Unsure of new chameleons behaviour??

[sdheli420]

We have now changed his supplement to just calcium with no d3 for daily use and will use the nutrobal every two weeks. We have also started to feed him locust which he seems to prefer and he has been eating more in the past few days.
We have removed the Repti carpet as well and now just have the floor bare.

A few things still seem a little bit of a worry to us though. His poops are runny. Seems to take a long time to go to the toilet.
After eating he will sit up really straight and tall and move his tongue around in his throat and open and close his mouth a lot.
We were also wondering when he will shed? We have had him 5weeks and no signs yet?

he will be shedding soon then, and up the mistings while shedding to help ease the process..as for the fleshy thing when he poops thats normal (its the hemi-penis) now after hes done pooping amd it stays out thats bad..as for the supplementing, maybe thats why his appetite dropped, he was receiving too much vites and d3 initially, with just the calcium for every feeding, im sure he's balancing out..as for the substraite, just moving one in, then taking one out, and back and fourth is what has him worried about the floor..just keep it bare, he will eventually calm down about it..they hate change, kinda like cats..

 

[Harriet]

Just to clarify dusting with the supplement is daily? We keep the crickets in the pre packed plastic box they come in and use one scoop to dust them all in the box (our suplement comes with a little measuring scoop) So if all the crickets are duated does this then need to be repeated daily? Does the dust wear off?
He isn't eating again but we understand this is likely due to all the stress he has had recently with all the constant changes to his home. We have managed to get everything in a permanent fixture for his home now with no substrates and all his wood fixed to the floor so hopefully he can just settle down now and adjust to the changes.
One other thing I have noticed him doing on quite a few occasions now is twitching his head. It happens when he is siting still and twitches every 10secs or so. When he is moving around it doesn't seem to happen. Is this something I should be worried about?
I really just want to be able to relax and enjoy him but I am so worried about his recent behaviour and just want to know that there is nothing wrong with him.

 

[lindawaz]

I can only answer the dusting question-not experienced enough with twitching

You need to dust them with the supplements just prior to feeding. Even an hour or two in the cage most of it has fallen off and your cham is not getting what they need.

I cup feed my dusted crickets so they are eaten up quickly- then afterwords I let 1 or 2 free in there for her to hunt.

 

[Harriet]

I can only answer the dusting question-not experienced enough with twitching

You need to dust them with the supplements just prior to feeding. Even an hour or two in the cage most of it has fallen off and your cham is not getting what they need.

I cup feed my dusted crickets so they are eaten up quickly- then afterwords I let 1 or 2 free in there for her to hunt.

Thanks for the helpful advice will make sure they are dusted before feeding each time.

 

[Harriet]

Any ideas on the twitching anyone???

 

[lindawaz]

is the twitching back and forth or side to side. If back and forth he might be trying to imitate a leaf kind of like walking like an Egyptian. If so that is normal. side to side no idea

 

[Harriet]

is the twitching back and forth or side to side. If back and forth he might be trying to imitate a leaf kind of like walking like an Egyptian. If so that is normal. side to side no idea

I know what you mean by the "leaf walk" thing they do ( I love that! ) but no Im not refering to that. Its just his head twitching and its when he is sitting still every 10 secs or so it twitches. It will stop when hes moving around only seems to happen if hes still.

 

[Harriet]

Still not eating and still twitching Also the humidity seems to be getting very high after we spray it can reach 90! How to we decrease it? He keeps sitting upright and opening and closing his mouth and moving his tongue around in his throat not sure why??

Two days ago his light bulb exploded in his viv!! He is probably still pretty stressed out after everything that has been going on.

I do appreciate that you guys are not vets and do not have all the answers. We are at the point that we want to take him to the vet just to get some answers and peace of mind if everything is ok but our nearest vet is almost a 2hour journey and if a visit isn't necessary it will cause even more stress for him.

 

[lindawaz]

Have you had a fecal done yet?

A lot vets send fecals out to a lab. This is good for one reason- you can call around and find a vet close to you and even if not a reptile vet they can send the fecal out and have it tested for you.

You will just have to ask them to do this. At least you will have an idea if it is parasites.

 

[Harriet]

Going to vets tomorrow

He is going to the vets tomorrow. He just isnt right and we found blood in his poop today. Possible parasites maybe? We just want to make sure everything is ok and if there is a problem get treatment for it.

 

[lindawaz]

Good Idea! You need to take a poo with you. What I do is gt the one the day before. I put it in a damp coffee filter, zip bag and fridge.

If they poo the same day I am going I grab that one to take with me instead because it is fresher.

At least gathering the one before hand I have something to take if they do not go before the appointment

Good luck and keep us posted especially on the twitching since I had no answers for you would like to know- Thanks

 

[Harriet]

Not looking good for little Jeremy

We took him for a vet visit last week. The vet couldn’t see anything visually wrong with him. He had a faecal which came back fine and he was checked over and there wasn’t any signs of mbd or any issues. The only thing was that the issue he has been having when he goes to the toilet has been causing some irritation and he had been dragging his bum on a vine which led to a small tear (hence the blood in his poop) so he was given a antibiotics shot and we were given antibiotics just to rule out any possible infection. We were also given Oxbow herbivore care to liquid feed him to get him back to eating again.

All seemed to be going fine for the first 3days. Administrating the antibiotics and food was difficult but we managed. He seemed well but was drinking a lot. After I would spray his viv he would spend a hour continuously drinking from leaves. Seemed a bit unusual but we would rather he was drinking than not.
Day four when my boyfriend fed him in the evening he just sat in his hand with his eyes closed. He wouldn’t get back in his viv and sat motionless in his hand for about half an hour with closed eyes. We finally managed to get him back in his viv where he spent the evening just sat in the same position. When I tried to put him to bed (we do this by gradually dimming his lights and he finds a spot to curl up then when hes ready we turn them off and he goes to sleep) He wouldn’t move to curl up and just sat in the same place. After ages of slowly dimming to try to encourage him to sleep I just had to turn them straight off as he wasn’t going to move so he ended up just sleeping where he was.
In the morning we found him in the same place just sitting with his eyes closed, occasionally opening them but then closing again.

By this point we felt it necessary to call the vet who told us to get him in asap.

When we got him out at the vet he just kept falling asleep and seemed very weak. The vet said he noticed the first time he saw him he had a very small casque and was concerned this could be a result of inbreeding. He said he has seen many similar cases lately and thinks they could all be coming from the same breeder. He still can see no visual issues and thinks it is likely to be an internal problem, possibly kidney failure. He needs to stay in and they are going to do blood tests on him later today and keep us informed.
We are not holding out hope and expect the worst

 

[lindawaz]

You are in my thoughts, I hope everything goes well. So sad