Kent67
Retired Moderator
Can't make much worse of a title, huh? Well, I've debated sharing this girl for a while but I think the story is very encouraging and worthy of documentation because it can really show how strong and resilient a chameleon that has had all of its needs met can be.
First and foremost, what happened to this animal is unfortunate and sad, but no one's fault. She is 7.5 years old now and was clearly a beautiful, well-taken care of lady. That doesn't happen with neglect of any sort.
So here's the history: I was contacted in late Spring about adopting a mature female Parson's chameleon who had been attacked by a rat while her owner was in the process of moving interstate and was out of town. Actually, no one saw the assailant, but whatever it was chewed an appropriately sized hole through pvc-coated wire mesh to get into the cage. Rat made the most sense. She was part of the group imported and sold by Kammerflage Kreations in the Fall of 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070511021322/http://chameleonsonly.com/cb_parson%27s_chameleons.htm Upon hearing what had happened, her owner immediately returned to Southern California and took her to Dr. Greek. Dr. Greek believed the wounds to be superficial, for the most part, and expected a positive recovery. He had prescribed daily cleanses with Nolvasan and dressing with Silvadene cream to keep the wounds from becoming infected.
Being unable to take her out of state to the new residence and wanting her in more experienced hands than the temporary housing I was asked if I would take her in and continue treatment. I agreed and we met halfway at a Park N Ride. I half expected it to be a setup. "Yeah, right. I'll meet you in a parking lot for a free Parson's chameleon." I'm glad I had sunglasses on because seeing her for the first time instantly had my vision blurry. Heart-breaking. The poor girl clearly just clung to her sleeping branch, without the release and fall to the ground response other chams would have, while the dorsal surface of her tail, toes, part of her back, and chin were gnawed on by some damn rodent. HEART. BREAKING. Ugh. So I brought her home and set her up in a large indoor cage with lots of foliage and a rain system.
After a week she still hadn't eaten. No crickets, no superworms, no roaches. With the trauma and vet visits the week prior, we figured it had been close to two weeks. She obviously hated being removed from the cage to have her wounds cleaned and then coated in Silvadene so she would often gape and threaten to bite. After so much time not eating I decided to pop a decent sized dubia in her mouth while she was protesting the cleaning. She chomped it up and down it went. Awesome. She's still chunky as could be, no need to push it for the night. The next day I got some large hornworms in the mail. I put in on the branch in front of her and waited. Nothing. So I walked away for a couple minutes and when I came back to look she was licking her lips and the hornworm was gone. Really?!? I grabbed another big hornworm and put it on her branch. As I was backing out of the cage she came "running" over and snatched it up, too. Heck ya! I think we've got a good chance here....
She slowly built up her appetite day by day. She would frequently eat 15 crickets with some roaches or hornworms every night. We both found it easier and faster if I just held her food while she made short 4-inch tongue shots. She can still actively hunt and project her tongue a couple of feet; it's just easier since her movement isn't what it should be. She she 3 weeks or so before being attacked by the rat. As part of the healing process she started another shed just two weeks after being attacked, 5 weeks after the last. She shed again approximately a month and a half after this one, too. Pretty crazy for an animal of this age.
These pics were taken June 5th, about two weeks after arrival here:
The glaze on the scabs is from the Silvadene
Mid-September. Some of the smaller scabs have been falling off on her feet and tail with the major damage areas on the dorsal surface of her tail starting to separate and looking really nasty. Unfortunately, some toes were beyond saving.
And today, November 30. The scabs have all fallen off. Some took much longer than the Dr. predicted but what else would you expected from a parsonii? It's cooling down so her feeding has slowed down some; only 6-8 large crickets worth per day. She has slight difficulty getting around with her missing toes and a slightly nerve-damaged tail which I don't expect to improve. Not that that will affect her at all; she still does whatever she wants and holds her own with the others when they're out in the giant outdoor cage together.
Can't help but think her tail would be more functional if it wasn't for the chunk taken out here
That's it for now. I've still got my fingers crossed but it looks like she's making a fine recovery so far. I saw several rat attack threads pop up about the same time I was taking this girl on. Let this and the other stories be warning to make sure you do everything you can to protect your chameleons from native wildlife when they're outdoors. It can and will happen....
First and foremost, what happened to this animal is unfortunate and sad, but no one's fault. She is 7.5 years old now and was clearly a beautiful, well-taken care of lady. That doesn't happen with neglect of any sort.
So here's the history: I was contacted in late Spring about adopting a mature female Parson's chameleon who had been attacked by a rat while her owner was in the process of moving interstate and was out of town. Actually, no one saw the assailant, but whatever it was chewed an appropriately sized hole through pvc-coated wire mesh to get into the cage. Rat made the most sense. She was part of the group imported and sold by Kammerflage Kreations in the Fall of 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070511021322/http://chameleonsonly.com/cb_parson%27s_chameleons.htm Upon hearing what had happened, her owner immediately returned to Southern California and took her to Dr. Greek. Dr. Greek believed the wounds to be superficial, for the most part, and expected a positive recovery. He had prescribed daily cleanses with Nolvasan and dressing with Silvadene cream to keep the wounds from becoming infected.
Being unable to take her out of state to the new residence and wanting her in more experienced hands than the temporary housing I was asked if I would take her in and continue treatment. I agreed and we met halfway at a Park N Ride. I half expected it to be a setup. "Yeah, right. I'll meet you in a parking lot for a free Parson's chameleon." I'm glad I had sunglasses on because seeing her for the first time instantly had my vision blurry. Heart-breaking. The poor girl clearly just clung to her sleeping branch, without the release and fall to the ground response other chams would have, while the dorsal surface of her tail, toes, part of her back, and chin were gnawed on by some damn rodent. HEART. BREAKING. Ugh. So I brought her home and set her up in a large indoor cage with lots of foliage and a rain system.
After a week she still hadn't eaten. No crickets, no superworms, no roaches. With the trauma and vet visits the week prior, we figured it had been close to two weeks. She obviously hated being removed from the cage to have her wounds cleaned and then coated in Silvadene so she would often gape and threaten to bite. After so much time not eating I decided to pop a decent sized dubia in her mouth while she was protesting the cleaning. She chomped it up and down it went. Awesome. She's still chunky as could be, no need to push it for the night. The next day I got some large hornworms in the mail. I put in on the branch in front of her and waited. Nothing. So I walked away for a couple minutes and when I came back to look she was licking her lips and the hornworm was gone. Really?!? I grabbed another big hornworm and put it on her branch. As I was backing out of the cage she came "running" over and snatched it up, too. Heck ya! I think we've got a good chance here....
She slowly built up her appetite day by day. She would frequently eat 15 crickets with some roaches or hornworms every night. We both found it easier and faster if I just held her food while she made short 4-inch tongue shots. She can still actively hunt and project her tongue a couple of feet; it's just easier since her movement isn't what it should be. She she 3 weeks or so before being attacked by the rat. As part of the healing process she started another shed just two weeks after being attacked, 5 weeks after the last. She shed again approximately a month and a half after this one, too. Pretty crazy for an animal of this age.
These pics were taken June 5th, about two weeks after arrival here:
The glaze on the scabs is from the Silvadene
Mid-September. Some of the smaller scabs have been falling off on her feet and tail with the major damage areas on the dorsal surface of her tail starting to separate and looking really nasty. Unfortunately, some toes were beyond saving.
And today, November 30. The scabs have all fallen off. Some took much longer than the Dr. predicted but what else would you expected from a parsonii? It's cooling down so her feeding has slowed down some; only 6-8 large crickets worth per day. She has slight difficulty getting around with her missing toes and a slightly nerve-damaged tail which I don't expect to improve. Not that that will affect her at all; she still does whatever she wants and holds her own with the others when they're out in the giant outdoor cage together.
Can't help but think her tail would be more functional if it wasn't for the chunk taken out here
That's it for now. I've still got my fingers crossed but it looks like she's making a fine recovery so far. I saw several rat attack threads pop up about the same time I was taking this girl on. Let this and the other stories be warning to make sure you do everything you can to protect your chameleons from native wildlife when they're outdoors. It can and will happen....
