RI questions

[christineacero]

1. Is it normal for a cham to still eat if they have an RI infection? Also, still be sociable?

2. Can they have an RI infection without the excess mucus/ bubbling?

3. How would you suggest raising the temps in the enclosure if it is screened on 3 sides?

I'm still not 100% sure if one of my females actually has an RI, but I'm still really concerned that this could be the case. She came out willingly for a visit last night and I thought I heard popping when she was climbing my hair near my ear, but i also saw her licking my hair so i dont know if it was her breathing or the sound of her tongue...She does wheeze sometimes but it seems to happen after she takes a drink from her dropper, or if i have to move her when shes crawling on me and I have to pick her up around her belly.

The nearest reptile vet is 3 hours away from here and I'm not too sure if they're even versed in cham care...if someone who has solid experience or advice could chime in on this situation it would be greatly appreciated. I don't mind making the drive, I just don't want to go there on a whim and stress her out from the travel and pay tons of money to find out shes okay. Any advice on how I can help her out at home?

 

[wacky22jacki]

Christine, I am also worried about my cham as well. This morning he woke up with a crusted shut eye and I thought it could just be an eye infection so I got his eye open by a warm wash cloth, warm mist bath, and q-tip. Finally it unstuck and he was able to see out of it again. But after reading up on it I found out that it could be a sign of an R.I. I was told. This could make sense to me because sometimes when my cham is on my head as well, i do hear him breathe heavily a couple times and I also thought it was just because I was trying to move him or get him down. I am calling my vet first thing in the morning to make sure because I lost my old cham to an RI that showed no symptoms until it was too late. My cham is extremely social, as soon as he sees me he comes over the door to be let out and he crawls around for hours and just never wants to let go of me but I'm still worried he might have a problem. Its always better to be safe than sorry, I also have to drive quite a ways to an exotic vet and I definitely do not have the extra cash but I rather him get checked out just incase because the earlier the better, like I said - I lost my old one to an infection that showed NO symptoms until about 30 minutes before she passed. Good luck to you and your cham

 

[Cait0420]

Glad to hear you found a vet (and so close!) and got her meds. Hope the ri clears up soon!

 

[christineacero]

Christine, I am also worried about my cham as well. This morning he woke up with a crusted shut eye and I thought it could just be an eye infection so I got his eye open by a warm wash cloth, warm mist bath, and q-tip. Finally it unstuck and he was able to see out of it again. But after reading up on it I found out that it could be a sign of an R.I. I was told. This could make sense to me because sometimes when my cham is on my head as well, i do hear him breathe heavily a couple times and I also thought it was just because I was trying to move him or get him down. I am calling my vet first thing in the morning to make sure because I lost my old cham to an RI that showed no symptoms until it was too late. My cham is extremely social, as soon as he sees me he comes over the door to be let out and he crawls around for hours and just never wants to let go of me but I'm still worried he might have a problem. Its always better to be safe than sorry, I also have to drive quite a ways to an exotic vet and I definitely do not have the extra cash but I rather him get checked out just incase because the earlier the better, like I said - I lost my old one to an infection that showed NO symptoms until about 30 minutes before she passed. Good luck to you and your cham

I would make an appointment just to be safe. I've been speculating about my girl for a few weeks and now that its been confirmed that she does in fact have an RI, I wish I had have called sooner. They're so delicate and sensitive that any "small" problem is huge for them. I'm glad I caught it before it got out of control. I know its hard to find the money to pay for vet costs (trust me, I have a lemon dog who frequents the vet about once a month) but it is totally worth it to have the piece of mind that your critter is healthy and doing well. Especially if you've already lost one to an RI. What type of enclosure do you have? I'm wondering if I could help you with your husbandry if you've had 2 chams ending up with the same problem?

 

[christineacero]

Glad to hear you found a vet (and so close!) and got her meds. Hope the ri clears up soon!

Thanks Cait! I'll let you know how we fare out

 

[wacky22jacki]

Christine the vet suspected she was ill when I got her, my bf bought her as a suprise and bought her from pets mart- she didn't last long ): only a few months but when she passed I cleaned the cage thoroughly and waited a year to get a new one and got him from a breeder, my cage is 24x24x48 repti breeze, I have 2 schefflera plants in there, I do free range him in my room idk if that has anything to do with developing them

 

[christineacero]

Christine the vet suspected she was ill when I got her, my bf bought her as a suprise and bought her from pets mart- she didn't last long ): only a few months but when she passed I cleaned the cage thoroughly and waited a year to get a new one and got him from a breeder, my cage is 24x24x48 repti breeze, I have 2 schefflera plants in there, I do free range him in my room idk if that has anything to do with developing them

Thats so unfortunate that she only lasted a few months. I firmly believe Petsmart should not be allowed to sell reptiles. They are just not educated enough and the poor animals suffer.

Your setup sounds fine to me. It might just be one of those things that is out of our control. The only control we have is to seek medical attention to be sure. Let me know what happens!