Please help CJ and me!

ridgebax1

Avid Member
Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon – A panther; about a year or so old. I have had him since June 2015 or there abouts
  • Handling – rarely; recently daily to give med but try not to take him out of the cage.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Right now he is on a cricket kick again. Refuses anything else; was giving roaches, silks, horns, phoenix worms
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Reptivite calcium with each feeding daily or every other day; alternate ca with d and vitamins every 2 weeks
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Aqua zamp every 2 hours during the day 2-3 mins. Also have raindome.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Normal never checked
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Nothing out of the ordinary

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 24x24x48 screen cage
  • Lighting – tropic blaze 6% arcadia
  • Temperature – have trouble here with steady temps. I have 2 100 watt incandescents and a halogen and barely get 85F measured with probe at the basking spot
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? 70% between waterings with mist as above
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? Combo live hibiscus, schefflera artificial vines at the back like a curtain against the screen
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? In protected corner of living room. There is a window but the cage is not directly in the way it sits back from it. There is a floor vent for the furnace but the water bucket sits on it so the water stays warmish. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? 5-6ft
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Pittsburgh, pa

Current Problem – So a month or so ago, I found CJ sitting with his right eye closed, could not see the left and he opened it as soon as I approached. I noticed him doing a lot of the pulling back of the eye like he was trying to clean it. It happened a second time and then a third, in the space of a couple days so we went to the vet. She thought he had some mucus in his throat which he did and it was bubbly. She put him on enrofloxacin for 10 days. He maintained his appetite, finished the abx and after about 3 days I found him on one of his lower perches with his eyes closed. It was about 3 or 4 hours before lights out and I am pretty sure he was asleep cause I had to poke him a bit to get him to open eyes. I restarted abx and he is still taking them for about a week now and seems fine. I lost both of my previous boys to URI. I am not sure if I am just a poor caretaker, over reacting or what.
 
I'm really sorry to hear that CJ is having a problem. There's not one certain antibiotic that clears up an RI. CJ needs a culture and a sensitive test to see what kind of infection he has and which antibiotic works on that type of infection.
 
I am so sorry to hear you are having problems with CJ! You have had some bad luck- I hope your boy gets better soon. I know you will do everything you can for him, he is in great hands!
 
I think you need to reevaluate your set up and find out what is causing your chameleons to get the Respiratory Infections to begin with. I see your mister is going off every 2 hours. Is that 24 hours a day? Also, no uvb light??. Please post a picture of your set up. It would be helpful. There is obviously something awry in your set up that is causing all of your animals to get sick. Hopefully we can help you figure that out.
 
No the mister only goes off during the day. I have a tropic blaze with the 6% arcadia bulbs from light your reptiles. I am off Monday and Tuesday so will put up some pictures then.
 
oh ok. There has got to be something in your set up or maybe the room in general they are kept in that is causing them to get sick.
 
It's hard to explain. The cage sits back in an alcove type area and the window is in front of the inset area. I have never noticed any drafts.
 
Sorry for taking so long to post the pictures of my set up. I decided to move CJ's cage away from the window. I am hoping his new spot will be better. The only problem with the new spot is there is more light so I will have to figure out a way to cover his cage when his lights go out.
 

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He seems fine. Active, eating, drinking and pooping. I think that even with no perceptible drafts the area somehow caused temps to fluctuate. They are much higher mid to high 80s now. He has also been shedding for the past week or so.
 
I think you need to reevaluate your set up and find out what is causing your chameleons to get the Respiratory Infections to begin with. I see your mister is going off every 2 hours. Is that 24 hours a day? Also, no uvb light??. Please post a picture of your set up. It would be helpful. There is obviously something awry in your set up that is causing all of your animals to get sick. Hopefully we can help you figure that out.

Please let me know if you see anything in CJ's cage that needs to be changed. I know one of the UV bulbs is burned out in the photo but my replacements just arrived and the problem has been taken care of!
 
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