jojobeans123
New Member
Hello all. I'm new to this forum and have been directed here by one of the members on RFUK. So big HELLO to everyone! Lol!
On a more serious note i'm in dire need of some help/advice on my cham. I posted the following on RFUK and i desperately need advice on the best way forward with this little guy. Thi is a bit long winded but i'd really appreciate if you could have a flik over and give any feedback on the situation:
''I recently bought a Dwarf Fischer’s Cham from a pet shop. I don’t normally buy from pet shops and I am now regretting doing so.
The reason I bought him was 1) because he’s a stunning little creature and 2) I didn’t think he was being well looked after in the shop. There was no basking area, the tank wasn’t arboreal and, when I questioned the owner, he said that the little guy usually just sits in the same spot all day. I thought this was a bit strange but I went ahead and bought him anyway. I had a good look at him and he seemed fine, all nails intact no nips anywhere – perfect condition.... or so I thought!
When I got the little guy home I had a better look over him and he was skinnier than I initially thought and looked a bit dehydrated to me - unfortunately my scales were bust so I couldn’t weigh him. His eyes were fine, albeit a little sunken in, which I assumed would be due to dehydration, it’s obviously likely that he was in this condition due to the shop not looking after him and perhaps not watering him properly etc. At this point it didn’t seem a massive deal as I thought if looked after properly he would be OK.
When I put him in his tank he was super active as you would expect from a Fischer’s and he was munching away just fine, albeit a little slow to start with – definitely not sitting in the same area all day long – not to start with anyway. I was feeding him mainly locust and wax worms. Not overly keen on wax worms as a feeder but I was using these to try and beef him up a bit and it has worked a treat although he still looks a little skinny to me. I’m finding it difficult to keep him hydrated though; to start with I was spraying the tank 3-4 times a day for 3-5 mins per spray. I also had a little dripper in; he showed no interest in it so took it out. He is always very thirsty and tanks down the water. I have increased the amount of sprays to 5-6 times a day for 3-5 mins and he will drink persistently whilst spraying. I don’t want to have to spray him more than this as it may start stressing him out with me being in and out the tank every few hours and I don’t want to overdo it with the humidity.
After a couple of days I also noticed that he was closing one of his eyes for short periods (1min tops) throughout the day. I also noticed him rubbing his eye on one of the vines as though he was trying to itch it - strange behaviour. He shed a few days after this, so thought it could be related to this.
Being honest, and to my naivety, I didn’t think much of it and left him to carry on as he seemed fine, very active and was certainly eating with no problems.
His first poop was a little bit wet but I just assumed that this was because I had given him wax worms to try beef him up a bit. The little white bit on the poop varies from being white to a little yellowish (mostly a little yellowish tbh, which I know is a sign of dehydration). I haven’t had a solid poop from him yet. I am still giving wax worms and locust, but have tried to reduce the wax worms to see if this has an effect on his poop.
Unfortunately he seems to be getting worse; over the past 2 days I have noticed him now starting to close 2 eyes throughout the day and will sit in the same spot for ages – similar to his behaviour in the pet shop. I am extremely worried about this as it’s definitely not a good sign.
Tonight when I got home he was on one of the plant pots in his tank with his eyes closed. I picked him up and put him on one of the vines higher up in the tank and gave him his usual spray. As usual he went mad for the water but wouldn’t open his eyes at all and never did for the rest of the night although he was moving around a little!!
When his eyes are closed, sometimes it’s as though he’s sleeping and other times he is moving his eyes around, almost like he is looking around but with his eyes closed..!!!??
I’m calling the vet first thing on Monday as I have no idea what to do with the little guy. I’m so sad and couldn’t bear to lose the wee man after all the effort I have put in to get him healthier. No feacal sample has been done yet but this will be done on Monday at the vets. I have moved him to a smaller tank so he can get his food easier etc until he is better.
Has anyone come across this before or have any idea what could be wrong with him? Any info would be great. Closing his eyes through the day, under weight and dehydrated – is this a sign of parasites or purely down to dehydration? When I inspected his poop it was soft but no white bits etc, and I’m hoping the faeces test on Monday will help rule parasites in/out. I inspected his poop today and I seemed a little bit stringy – worms?
I am really concerned and will do anything to make my wee man happy and healthy!
Not sure if WC or CB – pet shop said CB. And also unsure of his age.
Thx in advance!
p.s sorry about the massive post!''
This is further post from this morning and also a bit info on the set-up i have:
''Thank Mofu. I feel pretty useless but yeah, not much i can do till monday. Wil just have to sit tight.
He had a poop this morning and it was just wetness with a few congealed bits in it. I pressed down on the congealed bits with the tweezers and was very gritty - any ideas on what this means? Parasite eggs??
He also shat out a full wax worm, it was a complete wax worm. I've never seen any of my reps do this with any feeder.
This is horrible, i've got a good mind to go down the pet shop and give the boy a crack in the jaw......''
''The set-up: he was in a 45x45x60 exo. I moved him to a smaller one when he started getting poorly. I am using the compact UV's (5% + 2%) but i'll be going out to buy strip lights 2mo if these are better for the cham - thanks for the advice. He doesn't have any discharge around his eyes - do reptiles get this with conjunctivitis as humans do? The light is mounted on an exo terra canopy and on top of the mesh screen. He can get very close to it and does look into it.
Temps are 80F under basking spot, never more than 83C - this is a little cooler than a veileds temps. He is a montane species and my understanding is that they should be kept a bit cooler. All caresheets i have read advised around the 80-85 mark...?? Cool end is about 73F-75F.
He isn't in a busy room - he's in my bedroom and i work 8-10 hours a day, he doesn't really get a massive amount of attention apart from when i'm watering him. I never really handle any my reps that often as i prefer to leave them to it.
The increase in watering him has only really started over the last 3 days as i have took a couple of weeks of work to keep an eye on him, but of course this will be affecting the temps so maybe i should calm down a bit on the watering. He's never pooped a full bug before, this is definately the first time since with me.
I'll try get some pics up later today so you can see the set up etc. I'm def going to be replacing the UV's and i will also post on Chameleon Forum for advice.
I wish Mondaty would hurry up and come so i can get to the vets.....''
Thanks for looking and any help/info would be amazing!!
On a more serious note i'm in dire need of some help/advice on my cham. I posted the following on RFUK and i desperately need advice on the best way forward with this little guy. Thi is a bit long winded but i'd really appreciate if you could have a flik over and give any feedback on the situation:
''I recently bought a Dwarf Fischer’s Cham from a pet shop. I don’t normally buy from pet shops and I am now regretting doing so.
The reason I bought him was 1) because he’s a stunning little creature and 2) I didn’t think he was being well looked after in the shop. There was no basking area, the tank wasn’t arboreal and, when I questioned the owner, he said that the little guy usually just sits in the same spot all day. I thought this was a bit strange but I went ahead and bought him anyway. I had a good look at him and he seemed fine, all nails intact no nips anywhere – perfect condition.... or so I thought!
When I got the little guy home I had a better look over him and he was skinnier than I initially thought and looked a bit dehydrated to me - unfortunately my scales were bust so I couldn’t weigh him. His eyes were fine, albeit a little sunken in, which I assumed would be due to dehydration, it’s obviously likely that he was in this condition due to the shop not looking after him and perhaps not watering him properly etc. At this point it didn’t seem a massive deal as I thought if looked after properly he would be OK.
When I put him in his tank he was super active as you would expect from a Fischer’s and he was munching away just fine, albeit a little slow to start with – definitely not sitting in the same area all day long – not to start with anyway. I was feeding him mainly locust and wax worms. Not overly keen on wax worms as a feeder but I was using these to try and beef him up a bit and it has worked a treat although he still looks a little skinny to me. I’m finding it difficult to keep him hydrated though; to start with I was spraying the tank 3-4 times a day for 3-5 mins per spray. I also had a little dripper in; he showed no interest in it so took it out. He is always very thirsty and tanks down the water. I have increased the amount of sprays to 5-6 times a day for 3-5 mins and he will drink persistently whilst spraying. I don’t want to have to spray him more than this as it may start stressing him out with me being in and out the tank every few hours and I don’t want to overdo it with the humidity.
After a couple of days I also noticed that he was closing one of his eyes for short periods (1min tops) throughout the day. I also noticed him rubbing his eye on one of the vines as though he was trying to itch it - strange behaviour. He shed a few days after this, so thought it could be related to this.
Being honest, and to my naivety, I didn’t think much of it and left him to carry on as he seemed fine, very active and was certainly eating with no problems.
His first poop was a little bit wet but I just assumed that this was because I had given him wax worms to try beef him up a bit. The little white bit on the poop varies from being white to a little yellowish (mostly a little yellowish tbh, which I know is a sign of dehydration). I haven’t had a solid poop from him yet. I am still giving wax worms and locust, but have tried to reduce the wax worms to see if this has an effect on his poop.
Unfortunately he seems to be getting worse; over the past 2 days I have noticed him now starting to close 2 eyes throughout the day and will sit in the same spot for ages – similar to his behaviour in the pet shop. I am extremely worried about this as it’s definitely not a good sign.
Tonight when I got home he was on one of the plant pots in his tank with his eyes closed. I picked him up and put him on one of the vines higher up in the tank and gave him his usual spray. As usual he went mad for the water but wouldn’t open his eyes at all and never did for the rest of the night although he was moving around a little!!
When his eyes are closed, sometimes it’s as though he’s sleeping and other times he is moving his eyes around, almost like he is looking around but with his eyes closed..!!!??
I’m calling the vet first thing on Monday as I have no idea what to do with the little guy. I’m so sad and couldn’t bear to lose the wee man after all the effort I have put in to get him healthier. No feacal sample has been done yet but this will be done on Monday at the vets. I have moved him to a smaller tank so he can get his food easier etc until he is better.
Has anyone come across this before or have any idea what could be wrong with him? Any info would be great. Closing his eyes through the day, under weight and dehydrated – is this a sign of parasites or purely down to dehydration? When I inspected his poop it was soft but no white bits etc, and I’m hoping the faeces test on Monday will help rule parasites in/out. I inspected his poop today and I seemed a little bit stringy – worms?
I am really concerned and will do anything to make my wee man happy and healthy!
Not sure if WC or CB – pet shop said CB. And also unsure of his age.
Thx in advance!
p.s sorry about the massive post!''
This is further post from this morning and also a bit info on the set-up i have:
''Thank Mofu. I feel pretty useless but yeah, not much i can do till monday. Wil just have to sit tight.
He had a poop this morning and it was just wetness with a few congealed bits in it. I pressed down on the congealed bits with the tweezers and was very gritty - any ideas on what this means? Parasite eggs??
He also shat out a full wax worm, it was a complete wax worm. I've never seen any of my reps do this with any feeder.
This is horrible, i've got a good mind to go down the pet shop and give the boy a crack in the jaw......''
''The set-up: he was in a 45x45x60 exo. I moved him to a smaller one when he started getting poorly. I am using the compact UV's (5% + 2%) but i'll be going out to buy strip lights 2mo if these are better for the cham - thanks for the advice. He doesn't have any discharge around his eyes - do reptiles get this with conjunctivitis as humans do? The light is mounted on an exo terra canopy and on top of the mesh screen. He can get very close to it and does look into it.
Temps are 80F under basking spot, never more than 83C - this is a little cooler than a veileds temps. He is a montane species and my understanding is that they should be kept a bit cooler. All caresheets i have read advised around the 80-85 mark...?? Cool end is about 73F-75F.
He isn't in a busy room - he's in my bedroom and i work 8-10 hours a day, he doesn't really get a massive amount of attention apart from when i'm watering him. I never really handle any my reps that often as i prefer to leave them to it.
The increase in watering him has only really started over the last 3 days as i have took a couple of weeks of work to keep an eye on him, but of course this will be affecting the temps so maybe i should calm down a bit on the watering. He's never pooped a full bug before, this is definately the first time since with me.
I'll try get some pics up later today so you can see the set up etc. I'm def going to be replacing the UV's and i will also post on Chameleon Forum for advice.
I wish Mondaty would hurry up and come so i can get to the vets.....''
Thanks for looking and any help/info would be amazing!!
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