Please help! Possible impaction?

[lottie]

How do i know if my veiled is impacted?

I've noticed that he doesn't poop as often (hasn't really been since Sunday)and this morning he looked really aggitated. He was walking really quickly around his tank and thrashing his head round with his mouth open. He also looked like he needed to go but couldn't. (angle of tale and position he was in) Normally he is really quiet in the morning and just basks under the light.

I have been recently been feeding him a few mealworms/beetles a week as he really loves these and i have recently changesd his tank around so there is a chance his water sprayer isn't getting as many of the leaves wet. Could this be a cause?

He drank loads of water form a dropper this morning (really unusual) and we are going to move his tank back tonight.

Does he sound like he is impacted? Is there anything i can give him to help?

Please help
Lottie

 

[Kate]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
Hi there . Can you copy, paste and fill out the form above please. Depending on the age of your Cham it might be normal for him not to poop every day. If he is wanting to drink give him as much as he wants. When you fill in the form we may be able to help you.

 

[camimom]

head thrashing and mouth open doesnt sound like impaction.
Not to mention, he could be pooping and you simply dont see it. they are great at hiding it.
please fill out the form, but im concerned your guy has a respiratory infection.

 

[lottie]

Thor

Hi
Thanks for your help

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled, male, we've had him since he was about 6 weeks old and he is coming up to about 11 months.
Handling - Handle most days, on his terms! He 'begs' at the front of his tank or comes out on to his trees when tank is open (his tank is usually open with vines to our indoor trees whenever we are home)
Feeding - Mainly medium locusts, occasional mealworm/beetle and wax worm as a treat. Locusts gutloaded with tomatoes/pepper/kale (whatever veggies we have in) also bug grub ang bug gel
Supplements - Repashy, used on all locusts every day
Watering - we have a monsoon that goes off every 3 hours for 12 seconds, recently been misting manually morning and night and also using the bottle to drop water on to him which he drinks.
Fecal Description - Usually black with white tip. Relatively hard. Recently not very often
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No
History - none

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass exoterra tank. 90"x60"x45"
Lighting - Not 100% sure on make, one red heat lamp, 3 UVB lights all on from 7am-7pm
Temperature - Due to weather his ambient temps have decreased to about 20-22 degrees celcius with his basking spot at around 28-30.
Humidity - 40 - 60%
Plants - we have an umbrella tree in his tank and many plastic leaves.
Placement - On unit. Height of tank is about 3.5 - 4" off ground. opposite window. Not near any draughts or heating
Location - South UK

Current Problem - Is he going enough? He has pooped one since Sunday. Was small and hard but normal coloured. He is still brightly coloured, wants to eat and come out. Was sluggish yesterday morning. I am worried i gave him too many meal worms on one day and blocked him up.... He is currently shedding. The first time he hasn't shed all at once. Looks like his skin on his tummy is trying to shed but isn't! Have started misting him with warm water. He seems really thirsty and now waits for us to drip water to him rather than licking off the leaves as he used to.

Am i just being paranoid!

 

[lottie]

correction!

sorry cage sizes should be in cm!!

 

[lottie]

Also

Also another quick question.

Do Chameleons get hiccups?
After i gave Thor water last night, i noticed him having a little occasional twitch, it only lasted minutes and its the second time this has happened.

I did accidently spray him whilst putting the droplets in his mouth, could this be it?

 

[camimom]

First off, why on earth do you have 3 UVB lights? you only need one!
Second- get rid of that red lamp, you need a regular house bulb for basking.
Third- dont spray water into his face to drink, he will drink when he needs it.

Chams cant really get hiccups, I think you should take him to the vet, as it sounds like he has a respiratory infection.

as he's hitting adulthood, its normal for them to not poop everyday, and its also normal for him to not shed every month like he did as a baby.

the Hiccup sound, the head thrashing, the mouth breathing, sounds like a respiratory infection.

does he ever make clicking or popping noises when his mouth is open?

 

[lottie]

Hi
He has 3 UV ( 2 at the moment) as his cage is 3 foot long and the hood we have has space for them. With only one UV bulb his tank is really dark.

The heat bulb was recommended to us as his heat source (we were told that chameleons could not see the infra red)

I can post a picture of his tank if you'd like to see set up?

We do not normally spay him to drink. We held the spray bottle above him and let the drips fall near him and he drank the drops. It was purely an accident that i sprayed him.
We have now changed his tank aound so his sprayers get more of the leaves and we only give his tank an extra spray in the morning to increase the humidity.

He hasn't made any noises just a slight twitch after he got sprayed those 2 times. He is now finished shedding and the head thrashing has stopped.
He poops about 2-3 times a week and seems his normal self again.

Am wondering whether he was grumpy due to shedding.......

 

[lottie]

Thor's tank

http://www.facebook.com/lottie.sarf...1032925321746.420031.507231745&type=1&theater

I know it is longer than it is tall but he is still small (you can see him middle back) and we are currently saving for a 3-4 foot tank

 

[camimom]

they can see red lights, and its just not good. they need a basking bulb that is white light to imitate the sun. so just use a regular house bulb for this.

(those pet store reptile specialists dont always know what they are doing, and in fact, cause more harm than good)

if he was shedding when he was doing the head thrashing, he may have been trying to get the shed off. my female veiled will rub her face on my knuckles, plants, the cage, when she sheds her eyes to get the skin off.

that link doesnt work.
is what you have him in a screen cage or a glass one?

 

[lottie]

He has a glass exoterra tank

2 foot x 3 foot x 1.5 foot I think.

I have tried attaching a file.
Hopefully it will work

Have also attached a couple of pics of our little man

 

[natureboy86]

My guess about the head-thrashing with mouth open is that he ate something that was tough to swallow. He may have been choking and just tryin get it down.

This happened to my little guy when i foolishly gave him a large cricket(when he should've been only eating small/mediums). He stood on his hind-legs with his mouth open, and was thrashing around. I was so devastated and scared.. Even worse, it was time for me to go to work . He wound up getting it down, but it took a LOT of effort on his part..

Just a thought. maybe a beetle or something you have him was a tad bit too big and he was choking.