Sitting in bottom of cage

[courta00]

I'm a little concerned that the chameleon I got last night hasn't moved from the bottom of his cage, he sat there all night and was still in almost the same spot in the morning when I turned his lights on. The previous owner stated that he would climb around in the cage but doesn't know how often (They had put him into an aquarium instead of the wire cage because the crickets kept escaping)
It also concerns me because I haven't seen him curl his tail at all, he keeps it out and pretty rigid. There is an injury on it about half way up that they are unsure of where it came from (He wasn't getting as much care as he should've been). I'm trying to get him set up as well as I can and help to aid in his healing process. It looks pretty bad but they say it looks better than it did
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[Carlton]

I'm a little concerned that the chameleon I got last night hasn't moved from the bottom of his cage, he sat there all night and was still in almost the same spot in the morning when I turned his lights on. The previous owner stated that he would climb around in the cage but doesn't know how often (They had put him into an aquarium instead of the wire cage because the crickets kept escaping)
It also concerns me because I haven't seen him curl his tail at all, he keeps it out and pretty rigid. There is an injury on it about half way up that they are unsure of where it came from (He wasn't getting as much care as he should've been). I'm trying to get him set up as well as I can and help to aid in his healing process. It looks pretty bad but they say it looks better than it did
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That's a pretty serious injury. Did his former owners say whether he CAN curl his tail? He may be laying it out because it hurts to move it. Are you treating the injury with anything? Whatever you do, don't let the crickets free range the cage while he's like this. They can and do chew on chams causing further injuries.

Can you describe your setup? He's extremely stressed by the move to a new situation and cage. Can you show us pics of his new cage? We could possibly help improve things for him.

 

[courta00]

Can you describe your setup? He's extremely stressed by the move to a new situation and cage. Can you show us pics of his new cage? We could possibly help improve things for him.[/QUOTE]

Yea it is pretty bad, I feel so sad for him I just picked him up last night from them so I haven't had a chance to treat him, however was going to go to the store on my way home to pick up Neosporin (lady at local pet store said it works) and hopefully that will help. How should I go about feeding him?
I did leave some romaine lettuce with him before I left for work
They didn't say anything about whether or not he can bend it, she just said that it looks better than it did and she is unsure where the injury came from. They found him crossing the road out in the country so they brought him home for a few months and decided that they were not able to take care of him and asked me if I would be willing to take him since I have other lizards and more time to focus on them.

 

[LilBlue]

Oh the poor lil guy, bless your heart for taking him in.

Neosporin will be fine for healing that up, it's a medicine that can be used internally. Use a dampened q tip, roll it with clean finger tips or against a paper towel(so the fuzzies don't transfer into the wound) to apply the ointment.

From the one picture his casque looks sunken in, which means he is dehydrated. Hydration is very important, he needs to be hydrated so medicine and food will actually benefit him. Get him in a shower ASAP. Use a fake plant, or even set that terrarium in the bath tub if it will fit and aim the shower head half at a wall so its splashing on some plants. Just make sure he is secure, lil gaffer is weak, can't use his tail, don't want to see him fall. Then you can put some ointment on him after a shower.

Also add lots of vines and branches of varying thickness, and plastic plants for water droplets to form on when you mist him.

 

[courta00]

Thank you so much, I will shower him as soon as I get home and get some ointment on him. I bought some more plants to add to his habitat just didn't have the chance to put them all in there last night, just added the one so the water dripper that I put on top of the tank could drip down it. I also bought lights last night because the previous owner didn't have any lights for him so I'm also hoping that will help him to feel better as well. I'm going to do everything I can to take the best care of him as possible, it was just thrown at me so suddenly that I wasn't able to do any research before he came to my home.

 

[Trace]

From the one picture his casque looks sunken in, which means he is dehydrated. Hydration is very important, he needs to be hydrated so medicine and food will actually benefit him. Get him in a shower ASAP. Use a fake plant, or even set that terrarium in the bath tub if it will fit and aim the shower head half at a wall so its splashing on some plants. Just make sure he is secure, lil gaffer is weak, can't use his tail, don't want to see him fall. Then you can put some ointment on him after a shower.

The casque? Where are you seeing that? In this thread it looks pretty rounded and healthy: https://www.chameleonforums.com/unsure-species-sex-135595/

The casque is thought to be a fat storage so a a full one is a sign that he is not malnourished. Sunken eyes, on the other hand, are a sign of dehydration but again, he looks to be okay in that regard.

I would bring him to a vet to have them look at that injury. It appears clean but very deep. They may debride it a bit more and stitch it up or apply a bandage or split until the muscle and skin regrow. Neosporin will help for sure but that area will need to be keep clean and dry until it heals.

If he is having difficulties moving around because of the tail you can certainly set him up in a hospital tank. By this I mean a large Rubbermaid container (or something similar) with a towel and a few sticks for perching. The lights and be clamped or laid across the top. This is not optimal long term caging obviously but it will prevent him from falling and it will keep him warm enough as he can not escape the lights and UVB.

 

[RyU]

The casque? Where are you seeing that? In this thread it looks pretty rounded and healthy: https://www.chameleonforums.com/unsure-species-sex-135595/

The casque is thought to be a fat storage so a a full one is a sign that he is not malnourished. Sunken eyes, on the other hand, are a sign of dehydration but again, he looks to be okay in that regard.

I would bring him to a vet to have them look at that injury. It appears clean but very deep. They may debride it a bit more and stitch it up or apply a bandage or split until the muscle and skin regrow. Neosporin will help for sure but that area will need to be keep clean and dry until it heals.

If he is having difficulties moving around because of the tail you can certainly set him up in a hospital tank. By this I mean a large Rubbermaid container (or something similar) with a towel and a few sticks for perching. The lights and be clamped or laid across the top. This is not optimal long term caging obviously but it will prevent him from falling and it will keep him warm enough as he can not escape the lights and UVB.

I would like to add that you will want to keep that cage VERY CLEAN.

 

[reptilesxxx]

Im sorry about the injury thats so sad. I would take it to a reptile doctor so they can heal the wound and fix it.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Oh the poor lil guy, bless your heart for taking him in.



Neosporin will be fine for healing that up, it's a medicine that can be used internally. Use a dampened q tip, roll it with clean finger tips or against a paper towel(so the fuzzies don't transfer into the wound) to apply the ointment.



From the one picture his casque looks sunken in, which means he is dehydrated. Hydration is very important, he needs to be hydrated so medicine and food will actually benefit him. Get him in a shower ASAP. Use a fake plant, or even set that terrarium in the bath tub if it will fit and aim the shower head half at a wall so its splashing on some plants. Just make sure he is secure, lil gaffer is weak, can't use his tail, don't want to see him fall. Then you can put some ointment on him after a shower.



Also add lots of vines and branches of varying thickness, and plastic plants for water droplets to form on when you mist him.

I do not think neosporin will work. I think he needs a vet visit.

 

[LilBlue]

Yes he most definitely needs to see a vet. At least the Neosporin can keep any infection at bay(hopefully) until you get him there(bring a fecal sample to check for parasites as well if you can).

Trace, thanks for linking that other post, I did not see that. I was going off the middle picture on this thread, but always safe to assume a rescue is dehydrated, right? Great tip for setting up the temporary Rubbermaid. courta00, you should definitely do this.