[New & Confused] My Chameleons teeth are brown and not eating?

[JoShmo]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Juvenile Cham, 1yr old Female, In my care for 8mo now.
• Handling - 2/3x Daily (to clean enclosure)
• Feeding - Mealworms, Wax-worms, Crickets; 2-4 Every morning/Night; Just using orange feeder cubes for now
• Supplements - ZooMed branded calcium; Get crickets covered in calcium powder at store
• Watering - ReptiRain Mister; Spray bottle mister for when it looks too dry in-between 3hr cycles; Every so often I see her drinking
• Fecal Description - Dark brown poop w/ Whitish yellow other droppings; Has not been tested yet
• History - I do not have any additional

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen (16x16x30)
• Lighting - Exo-Terra brand UVB & Thrive brand Heating/basking bulb; 8am - 8pm Cycle for both (both off at night)
• Temperature - 75-90 towards BASKING spot & 80-70 for BOTTOM of enclosure; Lowest overnight temp can reach to 65. I have a thermometer/humidity gage on bottom and top of enclosure
• Humidity - Humidity goes from 55-60... (Also need help figuring HOW to get humidity up!!)
• Plants - 3; Golden Pothos, & two species of Dracaena
• Placement - By porch door & against wall near windows; Almost 4ft tall off ground
• Location - South Carolina area.

Current Problem -

I am worried about a brown film forming over my chameleons mouth and her refusal to eat for the last few days. I have been lightly spritzing her mouth with water to make sure she is not dehydrated, and in buying all new plants to help humidity levels in the enclosure, I have noticed she also has no fecal matter.

I have read of Betadine being a solution to aid in her infection (if it is one) but I do not know how to give it to her if that is a solution everyone thinks would be good? I am a very worried momma over here...

ALSO: Apologies for the way I prop her mouth open; she has been refusing me touching her as well since this occurrence and I had not other way to prop her mouth open...

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

I'm not a vet, but it looks to be the beginning of mouth rot. Do you have a lay bin for her? Your gutloading, supplementing, cag size, temps, humidity, and lighting all need to be upgraded though. It's severely lacking and could very well be the cause of those situation.

 

[Thehippie]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Juvenile Cham, 1yr old Female, In my care for 8mo now. Does she have a lay bin. if so how big and deep, if not read up and get her one ASAP!
• Handling - 2/3x Daily (to clean enclosure) Chams shouldn't be handled for long periods of time frequently as it can stress them out. I recommend 2 to 3 times a week or less depending on if your cham wants to come out because it does cause them a great deal of stress. Clean around her.
• Feeding - Mealworms, Wax-worms, Crickets; 2-4 Every morning/Night; Just using orange feeder cubes for now you should stop feeding meal worms and wax worms so often. meal worms can cause impaction and are high in fat. wax worms are also too high in fat. try silk worms or snails or bsfl or bsf or bbf or mantids and many more varieties of feeders. only feed in the morning so it gives her time to digest. stop using the orange feeder cubes because they don't benefit your cham. I suggest cricket crack or repashy gutloads.
• Supplements - ZooMed branded calcium; Get crickets covered in calcium powder at store calcium d3?? calcium no d3?? the schedule should be calcium no d3 every day calcium d3 every other week and alternating weeks she needs a multivitamin.
• Watering - ReptiRain Mister; Spray bottle mister for when it looks too dry in-between 3hr cycles; Every so often I see her drinking She needs to be misted 2 mins each time three times a day. I personally like a 5 min mist in the night to end off the day well hydrated.
• Fecal Description - Dark brown poop w/ Whitish yellow other droppings; Has not been tested yet the urate should be white or cream, not yellow or orange.
• History - I do not have any additional

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen (16x16x30) She needs a minimum 2x2x4 screen cage
• Lighting - Exo-Terra brand UVB & Thrive brand Heating/basking bulb; 8am - 8pm Cycle for both (both off at night) she needs a linear uvb 12% or 10.0 zoo med or arcadia bulb.
• Temperature - 75-90 towards BASKING spot & 80-70 for BOTTOM of enclosure; Lowest overnight temp can reach to 65. I have a thermometer/humidity gage on bottom and top of enclosure Basking should be around 85 degrees for a female.
• Humidity - Humidity goes from 55-60... (Also need help figuring HOW to get humidity up!!) humidity should stay in the 50 to 60 range.
• Plants - 3; Golden Pothos, & two species of Dracaena
• Placement - By porch door & against wall near windows; Almost 4ft tall off ground
• Location - South Carolina area.

Current Problem -

I am worried about a brown film forming over my chameleons mouth and her refusal to eat for the last few days. I have been lightly spritzing her mouth with water to make sure she is not dehydrated, and in buying all new plants to help humidity levels in the enclosure, I have noticed she also has no fecal matter.

I have read of Betadine being a solution to aid in her infection (if it is one) but I do not know how to give it to her if that is a solution everyone thinks would be good? I am a very worried momma over here...

ALSO: Apologies for the way I prop her mouth open; she has been refusing me touching her as well since this occurrence and I had not other way to prop her mouth open...

please see my annotations in red.

She wont eat because this is the beginning of mouth rot. all the changes I stated above should be made and she should be seen by a vet ASAP.

 

[cloverthechameleon]

A brown film is forming over her teeth or her teeth are just brown? Can you remove this film or is it caked onto her teeth? Do you see any wounds,discoloration,abscess or swelling on the jaw line anywhere below the teeth? Many keepers wrongly diognose mouth rott with brown teeth when the reality is most chameleons teeth are brown even when perfectly healthy. If this "film" has just recenlty appeared then you may have an issue. If her teeth are just brown and you dont see any of the symptons listed above her teeth are fine. There are several areas in your husbandry that need some work that im sure other members will touch on.

 

[JoShmo]

Aside from adjusting her accommodations in her enclosure, I hear betadine is good for (if it is mouth rot) helping remove the infection? How would I go about giving her it?

 

[cloverthechameleon]

I would not give meds if you are unsure of the illness. Only way to find out for sure is to bring her to an exotic vet, they will administer the meds and give you further instruction.

 

[Lennoncham]

Aside from adjusting her accommodations in her enclosure, I hear betadine is good for (if it is mouth rot) helping remove the infection? How would I go about giving her it?

You take her to a vet and they tell you if it actually is mouth rot then they show you how to administer the medication. Don’t give her any medication without a vet telling you to do so and the specific dosage.

She may not be eating because she is ready to lay eggs. They can lay eggs without ever being with a male. Can you post a picture of all of her. As @cloverthechameleon said it may not be mouthrot.

 

[The Wild One]

The colors from the picture look kind of like gravid colors, do you have a lay bin?

 

[Thehippie]

I agree. Do not give her anything if you haven't gotten professional dosages and diagnosis

 

[kinyonga]

Please post a couple more recent photos of her showing her from the side.

If she needs to lay eggs that could have to do with her not eating too.

Even if the insects were truly dusted at the store, by the time you get them home and feed them to the chameleon most of it will have fallen off. You need to dust the insects with the supplements just before you put them into the chameleons cage. You also need to gutload/feed the insects well with a nutritious diet (dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, carrots, escarole, squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, sweet red peppers etc, a little bit of pear, apples, melons, berries). Supplements...I dust at almost every feeding with a phos free calcium powder lightly. I dust twice a month with a phos free calcium/D3 powder lighhtly and twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A . Vitamin D3 from supplements and prEformed vitamin A can build up in the system which is why we do it this way. This leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of the vitamin D3 from its exposure to UVB light or direct sunlight and leaves it up to,you to decide if/when your chameleon needs some prEformed vitamin A.

Hope this helps.

 

[JoShmo]

For those asking, these are pictures I have just taken of her from the side on a plant on the porch. I was not sure if she could lay eggs without a male so I did not even think of that option… I do not have a Lay Bin but I will get one if thats the case!! Please help I am so worried for my little one..

 

[JoShmo]

For those asking, these are pictures I have just taken of her from the side on a plant on the porch. I was not sure if she could lay eggs without a male so I did not even think of that option… I do not have a Lay Bin but I will get one if thats the case!! Please help I am so worried for my little one..

I also am in the talks of making an appointment with a vet, the closest reptilian Vet is about an hour and a half away from me but I am in the works of finding her one!

 

[AnamCara]

For those asking, these are pictures I have just taken of her from the side on a plant on the porch. I was not sure if she could lay eggs without a male so I did not even think of that option… I do not have a Lay Bin but I will get one if thats the case!! Please help I am so worried for my little one..

She will lay infertile eggs, like a chicken.

 

[Lennoncham]

For those asking, these are pictures I have just taken of her from the side on a plant on the porch. I was not sure if she could lay eggs without a male so I did not even think of that option… I do not have a Lay Bin but I will get one if thats the case!! Please help I am so worried for my little one..

She looks gravid (pregnant) to me. Get a laying bin setup and in ASAP. She will need complete privacy to lay her eggs. If she sees you while digging / laying she can abandon her hole and become egg bound. A vet appointment is a good idea.

 

[kinyonga]

She's definitely carrying eggs...I just hope that it's not too late for her to lay them. Get that lay bin in the cage ASAP...like yesterday!!

As was said...If she starts to dig DO NOT LET HER SEE YOU watching her while she's digging! It can pushe her into egg indict and I'm worried she's already there.

 

[RyanBRZ]

My vet noticed a little brown hue on my chams teeth and she asked what his diet was like. At the time he was only eating supers, BSFL's, silkworms. She said feeder insects with a crunch (dubia's, crickets, etc.) clean their teeth when they chew. Diets consisting mostly of worms do not provide oral hygiene. Obviously ideally you should ask your vet, but have you had crickets regularly mixed into your feeder lineup?

 

[salty dog]

She can not absorb uv light through a window, chams need uv light to metabolize calcium period no calcium absorption = unhealthy, the others have said she is gravid= holding eggs

 

[JoShmo]

My vet noticed a little brown hue on my chams teeth and she asked what his diet was like. At the time he was only eating supers, BSFL's, silkworms. She said feeder insects with a crunch (dubia's, crickets, etc.) clean their teeth when they chew. Diets consisting mostly of worms do not provide oral hygiene. Obviously ideally you should ask your vet, but have you had crickets regularly mixed into your feeder lineup?

She gets cricketts on the daily and worms as an occasional snack!

 

[RyanBRZ]

Here's how mine look