Panther Chameleon Health Help

LeeAnne

LeeAnne

New Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Cross b/w an Ankaramy and Ambilobe female Panther chameleon about one and a half years old. Been in my care since October 2015
  • Handling - I pick her up at least once a day for the past 2 Months.
  • Feeding - I feed her gut loaded crickets (Calcium only) Also I feed her super worms and mealworms occasionally coated in calcium. D3 and calcium powder used once or twice a month. I would say she goes through about 2-3 dozen crickets, 2-3 dozen super worms, and a few mealworms a week. (trying not to feed her mealworms anymore because I just found out they are not easy for her to digest according to the web, input on this?) I also have just added wax worms to her diet.
  • Supplements - Zoo Med Repti Calcium without D3 to dust superworms and mealworms and crickets (if not gut loaded) 5 times a week. Zilla gut load cricket drink and food. I put that in my cricket home for every 3 dozen crickets I buy a week. Also I have a Zilla tropical mist I use once or twice a week.
    (pictures included)
  • Watering -I give her manual misting at least 4 times a day as well as showers a few times a week in warm water for about 10-20 minutes. Yes I see her drinking often in the shower. I also just added a little water dish for her.
  • Fecal Description -She has been de-wormed yes. Lately her droppings consist of a little white minimal pink and mostly brown, sometimes I can see the entire cricket in her droppings. ( pictures attached)
  • History -I took her to the vet; AVETS in Monroville, Pennsylvania. She was seen by Dr. Goldstein She was given some fluid "Cham Gatorade" they called it, an X-ray and antibiotics which she has now been on for 2 and a half weeks.They sent the X-rays out to be looked at and the results yielded that she had Ammonia. The antibiotics are Tazicef 1gm/vial at .05mL administered in her front arm every 3 days with a syringe. (pictures attached)

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - She is housed in a screen cage. I'd say it is a 16x16x20 I just moved her from a much larger cage which had a waterfall (which i suspect may have been part of the problem) That one was at least 3 ft tall, 2 ft wide and 1.5 ft deep (estimate)
  • Lighting - I have a Zoo med repticare ceramic infared heat emitter 60w on her at all times that she is inside in her cage. Also from 730am - about 10 pm (depending on if i take her outside or not) I have on a Exo Terra Reptile UVB 100 26w light. I just bought this light 3 weeks ago.
  • Temperature - I use a temp gun. In her basking area she has 95-105 F and her other spots it gets down to 76F.
  • Humidity - I am notWhat are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants -No live plants
  • Placement - Her cage is in the corner of the room below the air vent. She is stationed at about hip height on a desk. This would be the least traffic area in the room.
  • Location - Suburbs outside Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

Current Problem - I'm posting this on here for reference and advice. I'm trying to figure out what the crust around her mouth is (mouth rot?). Is she egg bound? I have put 2 different bins in there with her and covered the cage these were both prior to her vet visit. But from the x-rays we can see there is certainly no eggs there could possibly be just yolk that didt form correctly (this is what the vet said) if that is the case does she need to get it out? I want to help her. Also if anyone knows anything about a chameleon with Ammonia and has any tips or questions I'm all ears. I love my cham so much and would be so devastated if anything were to happen to her. I've already dropped more then 500$ on her at the vet so this is a way to possibly get the same info without the "copay." Naturally I understand she may need even more antibiotics which I will be 100% willing to provide for her. Thanks

Pictures are in the Pizza media album. ( Pizza is her name) :)
 

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Her she is 2 weeks ago in Maine looking rather dark.
 

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Well first things first, you are feeding her far too much, her clutches are going to be dangerously huge and too often. Her temps are also way too high, they need to be around 84 degrees, adult males need only 90 degrees in temp. You need to get a much better gut load for your crickets and stuff. Way better dry gut load and use fruits and veggies for the wet parts of their diet. When was she de-wormed? Crickets carry a large number of parasites and if thats the main part of her diet she can easily get parasites again. Does her feces smell really horrible? If her eggs didn't form correctly she will definitely need to have them out, and that will most likely end in her being spayed.
 
My panther cham was showing these colours when she was either receptive /gravid!!

I'd say your Temps are too hot aswell
Adult panther chameleons need
Adult females: ambient 75-80F (23-26C), basking 80-85F (26-29C)
Night time temperatures can safely drop down to 50F (10C) so a night heat source should not be used unless temperatures are lower than this. If night heat is needed a ceramic heat emitter or space heater should be used, not a light bulb, even red or black bulbs.
It is important for panther chameleons to thermoregulate.

You should really have a humidity gage to monitor ur levels,
Humidity is an important aspect of chameleon husbandry. Panther chameleons require levels around 50-70%, which can be achieved by several misting sessions a day over all areas of the cage. Live plants help increase and maintain humidity. Sometimes a cool mist humidifier or timer-controlled misting system is needed.

There are more knowledgeable people here to correct me if I'm wrong , and can give u alot more informatio and advice than I can!!
 
Andee said:
Well first things first, you are feeding her far too much, her clutches are going to be dangerously huge and too often. Her temps are also way too high, they need to be around 84 degrees, adult males need only 90 degrees in temp. You need to get a much better gut load for your crickets and stuff. Way better dry gut load and use fruits and veggies for the wet parts of their diet. When was she de-wormed? Crickets carry a large number of parasites and if thats the main part of her diet she can easily get parasites again. Does her feces smell really horrible? If her eggs didn't form correctly she will definitely need to have them out, and that will most likely end in her being spayed.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply!
What is a good amount for her to be eating? I just recently purchased Wax worms and Hornworms to add variety to her diet. I might have been a little exaggerated on her food consumption in my description! So far this week i'd say she has eaten 20 crickets and maybe a handful of superworms. Is that too much?
I will adjust her heat emitter to only be on during the day.
I will add better gut loading foods what do you recommend? I have used spinach and lemons before.
Should I stop using the gut load I have? If so what is the best one?
She was de-wormed on her vet visit on August 16th
Her feces does not smell horrible.
I still am not sure if those are eggs or not inside her..
 
R.H said:
My panther cham was showing these colours when she was either receptive /gravid!!

I'd say your Temps are too hot aswell
Adult panther chameleons need
Adult females: ambient 75-80F (23-26C), basking 80-85F (26-29C)
Night time temperatures can safely drop down to 50F (10C) so a night heat source should not be used unless temperatures are lower than this. If night heat is needed a ceramic heat emitter or space heater should be used, not a light bulb, even red or black bulbs.
It is important for panther chameleons to thermoregulate.

You should really have a humidity gage to monitor ur levels,
Humidity is an important aspect of chameleon husbandry. Panther chameleons require levels around 50-70%, which can be achieved by several misting sessions a day over all areas of the cage. Live plants help increase and maintain humidity. Sometimes a cool mist humidifier or timer-controlled misting system is needed.

There are more knowledgeable people here to correct me if I'm wrong , and can give u alot more informatio and advice than I can!!
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply!
I will certainly start turning her heat emitter off at night! Thank you for the temp info I was certainly misinformed before!
I have been leaving her outside where my humidity gauge reads 70-80% but I will start putting it in her cage as well to better regulate the humidity.
Live plants eh? What are the best plants for her do you think? Is my water dish okay for her?
 
You can gutoad using -dandelions, kale, collards, escarole, mustard greens, etc and veggies carrots, squash,sweet potato, sweet red pepper, celery leaves!!!

Chameleons cant locate standing /still water so having a dish is pretty pointless, but a dripping system and misting will provide enough drinking water for her!!

Safe plants commonly used plants in a chameleon's enclosure Pothos, Ficus,Schefflera, Hibiscus, and Dracaena.

Hope this helps
 
LeeAnne said:
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Cross b/w an Ankaramy and Ambilobe female Panther chameleon about one and a half years old. Been in my care since October 2015
  • Handling - I pick her up at least once a day for the past 2 Months.
  • Feeding - I feed her gut loaded crickets (Calcium only) Also I feed her super worms and mealworms occasionally coated in calcium. D3 and calcium powder used once or twice a month. I would say she goes through about 2-3 dozen crickets, 2-3 dozen super worms, and a few mealworms a week. (trying not to feed her mealworms anymore because I just found out they are not easy for her to digest according to the web, input on this?) I also have just added wax worms to her diet.
  • Supplements - Zoo Med Repti Calcium without D3 to dust superworms and mealworms and crickets (if not gut loaded) 5 times a week. Zilla gut load cricket drink and food. I put that in my cricket home for every 3 dozen crickets I buy a week. Also I have a Zilla tropical mist I use once or twice a week.
    (pictures included)
  • Watering -I give her manual misting at least 4 times a day as well as showers a few times a week in warm water for about 10-20 minutes. Yes I see her drinking often in the shower. I also just added a little water dish for her.
  • Fecal Description -She has been de-wormed yes. Lately her droppings consist of a little white minimal pink and mostly brown, sometimes I can see the entire cricket in her droppings. ( pictures attached)
  • History -I took her to the vet; AVETS in Monroville, Pennsylvania. She was seen by Dr. Goldstein She was given some fluid "Cham Gatorade" they called it, an X-ray and antibiotics which she has now been on for 2 and a half weeks.They sent the X-rays out to be looked at and the results yielded that she had Ammonia. The antibiotics are Tazicef 1gm/vial at .05mL administered in her front arm every 3 days with a syringe. (pictures attached)

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - She is housed in a screen cage. I'd say it is a 16x16x20 I just moved her from a much larger cage which had a waterfall (which i suspect may have been part of the problem) That one was at least 3 ft tall, 2 ft wide and 1.5 ft deep (estimate)
  • Lighting - I have a Zoo med repticare ceramic infared heat emitter 60w on her at all times that she is inside in her cage. Also from 730am - about 10 pm (depending on if i take her outside or not) I have on a Exo Terra Reptile UVB 100 26w light. I just bought this light 3 weeks ago.
  • Temperature - I use a temp gun. In her basking area she has 95-105 F and her other spots it gets down to 76F.
  • Humidity - I am notWhat are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants -No live plants
  • Placement - Her cage is in the corner of the room below the air vent. She is stationed at about hip height on a desk. This would be the least traffic area in the room.
  • Location - Suburbs outside Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

Current Problem - I'm posting this on here for reference and advice. I'm trying to figure out what the crust around her mouth is (mouth rot?). Is she egg bound? I have put 2 different bins in there with her and covered the cage these were both prior to her vet visit. But from the x-rays we can see there is certainly no eggs there could possibly be just yolk that didt form correctly (this is what the vet said) if that is the case does she need to get it out? I want to help her. Also if anyone knows anything about a chameleon with Ammonia and has any tips or questions I'm all ears. I love my cham so much and would be so devastated if anything were to happen to her. I've already dropped more then 500$ on her at the vet so this is a way to possibly get the same info without the "copay." Naturally I understand she may need even more antibiotics which I will be 100% willing to provide for her. Thanks

Pictures are in the Pizza media album. ( Pizza is her name) :)
Click to expand...
I think ur x-ray look like developing eggs or undelvoped eggs, I'm no expert but hopefully a more valued and knowledgable members can tune in, iv learned alot from these lovely people :)
 
R.H said:
I think ur x-ray look like developing eggs or undelvoped eggs, I'm no expert but hopefully a more valued and knowledgable members can tune in, iv learned alot from these lovely people :)
Click to expand...
Thanks yeah i'd love more input because the "experts" I paid 300$$ to send this too all they said was that "it looked like ammonia" which I also know nothing about in chams!!
 
LeeAnne said:
Thanks yeah i'd love more input because the "experts" I paid 300$$ to send this too all they said was that "it looked like ammonia" which I also know nothing about in chams!!
Click to expand...
Does ur vet specialise in chameleons?
 
Yes if she's not acting super sick, which it doesn't sound like it from her description. I would not expect it to be wrongly developed eggs. Wrongly developed eggs have the ability to be reabsorbed but they can also rot or drain your chameleon of desperately needed energy and reserves. However if the others think they are developing I would agree, they don't look wrong in my eyes. When they turn oval and a little whiter on the x-ray it should be time to lay. But she should show obvious signs without the xray. I would feed her four to five prey items every other day, and that's it. Make sure you are still dusting because she needs the calcium to make good eggs and not drain her system. ^^ The ammonia, did you have an oral medication you were giving her? It can be dangerous for oral medication to me administered if you don't put the syringe really close to the back of their throats, their air way is up front.
 
Andee said:
Yes if she's not acting super sick, which it doesn't sound like it from her description. I would not expect it to be wrongly developed eggs. Wrongly developed eggs have the ability to be reabsorbed but they can also rot or drain your chameleon of desperately needed energy and reserves. However if the others think they are developing I would agree, they don't look wrong in my eyes. When they turn oval and a little whiter on the x-ray it should be time to lay. But she should show obvious signs without the xray. I would feed her four to five prey items every other day, and that's it. Make sure you are still dusting because she needs the calcium to make good eggs and not drain her system. ^^ The ammonia, did you have an oral medication you were giving her? It can be dangerous for oral medication to me administered if you don't put the syringe really close to the back of their throats, their air way is up front.
Click to expand...
I just took 2 of my chams for a year check up, vet said female starting to develop eggs and did sample of poo, gave male and female meds , now my point to this comment , I notice the vet did put syringe deep down there throat and now you let me know why ,, thanks for the info, now when I give second dose next weekend I understand why put it so deep in there mouth
 
Andee said:
Yes if she's not acting super sick, which it doesn't sound like it from her description. I would not expect it to be wrongly developed eggs. Wrongly developed eggs have the ability to be reabsorbed but they can also rot or drain your chameleon of desperately needed energy and reserves. However if the others think they are developing I would agree, they don't look wrong in my eyes. When they turn oval and a little whiter on the x-ray it should be time to lay. But she should show obvious signs without the xray. I would feed her four to five prey items every other day, and that's it. Make sure you are still dusting because she needs the calcium to make good eggs and not drain her system. ^^ The ammonia, did you have an oral medication you were giving her? It can be dangerous for oral medication to me administered if you don't put the syringe really close to the back of their throats, their air way is up front.
Click to expand...
Okay I added and apple slice and celery leaves to my gut load and took out the store bought gut load but kept a little of the "cricket drink."
And she is being active during the day so I hope she is getting better. So you think maybe her eggs just havent developed yet? And the antibiotic is being administered in her front leg. Have you ever herd of a chameleon with ammonia?
 
my vet doctor mentioned ammonia , I asked why so much white or urine on his poo,thats when she mentioned ammonia but said urine was ok , so I cant help much on that subject, female was good not all the urine on her poo
 
marley patches said:
my vet doctor mentioned ammonia , I asked why so much white or urine on his poo,thats when she mentioned ammonia but said urine was ok , so I cant help much on that subject, female was good not all the urine on her poo
Click to expand...
Do you mean pneumonia, which is a respiratory problem? Also, can you post a picture of her mouth?
 
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