My cham's foot is swollen! =(

ok so Roshi's right front foot is swollen and one of his claws on that hand seems to be protruding. he's taken a few falls in his enclosure, but nothing too serious. I'm worried it might be an infection. i'll post pictures so you guys can give me a diagnosis hopefully.

it could also be mbd metabolic bone disease. how big is the enclosure, what kind of light(s) are you using. and for vitamins and calcium what are you using and how often? are you gut loading the food first? what are you feeding the cham?

Can we have some pics. If he falls very often, he could possibly have mbd. Chams don't usually fall very often. You should fill out the how to ask for help form.

well i gut load the crickets with fruit and veggies 4 hours before i feed him. he has a 40 watt desk lamp and a 40 watt uvb light. plus he gets some sun because hes right in between 2 windows which get sun most of the time. i dust the crickets with zoo med repticalcium without D3. should it have D3 in it?

uvb rays dont pass through windows

i keep the windows open all the time for that reason

i have a pic posted
https://www.chameleonforums.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=8401&c=3&userid=12470

Sharka said:

well i gut load the crickets with fruit and veggies 4 hours before i feed him. he has a 40 watt desk lamp and a 40 watt uvb light. plus he gets some sun because hes right in between 2 windows which get sun most of the time. i dust the crickets with zoo med repticalcium without D3. should it have D3 in it?

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Yes, you should be dusting with a calcium with D3 about 2x per month. this is essential to keeping his bones healthy. also, Sunlight through windows doesn't do much for him. the glass filters out most of the benefits a chameleon would received from direct sunlight. I'd suggest locating a vet as soon as you can. He may need treatment for a broken limb. It would be easier to tell you exactly what's going on if you post some photos and fill out the "how to ask for help" form. Everyone here is very helpful, you're in good hands.

The next thing I would also ask is how long have you had him??? And if not very long, I would assume that he may be a newly collected cham from your area..And how was he treated before you got him...???

didnt think about that. He was in a small cage with several other male jacksons chameleons when i got him. ive had him for about 2 and a half weeks now. it was a small pet store in kaneohe hawaii

Sometimes the people collecting w.c's don't take very much time trying to remove them from the trees and bushes!!! Chameleons sometimes don't want to let go... and the result is broken or sprained limbs!!!!...

It does look like he's got an infection. For many reasons, the area by the nails is prone to infection. You've gotta treat it quickly as the infection can spread really fast and sometimes the only option with a major infection is amputation.

I've used Tea Tree Oil to treat infections such as this one. It's a lot gentler and (for those interested) more natural. I would recommend twice daily applications from a Q-tip dipped in the tea tree oil. It is best to debride the infected area to get rid of any dead tissue before applying the oil. The debridement (or removal/cleaning of tissue) may be necessary everyday for the first week. Instead of applying the oil with a Q-tip, you might have better luck with a pippette just dropping the oil on the area. If you find a paste of the oil, I would by that due to the nature of oil not sticking around when water is introduced.

Since you're from Hawaii, I thought I'd include a helpful link from CVS/Longs which is the main drug store over there. I know cuz I spend some time in Kailua (not too far from Kaneohe) Anyways, here's the link.

I hope this helps!!!!

Sharka said:

i have a pic posted
https://www.chameleonforums.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=8401&c=3&userid=12470

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That looks more like a damaged claw and resulting infection, not MBD. Cham claws can be pulled out partially or completely from climbing on fine screen. The claw gets stuck through the mesh and the cham tries to pull free it can fall wrenching the claw loose. Check the underside of the toe and the "palm" of his foot too. There could be an open sore that could be infected. If the palm is clear, I'll bet the nail bed on that toe was damaged. He will probably lose the claw eventually. It's pretty common. Put some Polysporin on any open sore and on the toe. If the swelling doesn't go down you may need a systemic antibiotic as well.

A cham getting used to a new cage or trying to get out of a new cage can fall fairly easily; may not have anything to do with MBD. They have to "learn" how to move around their new space safely which takes time. To keep him from damaging more claws, make sure he can reach all parts of his cage (or get a bigger cage) by a network of branches and plants rather than screen climbing.

Thank you! the foot doesnt seem to bother him though when he climbs around. i have plenty of branches in his enclosure and the screen is large enough so he wouldnt be able to get his claw stuck. it must have been from when he was in the pet store. ive had him for only 2 weeks. im off to go get some tea tree oil then, and see how he does.

Hi Sharka, sorry to hear that your Jackson's is having problems with is foot...poor guy I have a male Jackson's also and they are such wonderful chams so I can imagine how worried you are! I think that if you filled out the ask for help form https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ it only takes a few minutes and is really worth it. It will also give us an idea of your husbandry and if needed we can tweak some things about cage and lighting etc. that might need to be taken care of so it doesn't become a problem later on. I hope you boy feels better soon!

IMHO its an infection...but it can only be confirmed by a vet. If it is and its not cleaned out properly/treated properly then it could become systemic and kill the chameleon. IMHO you need to have a vet clean it out, do a culture and sensitivity test and put it on the appropriate antibiotic.

Good luck with it!

i got some tea tree oil. im applying it twice daily now. about how long would it be before i see some results or progress? he's not putting any pressure on it at all now and it may just be getting worse. =(