like to be on a higher spot that why they love to climb up,instead of staying under,she is using ur body as a climbing objects thats all.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

This thread only reinforces my belief most chameleon keepers don't know about the animals they profess to love.

Has the animal passed yet? Sorry for your loss.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

I should have added this:

While similar to birds in their intelligence, Chameleons in no way bond with a human like a parrot can and will. The cham will recognize the one that provides food and water and respond in a positive way towards that individual in some cases. In most cases however (Scientific phrase incoming, wait for it..) you still just end up with a "pissy lizard". Under no circumstances should a keeper mistake a cham closing it's eyes when handled as it being comfortable, in reptiles that is a known stress indicator.

 

[broderp]

This thread has turned into a pissing match over what or what-not a cham can sense. The intelligence of Chams and their ability to be more than what scientist believe is sad.

• Yes a cham will go towards higher ground, it's instinct. So why does my cham come down from his perch and climb down to be in my hands when I am sitting? I'm a good 3 feet below him. It's so easy to make statements about instinct and such, but the truth is, you can not tell.

• Sure closing their eyes is a stress indicator, so why would my cham come down and go to sleep on me or my son (not any of my other kids) whan he could have easily left at any time and go back to his terrarium?

• I was told Chams don't see a standing water supply as drinking water, but I've seen one drink from a pool of water. I was also told that Chams can't drink from a rodent water bottle. My Cham went to the water bottle, and poked it with his mouth and tongue to get water.

The above are all rhetorical comments, no answer is wanted or being requested. People put human emotions,feeling and read into what they see. In the end, it's all good. Please don't put down or proclaim those who do not see the status quo in Cham behavior as bad owners.

As far as my Cham, my friend, my little buddy; he passed away that night. And yes, I placed him in a soft towel on the bottom of his terrarium, put his heat on to 70 degrees, and placed fresh brush around him so he would feel secure, even against my wishes to hold him. I went to bed knowing he would be gone in the morning. I hope he wasn't lonely, I hope he went peacefully. I hope he knew how much his little life meant to me. But I'm sure that's not possible for a Cham either.

 

[Jax_Cham_MAN]

sorry for your loss i have had a couple of chameleons i couldn't do anything

 

[broderp]

sorry for your loss i have had a couple of chameleons i couldn't do anything

Thank you. It's amazing how these guys really leave a big hole when the're gone.

 

[Jax_Cham_MAN]

yeah

 

[leedragon]

This thread has turned into a pissing match over what or what-not a cham can sense. The intelligence of Chams and their ability to be more than what scientist believe is sad.

• Yes a cham will go towards higher ground, it's instinct. So why does my cham come down from his perch and climb down to be in my hands when I am sitting? I'm a good 3 feet below him. It's so easy to make statements about instinct and such, but the truth is, you can not tell.

• Sure closing their eyes is a stress indicator, so why would my cham come down and go to sleep on me or my son (not any of my other kids) whan he could have easily left at any time and go back to his terrarium?

• I was told Chams don't see a standing water supply as drinking water, but I've seen one drink from a pool of water. I was also told that Chams can't drink from a rodent water bottle. My Cham went to the water bottle, and poked it with his mouth and tongue to get water.

The above are all rhetorical comments, no answer is wanted or being requested. People put human emotions,feeling and read into what they see. In the end, it's all good. Please don't put down or proclaim those who do not see the status quo in Cham behavior as bad owners.

As far as my Cham, my friend, my little buddy; he passed away that night. And yes, I placed him in a soft towel on the bottom of his terrarium, put his heat on to 70 degrees, and placed fresh brush around him so he would feel secure, even against my wishes to hold him. I went to bed knowing he would be gone in the morning. I hope he wasn't lonely, I hope he went peacefully. I hope he knew how much his little life meant to me. But I'm sure that's not possible for a Cham either.

if your chameleon was okay with all this that contradicts proper husbandry how come it died? how come people who keep chameleons this way and proclaim their chameleons is different and they know their chameleon best always sooner or later end up with a dead chameleon? the answer is that all this things add upp. and do not show until is too late and the chameleon is already near dead. man sorry for being a c*nt but this is the straight answer. I really F*cking hope you don´t go through this again and I really hope you take a method of husbandry that has already being show to be failproof.

 

[alphakenc]

The position of sun is way above the ground,thats another reason for the cham to climb to the higher place to receive the basking benefits.
When a dying cham is no longer function correctly since its life is near the end,usually its better for them to crawl under and die peacefully without balancing themselves on the highest branch,since it requires lots efforts to be alive n alert (eyes open)rather know its life is near to the end(eyes close)with no strength to hold itself up on the higher branch n choose the lower ground position to live thru the last moment.
Chameleon does see standing water,they will lick the drops when they need to,our goal is to keep the water sources as clean as possible,thats the reason we use auto mister n dripper instead of the water bowl,since the position of the water bowl is on the open ground,chance for the feeders fall in and die along with the fecal dropping from both the cham n feeders its way higher than the water coming from the bottle or inside the container from the mister for the clean water hygiene and prevent the bacteria infestation.
These are the reason for a better health chameleons keeping among majority keeper.

 

[alphakenc]

We are here to share a better keeping chameleons methods,these are my experience for people came here and ask for help and not to feel aggravated with my straight answer from my personal experience,after all,everyone has their own way to keep n care for their chameleons,as long the chameleon is healthy,then keep on doing what is working for all of your daily routine,otherwise dont be hesitate to change for the chameleon's sake,since their lifes will all depends on what u doing for them,nothing will live forever,but do make the best of it that's all.

 

[broderp]

if your chameleon was okay with all this that contradicts proper husbandry how come it died? how come people who keep chameleons this way and proclaim their chameleons is different and they know their chameleon best always sooner or later end up with a dead chameleon? the answer is that all this things add upp. and do not show until is too late and the chameleon is already near dead. man sorry for being a c*nt but this is the straight answer. I really F*cking hope you don´t go through this again and I really hope you take a method of husbandry that has already being show to be failproof.

Let it go. I kept him the same way for over 4 years. What do you know about me or my Cham? Did you know he was a runt? Did you know he was almost 5 years old? He could have been OLD and passed from old age for all we know. Do you know anything about his terrarium, plants or controllers used to make his temps and humidity ideal? Or even his food or feeding? Spewing information and quoting general facts without know ALL the facts is insulting.

The position of sun is way above the ground,thats another reason for the cham to climb to the higher place to receive the basking benefits.
When a dying cham is no longer function correctly since its life is near the end,usually its better for them to crawl under and die peacefully without balancing themselves on the highest branch,since it requires lots efforts to be alive n alert (eyes open)rather know its life is near to the end(eyes close)with no strength to hold itself up on the higher branch n choose the lower ground position to live thru the last moment.
Chameleon does see standing water,they will lick the drops when they need to,our goal is to keep the water sources as clean as possible,thats the reason we use auto mister n dripper instead of the water bowl,since the position of the water bowl is on the open ground,chance for the feeders fall in and die along with the fecal dropping from both the cham n feeders its way higher than the water coming from the bottle or inside the container from the mister for the clean water hygiene and prevent the bacteria infestation.
These are the reason for a better health chameleons keeping among majority keeper.

Thanks for the insight. Yes, the last days or two, he was closer to the ground. This makes sense now. The change from normal behavior (aka the same things he's done for the last 4 or so years) literally was a few days and so drastic that I did notice. That's when I asked for help (not criticism) in this thread. I never used standing water for a water source, but rather a rodent water bottle. It was midway up his terrarium and always kept with fresh water.

I am very concerned however about one thing, but this will be a topic for another thread.