Help Panther Chameleon is dying

[Fawnmisty]

Hi. Hatched a chameleon 18 months ago. Panther female. She was fine yesterday. She is very small and sickly and we have been doing everything we can to keep her healthy. I just don't think we got a "good egg". We have taken her to vets, who aren't very knowledgeable. The reptile stores have helped us the most and the breeder. This morning we woke up and she was black laying on the bottom of the cage. There is no waking her, no saving her.. It's pretty obvious. Our family is devastated, my teenage son especially..she was his baby.. Her tail keeps moving. It's painful to watch and I feel like she is suffering. Is there anything we can do to end things? I don't mean to sound harsh or blunt, I just know there is nothing we can do and I don't want my family watching her suffer. Please if you have any advice to help her go comfortably let me know.

 

[Hydra_cosplay]

Did you guys have a laying bin for her? She may have become egg bound and was looking for somewhere to put her eggs.

 

[Fawnmisty]

Did you guys have a laying bin for her? She may have become egg bound and was looking for somewhere to put her eggs.

No. She was too small to lay. At 18 months she was only about the size of an adult thumb. We were trying to help her grow with the help of the breeder and the local reptile store. We changed her feeding, cage set up and lighting in the last 6 months or so. We tried everything. Our breeder said he doesn't know what went wrong. We did everything right. She may have been an egg with stunted growth or had some underlying issue that we couldn't decipher.

 

[Fawnmisty]

She is gone! My son held her and helped her curl her tail. She took a last breath and finally turned all the way black. Thank you guys. I wanted to try to make this as easy for my son as possible. He really loved her and they were friends. He would play music in his room and she would come to the edge of the cage and listen with him.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Is there anything we can do to end things? I don't mean to sound harsh or blunt, I just know there is nothing we can do and I don't want my family watching her suffer. Please if you have any advice to help her go comfortably let me know.

This where a veterinarian can help, even if not very knowledgeable about reptiles.

Regrettably, this is something that happens—eventually. I hope this won't dissuade your family (especially your son) from trying again. If you do, I think most would recommend getting an animal at least 3 months old (depending on species) rather than trying to hatch an egg.

Best wishes.

 

[Beman]

I am so sorry for your loss and for your son... We had another member that had this type of situation except it was a Veiled cham. It just never grew.

If your son decides to try again I would get one at least 3 months old and clean everything in the enclosure prior. Come back here and we can help to ensure you got the right info.

This is an extremely helpful site https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/

 

[Fawnmisty]

Thank you all.. It's a tough loss. Especially since we literally had it from day 1. It was an incredible journey watching her grow (even though she was small). All her milestones were so very exciting. She was so cute!

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m so sorry for your loss. It sounds as though you gave her the best fighting chance and with lots of love. No idea how old your son is, but having a little service in her memory and a burial may help to ease some of his grief.

 

[Fawnmisty]

Thank you to everyone for your kind words. Our family will never know what went wrong, but we are determined to make sure we are doing things right this next time.