Lethargic Cham.. Kinda worried about her

[JustSara]

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon - Senegal Chameleon.. Probably 5-6 months old. Female. Had her for 2 weeks
• Handling - Once a day if the weather is nice enough to take her out.
• Feeding - Superworms, crickets, calci-worms. I have butter and phoenix worms on order. Gutloading with Zilla cricket drink, peaches, plums etc..
• Supplements - Right now I just have Rep-Cal Herpivite. Lightly dusted some of her superworms twice with it.
• Watering - Misting 2-3 times a day until the foliage is soaked. Homemade dripper.
• Fecal Description - Brown and white from what I've seen. She's not been tested for parasites
• History - Got her from a local pet shop...
Cage Info:
• Cage Type - Reptibreeze 16x16x20
• Lighting - Zilla day bulb and Repti-Sun 5.0. 8AM-8PM
• Temperature - Don't currently have a thermometer in there
• Humidity - Don't have that number either
• Plants - She has 4 live plants in her cage. A schefflera, ficus, pothos and hibiscus
• Placement - On the bookcase in the office. It's about 3 feet off the floor
• Location - NW Missouri

Current Problem - She has been really lethargic. She still has a strong grip and does move about her cage, but she spends alot of time with her eyes closed... I have a vet appointment for her tomorrow. Right now she just looks exhausted. Could it be because I haven't been SUPER strict with her lighting? Like sometimes it might be 8:30 PM when they get turned off.

 

[mcleodschams]

i would swithch the heat and uvb bulbs positions and just get a higher heat heat bulb but besides that the cage looks good what are you misting with and using for a driper?

 

[JustSara]

Just misting her with tap water.. Her dripper is just a big foam cup with a pinhole in the bottom for now.. I have an aquarium host valve and some tubing to make her a bigger dripper though. The mister is one I got from the dollar store. It puts out a super fine mist.

 

[JustSara]

So put the UVB bulb on top of her cage and hang the heat one??

 

[Murrdox]

Is she eating / drinking? I know that you say her urate looks good, but her eyes still look a little sunken to me. Also in the one picture you posted, her tail looks a little thin and bony, and I think I'm seeing her ribs too much. Looks can be deceiving though, not sure if she was puffing herself up for the camera or not.

Temperature is your biggest unknown right now. If she's too hot / cold that could cause issues.

Your other issue is MAYBE your UVB? UVB doesn't usually travel that far, 12-18" normally. You have her UVB bulb suspended so far above the cage, I'm wondering if she's lacking for UVB exposure. However, if she has problems due to UVB it probably isn't anything you've done. You've only had her a couple of weeks, and she was at a petstore before that. UVB issues usually take a lot longer.

Appetite and tempature are the two things that leap out at me right now. I hope your vet visit goes well! Take a piece of poop with you when you go (fresh! just stick it in a zip lock back and put it in the fridge)

 

[JustSara]

I've seen her eat and drink. I'm going to take her outside. Maybe that will perk her up a bit. And as far as the poop goes.. How am I to get a piece of poop when I can't FIND any poop?

 

[Elizadolots]

Going out in the natural sun should perk her up. She does look a bit thin. I agree with lowering the lights and trying to be on a more rigid schedule, though I don't think being off the occasional half hour is going to do a lot of harm.

As you've only had her two weeks, it's possible that her earlier care wasn't as good as it could have been and it's only making itself known now.

If you take her out and let her walk your hands for awhile, she might donate a poop specimen for you.

 

[JustSara]

Can the vet give her like a little enima or something and get poop? I ask because I'm not sure WHEN the last time she pooped was. She hasn't had a good appetite since I got her and she was housed in REALLY poor conditions with at least 10 other chams. I KNOW she's not eating as much as she should. That's the reason I got superworms at petco and order butterworms and phoenix worms. I had her outside last week and she did SOMETHING on my hand. It was pure liquid then at the back end a clear/white little drop of something was dangling off her vent. I'm pretty sure she has parasites. Just hope she makes it...

 

[JustSara]

She was an impulse buy. And I feel bad, the chams were in a tiny glass slide out type thing with what looked like pine chips on the bottom. There weren't any plants or anything. They misted them while I was there. It was a directly on them 10 second thing. The guy told me she would be fine in a 10 gallon glass aquarium with ONE vine and some bark in the bottom for her whole life. I came home and researched and got on here and realized just how badly she was being treated and how badly I would have been treating her if I had kept her that way. I feel HORRIBLE! And I am SO angry with the pet shop owner!!!!

 

[skittles1234]

sounds like she is super dehydrated. i have a senegal and spray her every couple of hours when the mesh cage and plants dry up. and i have a dripping system that i have on fifteen mins in the morning and fifteen mins in the afternoon around 2pm. They are super senstive and SHOULD NOT be handled at all for the first couple of weeks, even up to a month. Is she near a window to get acess to real sunlight? and the repti sun buld is it a coil?

 

[JustSara]

Yea, it's a coil, but I looked and this is the new model of Repti-sun. I think maybe I should stop handling her for awhile (aside from the vet visit) I also just got back from the store where I bought her and let them know that their housing and care was not appropriate and that the information they are giving on how to care for a chameleon was all wrong. They said they were going to get screen cages for them and all that. They also told me to let them know what the vet said, so I think they want to do the right thing as all of their other animals are well cared for. It made me feel a bit better to know at least she won't be suffering in vain and maybe I can stop this from happening to other chameleons they get. They said that 2 of the chameleons died, they sold the other 10. So we'll just have to see what the vet says and hope she makes it.

 

[skittles1234]

you need to get a tube bulb as use for UVB. i have my 5.0 uvb buld in a marine hood that i place on the top on the mesh cage. But get her hydrated like i said. She could be gone by morning in the shape she's in now!!!

 

[JustSara]

He pulled up a care sheet and read it to me and it sounded pretty much spot on. He said he googled it and would print them out and give one to every person that buys a chameleon. They said they just didn't know all that and they seemed eager to make the changes. And there really isn't anything more I can do! I've been misting her a lot today, put her in some warm water so she would hopefully get SOME hydration through her vent, I've been up all day misting and making sure her dripper is constantly going. I think it's probably a combo of stress and parasites.

 

[skittles1234]

hope everyhting works out for you and the lil one. let me know what happens

 

[Elizadolots]

Just remember that unless the window is open, the chameleon doesn't get beneficial light from the sun.

 

[JustSara]

So yesterday morning Patchouli was looking REALLY bad, her appointment wasn't until 3:40 PM, but I rushed her in. She was half dead by the time I got her there.. Black and gasping for breath. The vet said it would be best to euthanize her, so that's what happened. RIP Patchouli.. For some reason she just stopped drinking, Of course I immediately made an appointment. Made sure to overoffer water, was putting her in warm water so she could get at least a little hydration through her vent. Was using an eyedropper to force water into her mouth, showers.. The whole 9 yards, guess it wasn't good enough.. *sigh

 

[Dr O]

If I read this correctly, she is not being dusted with a calcium supplement?

And also, was it a large chain type of pet store, a local type shop, or a reptilian expert?


dr. o-

 

[Dr O]

If I read this correctly, she is not being dusted with a calcium supplement?

And also, was it a large chain type of pet store, a local type shop, or a reptilian expert?


dr. o-

I am so sorry. I did not see your above post, which you literally just posted minutes from mine. I had not refreshed the page. I'm so sorry for your loss.

dr. o-

 

[JustSara]

It was a local pet store. I was gutloading the crickets and dusting them with the proper supplements. I might have mis-filled that thing out, because I was super upset at the time. HOWEVER, I went to them and let them know that the way they were keeping the chameleons AND the way they were telling people to care for them was VERY incorrect. Since then, they are checking where they get their chams from, buying screen enclosures and going to get the new ones they ordered checked by the vet. And they got a new care sheet, which is SPOT ON about how to care for chameleons which they are going to give to every person that buys one. I'm going to MAKE SURE she didn't die in vain!