Sigh think end might be near?

Picasso123

Picasso123

New Member
He's beginning to looking boney especially in his tail. He seems to be on the bottom more perhaps due to a lose of strength. Being as I'm unsure if he's eating or drinking anymore I'm not sure the vet could do anything for him at this stage?

However when I help him back up to the top he opens his eyes and has quite the grip?

he's almost 20mths now

Looking in the cage i don't see any crickets? I haven't heard that classic chunk noise but could he being eating in the per light time hours?
 
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Have you taken him to the vet since the cage falling incident? If you haven't and you hope to save him, I would be on the phone. If not it sounds like he is just dying a slow death from his injuries. Sad way for him to go.:(:(:(
 
He was up more on his dowel perches more during the week. However I haven't heard the chunk sounds in some time as in a month and thought maybe he just didn't like me in the room when he was catching them?
 
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Agreed. Rads/fecal/bloodwork is in order.

I've had to euthanize my own pets before, chams included. One of the best and worst things about being a vet. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help, review labwork, etc.

dr. o-
 
I hope that I don't stir the pot with this comment but,,, why does this thread upset me? From what I've read, I'm getting the impression that the OP is just spectating while the cham is obviously going downhill. Their statement of, "I'm not sure the vet could do anything for him at this stage" pretty much suggests that OP didn't go to the vet or is even considering it for whatever reason that may be :rolleyes:

I think laurie was just being really polite when she says, "it is up to you".... That's so sad because it shouldn't be up to you :mad: Your chameleon didn't ask to be neglected... Poor thing. :( I know that I must be coming across as an a$$hole and I apologize, but I can get pretty emotional when it comes to these awesome creatures...

With that said, you mentioned that when you help your cham to the top, he seems revived. Maybe he feels the UV light and likes it. You said he fell before and he hangs out at the bottom more. If you have a commercial type 4ft cage, may I suggest that you raise the bottom of the cage so that he can benefit from the UV light even if he is on the floor. With the bottom of the cage raised, you also won't have to worry about him falling from such a high level. It would also make it easier to find prey. I've attached a pic showing how I did it with a smaller cage. I'd imagine a 4ft cage would be the same.

Of course, this is not an alternative to a vet visit which sounds like is needed. Good luck....
 
del33 said:
I hope that I don't stir the pot with this comment but,,, why does this thread upset me? From what I've read, I'm getting the impression that the OP is just spectating while the cham is obviously going downhill. Their statement of, "I'm not sure the vet could do anything for him at this stage" pretty much suggests that OP didn't go to the vet or is even considering it for whatever reason that may be :rolleyes:

I think laurie was just being really polite when she says, "it is up to you".... That's so sad because it shouldn't be up to you :mad: Your chameleon didn't ask to be neglected... Poor thing. :( I know that I must be coming across as an a$$hole and I apologize, but I can get pretty emotional when it comes to these awesome creatures...

With that said, you mentioned that when you help your cham to the top, he seems revived. Maybe he feels the UV light and likes it. You said he fell before and he hangs out at the bottom more. If you have a commercial type 4ft cage, may I suggest that you raise the bottom of the cage so that he can benefit from the UV light even if he is on the floor. With the bottom of the cage raised, you also won't have to worry about him falling from such a high level. It would also make it easier to find prey. I've attached a pic showing how I did it with a smaller cage. I'd imagine a 4ft cage would be the same.

Of course, this is not an alternative to a vet visit which sounds like is needed. Good luck....
Click to expand...

you are not even CLOSE to being an a$$hole....
 
have you been providng everything your chameleon needs over the time you have owned him?? How many times have you changed out your uvb bulb?? I agree with the others here also, and a vet visit is in order and obviously should have been done long ago. Can we see pic please of him.
 
I do wish people wouldn't name call on this forum. I would like to say we are all adults, but we aren't, but we should be acting like adults. The purpose here is to give information and help, not brow beat people. It is everyones option to do what they will. There is no cham police and if people are asking questions they are trying to do the right thing by their animal.

Please be courteous or don't make disparaging comments. You aren't helping anyone.
 
He's going today.

I'm not stupid Carol just unknowledgable. I called the vet a week ago and they said to try over offering him water and I've had him a year and changed his bulb twice. I seem to get a lot of misinformation such as being told to use an IR light for warmth by the breeder and then your folks tell me that's not what your suppose to do at all.
 
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Glad you're taking him to the vet! I agree there is a lot of mis-information out there on chameleons... and even on this forum experienced keepers will disagree on things (try starting a thread about not using screen cages! :) ).

If you posted pictures of your chameleon and filled out the whole care sheet we might be able to tell easier if your chameleon is malnourished, dehydrated, or injured from his fall.

Did you fill out the care sheet information on another thread?

One thing is that you seem very unsure about whether or not he's eating. Do you cup-feed? One of the best things about cup-feeding is being able to tell whether or not your chameleon is eating, and how much. Other than the occasional escaped cricket, it should give you a good idea about eating.

For drinking, chameleons can be very shy about drinking while being watched, but most Panthers that I've seen aren't too shy about it. However, your best clue as to whether your chameleon is hydrated are his eyes (are they sunken?) and his urate (is it nice and white, or is it orange?). If his eyes are sunken, and his urate has a lot of yellow / orange in it, he's definitely dehydrated.

One reason he could be hanging out at the bottom of the cage would be because of temperatures... but I can't really know that without filling out the care sheet, I'm not sure what temperature you're keeping the cage at and how powerful his basking bulb is.
 
del33 said:
I hope that I don't stir the pot with this comment but,,, why does this thread upset me? From what I've read, I'm getting the impression that the OP is just spectating while the cham is obviously going downhill. Their statement of, "I'm not sure the vet could do anything for him at this stage" pretty much suggests that OP didn't go to the vet or is even considering it for whatever reason that may be :rolleyes:

I think laurie was just being really polite when she says, "it is up to you".... That's so sad because it shouldn't be up to you :mad: Your chameleon didn't ask to be neglected... Poor thing. :( I know that I must be coming across as an a$$hole and I apologize, but I can get pretty emotional when it comes to these awesome creatures...

With that said, you mentioned that when you help your cham to the top, he seems revived. Maybe he feels the UV light and likes it. You said he fell before and he hangs out at the bottom more. If you have a commercial type 4ft cage, may I suggest that you raise the bottom of the cage so that he can benefit from the UV light even if he is on the floor. With the bottom of the cage raised, you also won't have to worry about him falling from such a high level. It would also make it easier to find prey. I've attached a pic showing how I did it with a smaller cage. I'd imagine a 4ft cage would be the same.

Of course, this is not an alternative to a vet visit which sounds like is needed. Good luck....
Click to expand...

I totally agree that this guys needs a vet. If you don't already have a good chameleon vet check this treat where the members here post their vets. https://www.chameleonforums.com/area-area-country-vet-list-32880/

When you take on an animal, any animal, it is your responsibility to take care of it and this includes vet visits.
 
1st thing I learn was the Panther chameleon is probably thee hardest reptile to keep in captivity according to the vet.

2nd thing was he's dehydrated and is gonna stay in an incubator for 2-3 days , get some liquids and get some carnivore substitute.

He still had grip and was sorta looking around.
 
Picasso123 said:
1st thing I learn was the Panther chameleon is probably thee hardest reptile to keep in captivity according to the vet.
Click to expand...

I disagree. ANY reptile, amphibian, bird, mammal can be "the hardest" or "the easiest" to keep in captivity based on the owner's expertise and preparation. If someone buys any animal and does not think it out before hand and learn what they need to do to provide it what it needs to be healthy they are going to end up with the hard one. By the time this owner decides to see a vet it can be too late.

There is so much good husbandry info for panthers available these days I would not consider them hard to keep compared to some rare newly discovered tree frog for example. But then I would never buy that tree frog until I was certain I had read every single bit of information about them either.
 
Picasso123 said:
1st thing I learn was the Panther chameleon is probably thee hardest reptile to keep in captivity according to the vet.

2nd thing was he's dehydrated and is gonna stay in an incubator for 2-3 days , get some liquids and get some carnivore substitute.

He still had grip and was sorta looking around.
Click to expand...

I'm really glad that your vet is being so helpful, and I hope your chameleon recovers well!

That being said, don't be discouraged by your vet. ALL of us on this forum have made mistakes in the care of our chameleons. What matters is if you take the time to research what you need to do to properly care for it, and fix your mistakes! Chameleons are certainly difficult, but they're so rewarding!

What matters is that you're trying to help him get better instead of what a lot of owners do when their chameleons go downhill... just sit there and watch and complain they can't afford to take it to the vet.
 
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