Please Help, what is happening to my cham??

[jarvis1]

Hi guys, my pardalis recently became less active and more lethargic, he's always dehydrated and seems like he lost weight. He drinks and eat like normal even tho he struggles with his tongue i mean he misses the food sometimes. Might be parasites? I tried some panacur (with right dosage knowing that its pretty safe for them) i gave him 2 shots of it but nothing changed.

Temperature is perfect, UVB light is new, cage is 100x50x50cm with live safe plants, and i mist 3 times a day and even more when he looks extremely dehydrated, he keeps drinking but doesnt get better.
This period i've been giving him mealworms dusted with Calcium 3-4 days a week. D3 and vitamins also but of course with less frequency.
Any idea on what is happening?? i'm calling the vet but in meanwhile i want to know if somebody has some idea about it. thank you so much.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Sorry that your handsome guy isn’t doing well. He does look terribly thin. A visit with a good vet, blood work and a fecal for parasites is definitely your best action. Panacur will only treat specific parasites and there’s many that it won’t touch. There could be any number of things going on with him, such as infection, organ problems, etc. We can review your husbandry and assure that everything is correct for him if you’d like (just use the questions under the health forum ‘how to ask for help’). However, based upon how he looks getting him to vet and soon is still needed.

 

[jarvis1]

thank you i booked a vet visit but i dont see him pooping these days and i cant do the fecal exam for now, i hope the vet will understand whats wrong with him anyway. thanks!

 

[jannb]

Have you gave him any critical care or Reptaboost? If not, I recommend that. I could very well be parasites. When’s the last time he had a fecal test?

 

[jarvis1]

Have you gave him any critical care or Reptaboost? If not, I recommend that. I could very well be parasites. When’s the last time he had a fecal test?

hey no, i didnt give him any of these. Last fecal exam was few months ago as he has always been okay til these days. he's sleeping and its 12.22 AM here, tomorrow we have the vet visit

 

[jannb]

I hope all goes well. It might just be parasites.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."Hi guys, my pardalis recently became less active and more lethargic, he's always dehydrated and seems like he lost weight"...something is definitely going on with him. You definitely need to get him to a vet ASAP IMHO.

You said..."He drinks and eat like normal even tho he struggles with his tongue i mean he misses the food sometimes"...tongue issues can be the result of n injury, lack of calcium, infection...we need more information.

You said..."Might be parasites? I tried some panacur (with right dosage knowing that its pretty safe for them) i gave him 2 shots of it but nothing changed"...as @MissSkittles said...panacur won't kill all types of parasites. Answering the husbandry questions might help us figure out what's going on...but the vet visit is still a must IMHO.

You said..."Temperature is perfect, UVB light is new, cage is 100x50x50cm with live safe plants, and i mist 3 times a day and even more when he looks extremely dehydrated, he keeps drinking but doesnt get better.
This period i've been giving him mealworms dusted with Calcium 3-4 days a week. D3 and vitamins also but of course with less frequency"...we need more specific answers.

Make sure the vet is an experienced chameleon vet.

 

[Thatcher]

Hi guys, my pardalis recently became less active and more lethargic, he's always dehydrated and seems like he lost weight. He drinks and eat like normal even tho he struggles with his tongue i mean he misses the food sometimes. Might be parasites? I tried some panacur (with right dosage knowing that its pretty safe for them) i gave him 2 shots of it but nothing changed.

Temperature is perfect, UVB light is new, cage is 100x50x50cm with live safe plants, and i mist 3 times a day and even more when he looks extremely dehydrated, he keeps drinking but doesnt get better.
This period i've been giving him mealworms dusted with Calcium 3-4 days a week. D3 and vitamins also but of course with less frequency.
Any idea on what is happening?? i'm calling the vet but in meanwhile i want to know if somebody has some idea about it. thank you so much.

Beautiful locale btw, what is it? Fenivario? (I think that's how you spell it)

 

[Beman]

Temperature is perfect, UVB light is new, cage is 100x50x50cm with live safe plants, and i mist 3 times a day and even more when he looks extremely dehydrated, he keeps drinking but doesnt get better.
This period i've been giving him mealworms dusted with Calcium 3-4 days a week. D3 and vitamins also but of course with less frequency.

So visually looking at him. That is not dehydration that is illness. You can tell by how thin his limbs are and how concaved his casque is. Spraying more if it is something like an RI can actually make it worse. Judge dehydration based on urate color... If urate is all orange add a dripper to the cage instead of misting more.


What do you mean by this period? So how long has he only been getting mealworms? Mealworms really are a crummy feeder to use. Most keepers do not use them because of this. They do not gutload as well and are not as healthy as other feeders. For those that do feed them they are only used in a variety with other feeders never as a stand alone feeder.

What are the exact supplements your using and how are you using them?

I would be extremely cautious with medicating on your own without a Vet diagnosing. Depending on the issue you could be providing medication that is completely wrong for it. We also know that meds are hard on their organs so medication without reason identified becomes risky. Then there is the fact that when it is done it has to be done based on their weight as well.

 

[jarvis1]

So visually looking at him. That is not dehydration that is illness. You can tell by how thin his limbs are and how concaved his casque is. Spraying more if it is something like an RI can actually make it worse. Judge dehydration based on urate color... If urate is all orange add a dripper to the cage instead of misting more.


What do you mean by this period? So how long has he only been getting mealworms? Mealworms really are a crummy feeder to use. Most keepers do not use them because of this. They do not gutload as well and are not as healthy as other feeders. For those that do feed them they are only used in a variety with other feeders never as a stand alone feeder.

What are the exact supplements your using and how are you using them?

I would be extremely cautious with medicating on your own without a Vet diagnosing. Depending on the issue you could be providing medication that is completely wrong for it. We also know that meds are hard on their organs so medication without reason identified becomes risky. Then there is the fact that when it is done it has to be done based on their weight as well.

Urate is a little orange yes, I gave him mealworms for like a couple weeks now, i dust with repticalcium 4 times a week, Use D3+calcium 3 times a month, and i use reptivite vitamins 3 times a month too.
i'm fully aware of the dosage for panacur so i dont think that was a problem, i did my math with my cham's weight . anyway in few hours i have vet appointment so we will see what's wrong with him.
I dont think its an RI i mean he didn't show any symptoms with his mouth.. I experienced an RI with other chams in the past and this time is different. He now has an eye closed too, i will let y'all know after the visit. Thank you!

 

[jarvis1]

Ok guys cham is not good sadly, it has some parasites and its hella thin vet gave me some meds and antibiotics to give him but right now my cham is keeping his mouth open, not moving at all sitting on a branch with eyes open but its just steady and not closing the mouth, i gave him food and meds but he's refusing to close the mouth what do i do? i know hes extremely stressed but i have to give him meds

 

[Beman]

Ok guys cham is not good sadly, it has some parasites and its hella thin vet gave me some meds and antibiotics to give him but right now my cham is keeping his mouth open, not moving at all sitting on a branch with eyes open but its just steady and not closing the mouth, i gave him food and meds but he's refusing to close the mouth what do i do? i know hes extremely stressed but i have to give him meds

Did they run a fecal?

Did he aspirate the food and meds? You have to aim to the very back of the mouth to avoid their airway in the front.

i dust with repticalcium 4 times a week, Use D3+calcium 3 times a month, and i use reptivite vitamins 3 times a month too.

Which reptivite are you using, the with d3 or without D3 version?

You should be using calcium WITHOUT D3 at all feedings except once a week you would rotate at 1 feeding between the calcium WITH D3 and the Reptivite without D3. Then the D3 and Reptivite are only given 2 times a month.

IF your reptivite has D3 you are overdosing the cham on D3.

 

[jarvis1]

Did they run a fecal?

Did he aspirate the food and meds? You have to aim to the very back of the mouth to avoid their airway in the front.


Which reptivite are you using, the with d3 or without D3 version?

You should be using calcium WITHOUT D3 at all feedings except once a week you would rotate at 1 feeding between the calcium WITH D3 and the Reptivite without D3. Then the D3 and Reptivite are only given 2 times a month.

IF your reptivite has D3 you are overdosing the cham on D3.

I dont know he just keeps his mouth open i dont want to cause any harm by inserting the syringe too much down, I've put the food on the front of his mouth but i dont know if has been ingested, should I wait for him to calm down or give him all the meds right now? i dunno which way is less stressful.
anyway no im using standard reptivite.
Yes vet did run fecal and there are parasites. I have 3 meds dunno if name are the same in other languages but they are: METRONIDAZOLE, BAYTRIL AND BAYCOX

 

[jannb]

What’s the name of the meds?

 

[jarvis1]

What’s the name of the meds?

METRONIDAZOLE, BAYTRIL AND BAYCOX
one is an antibiotic cuz vet found some small trace of blood in feces which may indicate that the intestine may have been damaged by the parasites, but he said its not that bad and antibiotics will help reduce infections. i have no idea why this happened so fast. he was good til 7 days ago. i gotta give him meds but i dont wanna scare him more

 

[Beman]

I dont know he just keeps his mouth open i dont want to cause any harm by inserting the syringe too much down, I've put the food on the front of his mouth but i dont know if has been ingested, should I wait for him to calm down or give him all the meds right now? i dunno which way is less stressful.
anyway no im using standard reptivite.
Yes vet did run fecal and there are parasites. I have 3 meds dunno if name are the same in other languages but they are: METRONIDAZOLE, BAYTRIL AND BAYCOX

You can not put anything in the front... You will aspirate them and then they can not breathe. Look at this. http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2014/05/how-to-give-different-medicines.html

What do you consider standard reptivite? The with D3 version or without D3. It says it on the label.

Did they tell you what parasites were found?

 

[jarvis1]

should i bring him out of the cage and force-feed him the meds?

 

[MissSkittles]

You do want to aim for the back of his throat and if you can angle him so his head is up, that is even better. The airway is in the front where the red arrow is.

 

[jarvis1]

perfect thanks guys i will give him the other meds then, the parasites are coccidia and flagellates

 

[Beman]

perfect thanks guys i will give him the other meds then, the parasites are coccidia and flagellates

Ugggg. So when your not as stressed we will need to talk about proper cleaning. Coccidia is a beast and requires very very specific cleaning or they can easily reinfect themselves.