Took a turn for the worst need help:(

[Seadrah]

• Your Chameleon - Female Veiled, about 2 years old, been in my car since she was a couple months old
• Handling - 1-2 times a month
• Feeding - she get a variety of wax worms, supers and dubias all gutloaded with kale and celery.
• Supplements - Zoo Med repti calcium every time i put food in her cage
• Watering - there is a dripper that drips all day and an automatic mister that runs for a minute every hour.
• Fecal Description - small in size with white urate

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - i had an old hutch that i converted into a cage that is split into two sides, she gets the left side while my male has the right side. its about 4 feet tall 3 feet wide maybe, not too sure about exact measurements
• Lighting - lights on about 9/10 every morning and lights off around 10 if im at work 9 if im home
• Temperature - her basking temp is about 82 degrees measured with a digital themometer
• Humidity - humidity levels are usually upper 50s or lower 60s. lots of fake plants along with a dripper and frequent misting
• Plants - all fake
• Placement - next to the wall in my room, im really the only one that walks by it
• Location - northern ohio

Current Problem - Her health has been in a decline and im not sure how to help her. She can barely shoot her tongue to get food and that leaves her struggling to eat. She grows weaker every day and she sometimes sleeps during the day. All her food is dusted with the calcium, like i said she really struggles to eat it although she does still have an appetite. Sometimes Ill have to nudge her so she isnt sleeping. Ive read that the tongue issue can be a vitamin A issue but its really hard for her to get any food in. I want to take her to the vet but im having to pay for college at the moment so i cant get her in. She was my first chameleon and shes very sweet, I dont want to lose her and I would appreciate any help so much

 

[VeiledMathis]

I believe the best help would be to take her to a reptile vet, I know you said you can't afford the vet but honestly something is wrong with her and no matter what help you get on here it's only going to be a guess as what the underlying problem is.

 

[jannb]

I'm sorry to here about your girl. Of course a vet is a good idea but you need to get food in her ASAP. I've had chameleons that could not shoot there tongue one from 4 months old until the passed at 4 years old. Just because they can't shoot doesn't mean they are sick and not to feed them. My boy from above had to have an eye amputated at 4 months and that stopped him from shooting. If you can't stick some feeders in her mouth and since she's weak I recommend getting some ReptaBoost from PetSmart or PetCo and give her that 3 time a day to boost her up. There's a lady in Northern Ohio that takes in rescues if you'd like to send her there or maybe talk to the lady that runs the rescue. She also has a very good chameleon vet that I can recommend for you. If you can't afford the vet, it would be a good idea to turn her in to the rescue where she will be well cared for. Let me get that info.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...oost-insectavore-and-carnivore-high-amp-boost

 

[Seadrah]

i just set up an appointment for her and ill figure it all out. I want the best for her and i want her to be happy. And Ill definitely order some of that thank you

 

[little leaf]

That's great that you have set an appointment but make sure that they are familiar with chameleons specifically they are not like other lizards LOL
One thing I see already is that you did not list she's getting any vitamin D in her supplementation and with the lighting you just said how long they are on and off she absolutely must have a UVB bulb or she cannot utilize the calcium you are giving her one of the first symptoms of MBD on some chameleons as they start to lose function of the tongue.
If you can possibly get her into the natural sunlight that does wonders for them -
I am the reptile leg of our 501 c 3 rescue we are located just a little south of Toledo - if there's anything I can do to help you out let me know I would be more than happy to help also if you have not read the care sheet for Veiled, go take a peek at it it has all the best information

 

[Seadrah]

That's great that you have set an appointment but make sure that they are familiar with chameleons specifically they are not like other lizards LOL
One thing I see already is that you did not list she's getting any vitamin D in her supplementation and with the lighting you just said how long they are on and off she absolutely must have a UVB bulb or she cannot utilize the calcium you are giving her one of the first symptoms of MBD on some chameleons as they start to lose function of the tongue.
If you can possibly get her into the natural sunlight that does wonders for them -
I am the reptile leg of our 501 c 3 rescue we are located just a little south of Toledo - if there's anything I can do to help you out let me know I would be more than happy to help also if you have not read the care sheet for Veiled, go take a peek at it it has all the best information

I did forget to mention that stuff, she has a 10.0 reptisun uvb and the few times i do take her out of her cage it was to let her bask in the sun or to let her sit in the shower but shes not a huge fan of that. And when i called the vet i described what was going on and she was like ill just put it down as not eating... and idk if that was a bad sign

 

[Seadrah]

and i do also give her calcium with D3 once a month

 

[Klaudiemo]

Not shooting tongue is usually connected to problem in supplementation. My guess is lack of vitamins. You haven't mention anything about vitamins. Which brand do you use? If any? And how often? I can't really think of anything else, based on information you provided.

 

[Seadrah]

The only things I dust with are the calcium, with and without the D3... This makes me feel dumb haha what kind of vitamins do they need and can you buy them as a whole like how you buy calcium. Ive never given them anything like that i was under the impression that they just needed the calcium and i guess i was wrong

 

[Klaudiemo]

At the moment I use Reptivite with D3 once a month, but I gutload crickets kind a heavily . I make my own cubes, that I keep in freezer. Each cube contains sweet potato, spinach, lettuce, oranges, apple, carrots, cucumber, eggshells and a bit of cat dry food. I never had any issues, so I guess it does it's job. Don't use the Reptivite with additional D3. There already is D3 in it. You could easily overdose her. Before, I was using Exo Terra Multi-vitamin and had no issues. If you choose Exo Terra, keep in mind there is no D3 in it, so you will have to give her D3 separately as you used to. I hope It is not too late and she gets better soon. Give her vitamins as quickly as possible. Vet can also give her vitamin shot.

 

[little leaf]

Honestly I would call your vet back and if they do not specifically work with chameleons I almost never say don't keep the appointment but if they don't know what they're doing they are not going to be of any help to her they are very complicated animals when it comes to their health, it sounds like you are doing all the right things and sometimes for unknown reasons they can have 100% accurate care and still not thrive - I have seen chameleons that were all clutch mates kept by a friend of mine her husbandry was spot-on everything was set up identical and yet one of the chameleons developed MBD, then continue to go downhill until it passed away - I often compare chameleons to the Beautiful soap bubbles that we all made as children - they were so beautiful and some would last a very long time others would pop as soon as they were made because the conditions for each bubble must be exactly perfect, but then one little thing changes and they are gone - here is the Facebook page that shows the animals I specifically take care of for our rescue

https://m.facebook.com/LifewithElliotandfriends/

 

[jannb]

My blog How to Care for veileds:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-with-young-veiled-or-panther-chameleons.325/

The forums caresheet Veiled Care: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

Also, do you have a laying bin for her?

 

[little leaf]

I was just wondering if you have had a fecal done on her? If you can get a poop sample I would definitely at least take that to the vet and have it checked sometimes parasites can really ravage a chameleon and most are easily treated

 

[Klaudiemo]

I was just wondering if you have had a fecal done on her? If you can get a poop sample I would definitely at least take that to the vet and have it checked sometimes parasites can really ravage a chameleon and most are easily treated

I honestly think it is lack of vitamins. The chameleon was not given proper vitamin supplements. Owner himself admitted, that he never gave his chams vitamins.

Also great job with rescuing all the animals! I checked your link, really amazing!!

 

[kinyonga]

Seedrah...what do you feed/gutload the insects with?
Usually tongue issues are from a calcium imbalance although it's possible some vitamins play a part too....especially if you haven't been replacing your UVB light as recommended....(and I don't know if you have...I'm just telling you that so you know).