My Chameleon Fell While Sleeping

[WazerWifle]

Hello, My healthy 4 - 5 month old Veiled chameleon (Billy) was sleeping in his usual sleeping spot, almost 5 hours in I hear a loud thump and in that moment a rush of urgency goes through my body. I quickly rush to his enclosure to find him laying on the ground head first bottom half up. My heart sunk, I thought he was dead so I quickly grab a light to inspect him. I shine the light on his head and I slowly see him open his eyes. I was still super worried so I waited a couple more seconds. He quickly got up and rushed up his plants and branches. I know that chameleons have very fragile bones and I am extremely worried at the moment. I am hoping that I can get some advice on what to do. He seems to be okay, a lot more calm than usual, he seems to be in shock because usually he gets somewhat cranky when I invade his territory for upkeep. So far he seems to be okay but the fall was at least a foot and a half so I am not sure if he is entirely okay. I did notice some types of scratch marks on the right side of his head and mouth but his vision seems to be okay. This is the first time something like this ever happened and I am not sure what to do. I am hoping that I can get some advice. Thank you.

Sleeping spot (Under Leaf)

The photo shows how much he fell (Top of photo to bottom of enclosure)

Found him here with head on green mat and bottom portion of body on the small plant pot

Left side

Right side (Scratch near eye and right over the upper part of his mouth)

Full Body Left

Full body right

Sorry for the bad quality photos, I appreciate the help

 

[WazerWifle]

I should also mention that he does not want to go back to his enclosure but instead decided to climb up my arm after attempting to put him back in. It is currently 1 AM and he seems fine. My biggest worry is probably his breathing (Although it's probably me just overreacting). When he gets aggressive and puffs up his breathing sounds different than the other times he puffed up before tonight. Right now as I am typing he tried to catch nothing with his tongue (shoots tongue out and hits the screen mesh) (I was able to put him back in his enclosure)

 

[cham_urchin]

I'm not a very experienced keeper, and can only offer basic advice until others see your post. If your guy is moving normally and is able to climb and balance, and breathing calms, I don't think its an emergency. Tomorrow, you should consider making an appointment with a exotics vet (preferably with chameleon experience) to have him looked at.

If you haven't yet, once he's been checked out, circle back here and provide information about your husbandry via the questionaire so you can make sure you are providing him with everything he needs to stay healthy.

Good luck!

 

[Beman]

So he should not be falling. Was he sleeping on the screen and lost his grip? I would look him over today. Watch his movements if anything seems off then take him into a reptile Vet.

I am however concerned about the falling. When you get time we would be happy to look over your husbandry for him to ensure you were given all the right info and items to take care of him.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[WazerWifle]

I'm not a very experienced keeper, and can only offer basic advice until others see your post. If your guy is moving normally and is able to climb and balance, and breathing calms, I don't think its an emergency. Tomorrow, you should consider making an appointment with a exotics vet (preferably with chameleon experience) to have him looked at.

If you haven't yet, once he's been checked out, circle back here and provide information about your husbandry via the questionaire so you can make sure you are providing him with everything he needs to stay healthy.

Good luck!

Woke up this morning and he seems to be completely fine. Climbed up to his basking spot without difficulty and has good balance even on the thinnest branches. I checked all over the place for any type of bruising and found nothing. I will keep an eye on him throughout the day and take note of his activities and performance. Thank you so much, I really appreciate the help. I will fill out the questionnaire right away because I want to make sure everything is good to go.

 

[salty dog]

I find the more branches i put in viv zip tied to each other the more sturdy they are

 

[WazerWifle]

So he should not be falling. Was he sleeping on the screen and lost his grip? I would look him over today. Watch his movements if anything seems off then take him into a reptile Vet.

I am however concerned about the falling. When you get time we would be happy to look over your husbandry for him to ensure you were given all the right info and items to take care of him.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

He was sleeping on a vine under a leaf. That is where he always sleeps so it caught be by surprise that he fell while asleep. I have no idea how he fell but I know for sure he fell. So far he hasn't shown any unusual activity, everything seems a normal morning for him. I checked all over his body for bruising and found nothing. Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, 4-5 months old. 2 months in my care
• Handling - Almost never, He really hates when I invade his territory. Probably only held him about 3 times and I was lucky.
• Feeding - Crickets, sometimes small amounts of leafy greens. 15-20 dusted crickets a day. I feed him everyday. I feed my crickets Collard greens, Mustard greens, sometimes kale, carrots, apples, oranges, I usually change it up everyday.
• Supplements - I dust my crickets everyday with Repashy Calcium NoD3, Once a week with Repti Calcium D3, once a week with Herptivite multivitamins, and once a month I put a drop of preformed vitamin A on a cricket.
• Watering - I have a drip system and I also mist the enclosure 2 times a day for about 2 - 3 minutes. I always spot my chameleon drinking either from dripper or from drops on near by leafs.
• Fecal Description - Feces is almost black in color and firm. Consistent in shape and size.
• History - He has never had any problems. I had him when he was only the size of my thumb

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Since I got him super little I have him in a 16x16x30 screen mesh cage. I plan on moving him to the big 31" L X 31" W X 56" H cage that I have sometime this week.
• Lighting - Currently for the small cage I use a reptisun 10.0 uv bulb with a reptile heat bulb. But I have a T5 Ho 30" ready with 2 daylights and a 12% Arcadia light and a plant growth light. I also have a separate heating bulb with its own fixture ready for the big cage. Lights are on for 12 hours from 7 to 7.
• Temperature - At the top of the cage it is about 85 - 90 degrees Fahrenheit and slowly drops to around 75 at the bottom and about 77 in the middle. lowest overnight temp is 75 degrees. I measure the temp with a thermometer.
• Humidity - I keep the humidity level at around 25% to 50%. I mist the enclosure 2 to 3 times a day and I measure the humidity with a hydrometer.
• Plants -I am using a mix of live and fake plants. I have a golden pothos and a medium hibiscus in with a lot of fake foliage and vines.
• Placement - The cage is located in my room. It is near but not directly near to a fan. The very top of the cage is about 6 and a half feet high.
• Location - I am located in California.

Current Problem - I was concerned about my chameleon falling while it was asleep.

If I am doing something wrong I would appreciate the advice, Thank you so much.

 

[WazerWifle]

I find the more branches i put in viv zip tied to each other the more sturdy they are

I'm planning on doing that, It would allow my chameleon to have better grip. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Beman]

@CamoChameleonsHuman @JoXie411 @Daesie11 I am moving until Saturday could you go over there help form please.

 

[Daesie11]

Honestly it looks like most of your care is good aside from the cage size and the lighting on your small cage. You need to get your cham in to the large cage with the T5 lighting asap. It's very possible that in the last 2 months with inadequate UVB your cham developed MBD. It's probably still in the early stages, but your cham needs that light right now. Loose grip is definitely a symptom of MBD. I would recommend a vet visit as well of course, just to rule out anything else. Other than fixing the lighting, I'm not sure what other sort of steps you could take to treat the MBD as I am not experienced in that, but a cham vet would definitely be able to tell you. Not sure if possibly you could adjust your supplementation to help your cham regain some bone density or what not, but I'm sure others will chime in with info

 

[JoXie411]

^ agree with above only in put I have is that temp is to hot for that baby. You have him on adult levels of heat. You want to bring it down to 80-85 for him right now also you want to get your humility lvls higher at night

 

[WazerWifle]

Honestly it looks like most of your care is good aside from the cage size and the lighting on your small cage. You need to get your cham in to the large cage with the T5 lighting asap. It's very possible that in the last 2 months with inadequate UVB your cham developed MBD. It's probably still in the early stages, but your cham needs that light right now. Loose grip is definitely a symptom of MBD. I would recommend a vet visit as well of course, just to rule out anything else. Other than fixing the lighting, I'm not sure what other sort of steps you could take to treat the MBD as I am not experienced in that, but a cham vet would definitely be able to tell you. Not sure if possibly you could adjust your supplementation to help your cham regain some bone density or what not, but I'm sure others will chime in with info

Thank you for the information, I was a bit worried about having him in the small cage with the 10.0 uv bulb for too long. Luckily he will be moved over tomorrow and hopefully on track to a very happy and healthy life. I will get him checked up by the vet soon. I really appreciate the help.

 

[WazerWifle]

^ agree with above only in put I have is that temp is to hot for that baby. You have him on adult levels of heat. You want to bring it down to 80-85 for him right now also you want to get your humility lvls higher at night

Thank you, I will correct the temp and humidity immediately, I really appreciate the information.

 

[Daesie11]

Thank you for the information, I was a bit worried about having him in the small cage with the 10.0 uv bulb for too long. Luckily he will be moved over tomorrow and hopefully on track to a very happy and healthy life. I will get him checked up by the vet soon. I really appreciate the help.

As long as you have enough cover for him to get out of the UV when necessary it should be fine