Help! Sick veiled chameleon

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lmcoop1

Member
I rescued a veiled with severe MBD from my young nephew. After I got his habitat almost perfect (I still have a coiled UVB and will be switching) he was doing so well. Two days ago a replaced his heating lamp bulb with the wrong bulb. The heat was over 105 degrees. By the time I noticed, a few hours later when it was time for misting again, he developed a light burn on his back. I changed the bulb but now he is not moving at all. He is sleeping during the day and will not grip anything. He has not eaten in two days. I have been soaking him in a warm 1/2 water 1/2 pedialyte bath 2-3 times a day.
I write this as we sit in the vet's office 2 hours from home. I'm not sure how much the vet knows, I know a lot of vets are not super familiar with veileds. They are giving him an antibiotic ( not sure what kind yet) and sending me home with 6 doses for him. Any input would be appreciated. He has not had blood drawn or any fluids taken.
 
  • Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, 10 months old, adopted 4 months ago
  • Handling - never
  • Feeding - eats 15 circlets a day, occasional mealworms and silkworms, gutloading crickets with fruits and veggies.
  • Supplements - not sure what brand, calcium with d3 3 times a month. I did not know he was supposed to receive plain calcium everyday, i have bought some and begin today.
  • Watering - i mist 3 times a day for about a minute. I do not usually see him drink, he is shy
  • Fecal Description - typically, it is brown with mostly white droppings (sometimes a little yellow).
  • History - severe MBD, previous broken front limb, healed now

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen cage. 2ft ish tall and one foot wide. Will up the size when he is larger
  • Lighting - 12 hours on and off. Uvb and heating lamp.
  • Temperature - cage floor is around 70 degrees. Basking is normally 83ish. I have two thermometers
  • Humidity - 49-60% depending on weather. I keep the window open for him a lot
  • Plants - live approved plant, cannot remember the name.
  • Placement - he has his own room and cage is next to window. He gets natural sunlight and fresh air. He is on a desk two feet from floor.
  • Location - south Texas near mexico.
 
We are still at the vet. I will post his enclosure when we are home again.
 

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Quit giving baths, they are arboreal animals and they will not come into contact with pools of water in nature (with regular frequency). How was his grip before the wrong bulb incident?

Instead of the baths, when you get home give him a shower. Put his plant in the shower, and with luke warm water have the shower running over the plant. If the shower head doesn't have different settings, point the water on the wall so it will have a lighter mist on the plant. Do this for 15-20 minutes and you should see him drink.

Chase
 
His grip in his front two legs was never the best, but he was very active in his cage going after food.
The baths were only to get him to absorb fluids through his vent and I only did that for two days. Showers are difficult where we are stationed because the water is not safe. I have only given him filtered water bought at the store. I have a filter on the shower head, but I'm afraid it might not be enough to clean the water.
 
The vet gave me fluids to inject under his skin once a day. Should I still shower him in addition to the injections?
 
I will try it as soon as he has rested from the vet. It understandably scared him quite a bit. Thank you so much for the info!!
 
lmcoop1 said:
I rescued a veiled with severe MBD from my young nephew. After I got his habitat almost perfect (I still have a coiled UVB and will be switching) he was doing so well. Two days ago a replaced his heating lamp bulb with the wrong bulb. The heat was over 105 degrees. By the time I noticed, a few hours later when it was time for misting again, he developed a light burn on his back. I changed the bulb but now he is not moving at all. He is sleeping during the day and will not grip anything. He has not eaten in two days. I have been soaking him in a warm 1/2 water 1/2 pedialyte bath 2-3 times a day.
I write this as we sit in the vet's office 2 hours from home. I'm not sure how much the vet knows, I know a lot of vets are not super familiar with veileds. They are giving him an antibiotic ( not sure what kind yet) and sending me home with 6 doses for him. Any input would be appreciated. He has not had blood drawn or any fluids taken.
Click to expand...

Why the antibiotic? Does he have signs of any active infection? I didn't hear this in your description. Many vets "shotgun" possible infections with Baytril, and Baytril is tough on them. If there isn't any reason to suspect infections I would not use it. Just more stress and no real benefit. It won't improve the MBD situation. The burn can be treated topically a lot more easily with Silvadene (a burn treatment the vet may have available) or an OTC antibiotic ointment like Polysporin (no added pain reliever ingredients). I agree that the baths were of limited value especially with added Pedialyte. This could just build up on his skin and you probably don't want that if he now has a burn.
 
The vet did not give me much information. The antibiotic is called ceftazidime or tazicef. She was worried he had developed an infection from the burn and it had spread to his blood stream? She also gave him a vitamin b shot to help with his appetite. His symptoms are no appetite, sleeping all day, and immobility. Does this sound like an infection? I am so worried.
 
With the MBD his organs could possibly be shutting down. He is weak, and everything is taking a lot to function. He may not be digesting his food well because of lack of calcium and certain vitamins. Depends on what your nephew was dusting with. He needs liquid calcium and possibly a D3 shot to help him regain calcium in his bones and organs. Doesn't sound like your vet knew much about reptiles... were they an exotic vet? You shouldn't keep the window open next to him. He needs higher humidity spikes and the dry air in Texas will not help that. When he's getting misted his humidity should spike to 80% and then fall to 50%.
 
My nephew is 8 years old, so he was not dusting at all. Yes she was an exotic vet and it is very very humid in Texas, not dry.
 
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