Health Section I- Conclusions

With all the “common” diseases I presented (with “miscellaneous” chapter keep expanding), it is not uncommon that the facts tend to overwhelm beginners. This also affects me when I was a first timer. I thought there are too many things to tackle and too many diseases to watch out for.

But, you should not be discouraged. Keep on reading and learning facts about your marvelous chameleon pet.
I have compiled a few general tips for you:

• Happiness of your chameleon begins from a proper care and a good husbandry. Problematic elements in the husbandry produce discomforts. And, prolonged discomforts will eventually stress your chameleon. Stress is your worst enemy in keeping your chameleon healthy. It weakens their immune systems. And, if ignored, it will eventually lead to mortality. Notice that almost 90% of the diseases I presented in the health chapters can be tracked back to improper cares. Therefore, please educate yourself in the correct husbandry and care for your chameleons to ensure a healthy long life for them.
• Provide the best for your chameleon’s sake. Research, research, and research. The most horrible thing you can do is playing a role of vet when your chameleon needs the real one. If you do not have any access to an exotic vet nearby, you might want to find one soon before your chameleon gets sick.
• It is important for you to spend quality times with your chameleon daily. Be aware that “quality” time does not mean handling and bugging your chameleon (no pun intended). But, rather observing them in the captivity. Develop an acute sense of your chameleon “normal” routines. Once you develop that sense, you will be able to spot any ‘weird’ behavior(s) exhibited by your chameleon. Approach that with calm manner and do not over react. Check your husbandry, temperature, and humidity. See if there is a fluctuation and anomaly that need to be corrected. Assess if the behavioral change are hormonal issues (sexual maturity), psychology issues (such as seeing another chameleon or its own reflection in the room), supplemental and diet issues, and/or the actual health issues. I bet you have heard from someone or read an article to this extend “chameleon is a fragile animal. They often die out of nowhere.” That statement is truly a faulty idea. Chameleon does not die out of nowhere. Chameleon is not as fragile as we thought. As a matter of fact, they are tough creatures. They are so tough that they often do not develop any obvious symptoms until the disease is in advanced stage. Therefore, the owner’s task is to develop a “motherly” instinct in detecting the early symptoms.
• Symptoms are often a sign to an underlying problem that needs to be corrected soon. The most infamous sign of a sick chameleon is closing eyes or sleeping during the day. Unfortunately, it only tells you that there is something wrong. Closing eyes can pretty much means anything from too much UVB to hypovitaminosis A. Therefore, it is imperative to consult to your trusted vet. Your good assessment combined with your vet expertise can usually tackle a lot of the health problems.

• Be aware that one illness might mask another illness. Such as gout can mask a more serious organ failure. Therefore, I cannot stress the importance of consulting with your trusted vet more than this.

Here is a good case study of this situation:

The owners of the chameleon (named “Scooter”) are very knowledgeable in chameleon husbandry. They provided a correct setup and the chameleon has been growing wonderfully.

Until winter 2007, it suddenly stopped eating for a week. And, soon, it developed a new symptom: its hind legs and tail begun to lose strength and completely paralyzed in no time. The owners went to the vet that same day. X-rays were taken. And, the vet suspected that it maybe the case of an impaction. The vet gave Scooter a shot of calcium, some de-worming treatment, and a bottle of calcium to give daily.

The owners also give a very small dose of mineral oil to scooter with his daily force-feeding of water and calcium to help to pass the impaction. After a full 2-3 weeks of no eating or movement from his back legs, he finally released the impaction.

The owners made another appointment for that day to have scooter checked up on. They brought a stool sample from that day for the vet to look at. And, the stool contained a numerous population of coccidia.

It has been known that coccidia in chameleons can also cause impactions. The vet gave the owners 2 weeks worth of medication to kill off the coccidia. Scooter, soon, regained his health and has been climbing happily.

• If your chameleon seems to die out of nowhere, you might be interested in doing a necropsy to find out what exactly kill yours. You can definitely do it on your own if you are knowledgeable enough. Or, you can have your vet do it for you. Necropsy is a very valuable learning experience.
• Sometimes no matter how good a keeper you are, the stress of captivity and the seriousness of the illness can overwhelmed your chameleon. If it succumbs to its illness, regardless of everything that you have done, do not be discouraged. Learn from the experience to not repeat the same mistake.

Hope that helps!