Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screened 18"x18"x36"
Lighting - Reptisun UVB (changed every 4 mo) and Reptisun heat bulb. He's on a 13on/11off cycle (due to my work schedule)
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Highest = 95, lowest = 70. Measured with electronic thermometer probe.
Humidity - about 70% (increase during misting) maintained with a fogger and mister. Measured with an electronic gage.
Plants - Only fake.
Location - In my living room. basically gets no traffic. I live alone and am gone most of the day working. cage sits about 2 feet off the ground, but there are no other animals to pester him.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon -Male Veiled. Will be 3 in November. I have owned him since he was about 2 months old.
Handling - If he is healthy I never handle him. When he is sick (see below) unfortunately he requires handling on up to a daily basis. (again see below)
Feeding - He gets crickets, wax worms and silk worms. Worms are gut loaded with the mulberry stuff, crickets get a mixture of veggies and fish food (from a recipe that I got).
Supplements - He gets reptical supps 1x per week. Vet said that since he's full grown he doesn't need much and we monitor his calcium very closely. (again see below)
Watering - I use both a spray bottle and do it by hand and a fogger/mister. Occasionally I see him drink when he is healthy.
Fecal Description - Urates are white and runny (NO yellow), fecal matter brown and formed. Has been tested negative for parasites.
History - "Hermie" has a long medical history. To try and be brief he developed MBD a few months after I got him (despite being properly supplemented and having a UVB light) and broke all four legs. He was casted, and had a sling for one and survived. It sounds stupid to most people and I take a lot of criticism for it, but with the help of my vet we decided that if he kept fighting we would too. He was kept in a smallish enclosure with no climbing tools and padded ground, ate mashed up food fed to him four times a day (would open his mouth like a baby bird when he wanted to be fed... he has "favorites" as far as baby food goes as well). He SURVIVED and his bones healed (at the time of Diagnosis his bones looked like cartiledge on xray and you could only see his spine ... his bones now have NORMAL density). He was on a high dose calcium supplement and injections to keep him from reabsorbing more bone. From all of this he has had to be handled extensively. When he was healthy I STOPPED handling altogether. He has had more issues along the way including two kidney infections (responded to antibiotic injections and subq fluids) and one impaction (responded to mineral oil and subq fluids). He also developed a problem where patches of his skin on his tail and joints were turning grey and he could no longer change their color (he was not just shedding)... at this time his WBC was high and vet recommended trying some antibiotics which stopped the spread of this.
Current Problem: Recently he stopped eating again and was dark colored in his cage. I took him to his veterinarian and we did blood work on him. His calcium
hosphorus levels are both high but the concerning part is that they are in a 1:1 ratio, which the vet says signals a kidney problem to him. His cholesteral is high too (due to worms most likely which I immediately cut completely out of his diet but he refuses to eat crickets when he is not feeling well) but this is not as big of a concern. His RBC are slightly low and his WBC slightly high. Vet thinks either kidney infection or kidney failure but says that he does not act sick enough for failure at this time. This is also consistent with his previous kidney infections. We put him on Subq fluids (3 ml 2x daily) and antibiotics (pipericillin 1x daily) and carnivore care and/or baby food for nutrition (he will not catch his own food right now). Unfortunately he has remained dark (which I am taking to mean stressed/not feeling good ... this could be chalked up simply to the handling BUT he has been handled extensively before when ill and this has never been the case) but active. He moves around in his cage and after his injections I let him loose in my apartment (something he enjoys) and he goes and climbs all over the place). He earned the nick name "houdini hermie" because he was known for escaping out of his cage and ending up ALL over the place. Previously he was eating his baby food and/or carnivore care willingly (up to 6 mls of it a day!) but lately has not been as interested (though still as active). He has not lost weight. I'm looking for suggestions for the little guy. I will do whatever I can for him. He is still on antibiotics for a few more days. We had to cut down his subq fluids because he wasn't absorbing all of them and they were just causing edema so after a few days off of them he now only gets 1.5 mls 1x daily.
Thanks, Jamie and Hermie
p/s -- I attahed a picture of him POST MBD but prior to his latest health issue. Hopefully it came through.
Cage Type - Screened 18"x18"x36"
Lighting - Reptisun UVB (changed every 4 mo) and Reptisun heat bulb. He's on a 13on/11off cycle (due to my work schedule)
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Highest = 95, lowest = 70. Measured with electronic thermometer probe.
Humidity - about 70% (increase during misting) maintained with a fogger and mister. Measured with an electronic gage.
Plants - Only fake.
Location - In my living room. basically gets no traffic. I live alone and am gone most of the day working. cage sits about 2 feet off the ground, but there are no other animals to pester him.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon -Male Veiled. Will be 3 in November. I have owned him since he was about 2 months old.
Handling - If he is healthy I never handle him. When he is sick (see below) unfortunately he requires handling on up to a daily basis. (again see below)
Feeding - He gets crickets, wax worms and silk worms. Worms are gut loaded with the mulberry stuff, crickets get a mixture of veggies and fish food (from a recipe that I got).
Supplements - He gets reptical supps 1x per week. Vet said that since he's full grown he doesn't need much and we monitor his calcium very closely. (again see below)
Watering - I use both a spray bottle and do it by hand and a fogger/mister. Occasionally I see him drink when he is healthy.
Fecal Description - Urates are white and runny (NO yellow), fecal matter brown and formed. Has been tested negative for parasites.
History - "Hermie" has a long medical history. To try and be brief he developed MBD a few months after I got him (despite being properly supplemented and having a UVB light) and broke all four legs. He was casted, and had a sling for one and survived. It sounds stupid to most people and I take a lot of criticism for it, but with the help of my vet we decided that if he kept fighting we would too. He was kept in a smallish enclosure with no climbing tools and padded ground, ate mashed up food fed to him four times a day (would open his mouth like a baby bird when he wanted to be fed... he has "favorites" as far as baby food goes as well). He SURVIVED and his bones healed (at the time of Diagnosis his bones looked like cartiledge on xray and you could only see his spine ... his bones now have NORMAL density). He was on a high dose calcium supplement and injections to keep him from reabsorbing more bone. From all of this he has had to be handled extensively. When he was healthy I STOPPED handling altogether. He has had more issues along the way including two kidney infections (responded to antibiotic injections and subq fluids) and one impaction (responded to mineral oil and subq fluids). He also developed a problem where patches of his skin on his tail and joints were turning grey and he could no longer change their color (he was not just shedding)... at this time his WBC was high and vet recommended trying some antibiotics which stopped the spread of this.
Current Problem: Recently he stopped eating again and was dark colored in his cage. I took him to his veterinarian and we did blood work on him. His calcium
hosphorus levels are both high but the concerning part is that they are in a 1:1 ratio, which the vet says signals a kidney problem to him. His cholesteral is high too (due to worms most likely which I immediately cut completely out of his diet but he refuses to eat crickets when he is not feeling well) but this is not as big of a concern. His RBC are slightly low and his WBC slightly high. Vet thinks either kidney infection or kidney failure but says that he does not act sick enough for failure at this time. This is also consistent with his previous kidney infections. We put him on Subq fluids (3 ml 2x daily) and antibiotics (pipericillin 1x daily) and carnivore care and/or baby food for nutrition (he will not catch his own food right now). Unfortunately he has remained dark (which I am taking to mean stressed/not feeling good ... this could be chalked up simply to the handling BUT he has been handled extensively before when ill and this has never been the case) but active. He moves around in his cage and after his injections I let him loose in my apartment (something he enjoys) and he goes and climbs all over the place). He earned the nick name "houdini hermie" because he was known for escaping out of his cage and ending up ALL over the place. Previously he was eating his baby food and/or carnivore care willingly (up to 6 mls of it a day!) but lately has not been as interested (though still as active). He has not lost weight. I'm looking for suggestions for the little guy. I will do whatever I can for him. He is still on antibiotics for a few more days. We had to cut down his subq fluids because he wasn't absorbing all of them and they were just causing edema so after a few days off of them he now only gets 1.5 mls 1x daily. Thanks, Jamie and Hermie
p/s -- I attahed a picture of him POST MBD but prior to his latest health issue. Hopefully it came through.
