Help! Yellow and brown face?

[639mm]

I’m a new chameleon owner. I’ve had a veiled chameleon sice this past spring, he’s about a year old, and he was doing well till a couple weeks ago. Half of his face is yellow and brown and bumpy and his one eye is droopy but the other side of his face is fine. He's been refusing to drink for the past couple days but will eat when I offer him crickets. We can’t always have crickets so we fed him grasshoppers for about two weeks but he stopped eating them for a while so we gave him crickets again. The grasshoppers were from our backyard but there aren’t any signs of parasites on him. Over this past weekend I fed him som lettuce dipped in water for hydration, and he seemed to like it. We don’t have an automatic mister so we mist him a couple times a day. He doesn’t drink of the leaves when we mist them but he drinks water droplets off the cage if you squirt it at an angle. We also have a waterfall simulator that we got for him two weeks ago to drink out of but he hasn’t used it yet.

 

[bruce the cham]

looks like alot of stuck shed

 

[Morpheo's Mom]

Hello,

He definitely looks sickly. Sunken eyes and all bones in face are visible. Second pick looks like some kind of skin condition. @kinyonga ?

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

Not sure if it's anything to be concerned about. Shed may be hiding things.

Did you get the grasshoppers from a pesticide free area? Is the area surrounding your yard pesticide free?

I would not use the waterfall thing and I would replace the fake plant with real, well washed, both sides of the leaves plants since veiled chameleons tend to eat foliage and can become impacted if they ingest fake leaves.

If you answer the questions in this thread, we can check your husbandry...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[Beman]

Very sick chameleon. Very very thin. And then you have everything going on with the face. You need a reptile vet before he declines any further.

 

[639mm]

Thank you for responding so quickly! I will try to find a vet in my area.

 

[kinyonga]

Can you post a couple more photos of that side of face and one of the other side please.

 

[639mm]

 

[639mm]

There’s a few more pictures. I hope they’re helpful!

 

[Beman]

There’s a few more pictures. I hope they’re helpful!

That is not stuck shed... You need to find a good reptile vet to take him to. Utilize this link to find resources to find a vet. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/veterinarian-resources.67/

 

[kinyonga]

I agree...a good chameleon vet would be your best bet!

 

[639mm]

Thanks! I’ll find one as soon as possible.

 

[MzLaurie11]

Omg poor baby i just want to cry! Get him to a good vet asap. your entire cage setup needs to be examined and fixed. Thankfully we have pro chameleon owners here that can help with that. never catch food outside and feed to your cham. Pesticide, rat poison etc. are out there to contaminate. Lettuce is good for hydration and ruffage. Get some hornworms, wax worms to add to his diet to fatten him up and hydrate him. If you dont have the money or time then give him to someone that does. This is just cruel. Btw chams hide their sickness so he has been in bad shape a lot longer than when you noticed. if you live in los angeles, i will take him in.

 

[MzLaurie11]

Hello 639. I was wondering how your boy is doing today. I am sorry i was so harsh with you yesterday but his condition is so bad and shocking to see but lashing out at an owner whether warranted or not doesnt help the chameleon. Unfortunately, there is so much misinformation out there about caring for chameleons it is unbelievable. Also the cost of caring for them is high. So if you will accept my apology i truly would like to help. First off, he wont drink off of the leaves becausr they are fake but you said he will drink off the cage. So get some vinly like a showrr curtain Something waterproof. and seal two sides of the cage do the back first, cut it to size and tape it on using heavier tape than scotch tape and try not to let the tape hit the screen then do one of the sides the same way. Which ever side has the cords now this will help get the humidity up and allow you to spray without the fear of an electrival fire. Also he needs live plants in his cage . there are several chameleon safe lists of plants that are good on line. Make sure you wash the leaves and pot before putting it in the cage and the top soil needs to be organic. Water stays on live leaves whereas on fake ones it just rolls off. if yiu have plants around the house but dont know what they are get the AP called SEEK and you just take a pic and it will identify. I realize you may not be able to afford a vet but the one biggest must is a fecal test. Parasites or other things could attibute to his low weight and they cannot be seen by the naked eye. The skin condition and discoloration i truly have no idea. The only thought i have is allergic reaction to something or possible poison. But i am just guessing here. Only the face and eye and only one side of the face and one eye is bizarre.Really need a professional. Anyway i have said enough if you would like more advice just message me. Please handle this as an emergency.because your boy is very ill and you are the only help he has.

 

[Jpeff]

Kinda looks like mange but on cham. Don't even knw if chams can get it.