hi everyone 
this is my first post, and my first chameleon - veiled male.
just took my little pal, Jango, in to see the vet (Dr Kevin Wright, board certified in reptiles/amphibians, practices with Dr Johnson at Arizona Exotic Animal Hosp: http://azeah.com/About.asp?id=73) for slight eye problem & possible mild uri (sometimes rubs L. eye, seems not to open fully at times). i also heard one slight wheeze (only heard it once when i positioned his nose practically inside my ear and listened for ~ 30 min of breathing) and a few faint popping sounds when he breathes (few times only). he got his eye flushed (thickened secretions not coming out on their own). not sure if the eye flush helped...just aided him in getting out a very teeny tiny blob of thickened material (clearish-white) from the outside corner of his eye after misting..i saw more in his eye (under magnification), but he rolled his eye which moved it somewhere i couldn't see.
Tx plan includes:
A) 2 daily warm bath soaks for 30 min each, water deep enough to cover his feet, lower legs, cover container w/plastic and put in larger container to maintain steaminess.
B) up his reptivites to q 3 days instead of 4. i was rotating daily: Ca, Cal+D3, sticky tongues Minerall, zoo med reptivites. was told to stop the Ca and only do Ca with D3 (while growing), so now i'm rotating Ca+D3, Minerall and Reptivites (to increase Vit A to aid secretions)
C) fog cage for 1 hour in a.m. prior to lights on time. but i'm thinking i'll fog for 2 hours morning & eve since i live in AZ.
D) continue misting 3-4 times daily
E) baytril PO b.i.d.
F) Ciprofloxacin eye drops t.i.d. - q.i.d.
G) Fecal pending...
nothing was said to me about his size/weight other than hatchlings can vary in size. mine was the smallest of 3 males when i got him, was reportedly 4 months at the time, he's grown since i've had him (purchased late Dec, early Jan), and he's shed twice. he's now 25 grams, which seems small to me. when i went to get crickets last night, i asked specifically how old they were, was told 8 mo, so not sure what's up with that discrepancy. i was also told they were negative for parasites. they use the same vet i do for their store animals
anyway, i'm concerned about his size/weight. shouldn't he be bigger? this is my first cham, and i don't know what's average, nor do i know how to determine it since there seems to be a question about his age. Jango hunts, is an active feeder, always has food available. sometimes, he misses his target and gives up on that attempt. i don't think he's too thin, his tail is nice and plump, i just think he's small maybe (depending on his real age, which i don't know).
i REALLY love my little guy and i'm very meticulous about his care. i just want to make sure i'm doing EVERYTHING right. i have a good cham cage (screened with 1 wall glass) for baby to juvie sized chams, 10 UVB light, 50 Watt basking spot ~ 6 inches above his perch, right temps for day/night, eats crickets, roaches (not as much as crickets) and wax worms (4 to 6 every day, i feed these from my hand which he LOVES, he snags them so fast, immediately! but then he doesn't ever want anymore after he's had 2 or 3, until later in the day)
as of today, am monitoring his appetite CLOSELY, seems slightly less interested in his food than usual, just yesterday and today. also, this morning he seemed not to want to 'shoot' his tongue out, rather he got close and gently took the cricket. i'm just monitoring to see if it's a real issue or just a temporary. i checked his mouth, gums, tongue, jaw...all looked good from what i could see. i'm very gentle with giving him oral meds too. does anyone know if baytril/enrofloxacin causes a decreased appetite?
ok, thanks for 'listening', didn't mean to write a book
this is my first post, and my first chameleon - veiled male.just took my little pal, Jango, in to see the vet (Dr Kevin Wright, board certified in reptiles/amphibians, practices with Dr Johnson at Arizona Exotic Animal Hosp: http://azeah.com/About.asp?id=73) for slight eye problem & possible mild uri (sometimes rubs L. eye, seems not to open fully at times). i also heard one slight wheeze (only heard it once when i positioned his nose practically inside my ear and listened for ~ 30 min of breathing) and a few faint popping sounds when he breathes (few times only). he got his eye flushed (thickened secretions not coming out on their own). not sure if the eye flush helped...just aided him in getting out a very teeny tiny blob of thickened material (clearish-white) from the outside corner of his eye after misting..i saw more in his eye (under magnification), but he rolled his eye which moved it somewhere i couldn't see.
Tx plan includes:
A) 2 daily warm bath soaks for 30 min each, water deep enough to cover his feet, lower legs, cover container w/plastic and put in larger container to maintain steaminess.
B) up his reptivites to q 3 days instead of 4. i was rotating daily: Ca, Cal+D3, sticky tongues Minerall, zoo med reptivites. was told to stop the Ca and only do Ca with D3 (while growing), so now i'm rotating Ca+D3, Minerall and Reptivites (to increase Vit A to aid secretions)
C) fog cage for 1 hour in a.m. prior to lights on time. but i'm thinking i'll fog for 2 hours morning & eve since i live in AZ.
D) continue misting 3-4 times daily
E) baytril PO b.i.d.
F) Ciprofloxacin eye drops t.i.d. - q.i.d.
G) Fecal pending...
nothing was said to me about his size/weight other than hatchlings can vary in size. mine was the smallest of 3 males when i got him, was reportedly 4 months at the time, he's grown since i've had him (purchased late Dec, early Jan), and he's shed twice. he's now 25 grams, which seems small to me. when i went to get crickets last night, i asked specifically how old they were, was told 8 mo, so not sure what's up with that discrepancy. i was also told they were negative for parasites. they use the same vet i do for their store animals
anyway, i'm concerned about his size/weight. shouldn't he be bigger? this is my first cham, and i don't know what's average, nor do i know how to determine it since there seems to be a question about his age. Jango hunts, is an active feeder, always has food available. sometimes, he misses his target and gives up on that attempt. i don't think he's too thin, his tail is nice and plump, i just think he's small maybe (depending on his real age, which i don't know).
i REALLY love my little guy and i'm very meticulous about his care. i just want to make sure i'm doing EVERYTHING right. i have a good cham cage (screened with 1 wall glass) for baby to juvie sized chams, 10 UVB light, 50 Watt basking spot ~ 6 inches above his perch, right temps for day/night, eats crickets, roaches (not as much as crickets) and wax worms (4 to 6 every day, i feed these from my hand which he LOVES, he snags them so fast, immediately! but then he doesn't ever want anymore after he's had 2 or 3, until later in the day)
as of today, am monitoring his appetite CLOSELY, seems slightly less interested in his food than usual, just yesterday and today. also, this morning he seemed not to want to 'shoot' his tongue out, rather he got close and gently took the cricket. i'm just monitoring to see if it's a real issue or just a temporary. i checked his mouth, gums, tongue, jaw...all looked good from what i could see. i'm very gentle with giving him oral meds too. does anyone know if baytril/enrofloxacin causes a decreased appetite?
ok, thanks for 'listening', didn't mean to write a book
