Need help with Vield Chameleon

[Blue Iguana Exotics]

Just today my adult female is having a great deal of trouble breathing. she is very light in color and eyes are slightly sunken in. I think she might be over heated and that my thermometer is wrong. But honestly I don't know what i wrong. Any one have any ideas, please help. She has been eating well and up till do days has not had any problems.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Female, 2 years old, I have had her for 3 month at most
Handling - not very often mostly only for cleaning her cage, once a week.
Feeding - mainly crickets, some worms. Ate 12 crickets yesterday, has not shown any decrease in appetites, crickets are feed a high Calcium food, and lettuce mainly for water.
Supplements - Sticky Tongue Farms calcium/mineral supplement used lightly every 3 days
Watering - Using a mister system 2 - 3 times daily for 1 - 2 min durations. She doesn't drink often but does drink.
Fecal Description - Urine white with a litter bit of orange coloring. Don't have resent feces cage was clean last night. We have not had her tested for parasites, unsure if the last owner did


Cage Info:
Cage Type - 65gl screen 30x28.5x16.5"
Lighting - UVB Florescent 5.0 zoomed repti sun, and a heat lamp, 10 hour daily schedule
Temperature - Basking 100F overall high 85F overall low 80F
Humidity - lowest 45 high 75
Plants - mix of live and fake, live plant is philodendron non-toxic
Placement - On a table in a separate room with low traffic area, no fans, vents, or air conditioners, window open occasionally.
Location - high mountains in AZ
Current Problem - Closed sunken eyes, weak, light coloration, great difficulty breathing. She seems to he inhaling deep large breaths and holding it. I have given her some water because she does seem dehydrated. she is showing some sighs of improvement.

Thanks for any ideas

 

[DavidBuchan]

just today my adult female is having a great deal of trouble breathing. she is very light in color and eyes are slightly sunken in. I think she might be over heated and that my thermometer is wrong. But honestly I don't know what i wrong. Any one have any ideas, please help. She has been eating well and up till do days has not had any problems.

If her eyes are sunken she is dehydrated. Give a long, lukewarm misting. Breathing troubles are often very serious - I would always recommend a Vet asap.

If you fill out the form someone better qualified than me might be able to give some ideas


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.


Pictures are helpful

 

[ataraxia]

Just today my adult female is having a great deal of trouble breathing. she is very light in color and eyes are slightly sunken in. I think she might be over heated and that my thermometer is wrong. But honestly I don't know what i wrong. Any one have any ideas, please help. She has been eating well and up till do days has not had any problems.

very light usually means they are hot and with a basking spot of 100*...she is hot. eyes sunkin in usually is sign of dehydration or illness. trouble breathing..is she wheezing, head pointed up, bubbles in or around the mouth?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Female, 2 years old, I have had her for 3 month at most
Handling - not very often mostly only for cleaning her cage, once a week.
Feeding - mainly crickets, some worms. Ate 12 crickets yesterday, has not shown any decrease in appetites, crickets are feed a high Calcium food, and lettuce mainly for water.
Supplements - Sticky Tongue Farms calcium/mineral supplement used lightly every 3 days start a recommended supplement schedule that most on here use. plain phos free calcium every feeding, calcium with d3 twice a month and a multivitamin like herptivite twice a month.
Watering - Using a mister system 2 - 3 times daily for 1 - 2 min durations. She doesn't drink often but does drink. what type of system? do you change the settings alot? normal misting on a cham should consist of 2-3 sessions at 3-5 minutes.
Fecal Description - Urine white with a litter bit of orange coloring. Don't have resent feces cage was clean last night. We have not had her tested for parasites, unsure if the last owner didorange coloring suggest dehydration.


Cage Info:
Cage Type - 65gl screen 30x28.5x16.5"
Lighting - UVB Florescent 5.0 zoomed repti sun, and a heat lamp, 10 hour daily schedule what kind of heat lamp?
Temperature - Basking 100F overall high 85F overall low 80F
Humidity - lowest 45 high 75temps for a female should be low 80's basking / 72 ambients with 60's night time temps.
Plants - mix of live and fake, live plant is philodendron non-toxicis the soil covered?
Placement - On a table in a separate room with low traffic area, no fans, vents, or air conditioners, window open occasionally.
Location - high mountains in AZ
Current Problem - Closed sunken eyes, weak, light coloration, great difficulty breathing. She seems to he inhaling deep large breaths and holding it. I have given her some water because she does seem dehydrated. she is showing some sighs of improvement.

Thanks for any ideas

see the colored text in the quote. also has she ever laid any eggs? do you have a laying bin for her? have any pics of her?

 

[kinyonga]

As ataraxia asked....has she ever laid eggs? Has she had a place to dig to lay eggs if need be? Veiled females can produce eggs without having been mated and if they have no place to lay them can die eggbound.

IMHO your basking temperatures should be much lower...low to mid 80's.
Is she gaping and holding her head up high?
Is the mineral for outdoors or indoors?

Although sunken eyes can be due to dehydration, they can also be the result of illness (including eggbinding).

 

[ChameleonNerd]

Try to put your ear close to her chest. If you Hear a crackling sound, it could be a URI

 

[DavidBuchan]

Please read this care sheet ----

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

 

[Blue Iguana Exotics]

Breathing: No bubbles, no really wheezing, no clicking, she points her head up takes a deep breath and holds it.
As for egg binding she did have a place to lay eggs in the cage. a bucket full of moist sand mixed with soil. Also she did not seem to have any eggs. I was one of the first things I checked. Though it is possible.
I reduced to temp as recommended.
The soil of the plant was not covered. I didn't even think of that.
I am sorry to report that she did pass way, and only several hours after I posted. I was all very strange the previous day and that morning she was fine showing now problems, great coloration, eating well, strong. But in just a 4 hour period showed problems that continued to get worse, then she died. I was all very strange.
Thanks for all your help

I thought I had posted a photo of her but here's one just in case anyone is interested