question.

[camimom]

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.

Most people leave the bin in the cage 24/7, rewetting the sand as necessary.
onl y afew keep it outside the cage, but this is because the female needs a large trash can to lay because she wontlay in the bucket.

You may want to look into getting some liquid calcium to help get her back on track... fortnuately, you caught the mbd early enough that she should recover nicely with few if any side effects.

 

[kinyonga]

Since your chameleon has not had proper lighting or supplements, etc. its important that you correct the imbalance by providing proper UVB and supplements right away and then when the bones are strong again be sure to keep on a regular supplement schedule as well as provide appropriated lighting and gutloading/feeding the insects properly.

Here's some information I hope will help you ....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[tdenison28]

well just an update we ordered everything yesterday morning. and it all should be here within a few days. i have calcuim with d3 that we use for our iguana carlos and will use it for rango as well. Thank you sooo much for helping me, nad giving me all the advice. just keep your fingers crossed she stays okay until it all get here.

 

[tdenison28]

alright another rather important question. with the uvb light that just came in today would it be a good idea under the circumstances to leave the uvb light on at night for a few nights?

 

[SangrelX]

alright another rather important question. with the uvb light that just came in today would it be a good idea under the circumstances to leave the uvb light on at night for a few nights?

I would not leave it on all night. They need darkness for proper sleep and it also effects other aspects of their body. A proper sleep cycle is important for their health.

I would turn it off. The good thing is starting fresh in the morning you will have a new uvb light on

 

[ChameleonNerd]

unfortunately that does look like the very early stages of MBD. i would make getting a reptisun 5.0, as well as learning how to supplement correctly your top priority

 

[tdenison28]

well we got the uvb light yesterday, finally got here! and she seems to be moving around alot more than she was, and i mean alot!!! so im a little happier. and everything else should be here within the next few weeks. i wanna say latest the 20th. but im happy and it looks like shes a bit more happy too

 

[Elizadolots]

You're going to have a long haul getting her back to good health, but it definitely can be done. The breaks in her legs won't go away, she'll always be somewhat disabled, but she will be able to climb and hunt and be a great pet for you.

I guess that makes this a Happy New Year.

 

[kinyonga]

The 20th is a long time for her to have to wait....she needs to start ASAP on getting her nutrients.

 

[tdenison28]

well i live in a very small town and we only have one pet store, which is about 45 minutes away. everything is overpriced, and they dont take care of their products and everything they sell breaks within a few weeks. so i had to order all of the products that i need.might take a couple more days than it would if i was getting them from the pet store, but they will last longer than the local pet store. shes doing alright for now. shes got her uvb light and i have given her some calcuim with b3.

 

[JaxKiwiTiger]

Just a few observations based on your pics:

-Is that a water dish? Cuz most chams will never drink from water bowls, especially if there's no movement.
-I'm not a huge veiled cham guy, but as far as I know, glass terrariums aren't ideal for chams since they produce stagnant air and puts your cham at risk for URI's (upper respitory infections).
-Couple things about the food dish...do u always put that many mealworms in there at once? How long do you leave them in there for? Well I would try keeping the feeders fresh. I understand the nearest petstore is a far drive, but I would try to make weekly or at the least semi-monthly trips out there to stock up on cham stuff. Chams appreciate variety in their diet or they will be prone to hunger strikes! Plus mealworms have exoskeletons that chams have trouble digesting, putting them at risk for impaction. If you have the money, I'd highly recommend silkworms, you really can't go wrong w/them.

You already know about MBD and looks like you're on the right track to fix the problem. Kudos to you for taking immediate action! And good luck with Rango, do keep us updated on her recovery!

 

[lindawaz]

go get a birds cuttlebone- put it in the blender/food processor- this is calcium without D3 should hold you over until yours comes in- good luck to you both.

they really can not wait until the 20th- too long....

 

[tdenison28]

her cage is in, and we got her a live plant last night for it while we were setting it up. everything that i ordered should be here tomorrow or saturday so i am excited things are going great!

 

[tdenison28]

thank you everyone for the great advice, ive gotten her outta the glass cage she is now in a 175 gallon terrium with a live porthos plant. she has her uvb light and as soon as the missing parts for the cage come in i will be setting up her little dripper. she has all of the calcium suplements and i also got her a multivitamine powder as well. shes moving alot more and shes started shedding last night.

 

[jhoucke]

I had a female who behaved that way - couldn't pick herself up off the ground ... rushed her to the vet only to find out she was LOADED with eggs. I made the appropriate egg laying box and she proceeded lay over 50 eggs. Vet gave me calcium drops and some other meds to help with the loss of calcium from laying all those eggs. if her belly is full looking.. and you can handle her... run your fingers across the belly and you will be able to feel if there are eggs

 

[onebellaggie]

Glad to hear your Cham appears to be doing better. Thanks for posting your question and to all those who responded. I learned so much with this post We have a veiled chameleon (since Nov 2011) and he is thriving but apparently I need some calcium w/o D3. Going to get some today!!