Young veiled lethargic and on the floor

[killemalltrac]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male veiled, 10 months old
Handling - couple of times a week. usually just to take him outside.
Feeding - Crickets every day, super worms a couple times a week, occasional house spiders and wax worms
Supplements - Dusting crickets every feeding with calcium without D3. multivitamin once a weekish
Watering - Misting 3 times a day, he normally drinks as soon as I start misting
Fecal Description - Dark brown with the yellowish white other stuff. Not sure what it is called.
History - He was normally a pretty green color and pretty active. about 2 weeks ago he started spending time at the bottom of his cage. He hasn't eaten in a few days but was still drinking water. He seems to be getting worse, not wanting to drink. laying on the bottom of the cage, lethargic, and dark colored. when I open his cage he wants to come onto my hand still and when I take him outside he seems to really enjoy it. I thought maybe my UVB bulb was bad since its about 8 months old so I replaced it and added some extra perches for him. I ran water in the sink and let him near it and he drank a lot today.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen cage. 16x16x30
Lighting - incandescent daylight heat bulb and a eco terra 5.0 UVB bulb. Lights are on 12 hours and off 12 hours.
Temperature - Basking Temp- 80, Floor Temp- 70 (room temp), night temp- 55-60. Temps measured with digital thermometer in cage
Humidity - No sure about humidity levels. I mist often for about 3 minutes plus
Plants - no real plants. Pet store fakes and a couple of fake vines.
Placement - Cage is in my room. I has good air circulation. cage is placed on my dresser.
Location - I live in Oregon.

 

[killemalltrac]

Today I let him drink from the sink and added the dowel perches for him. He seemed to be feeling a little better but then I noticed his eyes starting to swell a bit. I just checked on him (in the dark) and he is awake and his eyes are pretty puffy. He is just standing on the bottom of his cage.

 

[Winpooh718]

I hope he feels better... poor thing.

I had a similar experience with my bearded dragon, but, he turned out to be a she and layed eggs.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male veiled, 10 months old
Handling - couple of times a week. usually just to take him outside.
Feeding - Crickets every day, super worms a couple times a week, occasional house spiders and wax worms
Supplements - Dusting crickets every feeding with calcium without D3. multivitamin once a weekish
Watering - Misting 3 times a day, he normally drinks as soon as I start misting
Fecal Description - Dark brown with the yellowish white other stuff. Not sure what it is called.
History - He was normally a pretty green color and pretty active. about 2 weeks ago he started spending time at the bottom of his cage. He hasn't eaten in a few days but was still drinking water. He seems to be getting worse, not wanting to drink. laying on the bottom of the cage, lethargic, and dark colored. when I open his cage he wants to come onto my hand still and when I take him outside he seems to really enjoy it. I thought maybe my UVB bulb was bad since its about 8 months old so I replaced it and added some extra perches for him. I ran water in the sink and let him near it and he drank a lot today.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen cage. 16x16x30
Lighting - incandescent daylight heat bulb and a eco terra 5.0 UVB bulb. Lights are on 12 hours and off 12 hours.
Temperature - Basking Temp- 80, Floor Temp- 70 (room temp), night temp- 55-60. Temps measured with digital thermometer in cage
Humidity - No sure about humidity levels. I mist often for about 3 minutes plus
Plants - no real plants. Pet store fakes and a couple of fake vines.
Placement - Cage is in my room. I has good air circulation. cage is placed on my dresser.
Location - I live in Oregon. View attachment 162213

That isn't a very good picture of him but my impression is that he is either severely dehydrated or emaciated or both. Can you post a better picture?

I wonder if he has a kidney problem that is finally catching up with him. How long have you had him?

 

[killemalltrac]

 

[killemalltrac]

This is him a few days ago outside with the sprinkler running. When I took him back inside he was immediately dark and at the bottom of his enclosure again.

 

[guanagator]

If he can hold onto a plant I would give a 40 minute lukewarm shower to let him drink as much as he wants, do it a few times a day for a few days then at least once every couple days after. Seems like a vet trip is needed though for a diagnosis, your set up looks ok and nothing stands out except maybe the basking temp being a bit low for a male veiled I would go up up some to high 80s

 

[LindsayG]

Does he have a problem with his mouth too? It looks like he's kissing the plant. Do you have any more close up shots of him? Like maybe current ones of him in his cage.

 

[guanagator]

It's good you can get him outside, as much natural sun as possible helps any chameleon thrive. They really seem to do so much better with the natural light.

 

[killemalltrac]

If he can hold onto a plant I would give a 40 minute lukewarm shower to let him drink as much as he wants, do it a few times a day for a few days then at least once every couple days after. Seems like a vet trip is needed though for a diagnosis, your set up looks ok and nothing stands out except maybe the basking temp being a bit low for a male veiled I would go up up some to high 80s

Ok I will do that today. I did have one of those little fountains in there for him for a while but I took it out a couple weeks ago as it was difficult to keep clean. I kind of feel like maybe the change in water source stressed him out and made him drink less lately.

Does he have a problem with his mouth too? It looks like he's kissing the plant. Do you have any more close up shots of him? Like maybe current ones of him in his cage.

No I havent noticed any change in his mouth. The leaf in the photo is behind him. I will take a few more tonight with my camera and not my phone.

 

[LindsayG]

Ok I will do that today. I did have one of those little fountains in there for him for a while but I took it out a couple weeks ago as it was difficult to keep clean. I kind of feel like maybe the change in water source stressed him out and made him drink less lately.


No I havent noticed any change in his mouth. The leaf in the photo is behind him. I will take a few more tonight with my camera and not my phone.

Its hard to tell from those pics. Taking more photos should help.

 

[killemalltrac]

Well I'm home and I can't really figure out how to give him a shower... I say and spritzed him with warm water for about 10 minutes but he isn't drinking. I can't get him in to see a vet... Unless one of you can recommend someone in Eugene Oregon that can see him. I'm kinda stuck and not sure what to do. He is very lethargic. And very bright colored right now. Sleeping even when I pick him up to move him. I don't want to lose him

 

[killemalltrac]

 

[Carlton]

When I hear of a cham who is drinking every single time water is offered and declining in spite of correct diet, I start wondering about how dry the cage itself actually is. Even if you spray it frequently, if the cage dries out quickly, your cham is actually spending most if his time in pretty dry conditions. Then he'll drink a lot to try to restore his water balance, but over time, can lose ground. And, dehydrated chams don't eat much at all, so this just adds to the weakness.

I think you need to get a handle on what humidity levels your cage is actually at ASAP, check the level throughout the day, and record it. I think you'll find its much lower than you thought. Chams are not very efficient at conserving body moisture (they didn't need to be) so can lose quite a bit just through respiration in dry air. Eventually kidney problems can set in. His current cage is going to be dry...no live foliage, open screen. Your room may be dry which sucks the moisture right out of the cage shortly after you mist it.

 

[killemalltrac]

Well he didn't make it. I took him to the vet yesterday and while I was there, he pooped, a lot. I felt like I should just take him home right then but he still got his checkup and the vet said she wanted to take him in the back to put him under a heat lamp. I let her and then she gave me antibiotics for him and some emergency food to try and get him healthy again. I got him back from the back room and headed home. I filled a small container with luke warm water and paper towels and a branch and set him in it so the water just covered his vent. He kind of just didn't have any strength and kept wanting to fall over sideways into the water so I took him out and dried him off and tried to administer the medicine. He wouldn't eat it and just kind of left his mouth open and then a short time later it was clear he was gone. He was an amazing creature and I miss him like crazy already. My lady, son and I buried him in the yard after work and I explained a few things to my son, he's 4. I took his cage all down and am going to take a break for a bit before considering getting another. You were all very helpful and I appreciate that. RIP Broccoli

 

[Chachi]

That isn't a very good picture of him but my impression is that he is either severely dehydrated or emaciated or both. Can you post a better picture?

I wonder if he has a kidney problem that is finally catching up with him. How long have you had him?

Janet, this is off topic but could you tell me what causes gout? What could i have been doingvwrong?

 

[KapitalJ]

Sorry to hear about your little guy.

 

[Lizzie The Chameleon]

Well he didn't make it. I took him to the vet yesterday and while I was there, he pooped, a lot. I felt like I should just take him home right then but he still got his checkup and the vet said she wanted to take him in the back to put him under a heat lamp. I let her and then she gave me antibiotics for him and some emergency food to try and get him healthy again. I got him back from the back room and headed home. I filled a small container with luke warm water and paper towels and a branch and set him in it so the water just covered his vent. He kind of just didn't have any strength and kept wanting to fall over sideways into the water so I took him out and dried him off and tried to administer the medicine. He wouldn't eat it and just kind of left his mouth open and then a short time later it was clear he was gone. He was an amazing creature and I miss him like crazy already. My lady, son and I buried him in the yard after work and I explained a few things to my son, he's 4. I took his cage all down and am going to take a break for a bit before considering getting another. You were all very helpful and I appreciate that. RIP Broccoli

 

[jajeanpierre]

Janet, this is off topic but could you tell me what causes gout? What could i have been doingvwrong?

Improper diet, temperatures and hydration. I think dehydration/kidney failure are the root cause of gout in chameleons.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Well he didn't make it. I took him to the vet yesterday and while I was there, he pooped, a lot. I felt like I should just take him home right then but he still got his checkup and the vet said she wanted to take him in the back to put him under a heat lamp. I let her and then she gave me antibiotics for him and some emergency food to try and get him healthy again. I got him back from the back room and headed home. I filled a small container with luke warm water and paper towels and a branch and set him in it so the water just covered his vent. He kind of just didn't have any strength and kept wanting to fall over sideways into the water so I took him out and dried him off and tried to administer the medicine. He wouldn't eat it and just kind of left his mouth open and then a short time later it was clear he was gone. He was an amazing creature and I miss him like crazy already. My lady, son and I buried him in the yard after work and I explained a few things to my son, he's 4. I took his cage all down and am going to take a break for a bit before considering getting another. You were all very helpful and I appreciate that. RIP Broccoli

I'm sorry.