back legs paralysed

Cozzy

New Member
Hi, my chamelons back legs seem to be paralysed. I noticed him hanging from a branch last night with his back legs dangling I presumed he was going to the toilet but when Iwoke up today he was on the floor of the viv and his genitals were swollen and his back legs are lifeless. Took him to the vet and he gave him an injection of cortezone, he didn't know too much about chams, have to take him back tomorrow. Has anybody ever heard of this. He wasn't injured from a fall. He's fed crickets dusted with multi vitamins and calcium gut loaded with lettuce carrots and other veg and fruit. He's 5 months old. I mist the cage twice a day. Can anyone please help me!
 
I'm wondering if he could be having trouble defecating?
Do you use a substrate in the cage?
Does he get UVB light that doesn't pass through glass?
Is the calcium you dust with phosphorous-free? Is there preformed vitamin A in the vitamins?

You said his genitals were swollen...what do you mean? Has he got any swellings at his joints (ankles, etc.)? Does he exhibit any signs of MBD? Can he fully extend his tongue?
 
He was getting good light and good vits. I had him at the vet again this morning and he received some sort of accupressure treatment and then he had a very big and smelly bowel movement. There were no signs of MBD. His vent looked very swollen, usually it's almost unnoticeable but it had become swollen to aourn 5 times the normal size and was very noticeable. But I left him alone back in his viv and I've just come in now to see him back to normal, I can't belive it! He's quite dark in colour but I suppose that would be expected if he'd lost the use of his back legs for 2 days. The only difference in my husbandry was a larger size of cricket and after he ate these it filled his stomach to the point where it was pressing on nerves and stopping his legs working. His back legs were twitching when I woke up today but I honestly cannot believe he's walking again! I thought I'd loose Gomez but he's a fighter! Thanks for your help! :D :) :rolleyes: ;)
 
Sounds like poor guys was pretty clogged up. I never knew constipation could cause that much of a problem. Glad to hear he's doing better.
 
My chameleon seems to be having the same problem. Do you remember exactly what the vet did to make him have the bowel movement? Any other details on what the vet did?
 
Well back legs not functioning could be a number of things. One that a fall has occured and in the process pinched a nerve. Another would be the build up of stool pinching a nerve. MBD signs included the lose of proper function in the back legs. Hanging a leg or a drooping posture in the back end. I suppose that egg production could cause a pinched nerve situation too. Again never heard this in chameleons but with other reptiles low B1 can cause paralysise of the rear legs. A vet should diagnose this problem.
 
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even though it all worked out...

you may want to think about what you are feeding him so this does not recur. You said just crickets, which is OK ust try not to feed him any winged adults as they have a lot more chitin and are harder to digest, better to stick with more, smaller crix rather than fewer large.

A varied diet is better, oh, btw, lettuce is useless, don't bother with it, choose healthier greens nutrition chart), j

He may not be getting enough hydration either. Misting twice a day is nothing. You really need a dripper so that he can drink when HE wants to. If you live in a dry and/or cold climate you may also want to consider a humidifier setup that goes directly into his cage as well. Put it on a timer so it goes on several times a day. They are very simple to do. I live in NH and have it on 3x/day for about an hour each time. Here are some pics of an old cage setup, but same idea
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28017DSCN3901-med.JPG
 
my male got wat your male had a week ago its called a hemipenal prolapse its when they get constipated and they push the inside of the butt out and its very painful to them from wat iv been told anyways he didnt make it to the mourning so i couldnt even take him to a vet im glad yours survived and please post and tell me how hes doing i would liek to know

boothy
 
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