I took the poor little guy to the vet (see my other post) and they gave me some calcium stuff i need to give him. Says give him 1 drop orally twize daily. I just need to figure out how to get him to open his mouth, the vet forgot to show me i guess. I think i read somewhere that you lightly pinch part of their head or something, but id rather not mess with him unless i know exactly what to do. thanks!
If I recall correctly, while holding the chameleon you gently pry his bottom jaw open with a fingernail. I seem to recall reading that somewhere, and I know that's how a friend of mine nursed her gecko back to health.
Hmm. That's a good question. If you have a spray bottle - you can try spraying a few streams of warm water gently on his snout or along the side of his mouth. When I do this with my cham - his drinking instinct kicks in and he will turn his head up and open and close his mouth to drink. He'll do this for a minute or so. Maybe and if your cham starts to do this - you can quickly switch to the (syringe?) and administer the medication. I'll try to find in one of my books any information about using your hands to open it's mouth. I don't recall anything, though. Tin
If you lightly pinch the back corner of each side of his mouth it will work or offer up a silk worm and when they are chomping spray it in there. This is what I do to be sure they get enough water every now and then. If yours is that sick my guess is he is not eating like he should be and it may be a little more tricky. If its a vield put it in front of a mirror, it will cause temporary stress but they normally open their mouths and hiss this is when you can get him.
Ah. next time ill give that a shot. A little bit ago i just gently forced his mouth open, then stuck a peice of aquarium tubing in there to keep it open while i put the drop in. One other queston: for now im dangling crickets and such in front of him, but hes onl eating 1 at a time. I was thinking of trying to force feed him carrot baby food, or dropping silk/meal/wax worms into his mouth when i get it open. Is this a good idea?
I am not so sure that chams are that hearty that after something like this happens you can expect a recovery. They are pretty fragile and dont pull through when they are in that bad of shape, but you can always try the best you can I guess. Hope it works out for you. How did this happen to begin with?
Sounds grim. Sorry to sound so mean but I would save your money on vet bills for a new cham and do the best you can to care for him for now so that you can say you did try your best.
You know, my father had the same reaction to my sister's cat. He was in rough shape after it developed diabetes, and my parents figured he was a lost cause. They figured that if he was their cat, they'd put him down. But my sister wouldn't. She did everything she could to get him back to health, and she did it. He's now doing quite well even with the insulin shots. Similarly, I once had a pet rat that developed a tumor, and it cost me $400 (CDN) to get it removed. Many of my friends thought I was crazy, but I had the money, and I wanted to ensure as long and as comfortable a life as possible for her. I think the same holds true here. It might be a lost cause, but why stop trying? If you need to consult a vet and get medication for an animal, and you don't, then you can't honestly say you tried your best. If you want to be able to say it, then you should do it. I think it's great what nvan2 is doing, and hope it pulls through.
It would be brother I should also note that there will be times when there is nothing left you can do, and you either ride it out or put the animal down to stop the suffering, but none of us here have the knowledge and experience (especially without even inspecting the animal) to really say at what point this comes. Only a qualified vet can make that determination, so saving money on vet bills just doesn't sit well with me. If the vet (which he's already seen) thinks the animal has a chance then give the animal the chance. From the sounds of it, since he got some calcium drops, the vet doesn't think it's necessarily a lost cause yet. Nvan2, as for your concern about eating, I'd say that I wouldn't be concerned about how many he ate at one time as opposed to how many he'll eat in a day. As long as he's getting enough food throughout the day, you should be good. If eating one is all he can muster in a sitting, you probably shouldn't push him, as long as he gets plenty of opportunity to do so during the day. You may want to try the silkworms, as not only are they more nutritions (from my understanding), but since they are soft-bodied they will probably be easier for him to eat. No crunchies. I wouldn't use wax or mealworms though. Wax worms have little in the way of nutrients, and mealworms are harder to digest. Though, considering he is so skinny, a wax worm or two might help him flesh out a bit. It might also entice him to eat more. Of course, like most I'm just a hobbyist, with probably less experience than the rest of the people here, but I think the advice is probably good.
I agree with Sam. When I was little - we had a kitten that one day just fell over and couldn't get back up. The Vet couldn't figure out what was wrong and said that there was nothing he could do and that the kitten will slowly starve to death if we left him this way. But because he was so young - and we were all kids with a lot of free time to care for him - we didn't want to give up on him. For about 2 months - we took turns caring for him - feeding him by bottle and literally (and it sounds funny) providing a rehabilitation program for him. We took turns moving his limbs around for him and making sure there was blood circulating through them even though he couldn't move. Then one morning - we found him sitting halfway up in his box. Before then - he would just lay flat with only the eyes moving around and his mouth moving a bit. After that morning - he slowly started moving more each day - and then meowing and after about a month - he was back to normal. There's always a chance - no matter how small that chance is. Tin
I had to force feed my 3 month old cham due to eye infections that killed all but 3 of her clutch, and she was 1 of the 3 that lived. You will need two people for my way..i had my girl help me. I simply held her in my hand, head between thumb and index finger. then with your other hand, gently grab the skin under he mouth, and pull down while holding her head still so it doesnt just go down. it is harmless and recommended by 3 vets here, i checked because i thought it was hurting her. And if it is in liquid form, use a small syringe, any vet will give you one. Also dont listen to these guys, chams as HEARTY HEARTY ANIMALS, and can survive anythingmine couldnt eat, or drink by itself, couldnt even see for almost 2 months, but we treated it, on a day to day basis, and she recovered and is leading a nice life now, munching down 20 roaches a day
