HELP!!!

[scs]

Sebastian's eyes are dark and sunken and he is hanging out in a corner. There aren't any plant leaves for me to spray right in front of him because he is behind all of the plants, so I'm working on making a dripper to set up right in front of him in case he is dehydrated.... What should I do???

History:
My male panther chameleon has been in perfect health since I got him about 6 months ago, he passed all parasite tests. The last few days I've seen him always in the same spot: his sleeping spot in the back corner which is sheltered by leaves and plants. I have school from 7am to 3pm and with other activities and homework I don't see Sebastian all day around. My mom who works from home claims he walks around all over the place like normal when I'm at school... but I've also noticed that his cage on the colder side and I've been working on making it warmer and tampering with his heat lamp settings and the house's heating. The area I've seen him in doesn't really get water because it is behind the plants and he is facing towards the wall, not the leaves.

Anyone have an idea what is going on?? I'm really scared for him... should I schedule a vet's appointment if the water doesn't help?

 

[scs]

Sebastian kept trying to eat the dripper's spout... so I arranged it that the water drips down by his head but he can't see the spout thing.

And does this mean he is hungry?

 

[GrimCamel]

I think you should get Sebastian to a vet yes.
He could be dehydrated but it could also be parasites. I had a lot of work with my cham about dehydration but it never got to the point where it is as bad as you describe it here. I would wait for the senior's opinion about what could be wrong but you should probably take your cham to a vet too

 

[scs]

Thank you! I put food in his reach but he's ignoring it. His colors are normal and bright... its his eyes that are a bit dark and a little sunken.

He doesn't seem to want to leave that branch, but I don't know why. He isn't really close to the heat lamp now and he's sort of sheltered by the leaves.

I'll try to make an appointment with the vet, but if anyone else has ideas or advice please help!

 

[scs]

Sebastian is on the move now, he is coming towards the center of his cage! It looks like he's headed up to his basking spot. I didn't see him drink but maybe he did and it helped? I'm still worried because his eyes look a tiny bit sunken still...

 

[carol5208]

Sunken eyes can mean dehydration, but it can also mean your chameleon is starting to go downhill. I would get him to a vet as soon as you can. He is sleeping during the day? If so, that is not a good sign

 

[Carlton]

Sebastian kept trying to eat the dripper's spout... so I arranged it that the water drips down by his head but he can't see the spout thing.

And does this mean he is hungry?

I doubt he was trying to eat the dripper spout. Maybe he was trying to grab at the droplets he saw at the tip. Has anything changed in the room? Can he see other animals or more than the usual activity around his cage? If he's spending so much time hiding, something is bothering him.

 

[scs]

Nothing in his environment changed....

Sebastian was looking much much better this morning, but throughout the day he must have gotten worse again because when I came home from school his eyes were sunken and he wasn't interested in dinner. I'll make an appointment with a vet.... but what can the vet do?

BTW: I set up the dripper again and I accidentally got water on his face so he moved while I was readjusting the dripper. He's still in his back corner, but in reach of the water.

in addition: right now he is walking towards his basking spot, totally ignoring the dripper and crawling around it to get up. His cage is about 85 degrees and all at once his eyes are red and full again. I swear, 15 minutes ago they were sunken! He keeps going back and forth between looking okay and really bad.

 

[scs]

HE IS DRINKING FROM A LEAF THAT IS BEING SPRAYED BY THE REPTIRAIN!!!!

 

[scs]

He has been drinking for several minutes now... do you think it is the dry winter air and heating that dehydrated him or could he have parasites?

 

[scs]

Sebastian has been licking the wet leaves all evening and has been standing in front of the dripper. His eyes look good and haven't gotten all sunken in again. Unless he looks good all throughout the day tomorrow should I take him to the vet to get checked (again) for parasites?

 

[Meg4433]

How is his poop? Is it orange light orange or white at one end?

 

[scs]

I put down paper at the bottom of the cage so that I can find fresh poop for the vet. I'll let you guys know what color it is.