HELP!!!!!!

[Andee]

I buy my feeders mainly crickets from PetSmart and my cham come from Petco and have yet to have any problems just saying

She honestly probably had the parasites the entire time and feeding her crickets from that store has just made them grow exponentially worse to where she will be unable to fight them off as well. The breeder where she came from most likely did not keep his chameleons well at all. The crickets that are kept at petco can have a lot of pinworms but usually they aren't much of a problem, it's when they aren't in a good situation that it getshould problematic. Her starting off in a bad place did her no favors. Now it's your turn to fix her ^^ and make her the amazing cham she is mean to be

 

[Andee]

Ah, she looks about 4-5 months there. I still think she came with the parasites. Whether the breeder was good or not, you don't know.

 

[Replife]

I went to petco to get crickets because my local PetSmart was out and when I opened the box most of them were dead and probably being feed on by the alive ones need less to say I did not purchase them I just waited 2 days and went back to PetSmart lol however I just bought a 10 gal tank and ordered 500 of them off eBay for 15 bucks hope they are good quality

 

[Replife]

Ah, she looks about 4-5 months there. I still think she came with the parasites. Whether the breeder was good or not, you don't know.

Are not almost all reptiles born with parasites?

 

[Andee]

No, they are not given parasites by their mother or father, parasites cannot pass through any birthing system in any animal. At least none that I know of, especially not intestinal parasites. They get them from poor care, their feeders, etc.

 

[breannaballew]

Is there anyway to make crickets "healthier" because she won't eat other feeders.

 

[JGuinan007]

Good gut load such as cricket crack and fresh fruits and veggies and fresh water. Read this https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/ pay close attn to gutload section but as a feeder crickets are avg I personally believe roaches are the best way to go for your staple feeder.

 

[Andee]

In my opinion the only way to make sure you crickets are as parasite free as they can be is to raise them yourself. However getting them from a really good supplier will do the same, however I am very paranoid about suppliers.

 

[Kayleigh]

This is her cage. She does have an elevated feeder bowl. (Ignore the Tupperware that catches the access water lol)

I can't quite make it out but have you got substrate on the bottom of her cage? If you have I'd definitely recommend on removing it! She looks so cute btw!

 

[breannaballew]

I can't quite make it out but have you got substrate on the bottom of her cage? If you have I'd definitely recommend on removing it! She looks so cute btw!

I have Repti Bark in the bottom. Is that not safe?

 

[marley patches]

I understand some say Petco has unhealthy chams ,I guess I'm lucky and has a good Petco here in Louisiana , my 2 chams are over a year old and there year check up they where ok , only for parasites that i'm sure came from the crickets ,other than that my chams are big and strong

 

[Decadancin]

The bark can be an issue if ingested. Veiled chams do tend to munch on lots of plants and stuff so it can be dangerous.

 

[breannaballew]

The bark can be an issue if ingested. Veiled chams do tend to munch on lots of plants and stuff so it can be dangerous.

She's never been to the bottom with the bark, but I do have a live ficus and pothos in there with her though.

 

[JGuinan007]

Most issues occur when feeders are on the substrate and your cham eats the feeder along with the substrate the feeder was clinging to.

 

[breannaballew]

Just to let everyone know I spoke to the vet and im currently leaving class to pick up Loretta for her appointment. The vet said to bring her in a Tupperware bowl...is that safe? Which I mean I brought her home in a bowl, but I don't want to stress more than she's already going to be.

 

[breannaballew]

We're on our way to the vet! I really appreciate everyone's input. I'll let you know what he says about my sweet little Loretta .

 

[Replife]

Awesome she will soon be better than ever

 

[breannaballew]

That was the worst experience of my life! He pressed her head with his fingers pressing her eyes in and then pulled her jaw open my her neck and then when he couldn't get enough room he used metal prongs to open her mouth. It was terrible and her skin started coming off and her head turned black and now she's scared to death of me. Her color is toning down but she's hissing at me and trying to get away. After all of that he told me to just inject her feeders and let her eat that one and then do the rest.

 

[breannaballew]

Here's her before the traumatic event picture.

 

[breannaballew]

She also keeps opening her mouth now and sitting like that and she's never done that.