Preparing for my first chameleon, tips appreciated

Traildrifterphalanx said:
Thank you!
I'm eager to get her to the vet. I don't know them well enough to know normal behaviors and what is alarming. Only so much can be researched and understood without first hand experience
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I completely agree !!. We did 2 years of research before Frances . We went to pet smart and there she was . In this tiny plastic enclosure, bark and a water dish with 1 plastic branch . We did not want to put money in a chains pocket , but we could not leave her . We knew they would have that tiny plastic enclosure filled the next day . I did not care she would be saved . One beautiful little baby would be saved and loved . I do not go into petsmart/petco it's heart braking for me . She has had URI for a year now . One after another . Thank god for this forum !!. Believe me I get it !!.
 
No, her lights are out and she's asleep. I monitored her a while and have her a few of the swings described in the choking, put her in the pothos, and she seems to have stopped
 
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She seems OK.. she may have had some water in her little lungs...
 
Your going to be up all night watching her . I was told a year ago from a very smart lady AKA (@Nursemaia ) . Welcome to the world of worry ;). Boy was she right . She is a very busy lady these Days , has been a little MIA . She's an amazing keeper and hands down keep my little girl alive till I could get her to the vet .
 
I was watching to make sure she didn't climb too high. She stopped where she's at in that last pic. She seemed very sleepy when I was trying to help her. Like "no... no I want to sleep..."
 
I have done swings before with one of my leos who has a bad swallowing issue in the beginning. She often choked on roaches she should never had, had issues with, I have since solved the issues. But in the beginning while she was healing, I think I had to do swings four different times.
 
I'd hate to lose one right after the other. That really had me scared. I'm glad you shared that technique, though.
Is there any real harm in doing that?
 
Well I wouldn't rely on it, and definitely would avoid doing anything that could cause it from happening again. But other than the stress it's not like physically dangerous. I don't recommend doing it more than necessary because of the stress it causes etc XD and it doesn't always solve the issue but it's one of the things I first try. Usually it is just enough to move the dubia up my geckos' throats to make them able to throw up.
 
Traildrifterphalanx said:
I am aware that cages/enclosures need to be properly cleaned and disinfected before introducing a new companion.
Please know I am in a time of grieving and while I appreciate your concern, I don't really appreciate being treated like I'm putting this new one in danger. I understand why you are concerned about it, but know the steps were taken. The enclosure was cleaned. I did state more cleaning can be done in the lower area, but it's not like I ignored this vital step.
No, I am unsure where you have the idea this enclosure was ever used for a bearded dragon as they require completely different enclosures. This was bought brand new a month before getting JaJa. Everything in the enclosure was all new. Everything in the enclosure was wiped down with F10 or soaked in F10 before the new one was introduced to it. For safe measures, I will be cleaning the enclosure thoroughly again this weekend as the beardie enclosures need a thorough scrub down as well.

I hope this helps put your mind at ease. I apologize if I come off sounding mean, I again fully understand the concern as no one, especially me, wants this to happen again, but I am trying to heal and I feel I'm being told I'm an idiot. Sorry for the venting.
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In post #276 it seems that I said I was sorry you lost jaja...so I must have known you were grieving...who's calling who stupid now?

My mentioning about the cage cleaning was just meant to inform you in case you didn't think about it or didn't know that you should. I definitely didn't want to see you lose this new one so soon after the last one somi figured I should mention it in case you didn't think about it because you were upset grieving. You wouldn't believe how many people don't think about it or know they should...and it doesn't mean or say that they are stupid...just that they may be uninformed or just plain not have thought about it. I also can't count how many times people have kept baby beardies in chameleon cages until they are bigger. That isn't stupid either BTW.

So...can we start fresh now?? So...once again I'm sorry you lost jaja and I hope this new one will do OK for you.

I've kept chameleons and many many other reptiles for over 25 years now. I've learned a lot but still don't know if all. I never will. I would like to think I've helped more than a few people in those years though to learn something about chameleons. When I try to help, I have to start somewhere to figure out what's wrong ...some times it might make no sense.

a bit of background information...I've helped the zoo learn about chameleons, I've lectured vets at a well known veterinary college, I've participated in a study concerning reproduction in veiled chameleons as a consultant, I've worked/cooperated with the vets in the study of CANV, etc.
 
So she started this morning with a burnt out basking bulb :/ went ahead and replaced it.
She had some breakfast, and then a long long morning shower. I filled the mister with warm water, not hot, and used more than half of it this morning. Everything is drenched, she still ran to the top of the enclosure and clung the whole time with her eyes closed.

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Traildrifterphalanx said:
So she started this morning with a burnt out basking bulb :/ went ahead and replaced it.
She had some breakfast, and then a long long morning shower. I filled the mister with warm water, not hot, and used more than half of it this morning. Everything is drenched, she still ran to the top of the enclosure and clung the whole time with her eyes closed.

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Eye closed when not liking some thing is a chameleon defense mechanism . Often new keepers see this as a good thing when handling but their actually scard and trying to pretend nothing is going on with eyes closed . Was she trying to hydrate while climbing ? She also might have a spot she like to drink from .
 
She opened her mouth a few times but not a lot. She's just sitting there right now looking around. I thought she may have been trying to drink the drops off the top, but I checked on her and she just had her head tucked up against the wall.
 
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