worst of the worst
- Thread starter curly
- Start date
westcoastchameleons
New Member
I had had an Ambilobe panther that i bough at 5 months and put a incredible amout of time and devotion into him...
when he reached one year he had successfuly bred, shortly after i went to tke him outside and he shot his tongue out, and it got stuck to my shirt. his tongue ripped out that day....he died one month later.
when he reached one year he had successfuly bred, shortly after i went to tke him outside and he shot his tongue out, and it got stuck to my shirt. his tongue ripped out that day....he died one month later.
curly
New Member
Poor little guy..that must have hurt..
nbhs_lauren08
New Member
I feel so bad about this...
My vieled chameleon was crawling up the side of his screen cage and I guess when I walked into the room I scared him...he fell off the side of the cage onto his back and became paralyzed. Then he stopped eating and drinking so I had to put him to sleep. T_T
He was my first chameleon and I felt like it was my fault so I stopped buying for a while...but now I'm back and trying this again.
My vieled chameleon was crawling up the side of his screen cage and I guess when I walked into the room I scared him...he fell off the side of the cage onto his back and became paralyzed. Then he stopped eating and drinking so I had to put him to sleep. T_T
He was my first chameleon and I felt like it was my fault so I stopped buying for a while...but now I'm back and trying this again.
gonzalez6115
New Member
the day my cham arrived from CA i got him out of the box and let him go in his cage, a bit later i took him out for a photo op and he fell on the ground and turned almost pitch black. even though he made no sound the only thing i could hear in my head was a crying baby
Mikew2006
New Member
had nemo out a few weeks ago and she fell from my hand onto my jumper (height of 6") and i think she was winded or concussed (sp?)
she just lay there looking up at me and then closed her eyes! i s**t myself thinking she was dying, i put her back in her cage and she lost the use of her front legs for 10 mins...thankfully she came round from whatever it was and is now fine
she just lay there looking up at me and then closed her eyes! i s**t myself thinking she was dying, i put her back in her cage and she lost the use of her front legs for 10 mins...thankfully she came round from whatever it was and is now fine
roo_71
New Member
and because I am human and make mistakes and can admit when I am wrong …
I crushed a female R. spectrum leaf chameleon under the screen top. I wasn’t paying attention and she climbed up on the screen near the edge. So when I closed the top I crushed her and killed her. I felt horrible and the mistake was not paying attention and making sure no chams were on the screen top before closing the top. Happened once and it will never happen again.
A fairly common occurrence with larger/true chams is catching a limb or the tail in the cage door. More of an issue with home built cages with sturdy doors but serious harm could still happen with the commercial reptariums and/or aluminum cages. So learn from my mistake.
-roo
I crushed a female R. spectrum leaf chameleon under the screen top. I wasn’t paying attention and she climbed up on the screen near the edge. So when I closed the top I crushed her and killed her. I felt horrible and the mistake was not paying attention and making sure no chams were on the screen top before closing the top. Happened once and it will never happen again.
A fairly common occurrence with larger/true chams is catching a limb or the tail in the cage door. More of an issue with home built cages with sturdy doors but serious harm could still happen with the commercial reptariums and/or aluminum cages. So learn from my mistake.
-roo
Roo, I admire your ability to admit you're human and make mistakes... So far I don't THINK I've made any bad ones with the chams...but I haven't had them that long, so time will tell. I'll tell a gecko story, though...I picked up his humid hide to mist it (it has sphagnum inside), and he was in there. I misted it, and he seemed OK, drinking a little, when he decided to come out! I put the mister next to the door hole to keep him in while I put the hide back down, and he started screaming! Didn't stop until he had jumped out and run under some rocks! I thought I'd squished him! I managed to lure him out a few hours later with some phoenix worms, and he was OK.
So far I don't THINK I've made any bad ones with the chams...but I haven't had them that long, so time will tell. I'll tell a gecko story, though...I picked up his humid hide to mist it (it has sphagnum inside), and he was in there. I misted it, and he seemed OK, drinking a little, when he decided to come out! I put the mister next to the door hole to keep him in while I put the hide back down, and he started screaming! Didn't stop until he had jumped out and run under some rocks! I thought I'd squished him! I managed to lure him out a few hours later with some phoenix worms, and he was OK.
wow
New Member
I put the mister next to the door hole to keep him in while I put the hide back down, and he started screaming! Didn't stop until he had jumped out and run under some rocks! I thought I'd squished him! I managed to lure him out a few hours later with some phoenix worms, and he was OK.[/QUOTE]
what does a screaming lizard sound like?
what does a screaming lizard sound like?
marxous
New Member
mine is watching my veiled take a nose dive in the shower... im pretty sure she damaged her side and her ribs are kinda funny lookin ( see my other post re:broken ribs ) so now i know to always be fully attentive when handling my veiled. There have been no detrimental effects though, only asthetic ones.
SeanCJ
Established Member
One day, many many years ago when I was still keeping many species, my neighbor's big and crazy lab mix dug under the fence between our yards, chew 'through' the galvanized wire of one of my outdoor chameleon enclosures, and grabbed my 20", 4 year old, male veiled chameleon. I came home from work to find pieces of him scattered throughout my yard.
It took all the restraint I had NOT poison that dog! My neighbor at that time was a real jerk too and refused to reimburse me for the chameleon or the damage to my enclosure. I even had to fix the fence so the dog couldn't dig under it again.
At least it wasn't my parsonii enclosure he went after.
It took all the restraint I had NOT poison that dog! My neighbor at that time was a real jerk too and refused to reimburse me for the chameleon or the damage to my enclosure. I even had to fix the fence so the dog couldn't dig under it again.
At least it wasn't my parsonii enclosure he went after.
Imagesrdecieving
New Member
A few short weeks ago I was so excited to move my guy to his new larger home. I spent a long time setting it up, decorating, readjusting temperatures etc.
When it came time for the move I was coaxing him to get on my hand and he decided he'd prefer to go chameleon sky-diving without a parachute rather than climb on me. He wound up falling about 5 feet onto hard ceramic tile.
I thought he was a goner for sure. He just lay there looking at me as I was borderline in tears. After I scooped him up and tried to get him to go into his new cage he was just frozen paralyzed. Eventually he did move into his new digs.
Luckily he survived unscathed. Moral of the story is - whenever handling your cham - try and keep the cage as low to the ground as possible AND setup a small crash zone of blankets in case your guy decided to make a jump for it.
When it came time for the move I was coaxing him to get on my hand and he decided he'd prefer to go chameleon sky-diving without a parachute rather than climb on me. He wound up falling about 5 feet onto hard ceramic tile.
I thought he was a goner for sure. He just lay there looking at me as I was borderline in tears. After I scooped him up and tried to get him to go into his new cage he was just frozen paralyzed. Eventually he did move into his new digs.
Luckily he survived unscathed. Moral of the story is - whenever handling your cham - try and keep the cage as low to the ground as possible AND setup a small crash zone of blankets in case your guy decided to make a jump for it.
marxous
New Member
sounds very similar as what happened to me... i think it really really needs to be stressed that a chameleon fall is very very very serious, only a few feet can serousily damage or kill one. They are definateally not like bearded dragons that can jump something like 5 feet landing in a nose dive, and just walk it off.... its how they move around and get down off of high obsticales. I watch mine do it from time to tim, mind you it has never been more than 3 feet. Chameleons are definatealy a very delicate species, and i think its important that everyone FULLY understands this while owning one, especially when it is their first.
Tygerr
Avid Member
Marxous,
Whilst I fully agree that chameleons should be handled very carefully, and that a chameleon fall (especially if it is one out of its keeper's hands) can be very serious, I beg to differ about chameleons being 'delicate' when it comes to falls.
They are in fact built to withstand falls. They have an incredibly large lung-to-bodysize ratio, and these lungs puff up with air instantly when they fall to serve as a cushion to save them from falling.
Naturally, being tree-dwelling creatures, they need this kind of protection. Falls are common in the wild.
But don't get me wrong. I do concur that you should always handle them carefully. They are terribly skittish when being handled and are prone to doing unexpected and dangerous things - things that even their built in airbags can't always protect them from.
Also, those airbags are designed to save them from jungle floors, not hard concrete or tile floors like in our homes.
Whilst I fully agree that chameleons should be handled very carefully, and that a chameleon fall (especially if it is one out of its keeper's hands) can be very serious, I beg to differ about chameleons being 'delicate' when it comes to falls.
They are in fact built to withstand falls. They have an incredibly large lung-to-bodysize ratio, and these lungs puff up with air instantly when they fall to serve as a cushion to save them from falling.
Naturally, being tree-dwelling creatures, they need this kind of protection. Falls are common in the wild.
But don't get me wrong. I do concur that you should always handle them carefully. They are terribly skittish when being handled and are prone to doing unexpected and dangerous things - things that even their built in airbags can't always protect them from.
Also, those airbags are designed to save them from jungle floors, not hard concrete or tile floors like in our homes.
jvillereptile
New Member
i had a gravid female jackson fell off her tree and dislocated her hind leg at the knee joint. when i say noticed her walking funny i picked her up and pinch the joint back into place. three days later she gave birth to her babies and a day after that she died. only 2 babies survived out of 12. i also have a baby veiled that got her tail caught at 2 days old and broke it, now she walks around with her tail in 2 curls. other then that she is fine
