ChameleonMom
New Member
So a friend called me about 8 months ago to tell me about the chameleon her son's best friend had recently purchased. It was a beautiful 4 month old male red bar Ambilobe. The friend (24 years old) had purchased the Cham AND the entire set up, "as is" from a pet store - not having a clue how to keep a Cham except from what the pet shop told him. From the picture my friend sent me I immediately told her to tell the kid; get rid of the substrate and the waterfall (yes, the pet store had a waterfall inside!) my friend laughed at me and said "Lisa, you're a Mrs. Know It All". Whatever, I told her...call me when he's sick and maybe I'll be able to help.
Guess who called me 3.5 weeks ago?
Needless to say the chameleon's owner surrendered the cham to me and I've had him for 24 days, trying to bring some life back to this beautiful soul. The poor fella didn't have a name, so I named him "Kingston". Below are the details of his care & setup PREVIOUS to me rescuing him 24 days ago. I will explain what has been going on after the "How to ask for help" form.
Chameleon Info:
One year old, male, red bar Ambilobe Panther chameleon. Hatchdate October 26, 2012. He was purchased from a pet store at 4 months.
Handling - Kingston was handled very frequently, being a 'novelty pet'. I was told he "enjoyed being out of his cage, chilling on my shoulder." He was often passed around hand to hand to hand as his owners home was somewhat of a social 'hangout'.
Feeding - Kingston was fed only 2 - 3 super worms and wax worms every couple of days. The feeders were never gutloaded.
Supplements - Feeders were dusted with calcium w/D3 ONLY.
Watering - Hand misted once or twice a day with a hand sprayer. There was no dripper. The waterfall had been turned off and drained.
Fecal Description - Fecal matter, when present was normal although urates were deep peach colour, of course indicating dehydration. Kingston has not (yet) been tested for parasites.
History - This cham spent 8 months in a screen cage, at 'couch potato' level in a 500 square foot apartment that was continually filled with either marijuanna smoke or incense smoke. He was infrequently hydrated and fed sporadically. He was handled almost constantly. When I met Kingston he had not opened his eyes in 3 weeks, his breathe was dry & raspy, he was malnourished at 112 grams, and dehydrated. Upon checking his limbs I miraculously did not find evidence of MBD.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Wooden frame, screen front, back & top; glass bottom & sides. Cage is 36x18x36.
Lighting - An Exo Terra 160W Solar Power UVB sunlamp, included in the setup straight from the petstore. In addition a 60w basking bulb AND a 50W red heat lamp were used. Lights were not on a timer and depending on the social schedule of the owner, rarely turned off.
Temperature - Temperatures were never measured but HOT & dry describes it. The small apartment where he lived was very, very warm and stuffy. A nighttime temperature drop was never observed.
Humidity - Humidity was not measured.
Plants - Fake plants only with (verticle) vines and driftwood features.
Placement - Cage was placed at couch (and eye) level of apartment occupants.
Location - Vancouver, BC Canada
I have had Kingston for 24 days now and have been administering orally 0.02cc's Baytril and Vitamin B12 for immunity boost, once per day. I give him 0.01cc's liquid calcium every second day and 1 small drop of Vitamin A for eye health once a week. I have been flushing his eyes out daily with saline solution and putting 1 - 2 drops of Polysporin for Red Eye antibiotic drops in his eyes daily. I have cleaned out ALOT of 'goop' from his eyes, and when he first came to me his pupils were 'drooping' lower than the holes in his eyelids whenever he DID open them and of course he could not see. Now the pupils have 'risen' and are lined up with his eye holes, but he remains unfocused and I fear now that he is permanently blind. When walking he blindly grabs for vines - reaching out until he touches one. Also, if he's walking away from me, I can call him and he'll turn around and responding to my voice, will walk toward me and climb up but his movements are by 'feel'.
I immediately began hydrating him manually with a syringe dripper - he has been drinking long and heartily every day and is now well hydrated although his urates remain a light peach colour. His poops are normal and frequent. He is eating a combination of fruit & veggie gutloaded crickets, wax worms (for weight gain) and hornworm(s) daily; around 8 - 10 feeders daily. Upon hand/force feeding Kingston I have noticed his mouth is partially discoloured (red) on the left inside of his gums and he's missing a tooth. There is a 'bump' on the right inside lip of his mouth that is noticeable on the outside of his closed mouth. I had wondered if this was an infection but the administered Baytril has not improved this area at all. However it is not getting worse.
In 24 days Kingston has gone from 112 grams to 142 grams. He is on a misting schedule of three times a day, for 2 minutes each and has a dripper during the day.
I removed the 160W Solar powered sunlamp and replaced it with 2 Exo Terra 26W/5.0 UVB bulbs and a 75W basking bulb and put the lights on a timer; 12 hours on, 12 hours off.
Temperatures are now measured at 82 - 85*F at basking, 75*F in the centre and 70*F at bottom of cage. Temps are measured with digital temp/hygro gauges and a temp gun. I have added 4 live plants inside cage and changed vines to include horizontal basking spots and different basking gradients.
While Kingston has gained weight and strength over the course of his time with me he still rarely opens his eyes and I've noticed his back legs are slightly shaky almost like he can't control them. When I am taking him out of his cage all his limbs will 'let go' and climb onto my hand except (one) back leg. The one back leg (it changes from l to r) will have a death grip to the vine and I have to help him release it. He is not weak but he doesn't move around as much as my healthy chams do. His grip is strong but I am wondering if he could have a neurological problem as he was exposed for most of his young life to intense amounts of marijuanna & incense smoke. If this is the case, is there anything I can do to reverse the smoke damage or improve his motor skills? Could his precarious movements be the cause of what I think is complete blindness? If he is blind, is there anything I can do specifically to help him? Could his eyesight be restored if the strong UVB light caused the damage? Is there another antibiotic I should be giving for eye problems? Even though his lungs are no longer (dry) raspy, could he have cancer and this is the cause of his general malaise?
I have many questions and I'm not really sure where to start. I have not yet taken Kingston to my vet as I wanted to first try on my own to help him with the knowledge and meds I have on hand. I have had success in addressing some of his health issues but the constantly closed eyes and immobility are concerning and his imbalance has not improved.
Please know that I AM WILLING to take Kingston to the vet, but wanted to see what I could do here first or see if anyone had any suggestions as to what could be the lingering problems. I'm up against a wall and I figure if he's strong enough to hang in this long, I've gotta give him my best shot at helping him.
Anyone have any suggestions?
First night with me:
One week later:
Tail will not curl:
Inside mouth:
Eyes still closed at 24 days:
Guess who called me 3.5 weeks ago?
Needless to say the chameleon's owner surrendered the cham to me and I've had him for 24 days, trying to bring some life back to this beautiful soul. The poor fella didn't have a name, so I named him "Kingston". Below are the details of his care & setup PREVIOUS to me rescuing him 24 days ago. I will explain what has been going on after the "How to ask for help" form.
Chameleon Info:
One year old, male, red bar Ambilobe Panther chameleon. Hatchdate October 26, 2012. He was purchased from a pet store at 4 months.
Handling - Kingston was handled very frequently, being a 'novelty pet'. I was told he "enjoyed being out of his cage, chilling on my shoulder." He was often passed around hand to hand to hand as his owners home was somewhat of a social 'hangout'.
Feeding - Kingston was fed only 2 - 3 super worms and wax worms every couple of days. The feeders were never gutloaded.
Supplements - Feeders were dusted with calcium w/D3 ONLY.
Watering - Hand misted once or twice a day with a hand sprayer. There was no dripper. The waterfall had been turned off and drained.
Fecal Description - Fecal matter, when present was normal although urates were deep peach colour, of course indicating dehydration. Kingston has not (yet) been tested for parasites.
History - This cham spent 8 months in a screen cage, at 'couch potato' level in a 500 square foot apartment that was continually filled with either marijuanna smoke or incense smoke. He was infrequently hydrated and fed sporadically. He was handled almost constantly. When I met Kingston he had not opened his eyes in 3 weeks, his breathe was dry & raspy, he was malnourished at 112 grams, and dehydrated. Upon checking his limbs I miraculously did not find evidence of MBD.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Wooden frame, screen front, back & top; glass bottom & sides. Cage is 36x18x36.
Lighting - An Exo Terra 160W Solar Power UVB sunlamp, included in the setup straight from the petstore. In addition a 60w basking bulb AND a 50W red heat lamp were used. Lights were not on a timer and depending on the social schedule of the owner, rarely turned off.
Temperature - Temperatures were never measured but HOT & dry describes it. The small apartment where he lived was very, very warm and stuffy. A nighttime temperature drop was never observed.
Humidity - Humidity was not measured.
Plants - Fake plants only with (verticle) vines and driftwood features.
Placement - Cage was placed at couch (and eye) level of apartment occupants.
Location - Vancouver, BC Canada
I have had Kingston for 24 days now and have been administering orally 0.02cc's Baytril and Vitamin B12 for immunity boost, once per day. I give him 0.01cc's liquid calcium every second day and 1 small drop of Vitamin A for eye health once a week. I have been flushing his eyes out daily with saline solution and putting 1 - 2 drops of Polysporin for Red Eye antibiotic drops in his eyes daily. I have cleaned out ALOT of 'goop' from his eyes, and when he first came to me his pupils were 'drooping' lower than the holes in his eyelids whenever he DID open them and of course he could not see. Now the pupils have 'risen' and are lined up with his eye holes, but he remains unfocused and I fear now that he is permanently blind. When walking he blindly grabs for vines - reaching out until he touches one. Also, if he's walking away from me, I can call him and he'll turn around and responding to my voice, will walk toward me and climb up but his movements are by 'feel'.
I immediately began hydrating him manually with a syringe dripper - he has been drinking long and heartily every day and is now well hydrated although his urates remain a light peach colour. His poops are normal and frequent. He is eating a combination of fruit & veggie gutloaded crickets, wax worms (for weight gain) and hornworm(s) daily; around 8 - 10 feeders daily. Upon hand/force feeding Kingston I have noticed his mouth is partially discoloured (red) on the left inside of his gums and he's missing a tooth. There is a 'bump' on the right inside lip of his mouth that is noticeable on the outside of his closed mouth. I had wondered if this was an infection but the administered Baytril has not improved this area at all. However it is not getting worse.
In 24 days Kingston has gone from 112 grams to 142 grams. He is on a misting schedule of three times a day, for 2 minutes each and has a dripper during the day.
I removed the 160W Solar powered sunlamp and replaced it with 2 Exo Terra 26W/5.0 UVB bulbs and a 75W basking bulb and put the lights on a timer; 12 hours on, 12 hours off.
Temperatures are now measured at 82 - 85*F at basking, 75*F in the centre and 70*F at bottom of cage. Temps are measured with digital temp/hygro gauges and a temp gun. I have added 4 live plants inside cage and changed vines to include horizontal basking spots and different basking gradients.
While Kingston has gained weight and strength over the course of his time with me he still rarely opens his eyes and I've noticed his back legs are slightly shaky almost like he can't control them. When I am taking him out of his cage all his limbs will 'let go' and climb onto my hand except (one) back leg. The one back leg (it changes from l to r) will have a death grip to the vine and I have to help him release it. He is not weak but he doesn't move around as much as my healthy chams do. His grip is strong but I am wondering if he could have a neurological problem as he was exposed for most of his young life to intense amounts of marijuanna & incense smoke. If this is the case, is there anything I can do to reverse the smoke damage or improve his motor skills? Could his precarious movements be the cause of what I think is complete blindness? If he is blind, is there anything I can do specifically to help him? Could his eyesight be restored if the strong UVB light caused the damage? Is there another antibiotic I should be giving for eye problems? Even though his lungs are no longer (dry) raspy, could he have cancer and this is the cause of his general malaise?
I have many questions and I'm not really sure where to start. I have not yet taken Kingston to my vet as I wanted to first try on my own to help him with the knowledge and meds I have on hand. I have had success in addressing some of his health issues but the constantly closed eyes and immobility are concerning and his imbalance has not improved.
Please know that I AM WILLING to take Kingston to the vet, but wanted to see what I could do here first or see if anyone had any suggestions as to what could be the lingering problems. I'm up against a wall and I figure if he's strong enough to hang in this long, I've gotta give him my best shot at helping him.
Anyone have any suggestions?
First night with me:
One week later:
Tail will not curl:
Inside mouth:
Eyes still closed at 24 days:
Last edited:
