In not sure whats wrong
- Thread starter Duffield
- Start date
Wildwilson
Established Member
Fill this out and we can get a better idea of whats going on. But im going to assume dehydation/ lack of humidity from that pic. Please fill out the form
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
CamrynTheCham22
Avid Member
It looks like he is very dehydrated. The dark coloring and severely sunken eyes is how you can tell. Can you please fill out the below form? Also, if he has no physical strength left to drink, I would suggest dripping water on his nose so that he doesn't have to move. I faced this problem when I had just started chameleon keeping, and after some research, learned about dehydration. My cham was in the same state as yours, if not worse, and wouldn't have survived the night. I took a syringe and dripped water into her mouth and she brightened in literally minutes. She didn't fight it or anything, she just opened her mouth and let the water come in.
Don't force anything on your chameleon. If you have a syringe, I would say use that, but do not force the syringe into its mouth. Hopefully your cham can overcome this.
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Don't force anything on your chameleon. If you have a syringe, I would say use that, but do not force the syringe into its mouth. Hopefully your cham can overcome this.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
- Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Duffield
Member
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
- Your Chameleon - He is un unknown Panther from Petco, had him for two weeks.
- Handling - Never except today
- Feeding - I am feeding him pinhead crickets. Im currently staying at a friends so I bought a salad from the burger joint to keep the crickets alive. I will feed him when I wake up and when I go to bed. But the bugs have been in there for some time.
- Supplements - reptical calcium
- Watering - I use a spray bottle from petco, I hit them three times a day. I use the water drops with tap water.
- Fecal Description - Never been tested, and I can see any poop.
- History - This has been going on for three days. I thought he was just not interested.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Screen, 16x16,36, mesh, from lll reptile.
- Lighting - I have a 75w petco heat lamp, and a T8 UVB Tropical 75
- Temperature - The floor starts at 72, and near the light its near 90.
- Humidity - I use a monitor from petco, and it stays about 75-80%
- Plants - Yes, I'm using a live plant. Lilac shrub. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/new-to-the-site.163080/#post-1408215
- Placement -It is located in my room. Low traffic area. It is about 6 feet from the backing area to the floor.
- Location - Dallas, Texas
Wildwilson
Established Member
You should be dusting with calcium without d3 every feeding. A multi vitamin twice a month and calcium with d 3 twice a month. I think its kind of strange you have had him that long amd havent seen any poop. For only mistimg him 3 times a day im not so sure how the humidity can stay that high. You might want to try putting him on a plant in the shower so the water isnt directly hitting him but puts a warm mist around him. What is your lighting schedule?
Do you use a night light?
Is it completely black in your room when he sleeps? For 12 hours?
Can you post a pic of your enclosure?
Do you use a night light?
Is it completely black in your room when he sleeps? For 12 hours?
Can you post a pic of your enclosure?
Duffield
Member
The Cal does not have D3. I took a poop maybe three days ago. It looked normal to me with the white at the front. I have been lighting the cage from 0800-2230 which is a bit longer. I dont use any night light. It is very dark at night. Should not be much of a problem there. The enclosure was linked. Im having a hard time taking pics. I have to email them from my phone.
Wildwilson
Established Member
Sorry for the late reply. I see on one of your older posts you think he is near dead? Honestly the first cham i ever got was from a pet store, and it died 2 weeks later and it was a baby like yours... there might have been some pre existing problems that he had when you got him. Im not sure there is much you can do. If it makes it through the night you can go to the vet
CamrynTheCham22
Avid Member
He does not look good at all. Did he get any water in the past week?
CamrynTheCham22
Avid Member
Poor little one. I am so sorry for your loss.
Wildwilson
Established Member
Sorry for your loss... i lost my first one too. I hope you will continue to do research and try again one day. If you do so, i would suggest not getting one under 3 months old and getting one from a breeder like Matt Vanilla Gorilla on here, or chameleon ranch is where i got my newest guy. Mainly just dont get them from pet stores. Do a lot of research before your next one. I hope your doing ok.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
I’m very sorry for your loss !. Don’t beat yourself up . That baby should have never been sold never mind to someone that had never kept a chameleon. This is the problem with getting a baby from a pet store . The likelihood of him not reviving was much higher than surviving even with a seasoned keeper .
Yes absolutely one need to research, research, and more research . That baby was very young a month at tops . When you have the research under your belt chat with @Matt Vanilla Gorilla .
CamrynTheCham22
Avid Member
I made the same mistake: I bought mine from a chain store and she suffered some problems in the beginning. She is a runt, and is about half the size she should be. She's doing very well now, but I think I got lucky. I haven't seen chameleons being sold in that chain store for quite some time now, so maybe something is being done about the neglect that they receive in those places.
I will 100% most definitely by buying a chameleon from someone or some company on this site after my experience/s.
Your future with chameleons is bound to be bright so long as you don't give up!
I will 100% most definitely by buying a chameleon from someone or some company on this site after my experience/s.
Your future with chameleons is bound to be bright so long as you don't give up!
Graves923
Chameleon Enthusiast
Looking through this thread its possible that he had some other ailment since he was from petco. That along with some husbandry issues could have caused his decline.
Your basking temp was a bit high for such a young chameleon so that could have contributed with the dehydration along with hand misting a few times per day. How long were you misting each time?
Sunken eyes like what is shown in the photos could be caused by a number of other illnesses besides dehydration so unless you take him to the vet for a necropsy we can only guess.
My suggestions if you decide to try and keep another chameleon:
- Read every bit of info you can find especially the articles on this sites resource section. It looks like you have a pretty good understanding about the husbandry required. Just need to fine tune a few things.
- Buy from a reputable breeder. The animal may be a bit more expensive and you will have a hefty shipping charge but having the peace of mind that the chameleon was well taken care of and raised properly is well worth it.
- Lower the basking temp to around 82F-85F for a young chameleon under 7 month old.
- Used the appropriate supplements if you dont already have them. Plain phosphorous- free clacium used with every feeding, calcium with D3 twice per month and a multivitamin twice per month is the standard supplement schedule for panthers and veileds.
- Invest in a mist system!!!! I started out with the hand misting routine and it just wasnt cutting it since I work 12 hour shifts the majority of the week. A Mist King system was the best choice I made. They may seem a bit pricey but I would go with a cheaper system.
Sorry for your loss. Its never easy but the least you can do is learn from it if you do continue to stay in the hobby.
Your basking temp was a bit high for such a young chameleon so that could have contributed with the dehydration along with hand misting a few times per day. How long were you misting each time?
Sunken eyes like what is shown in the photos could be caused by a number of other illnesses besides dehydration so unless you take him to the vet for a necropsy we can only guess.
My suggestions if you decide to try and keep another chameleon:
- Read every bit of info you can find especially the articles on this sites resource section. It looks like you have a pretty good understanding about the husbandry required. Just need to fine tune a few things.
- Buy from a reputable breeder. The animal may be a bit more expensive and you will have a hefty shipping charge but having the peace of mind that the chameleon was well taken care of and raised properly is well worth it.
- Lower the basking temp to around 82F-85F for a young chameleon under 7 month old.
- Used the appropriate supplements if you dont already have them. Plain phosphorous- free clacium used with every feeding, calcium with D3 twice per month and a multivitamin twice per month is the standard supplement schedule for panthers and veileds.
- Invest in a mist system!!!! I started out with the hand misting routine and it just wasnt cutting it since I work 12 hour shifts the majority of the week. A Mist King system was the best choice I made. They may seem a bit pricey but I would go with a cheaper system.
Sorry for your loss. Its never easy but the least you can do is learn from it if you do continue to stay in the hobby.
