Help!! My cham wont eat and is extremely under weight

N

newdude1

New Member
My cham is starving its self and I dont know why. She wont eat and all but will drink alot of water. All her stomach bones are showing and she is so skinny. What can I do to help her?

Chameloeon- Veiled, female, about 10 months old.
Handleing- I only handle her when I must which when I clean the cage so about once every two weeks.
Food- She use to eat daily crickets. Wax worms a couple of weeks and then giant horned worms every so often
Watering- I hand soak her cage twice a day.

Cage- Its a glass screen combo with the upper two feet open to the air.
Lighting- I have a 75 watt bulb in a heat lamp and A 12in uv tube.
Temp- I try and keep it about 80 in the basking light but the room temp is 70.
Plants- I have an umbrella plant and a Palm tree kind of plant.
Placement- My cage is in my room away from much traffic. The top of the cage is about 8 feet off the ground

Please help me Im really worrid she might die
 
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:( is there anything I can do? It was only until last week she stopped eating.. And now this.

Ill hold food up too her and she has no interest at all then once I soak her cage she goes straight to the water.
 
What kind of supplements do you use? Name, brand and how often do you use each. What do you gutload the feeders with? What kind (brand) of UVB bulb? Has she ever laid eggs? Do you have a laying bin for her? Where do you live? Do you have a chameleon vet?
 
I agree with Jannb, she needs to see a vet asap and most definetly do a fecal (take a poop sample) to check for worms or parasites. The short term solution might be to give her some Pedilyte (found in baby section) to replenish her electrolytes. You can do this with a dropper and start with .2 cc about 4 times a day along with lots of water. Seriously though, she needs to see a vet.
 
jannb said:
What kind of supplements do you use? Name, brand and how often do you use each. What do you gutload the feeders with? What kind (brand) of UVB bulb? Has she ever laid eggs? Do you have a laying bin for her? Where do you live? Do you have a chameleon vet?
Click to expand...


I dont use any supplements but I have had her for almost a year and never had a problem with it. I am using a 5.0 uvb repti-glo tube. And no she has never laid eggs. But I am about to put a bin in there now.
 
Can you post a couple more pictures of her where she's in different positions please....could be calcium issues are part of the problem.
 
Get a poo sample examined for parasites, just in case. She may be carrying eggs, this would explain loss of condition, loss of appetite as oviposition approaches. have the lizard examined also.
 
You said.."I have a 75 watt bulb in a heat lamp and A 12in uv tube"...what brand is the UVB tube?

What do you mean you "try and keep it about 80 in the basking light"..is it usually lower or higher?

You said..."I have an umbrella plant and a Palm tree kind of plant"...were they well washed before putting them in the cage? What kind of palm?

What supplements do you dust with, how often for each and what do you feed to the insects? Please be specific.
 
It may simply be gravid for the first time. He never mentioned symptoms consistant with MBD or similar. Thats not to say he shouldn't start supplimenting it from now on, and watching the diet and basking heat.
Since its never been supplimented and dosent appear typical of MBD Ill assume the diet is reasonably good and the uv lamp beneficial rather than harmful, though it will by now have exhausted its uvb emittiong life (if its the original) and needs replacing.
Id recommend keeping a suitable laying tub in the cage from now on (permanantly) and providing supplimentary calcium with D3 and natural sunlight where possible.
If there has not been a male, the eggs will be infertile and can be disposed of afterward. Dont disturb the lizard while digging , (if its gravid).
Visit a vet afterward to asses its calcium blood levels and be sure its not retained any eggs.
A short period of 'sook feeding' (perhaps a month or so) of various worms, supers, hornworms, silkies and well gutloaded crickets should restore her condition, after which you go back to regular maintanance diet.
Appetite should increase after laying (within a day or two) (again, assuming it is gravid), but sook feeding as described is better as 2 smaller meals per day rather than one big one. You can up the basking temp to 90f during this time to facilitate a better appetite and digestive rate, afterwards go back to 80-84f max.
 
My bad on the math. I got her at 3 months and that was in march.

And I hoping she is just gravid and no there hasnt been a male with her. Since you said up the temp I put an extra heat lamp on her. Is there a way to tell if she is carrying eggs?

And as I stated its a repti-glo 5.0 tube and its about 3 months old. Should I get another one?
 
If its only 3 months old its fine.(uv light) Apart from observing her dig/lay or a trained eye, the only sure way is to have her examined by a vet, xray/ultrasound.
Ofcourse the seasoned keeper has many cues of behaviours from which to gauge pregnancy with reasonable accuracy. You learn as you go.
One member here is very clever in this regard. Miss Lily has taken notes regarding the feeding/behaviour of her female both before, during and after pregnancy, and keeps them handy for future refrence. This is an excellent learning tool that you might use yourself now. Way to go Miss Lily. I would give her a PM and ask her what to expect, I think you'll find she will be happy to relate information and help you as much as possible.
If you have introduced a laying tub of moist soil or similar, and she is indeed gravid, give her as much privacy and quiet as possible, but observe daily.
A female often digs experimental holes, paces and becomes restless, accompanied by refusal to eat during the few days leading up to laying.
 
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Now that I think about she did dig a whole in the of the pots previously to stop eating. That was right before christmas. But I did put a laying ben in with moist soil. So hopefully that all.
 
Before xmas? That might not be so good. Has she been hanging out near/on the floor since xmas? has the eating slowed or stopped since then? 20 days is a long time to retain eggs if she was due to lay at xmas. Its possible that being the first pregnancy
the hole digging then was just confusion, but I think given this information, It would be wise to visit a vet if possible.
The reason is that gravid lizards can sometimes be put off laying her eggs if conditions are not right. If this situation persist and the lizard holds the eggs too long, she can become eggbound. This is called Dystocia (read link)

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=17+1831&aid=3010

The lizard is unable to lay her eggs and subsequently dies unless vet intervention.
Your vet can administer a hormone drug called oxytocin to bring about laying if this is the case. In severe cases, surgery may be reqiuired including removing the lizards reproductrive organs entirely.

This is a very serious and life threatening condition. I highly recommend a vet visit in light of this information.
Keep in mind that we can only make educated guesses for you, and we cannot garantee your lizard is definately gravid

A vet visit will put you mind at rest and possibly save your lizard. It may not cost as much as you might imagine and the news might be good afterall.
 
Search the threads for "bug juice recipe" and use a plastic syringe to inject the mixture into the mouth.

I just did this and our Melleri showed drastic improvement in just a few days.

You need to get nutrients and fluids in ASAP.
 
Thank you for everyones advice. But unforunatly I lost her today about 5 olclock. I took your advice and went to the vet and she was egg bound but I guess it was too late. Im looking at trying to get another soon and this time get a male and get every supplement I need and do it right a 100 percent this time. :( I must say I feel like crap though..
 
I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I'm sure you'll get everything perfect this time!
 
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