Sick or stressed?
- Thread starter Paskie
- Start date
Peeps101
Established Member
I’m so sorry to hear this. Where did you buy him from?
Peeps101
Established Member
Oh no
. This isn’t mbd or parasites, it looks like your little guy was just sick from something. It could have been anything as these are sensitive creatures. Did you buy him from PetCo or someplace else?
Looking over the entire thread there are multiple husbandry issues. His temps were too high. Should not have been over 85 at basking. Lack of uvb linear light. He was showing signs of mbd which could very well have been the biggest issue here. Chams do not lay on hammocks if healthy. No misting during the day leads to lack of hydration. Plus if you were told to run the fogger while the lights were on this can lead to a respiratory infection. And feeding mealworms can lead to impaction issues. I am sorry for your loss. Before you get another one please read through the resources you were given and the site resources so that you can provide everything needed for a Cham. Pet stores do not have knowledgeable employees more often then not and this puts keepers like you in a position where the Cham rapidly goes down hill.
Paskie
New Member
Petco
Peeps101
Established Member
He only could’ve gotten sick from you if YOU were sick and you held him. But you don’t seem like that type of irresponsible owner. You tried and you looked for help and you communicated well which is a lot more than what other people do
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
He may have been sick but it was likely your flawed husbandry that lowered his immune system.
You made some mistakes, everyone does. Pretending you had nothing to do with his death is utter fantasy. How can you fix a problem without admitting you have one?
It is not a matter of being harsh and all anyone was doing was giving you the feedback on why your Cham got "sick" and died. This way if you do decide to get another one which a lot of people do that it does not happen again to you. Because if you do not fix the cage, lighting, hydration, heat, feeders, etc the next one will die. They are very fragile and require their husbandry to be perfect or they go downhill fast and die. So yes you got the wrong advice and found the forum too late to correct the issues causing the health issues for your Cham.
If you do not plan on getting another one then you can just ignore everything that was said and go on believing that everything was perfect but if you do get one and do not make the changes then you are just setting yourself up for another heart break.
Thehippie
Chameleon Enthusiast
i doubt that chameleons get the same sicknesses as humans maybe one or two threads couuld be spread but the cham cannot get sick because of a sick human
Peeps101
Established Member
Oh lol. Idk, someone told me that. I still try to avoid handling him when I’m sneezing and coughing though
Thehippie
Chameleon Enthusiast
humans do not share the same bio build as a chameleon much less the same immune system, they enzymes that make us sick often times cannot be spread to any other species since we are all built differently to adapt to environment, i used to think the same thing so its ok, now you know
Graves923
Chameleon Enthusiast
We aren't trying to be harsh but the reality is there are multiple husbandry issues that could have contributed to your chameleons health decline. Chameleon from petco and petsmart are often the product of over breeding and poor conditions before they even get to the stores where their care isn't much better. All too often we see petco chameleons seem happy and healthy one day then the next they are extremely ill. Chameleon will hide any illness or health issue until they can no longer stay composed which is often too late for us keepers to do anything.
So a chameleon from petco and a new, inexperienced keeper often ends like this... This is why we always stress the importance of doing research instead of relying on what the big chain pet store employee says...
Right away you can see the employee had no clue what chameleons need when they sold you a fogger instead of a misting system or even a spray bottle... Last I checked I've never seen an animal drink fog. Foggers do not provide enough water droplets for a chameleon to stay hydrated and the fog produced wont stimulate a chameleon to drink. Its only going to make the enclosure humid.
So lack of proper hydration and high basking temps likely dehydrated the chameleon.
So if you see this, suck it up and learn from this experience. This forum has a ton of info to help you keep a healthy and happy chameleon.
If you don't see this because you're busy peacing out instead of learning then hopefully this thread helps future keepers learn from all this.
CamoChameleonsHuman
Chameleon Enthusiast
I think he passed from looking at the pic of not he's close and needs a Vet now.
Cause of death can only be speculated at this point. I personally don't see any signs of MBD at this stage, as someone previously noted. Very little details has been offered aside from the photos of the enclosure. Lighting was a potential issue, but I doubt it caused severe enough deficiency to cause death, especially given lack of external symptoms.
Humidity seems to be very low (check out the gauge in one of the earliest photos). I use a misting system, so I can't comment on the effectiveness of the fogger. It's clearly not effective enough in keeping the humidity in proper range, so it may not have been sufficient to provide drinking water. If I were to bet, I'd say he was dehydrated. Sound like he wasn't getting much liquid from food either but we may not know for sure.
I would give the owner the following advice. First, don't give up on the hobby. We all make mistakes. Two, consider starting with a less demanding species of reptile, such as Bearded Dragon or similar until you're ready for a more challenging Chameleon. Third, please consider setting aside emergency funds for a vet. It's not responsible to own a pet and not be able to provide necessary medical care. That's neglect and it will only lead to heartbreak on your part.
I wish you best of luck. People here can come across as being a little harsh, I agree. They mean well though and they can offer you valuable insight if you listen.
Humidity seems to be very low (check out the gauge in one of the earliest photos). I use a misting system, so I can't comment on the effectiveness of the fogger. It's clearly not effective enough in keeping the humidity in proper range, so it may not have been sufficient to provide drinking water. If I were to bet, I'd say he was dehydrated. Sound like he wasn't getting much liquid from food either but we may not know for sure.
I would give the owner the following advice. First, don't give up on the hobby. We all make mistakes. Two, consider starting with a less demanding species of reptile, such as Bearded Dragon or similar until you're ready for a more challenging Chameleon. Third, please consider setting aside emergency funds for a vet. It's not responsible to own a pet and not be able to provide necessary medical care. That's neglect and it will only lead to heartbreak on your part.
I wish you best of luck. People here can come across as being a little harsh, I agree. They mean well though and they can offer you valuable insight if you listen.
