# Veiled Chameleon: URGENT HELP NEEDED



## Russgt5 (Oct 15, 2010)

We recently bought a 3 month old chameleon about a week ago and he looked healthy. Once we got him home, we knew the stress may prevent him eating for a couple of days. We are still unsure if he is eating, but we have seen droppings which would suggest he has been.

We left him alone last night in his bush and turned his lights off. As we woke this morning and turned his lights on, he was at the bottom of his viv near his food bowl so we assumed he was gonna eat and left him alone. approx half an hour later he was at the bottom of his viv at the back. we left him for a while and after an hour he hadnt moved, we moved him nearer to his heat source on a vine as we thought he was cold and that could be the reason he was stuck at the bottom.

After half an hour on his vine, he went down towards his waterfall so we left him alone again,, assuming he was drinking. When we next checked him about 15 mins later, he had moved up his vine slightly and has not moved since, he looks sluggish like he hasnt got the strength the push himself up and he is sitting with his eyes closed. When he opens his eyes they look shiney and clear and are not sunken.

the temp in the cool end is reading between 72 and 80. and the temp under his ceramic heat lamp is reading between 90 to 94. His background/middle temp is 80 to 85.

Yesterday we noticed he had his mouth open and was shaking his head from side to side and some saliva flicked out of his mouth, then he was fine. He has never done this before or since to our knowledge.

We have been feeding him on small brown crickets and mealworms which have been dusted in vitamin/calcium powder. These have been placed inside a bowl and some have escaped and are running lose. We have tried keeping count of the crickets but althought it seems some have been eaten they may have escaped.

He is in the same viv he has had since his original owner purchased him and we have tried not to disturb the set up to prevent any unnecessary stress on him.

He gets misted 2 to 3 times a day, we have a humiditity gauge and keep it to 60 to 80% humitity.

We are really at a loss as to what to do next and we are now concerned for his health.

Any help or advice anyone has will be greatly appreciated as we are now becoming increasingly concerned 

thanks


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## mariex4 (Oct 19, 2009)

im realy not being funny but people on here are not vets . if something is wrong then pick the phone up and get it to a vets . you could be waisting valuable time posting if theres something realy badly wrong with it


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## Russgt5 (Oct 15, 2010)

We know this, but just wanted some advice from experienced chameleon keepers. We have rung the vets around here and non seem interested and dont want to entertain it. We keep getting told to go to a specialist vet but at the moment we cannot find any in our area and in the meantime have posted on here incase anyone has ever experienced a similar problem. We are not stupid and have had reptiles for some time now, yet htis is our first cham. 
we are not wasting valuable time, we are exhausting all options and seeing as this is a reptile forum we thought it would be a good idea to get advice not sarcasm.

I'm sorry if i sound narky but we are worried and trying to do as much as possible to help him.


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Eyes closed during the day isn't a good sign and probably only a vet can help.

What colour is his urate? White is normal and yellow-orange means he's dehydrated.
You mention a ceramic heat lamp, does this mean his heat source doesn't give off any light?
Do you have a UV bulb?
Any live plants in the enclosure and if so have you checked they're not toxic?
Waterfalls aren't usually recommended for chameleons due to bacteria build up. Most people either use a dripper, or rely on misting.


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## windymiller (Sep 16, 2010)

*What area are you in...*

Someone may be able to point you in the direction of a rep vet. If you're anywhere near york ring Battle Flats Vetinerary Services at Stamford Bridge, ring them anyway they may be able to help/advise.

Sorry I can't help with the problem.

windy


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## Russgt5 (Oct 15, 2010)

His urate is normally creamy white of colour but we hae noticed a new dropping which is yellowy orange in colour with some creamy white colour.

He has a uv tube light, there are no live plants, the waterfall is cleaned regularly and the water is changed daily. He also gets misted regularly. 

thanks for the input, greatly appreciated.


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## Chameleoco (Jul 10, 2009)

can you post a picture? 
Laura x


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## Russgt5 (Oct 15, 2010)




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## awh (Aug 20, 2008)

what is his grip like if its weak it could be mbd or calcium deficiancy and a vet trip is the way to go 

if his urate is orange/yellow he could be dehydrated as it should be white 


me i would of got it to the vet asp 
but thats the way i am my animals are my life they come first, second & third, i come last


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## Chameleoco (Jul 10, 2009)

Wow, what is it eating? 
, substrates are not generally advised with true chameleons, and if one was to be used I think I would stay clear of bark chip, due to the risk of impaction if a piece is picked up and eaten with an insect.
It also looks very wet in there, are you allowing the subsrate to dry out after each misting? veiled chams dont need too much humidity and I suspect that the saliva you saw coming out of his mouth may have been a respiratory infection, this will be caused by the damp environment he is living in.
If he isnt in a screen or partially screen enclosure this could be another one of the issues, as chameleons need a good airflow.
The chameleon looks slightly thin to me, especially around the tail, also looks like his bum is open a bit (?)
Also, do you have a picture of his back feet? you may not have a male, you may have a female, which may be why he/she is acting strangely
Laura x


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## Miss Lily (Oct 3, 2008)

90 - 94 is way too hot for a 3 month old cham - they should have a temp in the low 80's until they are 6 months old, then it can gradually be increased. They gape when they are too hot and may stay in the cooler end of the viv if it's too hot at the top. Having said that, babies are not able to thermoregulate like the adults can, and even then they don't always realise they are too hot - that's why it's up to us to ensure that the temps are not too high for them. My first female loved sitting in the sun - she would sit and gape and even though she was too hot she would not move into the shade. I always had to bring her indoors to cool her down. He doesn't look well, bless him, I think a vet visit would be good.

Edit - I see you are using a ceramic heat lamp - chams like a basking (white) light that simulates the sun. That ceramic heater may well be too hot for him.


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## Russgt5 (Oct 15, 2010)

I can't get a pic at the moment as he/she has moved and i dont wanna stress him/her more than i have to. 

We had not long misted the viv before the photo, we do allow it to dry out. the substrate was in there when we bought him, but as the move was stressful we have tried not to do much until he settled.

We are waiting for a call from a vet at the moment, although not in our area, but at least we maybe able to get a step closer.

We are going to change the temp on the viv and see how that goes in the meantime. We just kept everything as it was when we bought him as to try and keep it as normal as possible due to the stress of the move.

Thank you very much for your advice it has really helped. I just hope he is going ot be ok. Waiting for the vet to ring islike waiting to be hung!


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## bradleymarky (May 20, 2010)

as said the temps are too high 82-85 is fine for a baby and get rid of the substrate STRAIGHT AWAY i dont like waterfalls or any water feature in with a cham.
a good misting in the morning and then about 4 pm is fine, what are your timer settings


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## Casp (Sep 13, 2010)

Hello,

I understand how you're feeling, it's awful when you care about an animal and think it may be suffering. My tummy was a right ball of nerves when my gecko had her x-ray!

I have no experience with chameleons but was just curious...

It seems by the helpful responses from those with experience that potentially this is an environmental issue..

Therefore, had the previous owner kept her in this way and for how long?

I'm just wondering if the stress has been building up and you have been unfortunate enough to purchase her in a bad way.

As has been suggested it's great that you have contacted a vet, you will know you have done all you can then for the little lass.

All the best,
Stacy.


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## Russgt5 (Oct 15, 2010)

substrate is now gone. temps are now reduced. timer settings are 6.30am til 6.30pm. Uv light switched off around same time. Just waiting for reading to settle and check temps again


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## bradleymarky (May 20, 2010)

Russgt5 said:


> substrate is now gone. temps are now reduced. timer settings are 6.30am til 6.30pm. Uv light switched off around same time. Just waiting for reading to settle and check temps again


i would change the timer settings to 7am - 7pm with the days getting darker earlier.

i wonder if it is spending so much time at the bottom because the food is there, try using a plastic cup (beaker) and fix it to a branch further up and put the feeders in it but make sure its not see through or your cham will get a sore tongue !!


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