RandomUser
New Member
Brief Chameleon Back Story:
A month ago I had to make a long distance interstate move via driving with my two little pals, a male and female veiled, housed in two separate boxes on my lap (I was not driving). I stayed overnight at a hotel and in the morning, let them come out to bask in the glory of a super humidified bathroom/sauna before putting them back in the box. Of course, neither wanted to eat nor drink. That's when I noticed an almost infinitesimal smear of blood in the male's box.
Within two weeks of the final location and a lot of free range and sunlight, he had stopped eating and despite forced feeding, Rept-aid, and forced watering, he went to sleep and I found him on the floor in the morning, dead with a slight bloody cloaca. He seemed to have a hard swollen area the night before he died, almost like where I assume their kidneys would be, just above the back legs. He also was sitting with his mouth open, as though he were hot although in a cool area. No bubbles, no signs of respiratory distress.
The female a month and a week later, once a former endless eater, has stopped eating entirely as well. Now it's to the point where she is napping randomly throughout the day, after pacing endlessly for about a week, until yesterday, and she also has that same swollen area above her back legs...but she has been showing gravid colors for about two weeks, but is losing a tremendous amount of weight and honestly doesn't appear egg-bound. She has a dirt tray in with her just in case.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Chameleon calyptratus, female, assuming about a year old, been in my care about 8 months.
Handling - I leave her alone. Quite frankly, they were mishandled before I got them and were nightmares...but they're still little sweeties..or were, she is...you know. :{
Feeding - She used to eat crickets every other day, maybe half a dozen, calcium dusted, multivitamin about once a week, I'd also offer mealies, waxies, flies, etc and she never hesitated. Gutloaded on fruits, veges, greens, and Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet something in my gut says this stuff is off
Supplements - Rep-Cal Calcium Supplement, ExoTerra MultiVitamin
Watering - Dripper, Daily
Fecal Description - Never tested for parasites. Normal Poo but now there is just the white creamy excrement, no black as she has no food intake to make...output.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Was Free Range, thought maybe that was the cause of death, put her into a 18x18x20 with occasional roams around the room
Lighting - ExoTerra SolarGlo + Natural Sunlight @ window
Temperature - Avg temps 68-73
Humidity - avg 30%
Plants - Live plants in cage pothos + romping area are several monstrous Monstera deliciosa
Placement - In front of window, chest height, moderate to low traffic
Location - Wisconsin
Any advice would be great...also a round about figure if I needed to take her to the vet. If I'd known I was going to have a car accident that left me with a back surgery, two hip surgeries, several other procedures, a lost job, and a totaled car, I never would have gotten them as its irresponsible to have a pet and not be able to afford medical bills...can't even pay mine...but as silly as it sounds, they were my grumpy little rays of sunshine that helped me through it.
Even with everything else I've lost, I'd almost be willing to give her to a better home if it meant her living if it's the only recourse. I know they pick up on stress and are intelligent little critters so I always maintain calm and try to be happy despite when I am up and around as to not give off bad vibes/energy/whatever.
Thanks for anything in advance.
A month ago I had to make a long distance interstate move via driving with my two little pals, a male and female veiled, housed in two separate boxes on my lap (I was not driving). I stayed overnight at a hotel and in the morning, let them come out to bask in the glory of a super humidified bathroom/sauna before putting them back in the box. Of course, neither wanted to eat nor drink. That's when I noticed an almost infinitesimal smear of blood in the male's box.
Within two weeks of the final location and a lot of free range and sunlight, he had stopped eating and despite forced feeding, Rept-aid, and forced watering, he went to sleep and I found him on the floor in the morning, dead with a slight bloody cloaca. He seemed to have a hard swollen area the night before he died, almost like where I assume their kidneys would be, just above the back legs. He also was sitting with his mouth open, as though he were hot although in a cool area. No bubbles, no signs of respiratory distress.
The female a month and a week later, once a former endless eater, has stopped eating entirely as well. Now it's to the point where she is napping randomly throughout the day, after pacing endlessly for about a week, until yesterday, and she also has that same swollen area above her back legs...but she has been showing gravid colors for about two weeks, but is losing a tremendous amount of weight and honestly doesn't appear egg-bound. She has a dirt tray in with her just in case.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Chameleon calyptratus, female, assuming about a year old, been in my care about 8 months.
Handling - I leave her alone. Quite frankly, they were mishandled before I got them and were nightmares...but they're still little sweeties..or were, she is...you know. :{
Feeding - She used to eat crickets every other day, maybe half a dozen, calcium dusted, multivitamin about once a week, I'd also offer mealies, waxies, flies, etc and she never hesitated. Gutloaded on fruits, veges, greens, and Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet something in my gut says this stuff is off
Supplements - Rep-Cal Calcium Supplement, ExoTerra MultiVitamin
Watering - Dripper, Daily
Fecal Description - Never tested for parasites. Normal Poo but now there is just the white creamy excrement, no black as she has no food intake to make...output.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Was Free Range, thought maybe that was the cause of death, put her into a 18x18x20 with occasional roams around the room
Lighting - ExoTerra SolarGlo + Natural Sunlight @ window
Temperature - Avg temps 68-73
Humidity - avg 30%
Plants - Live plants in cage pothos + romping area are several monstrous Monstera deliciosa
Placement - In front of window, chest height, moderate to low traffic
Location - Wisconsin
Any advice would be great...also a round about figure if I needed to take her to the vet. If I'd known I was going to have a car accident that left me with a back surgery, two hip surgeries, several other procedures, a lost job, and a totaled car, I never would have gotten them as its irresponsible to have a pet and not be able to afford medical bills...can't even pay mine...but as silly as it sounds, they were my grumpy little rays of sunshine that helped me through it.
Even with everything else I've lost, I'd almost be willing to give her to a better home if it meant her living if it's the only recourse. I know they pick up on stress and are intelligent little critters so I always maintain calm and try to be happy despite when I am up and around as to not give off bad vibes/energy/whatever.Thanks for anything in advance.
