We bought a juvi Chameleon about 1 month - 1 1/2 months ago. Where we got him from was pretty sketchy anyways. I've only seen him eat 4 crickets within the first 2 weeks, then I cage fed as he wouldn't eat from a cup. So I am actually unsure if he has eaten recently. He is pretty skinny, his eyes are sunken in (which I knew he was dehydrated so we were spraying a bit more often and he has a dripper), and I hand fed him Reptiboost twice. Yesterday he opened his mouth and there was sticky fluids in it. We called all day yesterday to find a vet, and I finally got a hold of one today. He gets dropped off tomorrow morning at 830am. He is so bad, we honestly didn't think he would make it overnight. He was also sleeping during the day, that started yesterday but he's had 1 eye closed for a week. I figured it was due to shed in his eye. But besides the dehydration, I haven't really seen any other signs of a RI. So now I need to make sure he lives to see another day so he can see the vet. Last night I set up a warm mist humidifier and rigged it up to go in his cage. Is there anything else I can do? I can't seem to get the ambient temps up above 75.6f. My husband caught him trying to drink water early this morning. He will stick his nose towards water and arch up but never really drink.
The black table in the back right with the brown bag on it is where he is normally kept. I moved him so I had room for the humidifier.
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
The black table in the back right with the brown bag on it is where he is normally kept. I moved him so I had room for the humidifier.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Juvenile male Veiled chameleon, less than 2 months
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? 1-2 times a week
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I was throwing 5-8 crickets in a day, dusted with ZooMed Repti Calcium, w/o D3. The next day I would find at least 4 crickets. He won't take dubia roaches.
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti Calcium w/o D3 daily, if he ate, Repashy Calcium Plus lod every 2 weeks, reptiboost 2 times
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Mist quite a few times a day, usually when humidity dropped to 50% to bring it back up to 80%, and have a dripper, no water in the tank between 9pm-9am
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Used to be dark with white urates, haven't seen any lately
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No history
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Zilla screen 18"x12"x20"
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Reptisun 5.0 t8 tube(was going to get a 10.0, but I want to make sure he survives first. I will be getting T5 if I get the chance to upgrade cage
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Ambient temps roughly 74f basking 98f. Have a thermometer/hygrometer reader with probe, and a temp gun
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Thermometer/hygrometer reader with probe. Mist with spray bottle multiple times a day, drops to 50% then spray up to 80% ish, then let drop again.
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Sits in our back room next to my fish tank, not too much traffic, no vents, there's a fan but we don't use it. Cage sits about 3-3 1/2 feet off ground.
- Location - Where are you geographically located? Ohio, USA
