Help: hurt leg?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species: Ambilobe blue bar CB, sex: told it was male and age: 11 months of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Only 2 weeks ish

Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? He's been settling in since we got him so he was only out once for a a couple minutes.

Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Mostly crickets. One day gave a horn worm and a few superworms. What amount? Seems like he was generally eatting around 5 or 6 crickets a day. What is the schedule? Been everyday he only seems to eat when I feed him with tongs, occasionally eats one or 2 he hunted in the tank. How are you gut-loading your feeders? The crickets come with a cube of food and I also give them more water gel and dog food to eat.

Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repashy calcium plus everyday

Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? He has a terrible mister he came with that sprays for a minute every three hours, it isnt great so i also mist him for a couple monutes 2-3 times a day with a spray bottle. Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have only seen him drink 2-3 times when he would start to lick the leaves I would let him drink from the spray bottle directly.

Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. I have only seen him crap once and it was yesterday. Brownish grey color with also white(urate deposits I assume)
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I haven't. Not sure if he was previously tested. I live in a smaller city. I have heard of any vets that do reptiles here

History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
I just got him recently. I have about 2 various reptiles so I have reptile experience but this is my first chameleon. He came with his setup. Another buyer that was interested in him but backed out because of the money was coincidently a lady that I was told(from a reptile enthusiast friend of mine) i should talk to if i had any cham questions. She is a respected chameleon breeder in Canada and she told me he looked completely healthy and would be a good buy. They day I picked him up the original owner told me he eats like a pig but has slowed down a little and she thought he was going into a shed. When we got him his color did seems a little duller ever since but hasent she's since we've had him. He never really seemed very active since we got him. He would spend a lot of time under his heat lamp most days. We thought it might have been too cold but his temps are good. Every day I would feed him crickets thought out the day with feeder tweezers. 2 days ago I gave him a horned worm and 4 super worms as a treat day and he has eatten since. I have only been trying crickets since then. Yesterday I noticed his leg dangling. When he was on a vine but thought he might just be resting it. Today I noticed him dangling it again and I only saw him move once and it was real short but it seemed like he didn't want to use that leg and he has it dangling again.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage type : all screen. What are the dimensions?30x30x48
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? Reptiglo 5.0 uvb tube. Not sure exactly on the heat bulb that it ce with, looks like a day glo tight beam exxo terra light. TheWhat is your daily lighting schedule?12 hours 9am-9pm
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Basking is around 90-95. Closer to the basking is low 80's .The rest of the tank is low to mid 70's. The floor does seem to get to the high 60's but he never goes that low in the tank.Lowest overnight temp? Usually mid 60's. If it sea like it might be a cooler night I put a 50wat infrared bulb in the tank to not let the temp drop too low. How do you measure these temps? Temp gun. Mastercraft

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? Not sure the exact number. I just go by recomemded mistings. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? I have the mister that isnt great so i also spray by hand throughout the day. What do you use to measure humidity? Nothing

Plants - Are you using live plants? Yes If so, what kind?ficus
He also has some fake vines.

Placement - Where is your cage located? Dining room but i am thinking on moving him today to a spare room that has 2 reptiles in it so there would be less traffic. I did want him as a display animal but if it would be better to move him i will. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?high traffic area in tr morning and evening and days off. is by a doorway that is about 9 feet from a kitchen window that is opened to cool the house down on warm or hot days. Mostly open in evening and morning. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?Cage is on the floor so 4 feet.

Location - Where are you geographically located? Medicine hat alberta Canada.

Current problem.

What worries me most is his leg. He doesn't seem to want to use his left front leg and he just dangles it and lays in his basking spot. He hasn't eatten the last 2 days. He has always seemed to be a good eatter but not a great eatter. I have seen him drink much and not in a few days. My GF thinks his eyes seem a little shrunk so he might be a little dehydrated. I tried getting him to drink today but he hasn't and I have also been misting more then usual today in hopes he might drink. I assume he isn't eatting or drinking becuae his leg is bothering him. I have only seen him poop the once yesterday. Is that normal? He has also seemed dull since we have had him. Is that a sign of stress?

Pictures
I would love to post pictures to help. How do you upload pics from an iPhone?

Start a drip right away and let it drip on him. He will love it. My panther drank for 15 minutes from his dripper then sat under the drip for the rest of the day. It is day 3 and he still spends most of his day sitting under his dripper. Panthers love the humidity and the water. It is really easy for them to become dehydrated. Spraying them 3 times a day just doesn't cut it., especially for the adults.

I think it may have something to do with the dog food you are gutloading your bugs with.

dog food is full of protein and other vitamins that can cause problems in a cham.


stop gutloading with that stuff. and the gel crap.

use fresh fruits and veggies, carrots, squash, greens, etc. look up blogs by sanrachameleon, she has amazing stuff you can feed the bugs.

I'll start the drip. Though he seems to hate the water. He always runs if the spray goes near him. And I'll switch the crickets to veggies. Could the food be what is giving him the bad leg them in your opinion?
Why is the water gell for crickets to drink crap?

Hi vangarret2000. How to post pics from iPhone. I have very recently learner. Had many sussestions but this worked for me.
Download app photo bucket. It's free.
Upload pics
Choose pic to post.
Press icon bottom right (I)
Choose IMg from list
This should save pic.
Go to forum thread
Click post reply
Press on reply box and you should be able to paste
You should then see some writing with the words photo bucket in it
Write what you want and post
Not very technical but then I'm not. Good luck

Thanks a lot Kate. That was easy and usefull. Pics are now added to the first post.

I have a dropper set up now too. Dripping on him. It's hitting his head mostly though. Is that ok? Just made it from a pop bottle.

This was him on the very first day we got him

Where are the pictures of the burn? The lights need to come out of the cage and go on top. Especially the dome. That is a disaster waiting to happen there. They can crawl on the sides or the cage and come in contact with dome light from what I can tell from the pics which will burn his skin right off.

Hi.

It does look like he's injured that leg. Maybe he fell? I would keep an eye on that and if he doesn't start using it in a few days, consider taking him to a vet.

I'm going to suggest you elevate his cage. Ideally the top of the cage should be higher than the top of your head. Looming is part of their nature. Things that come at them from above are scary predators and stressful.

Definitely take the advice on the dripper.

Did you get the "feed the crickets dog food" idea from the previous owner, or is that what you have been doing for your other reptiles?

Chameleons are not quite like most reptiles and the high amounts of protein in dog food can lead to health problems. Dark leafy greens, that are high in calcium, are usually a good choice for gutloading. If you are concerned he is dehydrated, try feeding the crickets oranges for a couple of days.

The water gel is fine for hydration. I suspect camimom thought you were relying on the orange "food cubes" which are not an adequate substitute for food.

**edited to add**

Are there screens preventing your chameleon from getting to those bulbs? If not, then they are definitely a burn danger. Note however, you cannot simply place either of those fixtures on top of your cage. That's a major down side to the fabric meshes (I use them). You need to suspect lights above the cage. One way you could do this would be to construct an open wooden frame that would sit vertically across the top. You could hang your lights from the top of the frame and put your drippers on the bottom. If that didn't make sense let me know and I'll try to draw a picture.

We were always unsure of the lights in the cage but were given it that way so we thought it was fine. We also weren't sure if the heat bulb would melt the plastic mesh. We have been lookin into getting a wire mesh tank so we could put the lights on top.

The dog food was recommended to us for gekos actually but we didn't know it could be harmfull to certain reptiles.

I will raise the tank. Would it be ok to keeps it in the current room or should I move it to the other room so there is less foot traffic?

I will also try to get a better/closer look at his leg to see if there might be burns. I'll get better pics too. I just haven't been wanting to touch him because of his leg.

You need to keep the bulbs above the mesh. I have my mesh cages in a wooden frame that goes up and over both of them (there's a black panel between them) and the lights are attached to the frame. You'll find that putting a dripper on the mesh will cause it to sag. If you have a shelf that rests on the PVC frame you can set the dripper on that.

Would the heat bulbs be hot enough to melt the mesh at all or is that something I don't need to worry about?

It shouldn't. My domes rest on the top but the actual bulb does not touch the screen. It gets very hot but does not burn the screen.

vangarret2000 said:

Would the heat bulbs be hot enough to melt the mesh at all or is that something I don't need to worry about?

Click to expand...

It's never been a problem for me. I've used them for 2 years. Others have used them for longer. I've had it bleach out the mesh, but not melt it.

We took the lights out of the tank and put them on top. He ate one super worm yesterday but wouldn't take any cricket. Didn't eat a cricket this morning either. We have a dropper from a pop bottle on for now but we are looking to get the parts to make something more efficient today. He hasn't moved yet today. I saw he move just a little yesterday and he used his leg some during it but was favoring it.

Have you changed your gutloading at all?

You might try increasing your misting some. Being thoroughly hydrated can give them the strength to deal with other issues. I strongly recommend a garden sprayer...the kind you pump up. They sell them for insecticides. That way you can mist for a long time without tiring your hand out.

If he continues to not use his leg and keeps dangling it down like that I would take him to a vet.

i second that!!

I am going to look for a vet. My problems is I am not in a big city and haven't found one that takes reptiles. What can a vet do for him if there is something wrong with the leg?

I am worried about him. My g/f said when she was home on her lunch today it didn't look like he had moved at all since this morning. He is more in the middle of the tank. She didn't think he had gone to bask at all yet.

I have switched the crickets to eatting greens. And we have been misting him a lot more since yesterday. Is there anything else I could be doing or trying? Tonight if it seems he has moved I am gonna try to get him out and take a better look at his leg and mabey post a better pic. I am also gonna try find sometime while at work to make more
vet calls.