Marty needs a little help please...

[jglefler]

This morning Mr. Wonderful came out right away to bask. He chose to stay in the mid range of the cage where his body temp is 74 degrees. Fortunately the vet is open today so I can get the rest of his Baytril and have his stool analyzed. He is such an amazing little guy. One would think he would be so afraid of me by now that he would hiss and hide from me as soon as he sees me. Instead, he is fairly calm and patient with this whole process. He allows me to put my hand into his cage to clean and tend to things with very little hesitation. He is a bit more leery of me now than he was before, but, he is amazingly forgiving for what he has been through. He will "puff" at me, through his nostrils, on rare occasions as I torment him with meds but is SO classy in his response to the ordeal. He is doing better but still has some ground to cover before he is out of the woods.

 

[jglefler]

Now there's another concern. I mentioned to the vet that I was worried about this whole pushing down/inward on Marty's chin/throat area to get him to open his mouth for meds. They assured me that it was OK. Now his throat is all swollen and looks like I must have done some internal injuries trying to help the little guy. This is a nightmare. I called the vet and they said it would probably be OK and to just keep an eye on him. He has stopped eating again. I hope Marty will survive this ordeal. He seems like he is getting more scared of us as time goes on. I don't blame him. I will be lucky if the "cure" doesn't kill him. His stool sample was parasite free. At least that's good.

 

[thealissa]

Most chameleons love dandelion greens, unfortunately they are hard to come across. I get mine at my local farmer's market (Sprouts). If you can find those, I'm almost positive your guy will eat 'em. I'd call around and ask before you make the trip out.

 

[jglefler]

Most chameleons love dandelion greens, unfortunately they are hard to come across. I get mine at my local farmer's market (Sprouts). If you can find those, I'm almost positive your guy will eat 'em. I'd call around and ask before you make the trip out.

Thanks. I'll see if I can find some. I tried mustard greens and it was a no go.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."I was worried about this whole pushing down/inward on Marty's chin/throat area to get him to open his mouth for meds."...you need to be careful not to be pulling/pushing on the area where the tongue is stored IMHO...you could damage it. This is why I don't like this method. Some people have said that you can put your finger/thumb over his nostrils and this will force him to open his mouth. I have also heard of people carefully using a spatula. Personally, I have always eased the meds in between the chameleon's lips and the teeth a little at a time or started him drinking by dripping on the end of its nose and then while the mouth is open, easing the meds in then.

 

[jglefler]

You said..."I was worried about this whole pushing down/inward on Marty's chin/throat area to get him to open his mouth for meds."...you need to be careful not to be pulling/pushing on the area where the tongue is stored IMHO...you could damage it. This is why I don't like this method. Some people have said that you can put your finger/thumb over his nostrils and this will force him to open his mouth. I have also heard of people carefully using a spatula. Personally, I have always eased the meds in between the chameleon's lips and the teeth a little at a time or started him drinking by dripping on the end of its nose and then while the mouth is open, easing the meds in then.

He hasn't been willing to drink for over 2 months. I will gently spritz his mouth for 10 minutes or drip water onto his snout till I think my arm is going to drop off and he simply will not drink. I put him in a gentle warm shower and he won't drink. The only way I can get water into him is turn all his lights on and get the cage nice and warm. He is hot blooded and starts to pant if the cage gets even a little too warm. Then I sneak a squirt of water into his mouth as he gapes. It's the only way I can get even a little water in him. He used to start drinking when I spritzed his snout but simply stopped around the time he started acting like he didn't feel very well over a couple months ago. I need to try some of these other methods of getting meds into him. I am so nervous about hurting his lips/mouth/tongue with rubber spatchulas, etc.

I had a difficult time sleeping last night worrying about him. I kept getting up and sneaking in with a small flashlight to see if the swelling in his chin had gone down. It hasn't. I still have two more days I need to get meds into him. I am a wreck. I will be heart broken if I permanently injured this little guy following instructions that were risky to his well being. I can't get myself distracted from the stress of worrying about this little guy. This is really hard on both of us. I hope we can get through this and this swelling will come down. I feel like I am stuck in something like "Groundhog Day From Hell."

He hasn't eaten any crickets for over a week now. He was eating one to three wax worms per day but now hasn't eaten anything for three days. If he stops eating all together I don't know what I will do. It's too much to put him through to continue forcing him to take these meds and then if I have to force feed him food too..., I just can't contemplate going there. We are praying for some sort of miracle here but are very worried about the outcome for Marty.

 

[jglefler]

Well, a little bit of encouraging news. I had an idea that I tried. Thankfully Marty came up to bask again today. I turned all of his lights on to heat things up and get him gaping. When he started to gape I took a pair of super long tweezers and tucked a wax worm in his open mouth. At first it looked as if he would spit it out. But, yea, he swallowed it. At least this gives me a fairly stress free way of getting some nourishment into the boy.

 

[jglefler]

Great! The swelling looks like it may be going down a little bit? But, the other good news is this. I combined both meds into one syringe (the vet's office said this was OK). He was gaping again and my wife was quick on the draw. She was able to get the meds into Marty's mouth before he pulled back and closed his mouth. If we can pull this off again tomorrow we are all done. Then it's just a waiting game to see if he continues to improve. I am SO thankful that I didn't have to mess with the little guy's chin any more.

 

[hallenhe]

Good luck with him! - Yeah, it's always best if you can get them when their mouth's open anyway.

 

[jglefler]

Good luck with him! - Yeah, it's always best if you can get them when their mouth's open anyway.

Thanks so much. Right you are. This is DEFINITELY the way to go. The swelling in his chin is starting to come down for sure. He loves the new PowerSun basking bulb and seems very happy under it. We have gotten a lot of water in him by using the gaping/force-feeding method. This is very encouraging. I now think this little guy is going to make it. I am so thankful.

 

[jglefler]

Good bye Marty

Today was very hard for my wife and me. Little Marty is gone. He seemed to be doing a little better for awhile. We were able to get food and water in him as he gaped and we were hoping he would recover. Yesterday he took a turn for the worse and was in awful shape. He kept trying to climb his branches and would fall. His eyes were somewhat sunken in and at times he would start a panicked wobbly run as if he were running from death itself. He was so bad that I thought he died several times yesterday. He would release a small gust of breath, drop his head, and I would think he died. Then he would perk up a bit later on. We found that if we wrapped him loosely in a warmed hand towel, leaving a small peep hole, and held in our lap he would be comforted and calm down. He slept in the towel for hours. It was a tough day. He seemed so far gone that a trip to the vet seemed pointless. We were surprised he was still alive at the end of the day. We put towels in the bottom of his soft-sided travel cage and he settled in for the evening. This morning he seemed a bit better but still critical. He was at least alert enough to make me think he may go on like this for perhaps days. I couldn't let him go through this nightmare anymore. I took him to the vet for his opinion to be sure. Marty was asleep when I got him to the vet. Then, of course, he brightened his colors and perked his eyes up. He looked beautiful and acted almost healthy one last time. The vet thought he only had a 10% chance of pulling through and recommended putting him to sleep.

One word of caution to anyone reading this thread. Please think twice before you do the chin/chest pressure routine for giving meds. I know my vet meant well in giving me these instructions but I think the resulting injuries to Marty's chest contributed to his death. It was, at the least, one more battle he didn't need. Wait for your cham to gape and then give them meds, food, etc.

Marty fought so hard to live and we will miss him so. I can barely breathe due to the heaviness in my chest and the sadness in my heart. I feel as if I need to get up and move because the grief is too heavy to stay still. But, there is always more grief waiting for me no mater where I go or what I do. When I look at his dark cage I drop my face into my hands and sob. It was a brightly lit piece of sunshine in our lives as long as little Marty was there. Now, it is dark and cold without our baby. I will NEVER forget you Marty...


Thanks for all your help and support.

 

[summoner12]

I am sorry to hear! You did what you could with him. At least you can take what you learned with you.

 

[serenitystarlite]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[pssh]

I'm sorry for your loss, at least you learned something from it.

Don't feel bad if you feel like you need another Cham, not to replace him, but to fill the emply space that his cage took up. It seems to make it worse when you have an empty cage reminding you of what happened... sometimes a baby helps to take your mind off things.

 

[ProudPapaJohn]

Sorry to hear about Marty. From reading this thread it sounds like you did all you could. The one thing I HATE about chams is even when healthy, in the perfect environment, with the best of care, etc, their life span is too short for my liking. So love em and enjoy em as much as you can because you don't know how much time you have. Again, sorry for your loss.

 

[jglefler]

I'm sorry for your loss, at least you learned something from it.

Don't feel bad if you feel like you need another Cham, not to replace him, but to fill the emply space that his cage took up. It seems to make it worse when you have an empty cage reminding you of what happened... sometimes a baby helps to take your mind off things.

Thanks for all the kind support from everyone. A kind word from someone who truly understands what you are going through is worth so much. That is but one of the many wonderful things about this forum and the friends who gather and support each other here. People here understand, because, they are chameleon lovers.

As to a new baby... I used to think I would always have a chameleon. I have come to love these little guys more than I ever thought possible. Sometimes I watch videos of them for eons on YouTube. But then, I love all critters. I even think opossums are cute. Even when they are hissing. But I started to realize, when Marty got ill, that my heart can't take this again. That's not just grief speaking. I decided this before I was sure he would die. Just the stress and worry over them when they get sick makes me crazy. Having one of these magnificent creatures is a bit like trying to to herd cats. You need a strong mindset, lots of knowledge, a fair amount of luck, and be willing to have your heart broken when things go wrong.

I love your advice and think it would be perfect for many heart broken chamers in my situation. Unfortunately I just can't lay my heart on the railroad tracks again.

I had to take his cage and lights down so I could walk through the room without coming unglued. Now the empty corner is haunting me. We have all been here in one way or another at one time or another. I know that the only thing that will really help is the passing of time. But there's a lot of heavy heart ache between here and there.

Thanks again to everyone. Even if I don't hog up forum space replying to all of the kindness, I read and am comforted by every single supportive comment. All of the kind comments are precious at a time like this.

 

[hallenhe]

I am very, very sorry to hear about Marty. It's hard to lose them, and hard to see the empty cages once they're gone. You did far more than most people would have for him, and I hope when you've properly grieved him that you aren't put off chams for good, but will have the chance to try again, this time with a well-started animal that isn't coming to you with a couple strikes against it. Kudos for all you did for him.

Edit: I wrote this before your last post was up, and certainly respect your decision to not have another cham. They are altogether too short-lived.

 

[jglefler]

I am very, very sorry to hear about Marty. It's hard to lose them, and hard to see the empty cages once they're gone. You did far more than most people would have for him, and I hope when you've properly grieved him that you aren't put off chams for good, but will have the chance to try again, this time with a well-started animal that isn't coming to you with a couple strikes against it. Kudos for all you did for him.

Edit: I wrote this before your last post was up, and certainly respect your decision to not have another cham. They are altogether too short-lived.

Thank you so much. You, like everyone, have been so helpful and kind. Having a chameleon is somewhat like driving through the south in the summer with your windows down. You suddenly experience the sweetest of smells. It is like the breath of heaven. It is wild honeysuckle. But then, in a flash... it is gone. Sweet things like the smell of wild honeysuckle and the brilliant flash of majestically casqued green pass before us all too quickly.