No, this animal was NOT forgotten about! We had food for her, just not crickets. We had mealworms that she gladly ate. I'm sure the light wasn't off for long either... but the fact that I can't remember is throwing doubt into my argument. The only reason she can't eat on her own is because of her jaw/tongue dysfunction. She still tries to swallow what I place in her mouth.

I see that some you are judging me as a bad person/owner because my Chameleon got sick and can't explain how it happened. I came here seeking help, and found some really helpful people that gave good advice... but I can't but feel that some of the posts are more directed at me causing her illness rather than helping me out.
*NOTE* I know it is probably my fault she is sick, I don't need that thrown back at me when I am doing everything in my power to save her.

BTW: We replaced her substrate with paper. We gave her a nice warm shower by sprinkling water over her. We are also going to call our vet again and see if she can do anything for her jaw.

Also, she probably could climb if I placed her on a branch, I just don't wanna risk her falling and getting hurt worse. She likes it on the bottom a lot too, she has always like exploring the bottom of the pen. She just doesn't make the effort to try to climb up onto the branch herself, but she does walk/crawl, claw at the sides of the pen, is looking around. As a matter of fact, she is acting fairly normally now aside from her jaw.

I am sorry if I sounded unhelpful and harsh, I really didnt mean too, I know you are doing all you can to help your baby, I was just a bit confused about the lighting, your cham sounds very poorly and I am just worried for you and your cham, I have just had a baby gecko die, I tried my best to help her live, so I know how you must be feeling right now, again I am sorry I really didnt mean it to sound like you are not caring for your pet, it is obvious you are, I suppose I read into things a little to much, I really hope your cham gets well, and glad to hear he is up and about and looking better.

You don't need to apologize. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I didn't mean to get defensive about it, I am just under a lot of stress trying to care for her. I thought you were implying I wasn't taking care of her.
I'm sorry.

Current Situation: Our vet said that she still couldn't do anything. She said that the Chameleon is too small to get a good X-ray of her. She said that even grown Iguanas are too small for X-rays. I am praying very hard that she recovers. In fact, I've been praying for a while that she would be 100% recovered by tonight(26th). Now she sometimes reaches up and grab her mouth and pulls on it. Her jaw also popped(Is that the right word?) once when she puffed up at our water filled syringe. So hopefully its just mi-alligned and she'll work it back into place.

I am praying with you, hope your little cham gets better soon, sounds like she may of dislocated her jaw, thats what the pop sound might of been, her trying to put it straight, did the vet give you any diagnosis on what might be wrong with her? please keep us updated....

Your vet is wrong! The size of an animal is irrelevant when it comes to an xray. And particularly iguanas are routinely xrayed to check for Metabolic Bone Disease as well as whether they have eggs. You need to talk to a different vet.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Koga.. no-one is trying to imply to place blame here, we are all just trying to help you get the best for your cham, who is obviously very sick and needs expert advice. By coming on here and requesting advice you are showing care for your pet, but there is only so much we can do by posting. Merlin is right, you need to find another vet - your cham is not too small to be x-rayed,. we took a hatchling dragon to the vet once and she was x-rayed with no problems. How old/big is your cham? Find a better vet, who can help you the way you need to be helped.

As for the posts which you feel have been directed negatively at you - I'm sure no offence was meant by any of them. We all care a great deal for animals on here, and we just want the best for every one of them. I myself was a little concerned, admittedly, when you said you didn't know how long the UV light had been off for - this caused me a great deal of confusion, because I personally cannot understand how you could not see that it was off. Also, what have you been keeping your humidity levels at? - this could be another cause of your cham's illness. They are very needy creatures who require spot-on conditions, and there are many reasons why s/he could be ill. I don't think his jaw is dislocated in some way, or if so then it may be injured from a time when she was trying to catch food or something. The animal may have some kind of illness.. Can anyone advise Koga where she can find a vet that knows something about reptiles who can help her better than the one she has already visited?

We are all hoping in vain that your cham is ok., good luck.

__________________
"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Virgina Herp Vets (from ARAV.com)

Caroline Seitz
3450 Reedy Dr
Annandale, VA 22003

Dr Jeffrey Wimsatt
3190 Priddy Ct
Barboursville, VA 22923

Dr Keath L. Marx
Seaven Seas Vet Services
2124 Mount Tabor Rd
Blacksburg, VA 24060-8910

Dr Sayed S. Masood
All Pets Veterinary Hospital
43112 John Mosby Hwy
Suite 102
Chantilly, VA 20152

Jonathan M. Sleeman
1012 Glendale Rd
Charlottesville, VA 22901

Dr. Greg Chrisawn
Dumfries Animal Hospital
17552 Main St
PO Box 610
Dumfries, VA 22026

Dr Rose Ann Fiskett
Potomac Valley Vet Hosp
9553 Braddock Rd
Fairfax, VA 22032-2539

Dr Scott J. Stahl
12505 Easter Ln
Fairfax, VA 22030

Dr Anne Hiss
9304 Arlington Blvd
Fairfax, VA 22031

Dr Richard Krason Jr
1705 Memorial Ave
Lynchburg, VA 24501

Dr. Brandon Brooks
12620 Nettles Dr
Newport News, VA 23606

Randall S. Dunsmore
11117 Jefferson Ave
Newport News, VA 23601

Paul Gustafson
11117 Jefferson Ave
Newport News, VA 23601

Dr Barrett T. Betz
Greenbush Vet Clinic
PO Box 377
Parksley, VA 23421-0377

Dr Susan Donoghue
477 New Zion Rd
Pembroke, VA 24136

Kevin M. Kelley
1519 Split Oak Ln
Apt J
Richmond, VA 23229-5291

Dr Michael Engel
Pets First
9201 Staples Mill Rd
Richmond, VA 23228-2026

Paul Stewart
3465 Kenwick Trail
Roanoke, VA 24018

Dr James W. Poage
5146 Hildebrand Rd NW
Roanoke, VA 24012-1538

Dr Hanna Siemering
Exotic Pet Clinic
7297 Commerce St
Springfield, VA 22150-3411

Dr Neal S. Nelson
8102 Ashtonbirch Dr
Springfield, VA 22152-3021

Dr Hillary Segl
7416 Jervis St
Springfield, VA 22151

"Dr Herbert A. Hulls, DVM"
Pet Care Vet Hospital
5201 Virginia Beach Blvd #A
Virginia Beach, VA 23462-1825

------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Herpvetconnection.com
Chesapeake
Amanda C. Hayden, DVM
Centerville Animal Hospital
417 S. Centerville Turnpike
Chesapeake, VA 23322
Tel: (757) 482-9410

Ruth Ann MacQueen, DVM
Midway Veterinary Hospital
1646 S. Military Highway
Chesapeake,VA 23320
Tel: (757) 366-4050


Dumfries
Gregory S. Chrisawn, DVM
Dumfries Animal Hospital
17552 Main St.
P.O. Box-610
Dumfries, VA 22026
Tel: (703) 221-1880


Fairfax
Janice Raab, DVM
Scott J. Stahl, DVM, DABVP (relocated to Vienna; see below for listing)
Eastern Exotic Veterinary Center
4001 Legato Road
Fairfax, VA 22033
Tel: (703) 654-3100

Fishersville
Cedarcrest Animal Clinic
PO Box 375
Route 631
Fishersville, VA 22939
Tel: (540) 943-7577

Gainsville
Robert S. Dove, DVM
Companion Animal Clinic of Gainesville
14760 Lee Highway
Gainesville, VA 20155
Tel: (703) 754-8387
Fax: (703) 754-0533

Newport News
Paul Gustafson, DVM
Warwick Animal Hospital
11117 Jefferson Avenue
Newport News, VA 23601
Tel: (757) 595-3337

Norfolk
Denise G. Cisco, DVM
Friendship Veterinary Hospital
1231 W. Little Creek Road
Norfolk, VA 23505
Tel: (757) 489-4083

Richmond
Michael Engel, DVM
Pets First Animal Hospital
9201 Staples Mill Road
Richmond, VA 23228
Tel: (804) 672-3576

Springfield
Hanna Siemering, DVM
Exotic Pet Clinic
7297 Commerce Street
Springfield, VA 22150-3411
Tel: (703) 451-3414

Stuart
Lock Boyce DVM
Boyce-Holland Veterinary Services
21047 Jeb Stuart Highway
Stuart, VA 24171
Tel: (540) 694-3564
Tel: (540) 694-4110 emergency

Vienna
Scott J. Stahl, DVM, DABVP - Avian
David A. Crum, DVM
Stahl Exotic Animal Veterinary Services
111-A Center Street, South
Vienna, VA 22180
Tel: (703) 281-3750

Virginia Beach
Hilltop Veterinary Clinic
1732 Laskin Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
Tel: (757) 425-6790

Herbert A. Hulls, DVM
Peter Fisher, DVM
Pet Care Veterinary Hospital
5201-A Virginia Beach Boulevard
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Tel: (757) 473-0111

David H. Morris, DVM
Virginia Beach Veterinary Hospital
2013 Pleasure House Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Tel: (757) 460-3308

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Sorry that I missed all this. A couple thoughts occur to me - the UVB bulb needs to be replaced, regardless - it's at least six months old. If the cham is sitting at the bottom of the cage, even if on, the UVB bulb is doing no good - florescent bulbs only get beneficial rays 6-12" - they need to be able to climb up close to the bulb. The same is true with your heat lamp. If your cham can't climb up there, you need to make sure it's getting all the heat and UV it needs down at the bottom, which is hard to do. I agree that a herp vet is critical at this point, but the calcium supplementation that you are doing will be useless if the cham cannot convert it with the UVB.

If the cham cannot get up to the bulb - you might want to get a mercury vapor bulb - the UVB rays penetrate much further with these bulbs.

What is the temp at the bottom of the cage where the cham is spending all it's time?

I realize I was a couple days late to this thread - and no news. I would guess that's not a good sign...

Good points Rocky's Dad, the only thing I would suggest is that mercury vapour bulbs are often harmful to chams. They require much less UVB than other lizards, and can easily overdose, which is why tubes and bulbs outside of the mesh cage are suggested, however I understand what you are saying, and you are right that the UVB will not reach the cham at the bottom of the cage.

Koga.. any news? We are all thinking of your baby, please let us know how s/he is doing.

__________________
"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004