Baskden a warm den for reptile folk · baskden.com Pygmy Chameleon — Vet-Prep Sheet
🔍 Find a reptile / exotics vet — before you need one
- Search the ARAV Find-a-Vet directory (the Association of Reptilian & Amphibian Veterinarians), or in the UK the RCVS Find-a-Vet — or search "reptile / exotics vet near me".
- Call ahead and ask the key question: "Do you see reptiles?" Not every practice does.
- Ask the exam fee when you call. Knowing the cost up front removes the money-panic in a crisis.
- Find and save one now, while things are calm — not in the middle of an emergency.
📇 Fill this in now — before the crisis
Two minutes now saves ten in a panic. Print it and keep it with your care notes.
🚨 Is this an emergency now?
See a reptile vet promptly if you notice any of these:
- Sunken eyes, wrinkled skin, or lethargy — signs of dehydration; see an exotics vet promptly.
- Not eating for several days, or visible weight/muscle loss along the spine and tail base.
- Runny, bloody, or worm-visible droppings — common in wild-caught animals; get a fecal exam.
- Eyes kept closed during the day, gaping, or labored breathing — possible infection or overheating.
- Swollen limbs, jaw, or a rubbery jaw, or trembling — possible metabolic bone disease; needs a vet.
- A female straining, staying on the floor, or bloated and unable to lay eggs (dystocia) — an emergency.
- Any animal that stopped moving or is limp after a hot spell — treat suspected overheating as urgent.
When in doubt, a vet call is never wrong — most issues are reversible if caught early.
🚗 On the way / while you wait
✅ Do
- Keep it warm at a safe transport temperature — a cold reptile crashes fast (a warm car or a covered container with a warm, not hot, pack helps).
- Keep it calm, dark and quiet in a secure, ventilated container — stress makes almost everything worse.
- Bring it in its own container so the vet sees it as it lives.
⛔ Don't
- Don’t offer food, or any OTC, aquarium-shop or online-forum remedy — many are useless or harmful and can mask the signs.
- Don’t let it get cold on the way in.
- Don’t handle it more than you must.
🎒 What to bring
- A short video and a couple of clear photos of the behaviour or sign — it may not show it in the clinic.
- A note of your setup (basking, cool-side and night temperatures, UVB, humidity, substrate) and exactly what — and how often — you feed.
- Your reptile, transported safely in its own secure, ventilated container — kept warm (see below), not in a cold car.
🗣️ What to tell the vet
A general vet may not know this species. Come ready to explain its correct care:
- Temperature
- No traditional hot basking spot. If used at all, a low-wattage plant/heat lamp should keep the warmest point around 77–80°F (25–27°C) — never higher. In a normal room these often need no heat lamp at all. Ambient/shaded areas ~68–75°F (20–24°C). They live in cool tropical understory, so a big hot-to-cold gradient isn't the goal — even, moderate temps are. A natural night drop to ~58–65°F (14–18°C) is fine and welcome; room-temperature nights are ideal.
- UVB & lighting
- Low-intensity UVB is recommended for long-term health. Use a low-output linear tube such as an Arcadia ShadeDweller or Zoo Med T8 Reptisun 5.0, positioned so the animal can't get closer than ~6 inches to the bulb; heavy planting lets them self-regulate. Run ~12 hours a day and provide plenty of shade — these are shade-dwelling forest-floor animals, not sun-baskers.
- Humidity
- High and steady: roughly 60–80% by day, rising to 80–100% at night. Achieve it with several light mistings a day and live plants — always paired with good ventilation so it never goes stagnant.
- Enclosure
- Minimum ~18" x 18" x 18" (a front-opening, well-ventilated glass or PVC terrarium — NOT a tall full-screen chameleon cage). Because they're floor-dwellers they value floor space and dense low planting over height. Add ~5 gallons of space per extra animal if group-housing.
- Substrate
- A deep, moisture-holding, well-draining substrate — at least ~3 inches of organic soil (e.g. coir/ReptiSoil/plantation soil) topped with clean, chemical-free leaf litter. This holds humidity, supports live plants, and mimics the forest floor they hunt on. Bioactive with a springtail/isopod cleanup crew works well.
- Diet
- Strict insectivore. Small feeders sized smaller than the head — 1/8"–1/4" crickets, flightless/fruit flies, small roaches (dubia/discoid), plus baby silkworms and hornworms. Gut-load and hydrate feeders well. Adults: about 4–6 small crickets every other day; babies and juveniles eat more, more often.
- Supplements
- Dust feeders with a plain calcium (no D3, no phosphorus) at most feedings; add a multivitamin roughly monthly and a calcium-with-D3 lightly and occasionally (about monthly). An all-in-one like Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or Arcadia EarthPro simplifies this. Don't over-supplement D3/vitamin A.
⚕️ Reptiles are ectotherms kept at species-specific temperatures — a cold reptile can’t metabolise medicines properly, so tell the vet your exact temperatures and keep it warm for transport. Reptiles are prey animals and hide illness until it is advanced, so early changes matter. Mention your UVB/lighting and any supplements or remedies you’ve already used, and ask for reptile-safe products and doses.
Then note which of the warning signs (above) you are seeing, when they started, and whether they are getting worse.
❓ Questions to ask
- Do you routinely see reptiles? If not, can you refer me to a vet who does?
- What are the likely causes — and could my setup or diet be contributing?
- What is the treatment plan, the likely cost, and what should I watch for at home?
- How do I prevent this from happening again?