Veiled moved to the bottom of the cage

[OlivertheChameleon]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Oliver. Male, Veiled Chameleon. 4-5 years old. We got him as a young juvenile.

Handling - Sparingly. A couple of times a month.

Feeding - Crickets gutloaded with Repashy cricket food. 10-15 every other day or until he stops eating. The occasional vegetable peels (carrot and potato mostly)

Supplements - Mostly ReptiCal, probably 1/3 to 1/2 crickets during a feeding

Watering - Mist King. 2-4 times a day for 2-4 minutes each time.

Fecal Description - He hides his poops well and I can't currently find any.

History - Took to the vet about 4 months ago. No problems were found but was given calcium drops to administer daily for a month and have used occasionally since (maybe 2-3 days a month).


Cage Info:

Cage Type - 2x2x4 mesh enclosure.

Lighting - Arcadia UV fluorescent bulb. ZooMed 75 watt heat lamp. 56k compact fluorescent (for plants).

Temperature - House is generally kept around 75-80° Farenheit. Top of cage near lights/heat lamp is around 85-90° Farenheit.

Humidity - Hygrometer broke a while back but humidity generally stayed at 60%+ and even more during and after mistings.

Plants - Main support is a camellia with a large pothos vining throughout. Two small scheflera are also present.

Placement - Cage is in the dining room, next to the den where we spend most of our time. Not near any vents or fans. Mostly just me and my wife. Top of cage is 6.5' from the floor.

Location: North Georgia, USA


Current Problem - When my wife arrived home yesterday she saw Oliver near the bottom of his cage kind of laying on his side. She gently lifted him (much to his chagrin) but he grabbed on and she never got him fully upright. He slept completely upside down and apparently fell during the night as I found him hanging this morning by his tail and supported by a vine (hanging around 45° with his head down, upside down) I lifted him up held him for a while. When I placed him back, he moved slowly to the bottom of the cage again and started to lay on his side again but has since straightened up some. Tonight when I got home he is still at the bottom if the cage on one of the pots. I plan to take him to the vet tomorrow morning if he continues to seem "off".
His grip is still quite strong and he seems to be moving good. He ate 12 crickets on Sunday which is about normal.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Welcome to the forum.

You have a few husbandry fixes to make...
Supplements-
Calcium without D3 at every feeding
Calcium with D3 1st and 15th of the month
Multivitamin 1st and 15th of the month

Gutload- need a real one I recommend cricket crack

Can’t find his poop? Is it possible he is impacted, when did he poop last?

 

[OlivertheChameleon]

We do dust with D3 about once a week (a little more than you recommend) and the same with the multi vitamin.

With the gut load, can you expand on why you don't like Repashy? It is all we have ever used though I am willing to switch up, just curious.

As far as poop goes, he goes in the back corner of his cage in the drain pan so it has been sitting in water by the time i see it, hard to tell color/consistency. He doesn't seem impacted, but I will keep an eye on it.

When I got up this morning he was in the drain pan of his cage a little sideways so he may have fallen again. I got him out and have him in his travel box and plan to call the vet when they open in 30 minutes.Hopefully he will poop in the box and I can take a look.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

We do dust with D3 about once a week (a little more than you recommend) and the same with the multi vitamin.

With the gut load, can you expand on why you don't like Repashy? It is all we have ever used though I am willing to switch up, just curious.

As far as poop goes, he goes in the back corner of his cage in the drain pan so it has been sitting in water by the time i see it, hard to tell color/consistency. He doesn't seem impacted, but I will keep an eye on it.

When I got up this morning he was in the drain pan of his cage a little sideways so he may have fallen again. I got him out and have him in his travel box and plan to call the vet when they open in 30 minutes.Hopefully he will poop in the box and I can take a look.

If your giving him D3 about once a week that means you are giving him twice the recommended dose of D3. An overdose of D3 can present as being drunk or uncoordinated/falling. Same goes for the vitamins.

Not a fan of the repashy because it’s geared towards the crickets needs, not the Cham. I’m sure someone will come along shortly with some actual data to back this up...

 

[OlivertheChameleon]

Just got back from the vet. They liked his grip and the feel of his bones. Took a little blood to send off, should hear back from that in a few days. That gave me a mild antibiotic to give him for the next couple of weeks or until the bloodwork says different.

Thinking about keeping him in a sleeping box for a few days to help with the falling and hopefully be able to find some poop as well. Thoughts?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Good plan, pay close attention to the temp!

 

[OlivertheChameleon]

Quick update: he ate 5 or 6 crickets before getting distracted and wandering around the table (since he is not in his cage). I put him back on the wood and in his temporary box. He is still going to the bottom and sort of laying down.

 

[nightanole]

Keep in mind d3 concentrations vary alot. And by a lot i mean Repcal +D3 has 240,000 ui per kg while sticky tongue farms indoor has 2000 ui per kg. Those are the extremes.

 

[OlivertheChameleon]

Another update. He was laying on his side again this morning but sat upright after a bit. I went and got a clothes hamper and made him a better temporary cage. He ate a couple of more crickets as well.

The D3 we have is ZooMed Reptivite and it is 23,000/kg.

Also, there was very little waste in his box before moving him so constipation/impaction may be an issue. Advice?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Vet.

 

[Kali11]

Poor baby. Blessings sent your way that he will get better and yall will figure out whats going wrong.

 

[OlivertheChameleon]

Talked to the vet. She said that since he isn't bloated and still eating/active, I should make him drink some water and try a warm bath. His bloodwork should be back tomorrow morning and we will go from there.

Just got him out of a 15 minute bath, nothing yet but it's a start.

 

[Jesspete]

Welcome to the forum.


Calcium without D3 at every feeding
Calcium with D3 1st and 15th of the month
Multivitamin 1st and 15th of the month

?

Did you mean for them to double down on the 1st and 15th, or do the multivitamin on the weeks you aren't doing d3?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Did you mean for them to double down on the 1st and 15th, or do the multivitamin on the weeks you aren't doing d3?

On the 1st and 15th you use the calcium with D3 in it in place of the calcium without D3 and also give them a dusting of multivitamin at the same time.

 

[Kali11]

On the 1st and 15th you use the calcium with D3 in it in place of the calcium without D3 and also give them a dusting of multivitamin at the same time.

I buy 50 crickets at a time. They've been lasting me around 2 weeks. Every other time I buy them, I dust with D3 and multivitamin. Is this ok? The other time I dust them without D3

 

[Brodybreaux25]

I buy 50 crickets at a time. They've been lasting me around 2 weeks. Every other time I buy them, I dust with D3 and multivitamin. Is this ok? The other time I dust them without D3

No stick to the 1st and 15th schedule. It’s simple, don’t complicate it for no reason.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

I buy 50 crickets at a time. They've been lasting me around 2 weeks. Every other time I buy them, I dust with D3 and multivitamin. Is this ok? The other time I dust them without D3

And you know your suppose to only dust the ones your feeding off right before you feed them off right?

 

[Kali11]

And you know your suppose to only dust the ones your feeding off right before you feed them off right?

I just dust them all when I get them, while they're still in the bag. They still have it on them when I feed her everyday. So I guess I need to save the bag. Shake them off in it, then dust them. then put them in her cage....

 

[JoshD49]

And you know your suppose to only dust the ones your feeding off right before you feed them off right?

I thought this would be common knowledge but I have heard people buying them from the store in QTY 50 and pre-dusted. I have no idea how they expect this to work.

 

[JoshD49]

I just dust them all when I get them, while they're still in the bag. They still have it on them when I feed her everyday. So I guess I need to save the bag. Shake them off in it, then dust them. then put them in her cage....

So you buy them in large QTY dust the whole thing and leave them in the bag? You should be housing them in some kind of keeper or tub for gutloading then pull out the amount you intend to feed, dust and then place in cage.