Help! Sick Fischer's Chameleon

[kellygirl]

Help, my dad's subadult Fischer's chameleon is really sick!

A few days ago, he stopped opening one of his eyes. Now he won't open either one and is extremely lethargic and keeping going to the bottom of the cage. He's pretty much staying in the lime green color he turns when he sleeps all the time now. At first I thought he might be sleepwalking but now I know he can't open his eyes at all.

I took him out and tried to open his mouth. I had to pry it open and found a greyish pink color rather than the reddish pink it used to be. Before, if I were to pick the chameleon up too abruptly or disrupt him in some way, he wouldn't hesitate to open his mouth up.

Just last week he was healthy and all over his cage, had lots of energy. Now I think he's dying and we can't find anything about it in the books we have. Please help us if you are able. We don't know what to do and I don't think there are any vets nearby specializing in exotics. We don't want him to suffer...

-Kelly

 

[kellygirl]

Nobody knows anything? Can anyone refer me to a place where I could find some answers, at least, please?

-Kelly

 

[Psoulocybe]

honestly, I have no idea what it could be.

I would get him to a qualified vet as soon as possible.

 

[WhyTeDraGon]

post on the forum of www.kingsnake.com or www.faunaclassifieds.com, they may be able to help you more than here.

Good luck

 

[Crotalus]

Hard to say when nothing is sad how you keeping the lizard

/Lelle

 

[arachnoguy]

when a chameleon gets any kind of infection it will do this and it will push it quite close to dying. your animal may have gotten an infection of some kind but i don't know what it is with the information given. how is its breathing?

 

[arachnoguy]

also what temp and humidity are you keeping the cage at?

 

[Fini]

Chams don't deal well at this stage. Mouth gaping and/or a popping sound in their breathing would indicate a possible respiratory infection (fairly common). Are the eyes sunk in at all? If he/she is not doing well with branches you may sit the cham in an inch of room temp water. This will assist in rehydration (absorption through the skin) although it is stressful for the animal.

It really sounds as though your chameleon is in it's last stages. So this is completely optional, and in might be too late to be effective, but you might have a stool sample checked for parasites. Chams are famous for carrying heavy parasite loads.

I am really sorry about your chameleon and do wish you the best of luck.
Chris

 

[kellygirl]

He's in a screened cage with an arboreal set-up. Lots of branches and leaves. He gets fed 2-3 dusted crickets daily and has been eating heartily since my dad got him, and is still eating well, even now. There is a strip light and a heat lamp on one side of the cage with no heat source on the other side so he can self-regulate. I don't know what the average temperature is because it varies throughout the cage. He is misted 2-3 times a day. The current humidity is at about 60. No gaping mouth. No apparent breathing problems. No fluids visible.

My dad got some eyedrops but I'm not sure if they are going in because the chameleon's eyes are closed. The eyes themselves are sunken in slightly. Last night, he shed some skin off of one eye.

Not long ago, I placed a shallow dish with about an inch of water at the base of the enclosure in case he needed to rehydrate--advice from someone on another board. I placed him in the water where he stayed for a few minutes; then he went up to the strip light and basked for awhile; then came back down to the water and stood in it again; now he is at the heat lamp basking. Maybe such actions are an indication of dehydration? Could that cause the problems with the eyes?

He's been a lot more active today, roaming all over the cage, feeling his way around without opening his eyes. He's eaten all the crickets offered to him. When I took him out of the cage to try the eyedrops, he reacted more defensively instead of passively, and open his mouth in a threat pose. Good signs, I hope?

I'm going to read up further on this species now. I was told that this was a very hearty species so I'm surprised that my dad is having trouble only a few months after getting the chameleon. There is a lizard specialist at one of the local petstores who has been out of town but comes back tomorrow. My dad is going to talk with her and if she has nothing to offer, we might look into finding a vet. This may sound harsh, but if it's too expensive to go the vet, my dad probably won't take it. This was a $25 animal--the cage and setup cost way more than the animal.... a couple hundred or thousand dollars for specialized care and treatment just aren't in the cards, unfortunately.

I will keep you all updated. Thanks!

-Kelly

 

[arachnoguy]

sounds like soaking him seemed to help a little. put him in a small enclosure where he can soak for a while and keep a very close eye on him. as one who spent about a grand on going to the vet (and then finding out she didn't know what the hell she was doing) just try and remedy the situation on your own.