my chameleon is dehydrated and sunken?

ashaleah

ashaleah

New Member
im really scared that my chameleon may be dehydrated and that is causing his eyes to be all sunken. both my chameleons seem to be a little bit more lethargic and our male flap neck has a growth on his chin. hes the one that seems to be worse than our female. his grip is still strong and hes still "arrogant" but he just gets those moments where he seems different. our female is super lethargic and she seems to be putting on a lot of weight. at first we thought that she may be pregnant...but then as we waited we realized that she hadnt laid any eggs and that she just stayed sluggish. its our first time having chameleons and we are afraid that if we dont act fast that we might be letting them get more sick and die. please respond if you have any advice!
thank you so much!
 
Fill this out the best you can, and details are important.

Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about
 
thank you so much! we are so worried about our chameleons. we have an appt set up with a vet. but its so scary when you know that they are not themselves. its like having children...you get paranoid when you know something is wrong even when they cant tell you. omg...we are freaking out!
 
reg info

we have a bamboo with peat moss and soil
we have a waterfall
fake plants
usually 77-80 F
night time 77 F
90 F hottest at basking temp
5X2X1
started using vita spray
tried feeding crickets oranges (fruit)
we use wipe out to clean cage
shedding aid
and reptisafe for the water
50-70% humidity
mist every so often
feed them meal worm, wax worm, and crickets
regular gutload
and calcium gutload twice a month
two UVA UVC full spectrum light
and one night simulator
their fecal matter looks normal
 
Ill point out a few things why your chameleons may be dehydrated.
1) chameleons live in trees and dont normally recognize standing water ie: a waterfall as something to drink. You need to mist them 3 times a day and have a dripper goin all day. A simple dixie cup with a pin hole in the bottom will supply them with a water source.
2) are they living together in the same cage?
If so you need to seperate them into their own enclosures.

Ditch the waterfall! they are a breeding ground for bacteria.
No substrate on the bottom of the cage.
Are you using a light that emitts UVB?
You can put them in your shower on a plant, and this is great for hydrating your chameleons.
Dont let the water hit them directly either.
Keep them in the shower for a good 30 mins.
 
You said..."we have a bamboo with peat moss and soil"...its recommended not to use a substrate with arboreal chameleons. Its too easy for them to ingest some of it and end up with an impaction.

You said..."we have a waterfall"...these are also not recommended. They are hard to keep bacteria free.

You said..."started using vita spray"...not familiar with this product.

You said "tried feeding crickets oranges (fruit)"...you can feed the crickets a wide variety of greens (dandelion, collards, kale, endive, escarole, mustard greens) and veggies (squash, carrots, zucchini, sweet red peppers, sweet potatoes, etc.)

You said..."mist every so often"...you should be misting them every day at least once and you could be using a drip system too. It can be as simple as a container with a tiny hole in the bottom of it.

You said..."two UVA UVC full spectrum light"...UVC? Do you not use a UVB? What brand and type (linear or compact)?

You said.."and one night simulator"...do you mean a light? They don't need anything at night unless the temperature gets down into the mid 60's.

Do you keep them in the same cage? Have you provided a place for the female to lay eggs in the cage? Do you dust the insects with anything before you feed them to the chameleons?

Also...can you post pictures and describe the growth on its chin?
 
i meant to say uvb...it came out uvc. its a compact light.
we have the both of them in the same enclosure and im not sure if thats a good idea or not. the whole idea with them being in the same enclosure is so that they can mate. we dont dust the crickets with anything...the gutload we give them has calcium in them. we have provided an area for her to lay eggs but it doesnt seem to matter.
i will get pictures up of his growth asap.
thanks!
 
the compact is generally a bad idea. some brands are fine but most are bad.

i highly advise you dust your crickets even if the gutload is high calcium.

check out brad's site for very detailed husbandry info.
 
Some compact lights cause photo kerato conjuctivitus and maybe other problems.
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm

Most of the insects we use as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous...so most people dust them before feeding them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phosphorous-free calcium powder.

The female is likely quite stressed by the presence of the male, especially if she is gravid. Does she have any bright colored dots on her body? What color is she showing in the background? Does she ever hiss, gape, lunge, etc. at the male? Hide from him?

Here are some sites that you might be interested in looking at...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...als.com/vet/index.php?show=8.Gout.Basics.html
http://www.adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
 
i want to know where i can get calcium dust.
because i know that crickets breathe through their skin...if i dust a whole bunch (like when you get them from the pet store) and dont feed them all at one time to the chameleon theyll die quicker than those that you dont dust at the same time. so where can i get calcium dust?
 
Every pet store carries it.
Just make sure it is Phos. free with D3.
Dont dust them so they look like little ghost running around the cage.
A thin coat or the hindquarters/butt dipped into the calcium is enough.
Also, dust about half of them, and the other half dont need to be.
Dust with calcium with D3 a couple 2x a week for about two weeks.
Once you get it in their system go to every other week once.
The rest of the time you need to be dusting with a calcium without D3 and a vitamin like Herptivite.

I hope that didnt confuse you.

Here is part of my caresheet:
SUPPLEMENTING- This is a key factor in the survival of your chameleon. In captivity we do not supply the chameleon with enough feeders to meet the vitamin/mineral demands of a chameleon. So this is taken care of through dusting and gutloading. Most of the feeders we buy today are high and Phosphorous and low in calcium. There is only one way to take care of this problem. I like to use Herpcares cricket duster because it saves supplement and you don’t need to touch the feeder. Not every cricket needs to be dusted either, nor do they need to look like ghost from being covered in so much calcium. Gutloading is a term used when feeder insects are given food to eat that is rich in nutrients. There are several cricket foods on the market today that can be used. Try to stay away from potatoes because they are very high in phosphorous. There are 3 main supplements used today. My schedule looks like: Mondays and Thursdays- Calcium, Tuesdays and Fridays-Rep Cal Herptivite, Wednesdays and Saturdays- T-Rex Chameleon Formula or Mineral-All(outdoor). A lot of people have their own schedule and tricks. I also rotate every week between Calcium with D3 and without D3. A chameleon can overdose and die from too much D3. You need to be very careful when supplementing a baby chameleon. They can eat up to 20+ crickets a day, and I recommend that you only dust 1/3 of the feeders. You don’t want a buildup of deposits around the nostrils, because chameleons excrete excess minerals and vitamins out of their nostrils
 
the bump

index.cfm


this is the bump i said he had.
i know its not a really good pic. and im sorry
 
no she doesnt do any of those things. he's the one that hisses and lunges at her. he turns a dark dark black when this happens too.

she doesnt have any spots...she usually is yellow in color or a yellow green. sometimes she turns brown.
 
when we purchased our chameleons they told us which one was male and which one is female. i understand that there might have been some confusion as to which was which. but we were told that the males had brighter coloring under their chin (you can see it when they puff up) and the female if she puffs up has a more dull color.
 
compact lights

so i originally had compact lights...but now knowing that it can cause conjuctivitis, what kind of light should i use?
 
Most people use a Repti-sun 5.0 linear/tube light.

Males of some types of flap-necks have tarsal spurs (a bump on the heel)...do either of yours have them? The shape of the base of the tail should also tell you if its a male or female. At the vent, the female's tail starts off narrower. The male's tail is widet and then tapers fairly quickly.

Please keep in mind that these photos may not be the type if flap you have.
This article may help you figure out which species or subspecies you have...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=49

Male...
http://research.calacademy.org/research/herpetology/frogs/pred11.html
http://www.adcham.com/images/images-species/Ch.dilepis/dilepismale.JPG

Female...
http://www.adcham.com/images/images-species/Ch.dilepis/dilepisfemale.JPG
 
Also, no lights or heating at night, unless like stated earlier it's lower than 60. Chams actually benefit from a flucuatiion of temps at night. Sounds like they aren't getting nearly enough water, the right way and way too much heat all day and night. Try that link and do the shower method. Don't be surprised if they panic a little in the beginning. It will take a few minutes but then they will start drinking. A few changes and hopefully you will see a new cham. Also you are going to seperate theml, right?
Debby
 
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