@Lizardlover1519 ok lets go through one by one.
OK. PLAN
So my first steps are to stop giving him carnivore care and to get him a fecal test next time he produces a sample. Correct exactly what I would recommend
I am going to change his supplementing to calcium without D3 every day and LoD twice per month. This is perfect. remember insects are lightly dusted and should not look like powdered donuts.
Increase food intake.
The bigger tank has a lot of already established live plants and is massive but I was going to wait until I move to move him into that tank on August 11th. Should I move him as soon as I find out aboujt the parisite load or is it ok to wait until move? I would wait. I really think he has a parasite load. If this is the case depending on exactly what he has it could be a longer quarantine period in the smaller cage.
I am installing 2 humidity/temp gauges as we speak. Wonderful. One should be lower in the enclosure the other should be around the basking level.
I am working on reducing the nighttime temp and I will get back to you on overall tank humidity and temps once the thermometers go through a day night cycle. Good monitor this for at least a few days to figure out where your ambient levels sit.
QUESTIONS
- For humidity should I get a fogger instead? and just have the sprayer go 3 times a day for longer periods? And for the fogger when should I have it running? So a fogger is great at night if you can get temps lower to at least 67. But 65 is even better. You want the cool fog because that is an additional method of hydration. These are only run at night because if run during the day hot fog can develop respiratory infections in chameleons. It would be far better to change up your misting regardless so that you can have longer misting sessions morning and late afternoon. Note longer misting sessions allow for them to clean their eyes in the mist. THis can be very helpful if they have something stuck in the eye turret so they can try to clear it.
- For fecal, how often should he be going? because as of right now it is 2/3 times a week.\ This is normal timing for a chameleon eating the amounts he is getting daily.
- My vet suggested an antibiotic injection of Ceftazidime to be safe, should I take him up on that? Should I go for the bloodwork as well or wait till after the fecal because it is very expensive? So I would start with the fecal. Bloodwork will only tell you if there is an infection but not what kind. It will tell you things like how the renal system is functioning as well based on uric acid levels. Per the antibiotic all I know about it is that it is a broad spectrum antibiotic for bacteria. Here is the issue. If he does not have a bacterial infection you are medicating for nothing. Additionally meds can be hard on their system. If he has a parasite load the specific type of parasite has to be treated with medication. Not all meds work on all parasites. this is why the fecal is important to determine type and how high the parasite load is. These meds too can be hard on their system. So if it was me personally I would not medicate unless the eye is for sure a bacterial infection. You mentioned you used the eye drops which also treat a bacterial infection and they did nothing. So this would shy me away from the shot. If he has something stuck in the eye turret clearing that is what will help the issue. Please note during this process do not let them do any vitamin shots. This is not needed with him already getting what he needs.
- As of right now he is eating from a cup positioned in the bottom of the cage that makes it easier for him to target and get close to the bugs. However the new tank he will be moving to have a feeding blind. Should I change something there? As of right now I give him his bugs in the morning and he eats all of them and i do that everyday. Should I change anything there either? So yes feed in the morning. Cup may be fine unless he is has parasites and could be pooping into it. Then I would recommend holding the cup for him to eat from.
- So as of right now I have a layer of hydro balls and a layer of fir bark mixed with coco husk to help control the water. should I remove it? Also with the new tank there is a lot of dirt and it is a bioactive soil that has already been established. should I keep that or change it? So what he has currently in the small cage is not a fully bioactive set up. This will not control bacteria growth. If he has a parasite load then it becomes a source of recontamination. I personally would remove it all. Now for the big cage if this was set up with a drainage layer, soil, leaf litter on top and clean up crew insects then it is fine. NOTE if he has a parasite load it will be even more important that he is totally clear of it with multiple fecals done before ever going into the new set up. Do not cross contaminate anything from current set up to new set up either.
COMMENTS
He always sits on my hand with no issues and is not exhibiting any sings of stress but I will stop syringe feeding him anyways. You can interact with him still. It is important he still trusts you.
Vet has lots of cham experience so I'm really not sure what to do as there are no others even remotely close. I will continue to see this vet but will consult with you before going to make sure I'm hitting all of the concerns and things to bring up.
Please let me know if you have any other suggestions of equipment I can get and any other tips
thank you again! If you do not have a mistking automister I highly recommend this over the others out there. It has a super fine spray and allows you to set the exact time of misting along with how long you want each misting session.
I would love to see additional pics close up of his eye that is having issues. Just want to see if anything stands out to me.
OK. PLAN
So my first steps are to stop giving him carnivore care and to get him a fecal test next time he produces a sample. Correct exactly what I would recommend
I am going to change his supplementing to calcium without D3 every day and LoD twice per month. This is perfect. remember insects are lightly dusted and should not look like powdered donuts.
Increase food intake.
The bigger tank has a lot of already established live plants and is massive but I was going to wait until I move to move him into that tank on August 11th. Should I move him as soon as I find out aboujt the parisite load or is it ok to wait until move? I would wait. I really think he has a parasite load. If this is the case depending on exactly what he has it could be a longer quarantine period in the smaller cage.
I am installing 2 humidity/temp gauges as we speak. Wonderful. One should be lower in the enclosure the other should be around the basking level.
I am working on reducing the nighttime temp and I will get back to you on overall tank humidity and temps once the thermometers go through a day night cycle. Good monitor this for at least a few days to figure out where your ambient levels sit.
QUESTIONS
- For humidity should I get a fogger instead? and just have the sprayer go 3 times a day for longer periods? And for the fogger when should I have it running? So a fogger is great at night if you can get temps lower to at least 67. But 65 is even better. You want the cool fog because that is an additional method of hydration. These are only run at night because if run during the day hot fog can develop respiratory infections in chameleons. It would be far better to change up your misting regardless so that you can have longer misting sessions morning and late afternoon. Note longer misting sessions allow for them to clean their eyes in the mist. THis can be very helpful if they have something stuck in the eye turret so they can try to clear it.
- For fecal, how often should he be going? because as of right now it is 2/3 times a week.\ This is normal timing for a chameleon eating the amounts he is getting daily.
- My vet suggested an antibiotic injection of Ceftazidime to be safe, should I take him up on that? Should I go for the bloodwork as well or wait till after the fecal because it is very expensive? So I would start with the fecal. Bloodwork will only tell you if there is an infection but not what kind. It will tell you things like how the renal system is functioning as well based on uric acid levels. Per the antibiotic all I know about it is that it is a broad spectrum antibiotic for bacteria. Here is the issue. If he does not have a bacterial infection you are medicating for nothing. Additionally meds can be hard on their system. If he has a parasite load the specific type of parasite has to be treated with medication. Not all meds work on all parasites. this is why the fecal is important to determine type and how high the parasite load is. These meds too can be hard on their system. So if it was me personally I would not medicate unless the eye is for sure a bacterial infection. You mentioned you used the eye drops which also treat a bacterial infection and they did nothing. So this would shy me away from the shot. If he has something stuck in the eye turret clearing that is what will help the issue. Please note during this process do not let them do any vitamin shots. This is not needed with him already getting what he needs.
- As of right now he is eating from a cup positioned in the bottom of the cage that makes it easier for him to target and get close to the bugs. However the new tank he will be moving to have a feeding blind. Should I change something there? As of right now I give him his bugs in the morning and he eats all of them and i do that everyday. Should I change anything there either? So yes feed in the morning. Cup may be fine unless he is has parasites and could be pooping into it. Then I would recommend holding the cup for him to eat from.
- So as of right now I have a layer of hydro balls and a layer of fir bark mixed with coco husk to help control the water. should I remove it? Also with the new tank there is a lot of dirt and it is a bioactive soil that has already been established. should I keep that or change it? So what he has currently in the small cage is not a fully bioactive set up. This will not control bacteria growth. If he has a parasite load then it becomes a source of recontamination. I personally would remove it all. Now for the big cage if this was set up with a drainage layer, soil, leaf litter on top and clean up crew insects then it is fine. NOTE if he has a parasite load it will be even more important that he is totally clear of it with multiple fecals done before ever going into the new set up. Do not cross contaminate anything from current set up to new set up either.
COMMENTS
He always sits on my hand with no issues and is not exhibiting any sings of stress but I will stop syringe feeding him anyways. You can interact with him still. It is important he still trusts you.
Vet has lots of cham experience so I'm really not sure what to do as there are no others even remotely close. I will continue to see this vet but will consult with you before going to make sure I'm hitting all of the concerns and things to bring up.
Please let me know if you have any other suggestions of equipment I can get and any other tips
thank you again! If you do not have a mistking automister I highly recommend this over the others out there. It has a super fine spray and allows you to set the exact time of misting along with how long you want each misting session.
I would love to see additional pics close up of his eye that is having issues. Just want to see if anything stands out to me.
