She's Dying

A

ASublimeDay

Member
I'm pretty sure it's too late, but maybe someone has a miracle.

Your Chameleon - Veiled, Female, 10 months
Handling - Once every two weeks, maybe
Feeding - I was better about variety before we moved and work got crazy. I'm not proud to say she's been exclusively on crickets (well-gutloaded...but crickets) for two months. Before that, Blue bottles, roaches, mantises, crickets, and a mealworm or two before I realized they were no good
Supplements - Again, not proud for slacking but she gets with D3 probably one day a week and without twice a week. The crickets stay in a tub in the cage with a ladder she can climb into and out of, which has worked great. They get dusted when they go in and it washes off eventually if she doesn't finish them off in a few days. She gets 1/4 of a monthly dose of vitamins once a week.
Watering - Mistking. Two minutes, three times a day
Fecal Description - Normal, always healthy
History - She comes from a strong bloodline and has been great for the 6-7 months I've had her. All of a sudden she crashed yesterday. I had just replaced the CFL UVB bulb (5) and she started showing signs of eye trauma from the brightness. I turned off the bulb yesterday evening and today when I got home from work she was completely unwilling to open her eyes. Her color was lime, where it's always been a strong darker green before. She couldn't grip and her eyes were deeply sunken in. I took her out and she was so weak, no fight in coming out of the cage. I misted her heavily with a hand mister on and off to make sure I didn't drown her or anything. She eventually opened her mouth periodically and I put a drop of liquid in her mouth, which she swallowed. After a few times, when she opened her mouth and I put a drop in, she began thrashing her head and pushing her tongue out, so I stopped and put her back in her cage. She's just laying there now. I doubt she has much left.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 24" x 24" x 40"
Lighting - UVB CFL, 5, regular warm CFL for basking and plant light.
Temperature - Since we moved it's been cooler. Consistently 60-70
Humidity - Medium (50)
Plants - Ficus
Placement - Finished basement. She sees me for maybe an hour a day and I'm 10 feet away playing video games or watching TV. Very low stress for her. We mostly pretend to ignore eachother in an effort to keep her happy.
Location - Maryland

I've really tried to be the best Cham owner I could. My dad and I had a few when I was growing up and we couldn't seem to get it right. Finally as an adult I bought him a male and myself a female veiled, did a ton of research and gave them both ideal conditions in seperate houses. His male is a behemoth and is aggressive but amazingly healthy, but my female never seemed to grow as big as she should've, but always showed signs of a healthy chameleon. Suddenly I replace this bulb and we lose her completely? This is awful.
 
I should add that she's in the middle of a shed and her whole body has completed the shed, but her face is still full of unshedded skin
 
i dont know what could be causing this either.. i am very sorry she is doing so poorly and i pray she gets better for you.

i suggest you message ferretinmyshoes, she is a vet and she is very experienced with chams. she may be able to help you figure out what is causing this, she is always willing to do what she can!
 
Hi: I really can't offer you anything that might help-But have you checked her temps?? And her humidity. I am new and new to chameleons but these babies are amazing and tha'ts the first i would do and then if all is well take her to a vet ASAP-they are too amazing not to. You and her are in my Prayers. Buttons.
 
I am still new, but it seems like your supliments need to be changed. She should be getting Calcium every day and D3 twice a month. I have also seen other member post that those CFL bulbs can be way too bright for chams and that you should stay with the long tubes instead.

I hope that Ferrett can come and look at this thread and help out since she is a vet, but I would also suggest calling your vet right away.

Does she look fatter than normal at all? Maybe she is ready to lay some eggs and needs a laying bin in the cage.

Also your temps seems too low compared to what the care sheets say they should be. Have a look at these as they are VERY helpful. - https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

Just throwing some things out there to think about and maybe act upon.

I hope she gets better.
 
little leaf said:
how is she today? I thought about her all night :( I hope she is doing better
Click to expand...

Found her laying on the rocks at the bottom of the tree. Weakly grasping a handful of leaves and her color is awful. Headed to the vet now but at this point it feels like throwing good money after bad. I know that's cold but man she's in terrible shape
 
hold her, she will feel you there as she goes, they seem to find comfort in that - so sorry things are not going well :(
at least if the vet feels there is no hope he can end her suffering
 
Consistantly 60 or 70 degrees? Maybe it could go a little higher? Especially if she doesn't have a heat lamp with a basking spot that gets into the eighties. Maybe she needs to lay?
 
Hey there, really sorry to hear about what happened to your little girl. I had a similar experience and I know how much it sucks to see your animal fade away like that.

From what I see, at least two things should be improved:

60-70 degrees sounds too low even for a female. You really need to bring the temps up to 70-80, with a basking spot around 84. When temperature is too low, they can not properly digest their food and consequently get the proper nutrients.

also, calcium only two times a week is not enough for a growing female (and that's what she is at 10 month age). Females are more fragile than males in regards to supplements, because they need calcium to develop eggs. They lay eggs even if they have never been with a male and have not been mated, then the eggs are just infertile. 10 months is about the age that they usually develop their first clutch and they need to be supplemented heavily at that age. Since reproducing has the priority over all other functions, what happens is that calcium is being pulled from the bones in favor of forming eggs. Calcium is also necessary for proper muscle functioning, so when there is not enough of it, chameleon has trouble moving, swallowing, etc.

My guess is that light had nothing to do with it and it was just a coincidence. There were probably other signs - like moving around less, weakness in front limbs, other things, which are unfortunately often way too subtle to notice if you have little experience. I hope the vet visit show that there is still hope for your girl. And no matter what happens, please don't beat yourself up. You sound like a responsible owner and now you have found this forum, which is an exceptional resource with lots of knowledge and plenty of experienced people to ask for advise.

Please, let us know, how the vet visit goes.

All the best,
Julija
 
Paid the vet to put her down. She was in horrible shape by the time we got there. It was about ending her suffering at that point

The temps were too low and she couldn't digest properly, so she lost her appetite, wasn't getting any nourishment, went blind from that, and everything shut down from there. It all couldve been fixed with a higher wattage basking bulb.

I feel horrible. Hopefully this helps someone else avoid my mistakes. RIP Katniss.
 
:( sorry to hear she passed, but you did the right thing for her -
do not give up, study the care sheets on here- its easy to beat yourself up over things like this- we know you feel bad,but you TRIED to get help, its not like you just said "oh well " - the whole forum is full of helpful ppl - do a bit more research, and when you feel ready, and have things right - then try again :)
 
Well, just got home from a weekend trip and stopped by her cage to see her and actually glanced in reflexively before I realized a few seconds later that she wasn't there :(

The biggest take away for the rest of the forum should be how important semi-yearly check-ups are. Just because your cham looks healthy doesn't mean there isn't something that a vet may spot. Be diligent.

Thanks again for all the well-wishes. This forum is amazing.
 
Hey again,

Really sorry for you loosing your little girl...

Even the most experienced keepers make mistakes, and sometimes things go wrong in spite of all the care and precautions. But once again - try not beating yourself up. Let go and move on. When you feel again that you can - get another cham, I am sure you're gonna do great.

Bthw, if in doubt, you can always post and ask for advises on your setup. It is one of the possible ways to spot errors before they develop into health problems.

All the best,
Julija
 
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