Pray for Eddie, My First and Only Cham

[sweetmisery]

OK as I posted in another therad, he(Eddie, 3+ months male veiled) was looking up and also not eating even if shedding was a week + ago.

Earlier I noticed his health deteriorated, very thin in a matter of a couple of days, and this time, both eyes closed and not active, even if I mist him(which is usually run and hide). His color, usually brown or green is now light green with botches of dark green. I took him out, he opens his mouth now and then... I mist him some more.

When I put him back, he suddenly went upside down(vertically... he hanged from his hind legs), and started swaying so fast!!!

I got so scared, I called my gf that we bring him to the vet nearby(the only vet here that do exotics). He examined him, opened his mouth and said its stomatitis. He showed us a small wound inside the mouth. He applied antibiotics and some gel to close the wound and for faster healing. He told me I have to leave him in the clinic! And thats fine with me as long as Eddie is ok... But the vet told me it can go either way(50/50) for now, cuz the stomatitis + recent shedding is not a good combination. It can cause major stress. I guess since yesterday I saw the small crickets and small superworms disappear from his food dish, that he ate it. And vet assumed that one of those bugs caused the wound in his mouth that is causing him pain.

So guys, please pray for him. He is my first chameleon, and I spent a lot of money to get him, since chams are very very very very very very very rare here in the Philippines. Only 1 breeder. Anyway, I paid a downpayment of $30, and most of all, Im the one so stressed. Hope it will work out fine...

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I hope Eddie gets better.
I applaud you for taking him to the vet right away when you knew something was wrong.
Did you have a fecal done as well?
I don't pray, but I do send good wishes.
Good Luck.

-Brad

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

So sorry to hear Eddie isn't feeling well. The Vet should have him on the mend, however. And I prayed for him just now, that the Lord would touch his little body, make him strong, and well, and relieve his stress (and yours ). I remember when you first got him. How excited you were. Sounds like you caught the problem soon enough and he's in good care.

If possible, do have the vet do a fecal exam.

 

[reptimom]

Eddie is in my prayers and you are too!

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I am hoping for the best, please keep us updated. You are a good owner.

 

[jannb]

I will keep him and you in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[wendysjungle]

Saying a prayer for Eddie and for you!

 

[Sassy]

Get Well Soon Eddie!!!!

 

[sweetmisery]

Update... After visiting Eddie today, 5 hours later, vet called, and said he passed away. He said it was too stressful for a baby chameleon who just shed his skin and get that kind of wound. At his last hours, vet even tried to gave it oxygen support(not sure how he did that), but Eddie still died.

I feel so bad right now, and I feel guilty. I didnt have him long and now he is gone. I feel like Im to blame. Maybe if I didnt buy him, he still would be living. My gf keeps cheering me up, but I guess I just need time to feel better.

Sorry guys if I failed Eddie and all the chameleon keepers/you. Another embarrassing addition to noobs who take cares of chameleons. I really tried, researched for months, bought a book and supplies, made a cage, all for this. Sorry.

THANK YOU ALL though for your prayers. He had his last ride from vet to my house(I remember getting him from the airport, I put him and his container in the front seat)... now that he died, I placed him there too... as I said... Eddie's last ride. I burried him on my garden.

 

[jannb]

So sad!!!! My heart goes out to you!

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

So sorry to hear of your loss. It appears from your posts on this forum that you did all that you could to provide just the right situation for him. Please don't blame yourself. I think some chams are just born with suppressed immune systems. It shows up over a period of time, and sometimes there's seemingly nothing that can be done. Many of us on this forum have lost a cham due to inexplicable circumstances.

I have a little veiled female, princess, buried in my garden. She passed away quite suddenly last year. It hurts. But don't give up. In time you will feel better. You know so much about their care now, perhaps in the future you can get another.

 

[wendysjungle]

So sorry for your loss! Please don't blame yourself, you tried very hard to do right by him. Sometimes we lose them in spite of our best efforts.

 

[Sassy]

So Sad - You tried to halp him though, that's all you can do.

 

[reptimom]

Was so sorry to hear about Eddie. I too have lost chameleons in the past. It is amazing how attached you can become to them. I have just had my third clutch of Rudis chameleons and would like to offer you one free, just pay the shipping costs. The first clutch will be ready July 20th. If you would like one let me know and I will hold it for you. Not sure if I will be able to identify the sexes then, but will do the best I can.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Reptimom ... that is very generous of you, but I don't think you will be able to ship him a chameleon as he lives in the Philippines.

Sorry about Eddie

-Brad

 

[littlevillage]

I feel for you. I just went through the same thing about 2 weeks ago. Mine was a young jackson & it sounds like he did the same as your veiled with the star gazing & everything. It's a hard thing to go through, but time heals all wounds, even heart break.

Reptimom.... that is very sweet to offer one of your babies. It truly shows the type of person you are, compassionate.

 

[mika]

I'm so sorry to hear Eddie passed away. He was such a cute little guy.

Is your vet sure the crickets & superworms caused the wound?

If you provided small enough crix & superworms for him and he was eating them then I don't think they would cause him harm.

Now if his mouth was just open & the crix are alive & just sitting inside his mouth, then I can see them biting him.

The reason why I'm asking is because I don't want you to think that your next cham might die if you feed them crix & superworms.

He might have eaten something else that could have caused that small wound.

Try not to blame yourself entirely for his death.

You asked questions, you read books & you tried to give him the best life possible.

Babies are also easily stressed.

They are not as hardy as adults & sometimes no matter what you do, things go wrong.

 

[AFH]

I think some chams are just born with suppressed immune systems.

I'm sorry to hear about Eddie. And I think Gesang has hit upon something I've thought about as well. Breeders generally try to sell all of their babies (that's the point) but the law of averages say some are going to be stronger and some weaker. Someone has to graduate at the bottom of the class, so to speak.

Don't let it discourage you, it sounds like you did your research and tried to supply the best care. Chameleons are amazing and hopefully you'll have a better experience next time.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...He examined him, opened his mouth and said its stomatitis. He showed us a small wound inside the mouth...

Howdy,

Sorry that Eddie didn't make it. Here's one of many links to infectious stomatitis: http://animal.discovery.com/guides/reptiles/diseases/stomatitis.html. It is not very common that crickets or superworms are able to get the chance to do damage inside of a chameleon’s mouth unless the chameleon is already compromised by some other health problem. The spines on cricket legs have the potential to scratch the soft tissue of a chameleon's mouth but this type of injury heals quickly in a healthy chameleon. Opportunistic infections usually take hold if the chameleon's immune system is already suppressed from illness or even husbandry issues as simple as vitamin/mineral deficiencies or temperature errors.

When you are ready to try again, post lots of photos and descriptions of your chameleon's environment and your husbandry techniques and you'll get lots of feedback to help tune things for the best chance of success the 2nd time around. Even with everything tuned perfectly, we always risk the possibility of failure.

 

[mika]

Dave, do you think small crickets have spines or at what age do they develop the spines?

I think his cham was only 3 months old. I'm assuming he's feeding the smaller crix.

I feed mine the 3 week old crix.

Are the spines strong on the 3 week old ones?