Reptaid
- Thread starter Ryan123
- Start date
ChrisnLisa
Avid Member
As well as the pics...what type of parasite/s does she have?
Chameleons Northwest
Avid Member
Ryan, when you called yesterday you didn't mention taking her to the vet. Are you sure you really took her to the vet? And when you talked to my husband you didn't mention having the vet do a fecal exam either. If the vet did, then he/she can definitely tell you what parasite she has.
Below are the photos Ryan sent us yesterday of this girl. She looks terrific, but, of course, that doesn't mean there's nothing wrong. Ryan's Mom wrote to us Saturday night to say the girl is doing very well and that Ryan is neurotic about his chameleons' care. She didn't mean it as a slam, but as a compliment. And I have to say after viewing photos of his male and female, they both look terrific. Ryan, I think you are doing a good job and don't give yourself enough credit.
On the other hand, if she is really sleeping during the day then obviously there is something wrong. But it's not that unusual for a stressed chameleon to close its eyes. Especially when it knows a human is approaching. Also, daylight hours are shorter this time of year. She may be going to sleep earlier and waking up later. And she may be awake during the part of the day that you are gone.
Also, you said she hasn't been eating. But you say she has been pooping. But only every 2 or 3 days. That is not really unusual. I feed our adult chams every other day. If you feed a cham too much or too often it can end up having very large stools and difficulty moving them. If a stool is too large, or too compact, it can cause bleeding during defecation. That may be the cause of the blood you saw.
This is not the sort of thing I would normally say openly, but this has been going on for months, and I am afraid that if this continues either you, Ryan, or your chameleon is going to die of stress. I'm just saying this because you're a nice guy and I am concerned about you and your little girl.
Last edited:
GooglezNvincent
New Member
Last picture
she looks great but in the last picture she looks pretty big, any way that she could have some eggs left over? worth getting an x ray to know for sure.
she looks great but in the last picture she looks pretty big, any way that she could have some eggs left over? worth getting an x ray to know for sure.
Chameleons Northwest
Avid Member
She laid a primary clutch about a month ago and is probably working on a secondary clutch. I do think Ryan has an egg bin in her cage. She is pretty plump all over. He may be overfeeding her a bit.
Ryan123
New Member
she always has a bin in her cage of moist sand that she laid 25 eggs last month....i think i felt somethig i her belly today while giving her her medicine but not 100% sure it may be stress because she doesnt enjoy the process of the medicie but she looks like she enjoys the taste it seems as if she savors the flavor... her nails are still long like really long and she did go i dont remember the name but she supposidly got it from eating a cricket that got left in her enclosure that was eating off one of the hibiscus or sheflarra plants i really dont have a clue.....she usually sees my male when she gets her meds and gapes but today she didnt she saw him and turned a little dark with alot of cream with an orange tint to it what does this mean......andd she has a bowl of supers and a roach or two but i never notice them missing
prettykttkat
Established Member
I was reading this thread and I wanted to say a few things. I noticed in the beginning you said she had cream colored urates and then later red urates. To me it sounds like she might not be getting enough water and is dehydrated. This will cause a reptile to stop eating. I had a rescued cham that was very dehydrated and his urates were so dark orange it was almost red looking. Once he was hydrated the urates turned white. The other cause of this could be bad kidney function but this is very unlikely. She would have had to be dehydrated for a very long time(year or more) for the kidneys to be damaged. I also wanted to say that I read you keep substrate on the bottom of your cage? Wood chips and coconut fiber? This I would not advise because chams can accidentally ingest substrate when eating insects and this can cause impaction, loss of appetite and if the cham cannot eventually poop it out they will die.
prettykttkat
Established Member
When a female cham lays eggs they get dehydrated so it is important to make sure they are drinking ALOT of water afterwards. I hand water my female after she lays eggs for the first week along with misting 2-3 times every day just to be sure she is getting enough. I put her on my hand and take a syringe filled with water and drip it on her lips till she drinks. I spend maybe 15 mins dripping out water until she does not want anymore, they are slow drinkers. They best way to check if they are dehydrated is by looking at the urates in the poop. The urates should be bright white if they are getting enough water. If they are off white/yellowish or in extreme cases dark orange/red that means they are dehydrated. This will cause her to not eat because she needs water.
If she is impacted from ingesting substrate most often it is too big for it to pass in her poop. This is very bad because if she can't poop it out she WILL die. I hope this is not the case for your chameleon
If she is impacted from ingesting substrate most often it is too big for it to pass in her poop. This is very bad because if she can't poop it out she WILL die. I hope this is not the case for your chameleon
prettykttkat
Established Member
It sounds like she has an overgrowth of intestinal protozoa from how you described the poop. There are a few types so what you need to do is take her to the vet for a fecal check and they will identify it and give you medicine to treat her with. Coccidia is just one of these but there are others. They require different types of medicine depending on which one it is. If you cham is sleeping during the day it is a very bad sign so you need to rush that poop to your vet as soon as you can. Overgrowth of intestinal protozoa happens when a reptile is under stress, is sick from something else or catches it from another reptile. This upsets their tummies and that is why she does not want to eat. It can over time kill your cham if not treated. She probably got stressed when she laid her eggs and was weak causing the overgrowth to happen. These protozoa types are normally found in their intestines but a healthy strong reptile's immune system can control the growth of the protozoa so it does not get out of control. Your cham was weakened so the protozoa got out of hand. I've seen this many times in reptiles from stress. At least she is hydrated which is good. Take the poop in for a fecal and keep us updated.
Similar threads
