Not Sure What's Going on wth my Veiled

[Dee1234]

I've had my veiled chameleon, Mario Andretti (because of his racing stripes), for almost a year now. I got him from a rescue and was told he was a boy. Last week he stated digging in his cage and now there is a huge hole. So I thought maybe he was a she but this is the first time he dug a hole. He goes down in it and just sits for an hour or so a day. When I got him half his tail was missing but I don't know why. Today he had what looked like a chunk taken out of his tail. Last night and this morning he was really lethargic and was just sitting on the floor of his cage. Now he's on the back of his cage looking for crickets. Plus he's bright green. I don't know what's going on with him, if anything. He's not usually bright green except in the morning. Here's a pic I just took and you can see the chunk out of his tail. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[opheliaeatsbugs]

Poor guy... has he seen a vet recently?

 

[VeiledMathis]

Are you sure your crickets or other feeders aren't feeding on your Veiled while it sleeps...I believe he is a she but a pic of the back feet would help. You need to take the cham to a vet before an infection sets in and deteriorate it's health or worse!

 

[Dee1234]

We don't have specialist vets. There is a reptile store close by and the owners are very knowledgeable. I'll take him/her down there tomorrow.

 

[VeiledMathis]

We don't have specialist vets. There is a reptile store close by and the owners are very knowledgeable. I'll take him/her down there tomorrow.

Atleast get the feeders out at night so they're not munching away on the cham!

 

[kinyonga]

The casque says female. She may be eggbound.

 

[Dee1234]

Atleast get the feeders out at night so they're not munching away on the cham!

I did that.

 

[Dee1234]

The casque says female. She may be eggbound.

What do I do if that's the case? I am totally not equipped for a female. Like I said, I was told he was a male. I'll ask the people at the store tomorrow when I take him if he's a male or female.

 

[kinyonga]

Look at the heels...is there a spur?
http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/care-sheet.html

 

[opheliaeatsbugs]

Take a picture of the back of the rear foot... It's very easy to tell if you have a boy or a girl.

You can handle a girl!

 

[Dee1234]

Look at the heels...is there a spur?
http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/care-sheet.html

No, I don't see one. But if it's a girl wouldn't she have done the digging before now? I've had him/her for 11 months.

 

[opheliaeatsbugs]

Have you looked through the dirt to see if there were any eggs laid? Maybe she laid them? Either way, she needs to see a vet (or the best you can do) about the tail.

 

[kinyonga]

The hole in the tail is likely from insects chewing on it. It needs to be looked after so it won't get infected and you need to make sure no insects are left in there to chew on it...or at the very least, put a dish of veggies and greens in the cage for the insects.

Regarding digging before...her reproduction is to so extent is affected by diet and environment so she may not have started producing g the eggs until recently. If she can't lay them than she needs to see a vet to be spayed or she will die. You said ..."Last night and this morning he was really lethargic and was just sitting on the floor of his cage" ...those are signs of eggbinding.

 

[Dee1234]

Thank you for your answer. I looked with a flashlight and didn't see any eggs. She's back to her usual color but she's not moving much. I put her in a different cage with no crickets. I'll definately get her to the reptile people tomorrow. Maybe they know a vet that handles reptiles.

 

[Dee1234]

Well, he's definately a she. I got medicine to spray on her tail twice a day. We (my daughter) completely dismantled her cage and we put it back to the bare bones with a container of dirt in the corner. She's not moving much. I'm going to go get her 2 blue worms on my way home and hopefully she'll eat them. Thank you for your help. Hopefully she'll lay the eggs.

 

[kinyonga]

If she's lethargic, sitting low in the cage, not eating and/or sitting with her eyes closed during the day she is likely eggbound and if she is she will likely crash soon. She needs help ASAP if that's the case...or she'll die.

I use washed playsand for the substrate in the egglaying container er...they seem to like it and it's easy to keep evenly moist so she can dig a tunnel in it. I don't know if a shot of oxytocin would help her or do damage at this point but a vet should know.

 

[Dee1234]

She is all of the above but I went and bought her 2 of the blue worms and I did get her to eat one. I also got her to drink some water. I'll try the second worm in a bit. Unfortunately there are no exotic vets around here, just the cat and dogs one. I did call 2 of the closest ones today and they said they don't see reptiles.

 

[Trent H.]

Judging from the picture, Mario looks like he might be a she, If you could post a picture of the back of Mario's back feet, we might be able to help you out. But either way, it looks like your crickets have eaten Mario's tail, and you should probably try to get those crickets in a cup, so that they can't get out, but Mario can get in. If I were you, I would really try to see a vet about the tail so it doesn't get infected, but I you can't see a vet, at least try to research on how to treat the tail. I really don't want to hear about Mario getting sick because of it. I wish you the best of luck, I hope you can get this all figured out.

 

[Dee1234]

I got something for her tail and got all the crickets out if her cage. I took her to a really good reptile store by me and she's definately a she and it looks like she's egg bound. So now I'm trying to figure out that.

 

[Trent H.]

I'm glad to hear that (about the tail), but that isn't good that she is eggbound, I don't know how often you dust your crickets in calcium, and I'm not saying that you don't give enough calcium, but You should try to give her extra calcium. She will need all the calcium she can get.