URI & Poor Husbandry

As we all know by now, chameleons need humidity to thrive in captivity. But chameleons also need good ventilation to prevent the air from becoming too humid and causing respiratory problems from bacterial and fungal infections. A cage with several screen sides or a full screen cage provides good ventilation and the addition of live plants, a source of moving water, and misting at least once daily should provide good humidity levels. The following case is one of bad husbandry as a result of bad advice.

A small, approximately 3 month old female Veiled chameleons was presented to the clinic with the complaints of open mouth breathing, bubbling at the mouth, and a thick foamy saliva. Upon examination, the little Veiled chameleon was severely dehydrated and exhibited pale yellow colors. The owner claimed the patient ate 2 crickets that morning. The chameleon was showing labored, open-mouth breathing with an occasional bubble or two while exhaling.

History taking revealed a very poor setup. the enclosure was a 10 gallon aquarium with a screened top. Lighting was provided by a regular incandescent heat bulb and a fluorescent light with UVB output. Several branches were available for climbing. Water was provided by a dripping system. Substrate was a gravel bottom with some sand on top. The gravel was present to aid in draining the water provided for drinking. No natural plants were present and the diet was mostly small crickets and mealworms.

By picturing the enclosure setup we find a lot of mistakes, but the main 2 are the aquarium used as a cage and the stagnant water on the gravel substrate. The heat lamp was turning the aquarium into a small incubator, or oven, and helped in evaporating the water in the bottom of the tank. The humidity rose to very high levels directly proportional to the temperature. These factors are excellent for causing a severe respiratory infection, which was what the little Veiled had. After talking to the owner, she agreed to only antibiotic therapy since she couldn't afford a microbiology culture and didn't want to euthanize her pet. The owner was advised to keep the chameleon in a well-ventilated area and use the antibiotic as indicated. Sadly enough, a call next morning from the owner revealed the patient died overnight. The owner informed me, however, that if she ever purchased a chameleon again, she would buy a screen cage first and follow proper husbandry for these animals.

This case shows us that if we forget the BASICS we may not be able to keep a chameleon healthy in captivity. I often use an analogy I made up to describe these kinds of husbandry problems, "Keeping a chameleon in an aquarium is like keeping a goldfish in a toilet bowl; it might live for a while but sooner or later disaster will strike".

Ivan Alfonso, DVM