Ethen44
New Member
I have, or I should say had, 1.2 F. Paradalis, and 8 of their adorable little offspring from the first clutch. My male (Latharius) bred with my beloved Skittles, who had the friendliest characteristics about her. She almost seemed to communicate with me and my girlfriend on a regular basis. We both loved her, and loved taking care of her through her two pregnancies. Her last clutch was laid on Oct 15th, which is my birthday coincidentally, and the first arrivals started to hatch on May 2nd, which happens to be my mom's birthday. After Skittles last clutch I lowered her basking temps, and fed her less, hoping that she would not have a 3rd clutch. She did not show gravid colors after that, but she did put on some noticeable mass. After a few adjustments in her diet, and still a continual sign of no regression nor weight loss, I started to become concerned. It wasn't until May 5th that I started to notice something odd about her behavior. She seemed to have an unquenchable thirst, and she was also couching, or wheez seemingly. It was very odd at first, and I knew that there was something wrong. I did as much research as I could, not finding any clues. I posted on Cham forums, I will add a link to it at the end of this, but sadly it was no help. So I gave in, scrounged up some money and went to the vet. The vet seemed to know what he was doing, but I question that in light of the circumstances. He examined her, palpated her, weighed her in at 74grams, and his diagnosis was that she was not digesting her food thoroughly enough, and he administered 1 oz of Bene-Bac Probiotic and told me to dust her feeders. I did what he told me, but she continued to get worse. It wasn't until I came across another members forum titles "Respiratory Infection" that I began to grasp what was wrong with poor sweet Skittles. She was demonstrating the exact symptoms of a LRI, or a Lower Respiratory Infection; Taking deep prolonged gasps with her mouth wide open, the increase in mass around her abdominal region, Mucus in her mouth, and yellow lips. I frantically did some more research and found what I thought was our solution, Repti-Aid. It's a formula that some had used for their sick chams, some even with LRI , and had got the results they wanted. I administered the first dose yesterday, I gave her the recommended dose (.075 ml) and also put her in the hot steamy bathroom. I also had a humidifier on her at night, something that I had learned would possibly help her in her condition. The following night of her 1st dose of repti-Aid I heard a noise that sounded like an overweight chameleon falling to the bottom of her cage, sadly my sound perception was correct and Skittles was on the ground 
I picked her up, and she was very feeble, she almost seemed disoriented. I put her on her favorite branch and went back to sleep, just to wake up to her back on the ground I gave her some water, which I had to directly drip into her open mouth, and then I put her in the steamy bathroom again. My girlfriend and I did everything we could to keep her comfortable, warm, and safe. Sadly, despite all of our efforts, Skittles died in our hands this morning at 10:30. It was the most dramatic struggle between life and death for Skittles, and finally my gf and I watched helplessly as she gave in and let out her final breath. I've been comforting my girlfriend all morning, trying to get her to focus on other things, while also trying to hold myself together. This is a rough timing, as we are only 3 days into our new home. I would of provided better care for Skittles if money wasn't such an issue, I'm financially strapped due to the excessive costs of buying a house. Regardless, I wish to prevent this from ever happening again. So I am doing everything that I can think of to eliminate any potential risks my current, healthy, and gravid chameleons. If you have any tips or advice, or a personal experience please feel free. I am all ears, or eyes I suppose. Let me know if anyone has used Repti-Aid before and what their experience was, as well as the Bene-Bac PRobiotic. I appreciate all feedback.
All in all Skittles was a one of a kind Chameleon, she had a personality that was unmatched, and completely unique. I'm going to post a final tribute with some pics of her and some of her adorable babies as well, which I've been selfishly holding out on Thank you
Sincerely, Ethen P.
and Khrystyna, V
I picked her up, and she was very feeble, she almost seemed disoriented. I put her on her favorite branch and went back to sleep, just to wake up to her back on the ground I gave her some water, which I had to directly drip into her open mouth, and then I put her in the steamy bathroom again. My girlfriend and I did everything we could to keep her comfortable, warm, and safe. Sadly, despite all of our efforts, Skittles died in our hands this morning at 10:30. It was the most dramatic struggle between life and death for Skittles, and finally my gf and I watched helplessly as she gave in and let out her final breath. I've been comforting my girlfriend all morning, trying to get her to focus on other things, while also trying to hold myself together. This is a rough timing, as we are only 3 days into our new home. I would of provided better care for Skittles if money wasn't such an issue, I'm financially strapped due to the excessive costs of buying a house. Regardless, I wish to prevent this from ever happening again. So I am doing everything that I can think of to eliminate any potential risks my current, healthy, and gravid chameleons. If you have any tips or advice, or a personal experience please feel free. I am all ears, or eyes I suppose. Let me know if anyone has used Repti-Aid before and what their experience was, as well as the Bene-Bac PRobiotic. I appreciate all feedback. All in all Skittles was a one of a kind Chameleon, she had a personality that was unmatched, and completely unique. I'm going to post a final tribute with some pics of her and some of her adorable babies as well, which I've been selfishly holding out on
Thank you Sincerely, Ethen P.
and Khrystyna, V
