help my senegal

[ranran]

My female senegal chameleon is being very lathargic and will not open her eyes I'm worried about her.

 

[BeBoSON]

Hey,

That sucks. Sorry to hear it. Can you fill this out, so we can see what the issue is.

Thanks

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[vistajpdf]

Please take her to an exotic vet as soon as you can. I was forced to wait nearly a week when my vet was away and I believe it cost me my beloved Sparkle. Today, I saw him (was to be for Sparkle and another exotic) and he said that chameleons try to hide illness, so if you think something's wrong, it probably is.

When I consulted with him on Friday via phone, he asked me if there was any discharge coming from the eyes or behind the legs. There was not in my case, but see if you notice anything.

I wish I had found this forum sooner. I'm sure someone can help you out. I also have a Senegal that i adore. She has an amazing personality.

I believe most Senegals are wild caught, unfortunately. That would make them more prone to parasites.

Good luck,
Dana

 

[ranran]

chameleon-female Senegal 4 weeks.
handling- 3-4 times a week.
feeding- crickets 2-3 a day flukers high calcium cricket diet.
supplements- flukers calcium powder and flukers multi-vitimin calcium on 2 crickets a day multi-vitimin 2 a week.
watering- i use a misting bottle until cage is moist not lately i tried to get her to drink.
fecal description- 1 yellow hard part and 1 brown soft part not that have knowledge of.
history- none there's little about them i have found.

cage type- all screen 30"l by 18"w by 30"h.
lighting- a zoo-med lamp a zoo-med reptisun 5.0uvb bulb and a exoterra 75watt basking spot.
temp- all over temp is 75f night is 60f-70f basking is 80f-85f, 2 thermometers
humidity- 50-60% a misting bottle planning on getting auto mister a hygrometer.
plants- i currently have fake plan on getting real plants.
placement- the cage is in my room a low traffic area.
location- USA new jersey.

current problem- Cami (her name) is extremely lethargic and wont open her eyes.

 

[Lovereps]

Please take her to an exotic vet as soon as you can. I was forced to wait nearly a week when my vet was away and I believe it cost me my beloved Sparkle. Today, I saw him (was to be for Sparkle and another exotic) and he said that chameleons try to hide illness, so if you think something's wrong, it probably is.

Dana and her cham's vet are absolutely right.

When you see obvious signs of illness in a cham, like lethargy and closed eyes, there is no time to waste before getting the cham to a good vet.

A vet knowledgeable in the treatment of reptiles is essential--not just any vet.
Here is a link to vets who treat reptiles and are members of ARAV, in case you don't already know of a good one:

http://www.arav.org/find-a-vet/

Additional vet locating resources:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/veterinarian-resources-67/

I hope all works out well for your cham.

 

[Lovereps]

chameleon-female Senegal 4 weeks.

You have had her for 4 weeks or she is 4 weeks old?

handling- 3-4 times a week.
feeding- crickets 2-3 a day flukers high calcium cricket diet.

That might not be enough food--it all depends on her age and the size of the crickets.
Chameleons should have a vairety of feeders--Phoenix worms,silkworms, Dubias,hornworms, etc.

supplements- flukers calcium powder and flukers multi-vitimin calcium on 2 crickets a day multi-vitimin 2 a week.

If the calcium powder contains vitamin D3, then it is not the calcium to use every day.
Calcium for every day should be plain calcium no D3, no phosphorus
Calcium with D3 should be used 2x a month
Multivitamin should also only be used 2x a month

watering- i use a misting bottle until cage is moist not lately i tried to get her to drink.

If you mean that you have not given her any way to drink lately, then it is not surprising that she looks bad--she is dehydrated..
Chameleons drink water drops off leaves, not from bowls, so they must have a dripper and/or mistings to get water to drink every day, several times a day
Senegal chameleons like lots of water

fecal description- 1 yellow hard part and 1 brown soft part not that have knowledge of.

The yellow part means that she is dehydrated from not getting enough water to drink

history- none there's little about them i have found.

Don't know what you mean

cage type- all screen 30"l by 18"w by 30"h.
lighting- a zoo-med lamp a zoo-med reptisun 5.0uvb bulb and a exoterra 75watt basking spot.
temp- all over temp is 75f night is 60f-70f basking is 80f-85f, 2 thermometers
humidity- 50-60% a misting bottle planning on getting auto mister a hygrometer.
plants- i currently have fake plan on getting real plants.
placement- the cage is in my room a low traffic area.
location- USA new jersey.

current problem- Cami (her name) is extremely lethargic and wont open her eyes.

The last few things look ok.

Cami needs a vet who knows how to treat reptiles right away.
If you don't know a vet with a lot of reptile knowledge, please look at my earlier post for the ARAV vets link

Good luck with Cami

 

[ranran]

She is 6 months old. I've had her for 4 weeks

I will try increaseing crickets

Less multi-vitimin and new calcium powder

I know to water the leaves and that she drinks from them I tried to get her drink by moving her closer to the leaves with water. I'm not stupid

I've went on many sites but they all are for valeids or panthers ther is very little on senegals

The week before she was moving a lot and always wanting to crawl up my arm just incase that could be a factor

And I will contact a vet

 

[carol5208]

If she has her eyes closed and cannot see the water to drink she will become dehydrated if she is not already. If she is not drinking, take an eye dropper and drop some water on the tip of nose. Do this for a few minutes and see if she will drink. Sometimes it takes them awhile to start drinking. You definitely have been underfeeding her. a 6 month old should be getting alteast adozen feeders a day. It appears you are using the correct lighting so the closing of the eyes is being caused from some type of illness. Let us know what the vet says. If you can get some fresh poop bring it along in a baggie with a wet paper towel and so it does not dry out and have her tested for parasites.

 

[Sinfulintent]

watering- i use a misting bottle until cage is moist not lately i tried to get her to drink.
fecal description- 1 yellow hard part and 1 brown soft part not that have knowledge of
current problem- Cami (her name) is extremely lethargic and wont open her eyes.

Could be dehydration.. Karma my Veiled just went through something similar, along with you saying his fecal is yellow. What my vet told me is give mine a nice warm bath in a shallow dish, veiled stayed in there for an hour before we took him out because the water was getting rather cold.

Also a few people mentioned flukers isn't the greatest supplement in the world..

Here's a link to my post https://www.chameleonforums.com/eye-bulging-closed-100440/

 

[Lovereps]

I know to water the leaves and that she drinks from them I tried to get her drink by moving her closer to the leaves with water. I'm not stupid

You had written,'" i use a misting bottle until cage is moist not lately i tried to get her to drink." which is a sentence that did not make sense to me. It sounded like you might have stopped misting her.

I'm truly sorry if you thought I was implying that you are stupid, but I wasn't.
You mentioned that you will change some things and will consult a vet. Sounds smart to me.
There's no shame in not knowing things--that is why this forum is a great place to learn.
My chams would have died a long time ago if I had not learned that the care instructions I was first given were wrong.
Many if not most people on this forum have been given wrong care advice.
Plenty of people were told wrongly to give their cham a water bowl to drink from, so they did not know why their cham would not drink from the bowl.
They weren't stupid either--they were told the wrong thing.

And I will contact a vet

That is the best chance she has to recover.
A reptile knowledgeable vet can give her fluids by injection to help her rehydrate faster and can give medication to kill internal parasites.
Senegal chams are typically wild caught and wild caught chams usually have internal parasites.
Internal parasites can cause illness and dehydration.

You can also put a plant in the shower, using warm not hot water, aim the showerhead to bounce off the wall and splash onto the plant for about 1/2 hour, several times a day.

This can help to rehydrate her but she may also need to have water dripped onto the tip of her nose until she feels better.

The dehydration may be a sign of parasites or other illness, which is why the vet is needed.
I hope she recovers for you and that you will let us know what the vet says.
Wishing you and your cham well.

 

[ranran]

I took her to a vet and I was told it is dehydration and slight starvation

This makes sense I left for a few days and my brother was to take care of her witch he did poorly with no crickets or mistings for 2 1/2 days but I was told with water and extra crickets she will get back to normal

I will not trust her with my brother again

 

[Lovereps]

Glad she will be OK.
Good thing you weren't away for more time!
Thanks for the update.

 

[carol5208]

dehydration can happen quickly but she would not suffer from starvation in just 2 1/2 days. You need to increase the amount of feeders you are giving her daily. Like I said, i would be giving a dozen plus at 6 months and even more if she were a male. I hate to say it but you were contributing to her starvation by only offering 2 crickets per day.

 

[ranran]

I have increased the crickets and found out how the slight starvation happened the crickets and super worms where getting stuck under a plant and dying.

so she was getting less than 3-5 crickets a day and 2 super worms every other day

 

[dom1959]

well i am sure it was a scary experience, just make sure you take what you learned and love that cham with all the care it needs.

gaining knowledge is the best part of the forum!