question.

tdenison28

New Member
alright so my cham lately has been walking funny for a few weeks now. Like she is really shaky and walks slow with her stomach close to whatever she is walking on. just wondering if that is norma or if there is somthing wrong that i need to know about. please help!!!!
 
please post some pics too. One of the signs ofMBD(metabolic bone disease)is when they are not able to lift or support their bodies with their limbs. Not saying that is what yours has, but please fill out the form as requested and definitely post the pics.
 
it is a veiled chameleon, not sure the sex.... guessing female becuase i have not seen any signs of spurs on the heels. and has been in my care for about 4 months.
try to handle my chameleon about every day to a couple times a week.
I feed my cham crickets and meals worms, and just started with wax worms as well. i feed my cham everyother day depending on ho much it ate the previous time i fed it. and i do not gutload my feeders, i buy them from a pet store. i can not handle my own feeders until ocotber of next year when i get my own home.
i have a watering bowl i use to help huidity that gets changed every other day as well as the food. and i use a spray bottle to mist the cgae down about 3 to 4 times a day, for about 2 minues each time. and i have seen my cham drink from both the leaves and from the watering dish.
fecal matter is about a dark brown almost black color from what i can tell. and has not been tested for parasites from what i know of.
i have a glass cage at the moment, ordering a new larger repticage here in the next few days.
during the day i have a 75 watt repti halogen, and at night i had a red night light for it, but then read that they wernt good for them because of the 3rd eye. so night no light.
The temperature in the cage stays around 80 to 85 degreesand the lowest over night temp with no light is about 65 degrees. i measure these temps with a temp gauge.
The humidity levels stays around 30 percent to about 60 percent. i maintain these leves buy keeping a humidifer on ,but its on the other side of the room because we also have a red tail boa and a green iguanna on the other side of the room. But i also help maintain these levels by misting the cage every few hours with a spray bottle. i mease the levels with a humidity gauge. bought the humidity and the temp gauge together as one piece, more convient that way, digital too.
The plants in the cage are artificial. there is a vine that came with artificial leaves on it and a small climbing log.
The placement of the cage is on the far side of our bedroom. on a built into the wall shelf. not a high traffic area because its in our bedroom in the basement and on the far side of the bedrom and hardly anyone goes in there except me and the boyfriend.
We live right on the kenai peninsula, in Kenai Alaska.
Problem i am concerned about is my cham is really shaky with all her movments and when she does walk around she stay pretty low to whatever she is climbing on.
 

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no i do not dust the crickets or anything i feed her, and i thought the light i had was giving her the uvb light she needed, but i just reread the box and i was worng. going out tomorrow and getter her one that has uvb
 
She looks like she could have the beginning stages of MBD, especially noticable in her front elbows, which curve instead of forming a nice 90* angle.

You are still in time to help her tremendously, so I'm glad you sought help now! Here's what I recommend:
1. Get a UVB bulb for her if you do not have one already. They cannot synthesize the essential vitamin D3 without UVB light (like in sunlight) so you desperately need to get one for her. The best brand commonly found in pet stores is Reptisun 5.0, but a Reptiglo 5.0 will work as well.
2. Start supplementing! I cannot stress this enough, the girl needs minerals and vitamins to help her grow. You will want to get:
1. Phosphorous-free calcium to use at most feedings.
2. Phosphorous-free calcium with vitamin D3 for use twice a month.
3. Multivitamin, also for use twice a month.​
These vitamins, especially calcium, will help get her in better shape.
3. Try to order something like butterworms, or other insects that are high in calcium. They will also help her out. If you can't, that's ok, focus more on supplementing and gutloading the insects you can get. Make sure to let the crickets you buy eat something nutritious and calcium-rich overnight before feeding.

Also, I think the cage right now is not quite adequate for her. It looks really small and doesn't look very comfortable for her. She'd do so well in some live plants that she can hide in and sit in while basking. Remember that these are arboreal creatures, and love height above all else to feel safe and secure.
 
thank you sooo much! i am ordering her a new taller cage, and i am g oing to the pet store tomorrow to look for the vitamins she needs. i have my list of what i need now thank you!
 
thanks i have a list of things i am going to get at the pet store tomorrow, nad i am ordering her a new cage tonight! thank you so much for all the help!
 
you cant get the calcium without d3 at a store.
online only.


our local pet stores sell rep-cal without D3... petco and petsmart

try those before ordering offline while your shopping for the rest on your list


also -- she for sure looks like a female to me... short casque and no spurs

read up on egg laying bins to avoid any issues with eggbinding. Females even if they have not been mated can lay clutches of eggs.

Also a tip on the lighting. When you get a UVB light the commonly used light is repti-sun 5.0 linear (long tube lights) when you find a uvb light/fixture the fixture itself may have a clear plastic lense on it covering the bulb. Remove this plastic lense. Plastic absorbs UVB and can limit how much exposure she actually gets from the bulb.


ADDED INFO
I was incorrect about the rep-cal without D3
I have a liquid calcium without D3 from zilla
I bought it at petco and our petsmart sells it as well

sorry about that

ive been using it for 6 months and seen no ill effects yet.. but after more reading I cannot find any solid information on the zilla without d3.... I may very well be in the market again for some non D3 supplements myself
 
what would be the best mulitvitamin to give to my cham?

Quite a few local mom and pop stores near me carry calcium without d3. I've seen it in the petsmart as well, but only every now and then.


I will have to double check my Petsmart and see what happens.. I would like a powdered version of non d3


as for multivitamin I use rep-cal herptivite twice a month
once start of the month once end of month
 
also what would i do for an egg laying bin? can that be in the cage or is it somthing that i have to out her in? in honesty i have no clue about anything for a cham laying eggs.
 
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