rescue cham, please help!

[greg nan]

I just recently strolled into my local pet store, asking for a oustalets chameleon. The owner had one in the store, but was very sick. I made him a deal that if he gave me the chameleon and a terrarium for free I would do my best to bring it back to good health. I have cared for chameleons in the past and own a furcifer verrucosus whose doing great. The oustalets chameleon is in very rough shape his eyes are closed, his ribs are noticeably protruding, his bottom lip sags, his left eye looks a little swollen at the eyelids he doesn't have a solid grip, but still has a little grip. his tail curls fine, he doesn't have noticeable mbd but i could be wrong. today i gave him quite a bit of water and he was diffidently very thirsty and dehydrated but did drink a lot. i have been misting him all day with warm water. I fed him 3 1/2 ml of lafeber's emeraid, which is a critical nutrition for debilitated carnivores which is a food supplement. I currently have him on top of his screen terrarium on a towel with a 100 watt UVB light just a few inches from his body he's not crawling around so there's no worry of him falling off. If anybody has any input on what else i could do that would be great. he will be seeing a vet in a week from now
thanks,

 

[bransworld]

Good luck bringing him back to good health. Keep us updated.

 

[KingJulian]

That's awesome that you saved him I'm pretty sure the best thing to do right now is making sure he drinks...people have suggested Gatorade or pedyalite(I think that's how you spell it) best of luck with him, and as the other member suggested, please keep us updated

 

[greg nan]

That's awesome that you saved him I'm pretty sure the best thing to do right now is making sure he drinks...people have suggested Gatorade or pedyalite(I think that's how you spell it) best of luck with him, and as the other member suggested, please keep us updated

gatorade???!!! for real?

 

[ReptileLove18]

i would definitely try pedialyte as suggested, it works miracles in emergency cases!! ive read about it helping keep reptiles hydrated and get some calories in them long enough to survive a bad ordeal and it is what saved my boyfriends dog when he got parvo.

please do keep us updated and let us know what happens at the vet visit! i wonder what is going on with his eye, why its closed like that

 

[ReptileLove18]

the clear pedialyte is what ive read was used with reptiles also!

 

[TiffanyMariexo]

This breaks my heart I wish you all the best in getting this little guy back to health thank you so much for saving him

 

[thephotoprincess]

People use pedialyte but not gatorade that I know of. If he is drinking water I would stick with that and the food supplement. I would give him liquid calcium as well.

 

[greg nan]

the clear pedialyte is what ive read was used with reptiles also!

if i can find that in my town i will give it a try. thanks for your reply and i will keep you posted

 

[greg nan]

This breaks my heart I wish you all the best in getting this little guy back to health thank you so much for saving him

thanks for the support, im gonna make sure of it that he gets better

 

[greg nan]

People use pedialyte but not gatorade that I know of. If he is drinking water I would stick with that and the food supplement. I would give him liquid calcium as well.

i mixed a minuscule amount of calcium D3 in with the supplemt, is there anything else you could recommend?

 

[ReptileLove18]

i would try bug juice. crush some bugs up realllly good, add some of the pedialyte if you can find it (generally found in baby section in walmart, grocery stores, ext) and a small amount of the calcium, dont over do it with the cal with d3, and then try to feed it to him. i personally wouldnt use the carnivore stuff too much as it most likely has more protein then chameleons are supposed to get since they are insectivores!

 

[thephotoprincess]

I'd use calcium without D3 and I'd try to find liquid calcium.

How are you giving him water? I would give him a shower daily. Put him on a plant in the shower with lukewarm water. Don't get him directly under the water - bounce it off the wall. Give him a good 30 minutes or more twice a day. Close the door so it gets nice and humid.

What temps are you keeping him at for basking?

 

[thephotoprincess]

I don't know if it is available in Canada but I use Flukers Repti+Boost as the food supplement. I'm sure it is similar to the one you are using. I also use carnivore care.

Is he willing to take any feeders? If you can get one in his mouth he may chew it up. Silkworms might be a good thing to try.

 

[miguel rosario]

give him lots of fruit and cut really small

 

[Augustine]

Your a Bad A** that's a big undertaking hope he gets better.

 

[greg nan]

i would try bug juice. crush some bugs up realllly good, add some of the pedialyte if you can find it (generally found in baby section in walmart, grocery stores, ext) and a small amount of the calcium, dont over do it with the cal with d3, and then try to feed it to him. i personally wouldnt use the carnivore stuff too much as it most likely has more protein then chameleons are supposed to get since they are insectivores!

the supplement is meant for insectivoires, it does have a lot of protein, at this point, that is what he needs, hes a bone rack.

 

[Andee]

Good luck with the little guy, Oustlets are quickly becoming one of my favorite chams even though I don't own them. I agree with bug juice and showers. Showers are great for them and usually they perk up a little bit after.

 

[Carlton]

People use pedialyte but not gatorade that I know of. If he is drinking water I would stick with that and the food supplement. I would give him liquid calcium as well.

Before Pedialyte was developed and sold retail, Gatorade was often the best option for rehydrating. But, it isn't designed for herps and should only be used for a short time if nothing else is available.

 

[Carlton]

give him lots of fruit and cut really small

Oustaleti are insectivores. Fruit won't really help him. Lots of sugar that he probably can't metabolize well. I would not do this at all.