Not sure how many out there have chameleons, but I'm open to any suggestions.
On Tuesday, we rescued a 3 year old veiled chameleon from an absolutely pitiful situation. How he is still alive is beyond me. He was being kept in a pitiful aquarium without sufficient heat, humidity, or lighting, and smelly moldy bark chip susbtrate. He was given only a dozen crickets per week and supposedly misted once a day. I can't go into any more details without wanting to push the previous owner in front of a speeding bus.
He is incredibly dehydrated and emaciated. His skin is dull, dry, and wrinkly. His eyes are slightly sunken in, although his casque is still relatively full. He is very weak, and cannot cling to any branches or really move around at all. He seems too weak to even extend his tongue out to eat. When we got him, his colors were dark and ugly, although he has brightened up considerably in the two days we've had him. So, while I'm no chameleon expert, I know that even with my limited knowledge, I can provide him much better care than what his previous moron of an owner was doing.
Here's what I have so far:
Habitat: He is in an aquarium (maybe 45 gal?) with a wire mesh lid. He is too weak to move so I'm not concerned about size at this point. I have an Exo-Terra mesh enclosure, but with him being so dehydrated I worried about keeping the humidity up in it. There are branches and plants in the aquarium, although he cannot climb so I might take them out. I'd hate for him to get a burst of energy, attempt to climb, and then fall.
Lighting: ReptiSun 5.0 UVB, plus night heat and basking lights
Temperature: This is an issue for me. I can't do a typical set up with a cooler ambient temp and a warmer basking spot, as he is too weak to move and thus can't thermoregulate like a healthy chameleon. Right now I've tried to settle with a "happy medium" temp of 84-85 (night about 75 degrees), but I'm not sure if that's too cold or hot.
Feeding: I've offered crickets, mealworms, and superworms, but so far all he's eaten is a single mealworm. Waxworms are ordered and should arrive tomorrow. He showed interest in a second mealworm, but it's as if his tongue is "broken"... He cracks his mouth open, pushes his tongue up to the tip, but can't "shoot" it out like he should. Actually, he only ate the one mealworm because I held it close enough that he could just bend down and push his tongue maybe 1/4" out of his mouth and stick it to the mealworm. I don't know if he's simply too weak to eat normally, or if something else is wrong with his tongue. The inside of his mouth appears to look normal, although I haven't wanted to stress him out by opening his mouth further. Thankfully he doesn't appear to be afraid to eat out of my hand. I will continue to try feeding (dusting with calcium of course).
Other notes: Humidity stays 75% or above. We're misting his enclosure as often as we can to keep the humidity up. He can turn his head to turn drink the drips that fall down the side of the glass, which seems promising to me. So, a couple times a day we are spraying the glass with a 50/50 Pedialyte/water mixture, which he also drinks. Should we be using the Pedialyte more often? I didn't want to overdo it.
...So, if you're still with me, what suggestions do you have? I'm greatly encouraged by the fact that he will drink, and that his color is better now. I know it will be a long road, but I'm hopeful that with enough TLC he will recover.
On Tuesday, we rescued a 3 year old veiled chameleon from an absolutely pitiful situation. How he is still alive is beyond me. He was being kept in a pitiful aquarium without sufficient heat, humidity, or lighting, and smelly moldy bark chip susbtrate. He was given only a dozen crickets per week and supposedly misted once a day. I can't go into any more details without wanting to push the previous owner in front of a speeding bus.
He is incredibly dehydrated and emaciated. His skin is dull, dry, and wrinkly. His eyes are slightly sunken in, although his casque is still relatively full. He is very weak, and cannot cling to any branches or really move around at all. He seems too weak to even extend his tongue out to eat. When we got him, his colors were dark and ugly, although he has brightened up considerably in the two days we've had him. So, while I'm no chameleon expert, I know that even with my limited knowledge, I can provide him much better care than what his previous moron of an owner was doing.
Here's what I have so far:
Habitat: He is in an aquarium (maybe 45 gal?) with a wire mesh lid. He is too weak to move so I'm not concerned about size at this point. I have an Exo-Terra mesh enclosure, but with him being so dehydrated I worried about keeping the humidity up in it. There are branches and plants in the aquarium, although he cannot climb so I might take them out. I'd hate for him to get a burst of energy, attempt to climb, and then fall.
Lighting: ReptiSun 5.0 UVB, plus night heat and basking lights
Temperature: This is an issue for me. I can't do a typical set up with a cooler ambient temp and a warmer basking spot, as he is too weak to move and thus can't thermoregulate like a healthy chameleon. Right now I've tried to settle with a "happy medium" temp of 84-85 (night about 75 degrees), but I'm not sure if that's too cold or hot.
Feeding: I've offered crickets, mealworms, and superworms, but so far all he's eaten is a single mealworm. Waxworms are ordered and should arrive tomorrow. He showed interest in a second mealworm, but it's as if his tongue is "broken"... He cracks his mouth open, pushes his tongue up to the tip, but can't "shoot" it out like he should. Actually, he only ate the one mealworm because I held it close enough that he could just bend down and push his tongue maybe 1/4" out of his mouth and stick it to the mealworm. I don't know if he's simply too weak to eat normally, or if something else is wrong with his tongue. The inside of his mouth appears to look normal, although I haven't wanted to stress him out by opening his mouth further. Thankfully he doesn't appear to be afraid to eat out of my hand. I will continue to try feeding (dusting with calcium of course).
Other notes: Humidity stays 75% or above. We're misting his enclosure as often as we can to keep the humidity up. He can turn his head to turn drink the drips that fall down the side of the glass, which seems promising to me. So, a couple times a day we are spraying the glass with a 50/50 Pedialyte/water mixture, which he also drinks. Should we be using the Pedialyte more often? I didn't want to overdo it.
...So, if you're still with me, what suggestions do you have? I'm greatly encouraged by the fact that he will drink, and that his color is better now. I know it will be a long road, but I'm hopeful that with enough TLC he will recover.
