Need advice for my veiled chameleon

[Reptile mama]

Yesterday afternoon i came home from work to find that my male (unsure of age) veiled chameleon had either fallen off his basking perch (approximately 12") or slipped while trying to get a drink of water from his water dish and got his front leg caught between a branch and he was trapped on his side in his water dish partially submerged in water. I don't know how long he was there but he seemed exhausted when i pulled him out. He was very calm at first and then when I returned him to his cage, he hissed at me and puffed up and any movement I made. At first he stayed at the bottom of his cage but then in the evening he started climbing again so I assumed he was feeling better. However, today when I returned home from work, he was sideways on the bottom of his cage holding his legs. I removed him from the cage and placed him in a small container to examine him closely and he made no attempt to right himself. I'm uncertain if I should return him to his cage. I recently lost a female veiled chameleon who exhibited the same behaviour, however I never determined if she fell or not either. I'm afraid to lose another baby :-(

I keep him in a standard mesh cage that you can get from petco/petsmart and the temp is usually between 70-80 degrees in the room.

Please give any advice you can

 

[lycan_megura0523]

you need to get him to a vet ASAP that isn't a good sign at all.

 

[Patrick.1974]

Yesterday afternoon i came home from work to find that my male (unsure of age) veiled chameleon had either fallen off his basking perch (approximately 12") or slipped while trying to get a drink of water from his water dish and got his front leg caught between a branch and he was trapped on his side in his water dish partially submerged in water. I don't know how long he was there but he seemed exhausted when i pulled him out. He was very calm at first and then when I returned him to his cage, he hissed at me and puffed up and any movement I made. At first he stayed at the bottom of his cage but then in the evening he started climbing again so I assumed he was feeling better. However, today when I returned home from work, he was sideways on the bottom of his cage holding his legs. I removed him from the cage and placed him in a small container to examine him closely and he made no attempt to right himself. I'm uncertain if I should return him to his cage. I recently lost a female veiled chameleon who exhibited the same behaviour, however I never determined if she fell or not either. I'm afraid to lose another baby :-(

I keep him in a standard mesh cage that you can get from petco/petsmart and the temp is usually between 70-80 degrees in the room.

Please give any advice you can

This sounds like MBD, and I agree with the take him to the vet advice- they can give him a shot of calcium and medicine to give daily.
Are you feeding him crickets dusted with calcium without d3? When is the last time you changed his bulbs?
They need UVA to metabolize calcium otherwise they get MBD even if you are properly dusting them

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Also, you should definitely remove the water dish and get a misting system set up. They don't normally drink from standing water, and if they do, it is usually out of desperation. Bacteria can grow in the dishes, which can get them sick. I agree with @lycan_megura0523, vet ASAP. Can you fill out this form please? Also, if you could post some pictures, that would be very beneficial.

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?

 

[blue_cham]

Poor guy! I can't add anything more but please keep us posted!

 

[Reptile mama]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I fully intended on taking him to the vet and reassessing his habitat, but when I arrived home from work he was already gone. I'm heartbroken that I lost my friend. I cant believe it happened so fast. I didnt even get a chance to try. Thanks again to everyone and if I decide to get another one one day, I will be sure to do extended research.

To answer your questions, he had a drip water system that dripped into the dish that he was trapped in. Is this something I should reconsider using in the future?

His diet consisted of mealworms dusted with repticalcium.

 

[lycan_megura0523]

I am sorry you lost your baby. Personally I hate the drip system and would do away with it and purchase a misting system. I have Mist King system for my chameleons that works perfect they stay hydrated and I also hand mist a few times a day and I don't have to worry about bowls or anything like that. Also I would suggest you not use meal worms anymore they can be hard on the digestive system of the chameleons. I use gut loaded crickets, roaches and super worm with an occasional butterworm, waxworm, and hornworm as well as Repashy calcium Plus.

 

[Fiona's Mom]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I fully intended on taking him to the vet and reassessing his habitat, but when I arrived home from work he was already gone. I'm heartbroken that I lost my friend. I cant believe it happened so fast. I didnt even get a chance to try. Thanks again to everyone and if I decide to get another one one day, I will be sure to do extended research.

To answer your questions, he had a drip water system that dripped into the dish that he was trapped in. Is this something I should reconsider using in the future?

His diet consisted of mealworms dusted with repticalcium.

I always use netting to cover the container that catches water from my drip system to avoid drowning. Sorry for your loss.

 

[blue_cham]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I fully intended on taking him to the vet and reassessing his habitat, but when I arrived home from work he was already gone. I'm heartbroken that I lost my friend. I cant believe it happened so fast. I didnt even get a chance to try. Thanks again to everyone and if I decide to get another one one day, I will be sure to do extended research.

To answer your questions, he had a drip water system that dripped into the dish that he was trapped in. Is this something I should reconsider using in the future?

His diet consisted of mealworms dusted with repticalcium.

So sorry for your loss if you do decide on another, the community will be happy to help with advice on setup and husbandry.

The biggest thing about this case, it sounds a lot like mbd or vitamin deficient. Chams don't loose their grip or slip when they are healthy. Mbd is prevented by good uvb light and periodic dusting of feeders with D3 (usually recommended twice a month). Also a vitamin supplement about twice a month.

Chams naturally drink water from the surface of leaves. If you go with a dripper again, be sure that it drops onto some leaves before reaching the bowl, this should stimulate better drinking. Misters are nice, they wet a lot of the cage, keep humidity up and allow the Cham to wash their eyes.

As for mealworms, I hear this a lot from petstores. And I believe that once upon a time, mealworms we're common for Chams as a staple, before we learned better. They tend to be high in chitin(sp?) and can cause issues, especially for under hydrated Chams. The occasional one shouldn't hurt but they make a poor staple diet feeder.

Take care of yourself, and once again, sorry for the loss of your boy