Help,

[Strembicki213]

I have a 4 month old panther chameleon, I’ve had him 8 days & I haven’t seen him eat at all, from what I can tell any feeder that isn’t there has died, I tried to give him repta boost which was a struggle, & he seemed to have aspiratated, I have a t5 5.0 uvb light & a 75 watt basking bulb. It’s in the medium repta breeze 30” tall, on top of a stand so about 6.5 feet is the top of the cage,the humidity is around 50-60 in the day, he looks rough unless he is sleeping, I’m going to try to get him into the vet asap, they are booking til mid November but said I can try for a urgent visit Friday, what could it be? I’ve tried other feeders, I mist a few times a day & use a dripper & past few nights I used a fogger to get humidity high at night at 99% I have 1 other panther & 2 veiled that seem to be doing fine, any advice Is appreciated

 

[Snuits]

Hello, welcome. Some times it takes them a while to get settled , bothering him to get him to eat each day might add more stress. You're best putting the feeders in there & just letting them be. A vet apt is always good for new chams anyways. I'm sure more people will chime in. ♡

 

[Beman]

I am not sure what you have him on in the pics but Tape with chams is a really scary combo.

He looks extremely rough. Really not seeing a male either. I am seeing a female granted I could be wrong. Where did you get him from? I would not cross contaminate anything from him to your other chams just in case. Do not have him in a shared area that the other chams may use as well.

 

[Lindasjackson]

What happened that makes you think he aspirated? Is he showing signs of a respiratory infection?

 

[Lpsouth1978]

It is hard to say on the gender from those photos. I can say that it seems to be dehydrated and the eyes are a bit sunken in. What is your hydration schedule? Misting when, with what, and for how long? Also, can you post pics of the entire enclosure? That could give us more info to help you get this little guy feeling better.

 

[kinyonga]

Absolutely get that tape out of there, as @ beman advised, before your chameleon gets stuck to some of it.

 

[Strembicki213]

What happened that makes you think he aspirated? Is he showing signs of a respiratory infection?

Yes he is wheezing and holding his head up, & popping but it seems to be going away

 

[Strembicki213]

Absolutely get that tape out of there, as @ beman advised, before your chameleon gets stuck to some of it.

Yeah I’m doing that now, it’s not in the enclosure I just set him there so I could take decent pictures of him, but I’m on it

 

[Strembicki213]

I am not sure what you have him on in the pics but Tape with chams is a really scary combo.

He looks extremely rough. Really not seeing a male either. I am seeing a female granted I could be wrong. Where did you get him from? I would not cross contaminate anything from him to your other chams just in case. Do not have him in a shared area that the other chams may use as well.

I got him from lllreptile, & it’s definitely a male he usually shows much better colors,

 

[Lindasjackson]

If he’s wheezing and popping then you need to get him to a vet ASAP and if they tell you they can’t get him in right away tell them he has all the signs of a respiratory infection and they should try to get you in.

 

[Lindasjackson]

Please don’t try to force feed him again unless advised to by a vet with Cham experience and then let them show you how to do it because the opening to their trachea is at the front of the mouth, not at the back like us. I know you did it with the best intentions but without the knowledge it just isn’t good.

 

[Beman]

Yes he is wheezing and holding his head up, & popping but it seems to be going away

Did he start the wheezing and pointing his nose up prior to you aspirating him or after?

I would most definitely get him into a vet. I would also take a fresh fecal in to have tested. Just to be sure there are not any parasite issues.

 

[Strembicki213]

Not until I gave the medicine, I upped his misting & I finally seen him eat, he seems to need more misting than the others

 

[kinyonga]

Sounds like it's from aspiration then. I hope it won't cause any problems.