Zard

[rgladu]

My cham, Zard, is ill. I have had him for 14 months now. He is a Panther cross and I have kept him in a large screened enclosure with Reptisun 5 lighting and a basking light. he stopped using his tongue several months ago and I have had to hand feed him. He will still take in water from a shower or from a spritzed plant, but mostly I have to hand feed and water him. Of course, he is starting to get weak. I took him to our reptile vet in Houston, and she recommended "carinivore care" - like a pablum, which I have been giving him. Up to the last few days he took it and he took in worms. However, He threw it up yesterday. He no longer will accept crickets. Despite my best efforts to hydrate him, his eyes remain sunken all day now and usually don't open. She also gave me flagyl and panacure to give him, but no help. His stool was free of parasites. He did have a necrotic mass at his anus, which I assume is a necrotic hemipenis, and I wonder if this is where the main problem is. I haven't seen him poop in several day, although he continues to make white urate crystal and excrete that. He is still strong enough to hold on to perches, but I think he is slowly getting weaker. The most interesting thing is that usually he is a green cham but he has turned orange for the first time and has not returned to the green color. This is my first cham, and I am a human physician, but am not sure what to do next for him. I'm not sure he'll recover from this tailspin. I imagine all of the hand feeding has probably stressed him. ANy advice?

 

[chameleon97]

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[rgladu]

urrent Problem - General ill health


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Panther Cross, 20 months old Male. Ihave had him for 14 months.T
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? - Lately daily to feed him and water him.

Feeding - He will take mealworms and the carnivore care pablum mix. I add some of the calcium vit d to it. he won't take crickets any more. WOn't use his tongue.

Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? SEE ABOBE

Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
I USED TO use the drip method which he used regularly when healthy. Now I have to use showers and syringe feed him water.

Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
Last parasite test was neg. Light Orange color to some of the urates.

History - Started with a food strike about a month ago, but he recovered from that and accepted worms and crickets. Now has weakened and won't eat much at all. Vomited for the first time 2 days ago.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? -
Screen - large - about 3/ and 1/2 feet high by 2-3 feet wide by 1 foot.

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
12 hours a day of a tube light reptisun 5 and a basking light.

Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
80 degrees in the day at his level and goes to about 72 at night.

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
60% most of the time with hand misting daily.

Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Mostly ivy

Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
he is 2 feet above the floor in the bedroom. Used to be in a quiet hall.

Location - Where are you geographically located? Houston

 

[sandrachameleon]

Have you considered a second opinion from a vet who knows something about chameleons? It sounds like the current vet is using a "shot gun" approach and may not know much about proper care of chameleons.

I'd be cautious about using Carnivore care. Do you /did you gutload the insects? or use a vitamin supplement at all? If you are hand feeding the chameleon has little choice to what its getting, so go back to crickets (gutloaded and lightly calcium dusted) rather than mealworms. consider a few drops of pedialyte with water and squished bugs, rather than carnivore care.

 

[kinyonga]

What supplements were you using before he got sick? Please be specific (brands, etc.). How often did you use each one?
What have you been feeding to the insects (specifically)?

What is the basking light? How old is the UVB light?
Could the insects or the chameleon have chewed on the ivy?

Carnivore care
You said..."he stopped using his tongue several months ago and I have had to hand feed him"...generally tongue disfunction is the result of MBD or can be from an injury.

Can you post some pictures please?

 

[rgladu]

Sad.

Well, sadly, we lost Zard this am. I thought we were close yesterday. I was not happy with the vet I used, but people all over Houston had recommended this one as the best. As a physician myself, I certainly saw that this was a shotgun approach to his problem, as no diagnosis was made. So we will never know what was really wrong. I am a little nervous to try again with another chameleon at this point, although I really enjoyed caring for him for the 14 months I had him, and he seemed content his whole life.

 

[Syn]

So we will never know what was really wrong.

There is always the option of necropsy. I am not sure I would suggest going back to the same vet, however, but you can look for a better vet here:

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

So sorry for your loss. Don't let this deter you from another chameleon - we all have to deal with this at some point or another.

 

[rgladu]

Thanks for the condolences. I'm pretty sad today. It's amazing how attached humans can get to these little fascinating creatures. I really would like to continue to learn more with another animal. THis forum is very helpful.

 

[rgladu]

Thanks for the vet list. The one I went to was not on this list. I am considering the necropsy as I don't want to make the same mistake again. I am curious, is it common for the lizard to turn a yellow orange before death? He was never this color before his last week of life. His main color was green with a hint of blue. DOes this coloration signify anything specific? He never exhibited the darkening during his life that I had seen other panthers exhibit during stress.

 

[Syn]

When chameleons die, they tend to exhibit the most color because they can not control what makes them so colorful (I can't remember the name for this.)

 

[rgladu]

Absolutely fascinating. I'm curious as to the term for that.