I need urgent advise.Please help

[aplazbarr]

I'll get right to the point. My Cham is looking very weak. He is resting his body on the branches with his legs hanging. I found him at the bottom of the cage.

The only thing I had changed was I gave him silk worms and goliath worms.

he is exactly a year old and he is a blue bar ambilobe

Is there anything I can do. I is looking very weak.

 

[Edward Kim]

Unfortunately, I've seen this before and I must say it doesn't sound too good. Chameleons hide symptoms and injuries until they can't hide them no more. The best advice I can give you is to take him to the veterinarian in the morning if he survives the night (don't wait). Also can you give us some specs on your husbandry and has his feeding declined in the past few days?

 

[aplazbarr]

All my supplies I purchased from The Kammers a year ago and it has all worked well. I feel his state might be due my changing his diet temporarily to silk worm and goliath worms. His color still looks good but he is resting his head on a branch and his body is kinda hanging a bit.

 

[Edward Kim]

I've never heard of a varied diet hurting a chameleon before it sounds a bit strange. Anybody got an option i'm at a loss for words.

 

[aplazbarr]

wonder if he get injured. he does fall once in a while and catches himself. Wonder if he got hurt in a fall. How would I know?

 

[Edward Kim]

An injury would usually show a dark (almost black) bruise but I've notice that this shows only when the injury is external. If the injury was internal such as a sprained ankle there may be some noticable swelling. If you have seen your chameleon moving strangly that would be an indication as well. The only way to truly know whats going on it visiting a reputable vet.

 

[kinyonga]

I agree with it going to the vets ASAP.

In the meantime...
Did you get the goliath worms at a store and not out of your garden?

What UVB light are you using? There should be no plastic or glass between it and the chameleon. Does your chameleon get any direct sun?

What supplements are you using (specifically) and how often?
What do you (specifically) feed to any insects that you feed to your chameleon?

Can you post a picture?

 

[aplazbarr]

I spoke to screameleons and he say I might be over supplementing. I admit I have not changed how I supplement( everyday). He says when you over supplement the supplement can crystalize in his body.

He say he needs to drink more water so the supplement can be flushed out. I gave him a 1 hour shower with the water bouncing from the wall to his cage. Didn't see him drink. Still don't understand how the shower helps hydrate but will repeat tomorrow.

Today I wasn't able to take him to the vet but he is no longer resting his body on the branches with his legs dangling. know at least he is gripping on to the branches and for a while, after the shower, moved to the high point of the cage to receive more heat.


What do you think?

 

[BigTex]

well it sounds like at least at the moment his condition is improving

 

[Scotty]

He say he needs to drink more water so the supplement can be flushed out. I gave him a 1 hour shower with the water bouncing from the wall to his cage. Didn't see him drink. Still don't understand how the shower helps hydrate but will repeat tomorrow.

Today I wasn't able to take him to the vet but he is no longer resting his body on the branches with his legs dangling. know at least he is gripping on to the branches and for a while, after the shower, moved to the high point of the cage to receive more heat.


What do you think?

Showering him will hydrate him by inadvertantly triggering the drinking response by being exposed to a continuous supply of water! This then like any animal, us included, will "flush out" the internal organs of any unwanted materials.
It may be a case of over-supplementing OR a case of bad fedders ie crook silkies or superworms!
As Edward kim said, varying the diet (unless feeding non-healthy feeders) should not harm your cham, they eat a variety of food in the wild and varying the diet is a good thing!
Hopefully, you are passed the worst of it, I would definately scrutinize your feeders to see if they were in fact in optimum condition before feeding them to your cham. Imagine for a second, when we eat something off, we spend a period sitting on the crapper or vomiting with fever etc.... maybe it's the same for the cham after a bad meal!
Hope it all works out for the good!!!...
Cheers
Scott.

 

[MWheelock]

I have seen some chams that respond to pain in the way you described. Usually they have a mild change in color that we have also seen. How big was the horn worm? How many silks and hornworms did you give?

Mild temporary blockage? Bit by the hornworm (which hurts).

Usually if they rebound back after a shower or a couple days, I'm inclined not to think that it is oversupplementation (yet...). Keep doing what you are doing and try to get to a vet. Make sure he is still eatting and defecating.

Even when your cham fully responds (I chose to be optimistic), I would have minor blood chemistry done to get a baselline and check those kidney values.

I have to go to an appt.

Good luck

 

[aplazbarr]

I went to the vet and did blood work on my cham. phosphorous levels were higher than calcium levels. he said there might be some kidney failure.
he rocommended I give him antibiotics, put fluids in him and give him 2-4 drops of mylanta to bind with the phosphorous. still no gaurantees my cham will recover. does anybody have any experience with this?

 

[lbesok]

From what I understand, the Uric Acid levels reveal the kidney failure. 10 or lower you are alright, but anything higher could indeed suggest kidney failure. I don't believe the calcium/phosphorus ratio could indicate this. Our guy had blood work this past week as well, and he also had a higher phosphorous levels.

 

[JDunkz6501]

If MBD Is The Case, Make Sure He Gets A Lot Of Calcium. And Always Always Gutload Its Feed. My Vieled Was Diagnosed Early At About Three Months And Showed The Same Sypmtoms As Yours. He Would Lay Sideways On The Ground Like He Was Dead Which Is Definately Not Normal. Everyone Said To Go To The Vet, But I Didnt Have The Time And Money For It. So I Just Went Out And Bought ESU Carnivore Calcium Spray and Zoo Med Reptivite. For The Next 3 Months I Would Drench His Food In The Carnivore Calcium Liquid, Let Them Dry, And Then Roll Them In The Reptivite. I Did That For About Three Months And Now I Do It about Every Other Feeding. He Seems Very Healthy Now And Does Everything Normaly. The Only Thing Is After He Recovered From His MBD, His Bones Are Still A Liiitttle Warped. Kind Of Bow Legged On One Side. No Matter What You Do That Will Never Change, But Your Chameleon Will Still Be Able To Live A Normal Life. When I First Bought My Vieled, I Did Not Know How Much Of A Responsibility They Are. But Now I Realize How Much Of A Delicate And Needy Animal That They Really Are

 

[leoman]

Yes

I completly agree with scotty

 

[Pashka]

If MBD Is The Case, Make Sure He Gets A Lot Of Calcium. And Always Always Gutload Its Feed. My Vieled Was Diagnosed Early At About Three Months And Showed The Same Sypmtoms As Yours. He Would Lay Sideways On The Ground Like He Was Dead Which Is Definately Not Normal. Everyone Said To Go To The Vet, But I Didnt Have The Time And Money For It. So I Just Went Out And Bought ESU Carnivore Calcium Spray and Zoo Med Reptivite. For The Next 3 Months I Would Drench His Food In The Carnivore Calcium Liquid, Let Them Dry, And Then Roll Them In The Reptivite. I Did That For About Three Months And Now I Do It about Every Other Feeding. He Seems Very Healthy Now And Does Everything Normaly. The Only Thing Is After He Recovered From His MBD, His Bones Are Still A Liiitttle Warped. Kind Of Bow Legged On One Side. No Matter What You Do That Will Never Change, But Your Chameleon Will Still Be Able To Live A Normal Life. When I First Bought My Vieled, I Did Not Know How Much Of A Responsibility They Are. But Now I Realize How Much Of A Delicate And Needy Animal That They Really Are

Why Do You Type Like This? It's Harder To And Hard To Read.

 

[aplazbarr]

hello everyone,

I just wanted to express howthankful I am to all who are giving me all this info. I really appreciate it. and yeah I did blood work and the uric acid reading is 49.6. extremely high.So I am giving him a minimum of 3cc of water and anitbiotic, as well as 4 drops of mylanta for phosphorous binding and excretion. I also give him a shower for added hydration. And of course NO supplementing for now.

Everyone...Thanks again.

 

[Edward Kim]

aplazbarr,

I just recieved your message and i couldn't make out the number you left me. Sorry but my phone has been on the fritz lately. How is your chameleon reponding to the treatment?

EddieK

 

[lbesok]

Those Uric Acid levels are really high! What are his poops like, do they contain the white urates? Has he ever been on antibiotics for an extended period of time? Good luck with your rehabilitation, I hope that he continues to improve, keep us posted.

 

[aplazbarr]

sorry but it looks like i'm going to lose him. This morning I woke up and saw that his eyes are sunkin in and have remained closed. He is no longer alert, barely holding on to life. I just feelreally bad, i tried to follow everything to the T but failed to stop supplementing him. I really appreciate all your help.Thank you