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My poor little Charlize seems to be heading back downhill. Here’s the story for those of you who are not familiar with Charlize and myself.
Charlize is a juvenile Jackson’s Chameleon that I rescued from Petco. She was being kept in deplorable conditions and the vet said she would have been dead within the week had I left her there. She was kept in a small glass tank with a single long branch for her to cling to, the humidity was nearly 0%, the temperature was around 70 degrees, she had no UVB, and it appeared she was only being fed meal worms which had burrowed down into the dirt substrate they had her on. Her right eye was infected and swollen shut, she was malnourished and would not eat, her skin was dry and brittle, she had lesions around her mouth, and throat, and had clearly given up on life. I took her home and did my best to tend to her, which included numerous vet visits. Her eye seemed to heal with time, medicine and care; however, it never fully returned to normal. It appears the infection caused permanent damage, and I believe her to be blind in that eye. Under @Andee 's instruction I have been syringe feeding her for the majority of the time I’ve hard her. Within the last could of weeks I have been trying to encourage her to eat on her own by cup feeding her, but she has not taken to it. I’ve returned to syringe feeding, as I fear she can not hunt with out the use of her right eye. I had a breakthrough about two weeks back when she finally shed. It was a long process but we got through it without any complications. Unfortunately, despite this seeming;y like good news things have been downhill since then.
Charlize now sleeps almost 24/7. She almost never opens her eyes, even when I move her or feed her. This does not surprise me for her bad eye, but her good eye never seemed to have any issues and still looks healthy. Despite this she refuses to open her eyes and almost never moves. While trying to cup feed I would place her on the cup so she would be aware of it, and often I would come back later to find her in the exact same position. She rarely searches out a basking spot, so I manually put her in an area that she can bask. All in all I’m not sure what more I can do for her. I’ve tired to give her as ideal of a life as possible, but it seems my efforts are for not. I am defeated and depressed, and truly sad I have not been able to help her. She’s only been in my care for a few months, but I already cherish her and so desperately want to see her happy and healthy.
At this point I just don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to seek out a reptile rescue and send her there in the hopes of some professionals being able to help her. However, I fear shipping would only worsen her situation. Furthermore, I fear she’s just beyond help with how comatose she’s become. As much as it breaks my heart I’m curious if putting her down is the right choice. As I said, I do cherish her despite the little time I’ve had her. Still, her comfort is what matters most to me. If anyone has any input I would be oh so grateful. I'm posting this in general discussion because I'm more interested in advice for moving forward, as opposed to specific health advice. Between talking to members on here and a few veterinarians I feel there's not much more I can do for her. I would get some current pictures of her, but I don't want to bother her any more right now. I'll try and get some the next time I feed her.
Charlize is a juvenile Jackson’s Chameleon that I rescued from Petco. She was being kept in deplorable conditions and the vet said she would have been dead within the week had I left her there. She was kept in a small glass tank with a single long branch for her to cling to, the humidity was nearly 0%, the temperature was around 70 degrees, she had no UVB, and it appeared she was only being fed meal worms which had burrowed down into the dirt substrate they had her on. Her right eye was infected and swollen shut, she was malnourished and would not eat, her skin was dry and brittle, she had lesions around her mouth, and throat, and had clearly given up on life. I took her home and did my best to tend to her, which included numerous vet visits. Her eye seemed to heal with time, medicine and care; however, it never fully returned to normal. It appears the infection caused permanent damage, and I believe her to be blind in that eye. Under @Andee 's instruction I have been syringe feeding her for the majority of the time I’ve hard her. Within the last could of weeks I have been trying to encourage her to eat on her own by cup feeding her, but she has not taken to it. I’ve returned to syringe feeding, as I fear she can not hunt with out the use of her right eye. I had a breakthrough about two weeks back when she finally shed. It was a long process but we got through it without any complications. Unfortunately, despite this seeming;y like good news things have been downhill since then.
Charlize now sleeps almost 24/7. She almost never opens her eyes, even when I move her or feed her. This does not surprise me for her bad eye, but her good eye never seemed to have any issues and still looks healthy. Despite this she refuses to open her eyes and almost never moves. While trying to cup feed I would place her on the cup so she would be aware of it, and often I would come back later to find her in the exact same position. She rarely searches out a basking spot, so I manually put her in an area that she can bask. All in all I’m not sure what more I can do for her. I’ve tired to give her as ideal of a life as possible, but it seems my efforts are for not. I am defeated and depressed, and truly sad I have not been able to help her. She’s only been in my care for a few months, but I already cherish her and so desperately want to see her happy and healthy.
At this point I just don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to seek out a reptile rescue and send her there in the hopes of some professionals being able to help her. However, I fear shipping would only worsen her situation. Furthermore, I fear she’s just beyond help with how comatose she’s become. As much as it breaks my heart I’m curious if putting her down is the right choice. As I said, I do cherish her despite the little time I’ve had her. Still, her comfort is what matters most to me. If anyone has any input I would be oh so grateful. I'm posting this in general discussion because I'm more interested in advice for moving forward, as opposed to specific health advice. Between talking to members on here and a few veterinarians I feel there's not much more I can do for her. I would get some current pictures of her, but I don't want to bother her any more right now. I'll try and get some the next time I feed her.
