JaxyGirl
Avid Member
My male (Neo) and female (Tabitha) Nosy Be Panther Chameleons both have an Uper Respiratory Infection and it is all my fault and it's because of pure stupidity!!
Both of them free range in my kitchen/dining room. Their free range hangs from the ceiling and is about 10ft long. Part of their free range hangs above a window.
Previously that same free range was used for my male Jacksons Chameleon (Triton) who died of old age at almost 8 years old. He lived in that same free range for almost 4 years.
I live in Maine and for the past 3 weeks or so it has been in the upper 80-90 degrees here. Super hot for Maine. We have an air conditioner that is built into the wall in our living room which was installed last summer. And of course it Sh*t the bed during the hottest days of this summer. So we installed a temporary air conditioner in the window located below my chams free range till the AC in the living room could be repaired. We turned the AC down to 72 degrees and I didn't think anything of it. The AC wasn't blowing on my Panthers and we always installed that AC in the same window when my Jacksons lived in the free range above it. It never bothered him so why would I think any differently?
Last Wed I noticed that my male panther was becoming a little listless and wasn't eating as much. But he was starting to shed so I thought he was just a little grouchy. Thurs he was really dark and wasn't moving around as much but other wise he seemed fine. Fri he started hiding (usually he's in the open) and stopped basking under his heat lamp and only ate one feeder reluctantly. Usually he eats a lot more. Sat his left eye was starting to close and the other eye was starting to look a little glassy and he wasn't active at all. He looked depressed and he had completely stopped eating. Now I'm seriously starting to wonder what's wrong because even though he was shedding he was acting totally out of character. I'm thinking possible vit deficiency so I gave him some extra vitamins in his mouth..which he was not happpy about it poor guy!! Sunday he just stayed in his sleeping spot, was totally lathargic and the other eye was starting to close. He looked depressed, miserable and sick. Now I'm really starting to get worried. Meanwhile my female had been fine that week. Eating like a pig. But Sunday I caught her breathing with her mouth open and when I picked her up I heard that Tell Tale Popping Wheezy Sound! I thought how could that be? How could she have a URI? My husbandry was good she's been eating well? Then it occurred to me that my male must have a URI also. It was an oh Sh*t moment!!!! I couldn't figure out how that could possibly have happened. How could both of them have gotten a URI???
Then I had an Ah-Ha moment of pure stupidity!! It was from the AC that was installed in the window under their free range. It was a totall Duh moment!!!
Then it occurred to me that even though the AC wasn't blowing on my panthers the temp there was only 72 degrees day and night. It was pretty much one of the coldest places in the house!
My mistake was thinking that if it was fine having the AC at 72 degrees under the free range. I figured if it was fine for my Jacksons it would be fine for my Panthers also. How wrong I was!!!
Thinking about it now in my stupidity I should have remembered that Panthers and Jacksons are two different species! Jacksons are montane species which can handle colder climates. That explained why the 72 degree AC didn't bother my Jacksons when he lived there. Panthers on the other hand are tropical and need warmer climates and 72 degrees was just plain too cold for them. I knew this!! What was I thinking???
I pretty much froze my panthers for two weeks. I can't even imagine how stressed they were or how badly my poor babies were starting to feel because I didn't realize what a horrible mistake I was making. Monday both my Panthers looked terrible especially my male. At this point I wasn't going to keep waiting and seeing if they were going to get better on their own.
Monday I called the vet and he put them on Clindamycin. Yesterday they both had their first dosage and today they're already looking better. My male was under his basking spot when I got up..which was a good sign because that means he moved from his sleep spot and he seems to be more alert.
Currently, the panthers are sunning in their tree outside as I write this and my male is cruising around. My female has eaten today but my male hasn't yet. He's a lot more alert today and interested in what's going on around him and he drank really well today. I think both are going to be fine because I caught infection in time and started treating them for URI right away. And the AC has since been moved.
I learned some really valuable lessons this week. I was lucky! This stupid mistake could have killed both of my panther chams and it still could. It's so important to really pay attention to detail when it comes to chameleon husbandry. My mistake was rolling two different species of chameleons into one (Tropical verses Montane) and treating my Panthers the same as I did my Jacksons.
I learned the hard way that all species of chameleons are not the same. I'm so mad at myself because, I knew this but it just didn't sink in at the time! I also learned that you need to know your chams. It's important to know their behaviors and habits and pay attention. It could mean the difference between life and death. I could tell my panthers weren't feeling good but I couldn't figure out why? Thank goodness I thought it through before it was too late!
I wanted to pass on to members the importance of not having a "wait and see" attitude. If your chams are starting to have unusual symptoms and behaving differently its because they aren't feeling good for some reason. If their eyes are start to close and they are getting listless and look depressed or are not eating it's because they are feeling sick. Don't wait for your Chams to get better on their own because they won't. Chams go down hill really quickly and by the time they are showing serious symptoms it's usually too late for recovery. Most importantly contact your veterinarian! If treatment is started early your Cham has a good chance of recovering. I was lucky that I got treatment when I did and I didn't wait a few more days to see what would happen. Hopefully my babies will recover completely without any more health issues. Please, Keep your Fingers crossed for them!!
Both of them free range in my kitchen/dining room. Their free range hangs from the ceiling and is about 10ft long. Part of their free range hangs above a window.
Previously that same free range was used for my male Jacksons Chameleon (Triton) who died of old age at almost 8 years old. He lived in that same free range for almost 4 years.
I live in Maine and for the past 3 weeks or so it has been in the upper 80-90 degrees here. Super hot for Maine. We have an air conditioner that is built into the wall in our living room which was installed last summer. And of course it Sh*t the bed during the hottest days of this summer. So we installed a temporary air conditioner in the window located below my chams free range till the AC in the living room could be repaired. We turned the AC down to 72 degrees and I didn't think anything of it. The AC wasn't blowing on my Panthers and we always installed that AC in the same window when my Jacksons lived in the free range above it. It never bothered him so why would I think any differently?
Last Wed I noticed that my male panther was becoming a little listless and wasn't eating as much. But he was starting to shed so I thought he was just a little grouchy. Thurs he was really dark and wasn't moving around as much but other wise he seemed fine. Fri he started hiding (usually he's in the open) and stopped basking under his heat lamp and only ate one feeder reluctantly. Usually he eats a lot more. Sat his left eye was starting to close and the other eye was starting to look a little glassy and he wasn't active at all. He looked depressed and he had completely stopped eating. Now I'm seriously starting to wonder what's wrong because even though he was shedding he was acting totally out of character. I'm thinking possible vit deficiency so I gave him some extra vitamins in his mouth..which he was not happpy about it poor guy!! Sunday he just stayed in his sleeping spot, was totally lathargic and the other eye was starting to close. He looked depressed, miserable and sick. Now I'm really starting to get worried. Meanwhile my female had been fine that week. Eating like a pig. But Sunday I caught her breathing with her mouth open and when I picked her up I heard that Tell Tale Popping Wheezy Sound! I thought how could that be? How could she have a URI? My husbandry was good she's been eating well? Then it occurred to me that my male must have a URI also. It was an oh Sh*t moment!!!! I couldn't figure out how that could possibly have happened. How could both of them have gotten a URI???
Then I had an Ah-Ha moment of pure stupidity!! It was from the AC that was installed in the window under their free range. It was a totall Duh moment!!!
Then it occurred to me that even though the AC wasn't blowing on my panthers the temp there was only 72 degrees day and night. It was pretty much one of the coldest places in the house!
My mistake was thinking that if it was fine having the AC at 72 degrees under the free range. I figured if it was fine for my Jacksons it would be fine for my Panthers also. How wrong I was!!!
Thinking about it now in my stupidity I should have remembered that Panthers and Jacksons are two different species! Jacksons are montane species which can handle colder climates. That explained why the 72 degree AC didn't bother my Jacksons when he lived there. Panthers on the other hand are tropical and need warmer climates and 72 degrees was just plain too cold for them. I knew this!! What was I thinking???
I pretty much froze my panthers for two weeks. I can't even imagine how stressed they were or how badly my poor babies were starting to feel because I didn't realize what a horrible mistake I was making. Monday both my Panthers looked terrible especially my male. At this point I wasn't going to keep waiting and seeing if they were going to get better on their own.
Monday I called the vet and he put them on Clindamycin. Yesterday they both had their first dosage and today they're already looking better. My male was under his basking spot when I got up..which was a good sign because that means he moved from his sleep spot and he seems to be more alert.
Currently, the panthers are sunning in their tree outside as I write this and my male is cruising around. My female has eaten today but my male hasn't yet. He's a lot more alert today and interested in what's going on around him and he drank really well today. I think both are going to be fine because I caught infection in time and started treating them for URI right away. And the AC has since been moved.
I learned some really valuable lessons this week. I was lucky! This stupid mistake could have killed both of my panther chams and it still could. It's so important to really pay attention to detail when it comes to chameleon husbandry. My mistake was rolling two different species of chameleons into one (Tropical verses Montane) and treating my Panthers the same as I did my Jacksons.
I learned the hard way that all species of chameleons are not the same. I'm so mad at myself because, I knew this but it just didn't sink in at the time! I also learned that you need to know your chams. It's important to know their behaviors and habits and pay attention. It could mean the difference between life and death. I could tell my panthers weren't feeling good but I couldn't figure out why? Thank goodness I thought it through before it was too late!
I wanted to pass on to members the importance of not having a "wait and see" attitude. If your chams are starting to have unusual symptoms and behaving differently its because they aren't feeling good for some reason. If their eyes are start to close and they are getting listless and look depressed or are not eating it's because they are feeling sick. Don't wait for your Chams to get better on their own because they won't. Chams go down hill really quickly and by the time they are showing serious symptoms it's usually too late for recovery. Most importantly contact your veterinarian! If treatment is started early your Cham has a good chance of recovering. I was lucky that I got treatment when I did and I didn't wait a few more days to see what would happen. Hopefully my babies will recover completely without any more health issues. Please, Keep your Fingers crossed for them!!
He still won't eat so I force fed a couple of crickets and then gave him his medicine...my poor guy! Makes me so sad 
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