Broken back leg?

nikoniko

Member
Hello everyone,
I need help I came back this morning to find my male panther chameleon basking with one leg hanging off the branch. This is very unusual for him, I have never seen him sit like this before. After observing him for a little I realized he is not putting any weight on it. He is “limping” and won’t grab onto the branch with that leg. I looked at it and it seems swollen. He has been in his cage this whole time though. Could he have broken it? If so what should I do ? Thanks so much for your help.
 
Hi there,
Can you share a picture? That would help since sometimes they let their legs hang but if swollen there might be another issue.
I don't have a panther, but others should help shortly.. Good Luck!
 
if its MBD, the bone will swell before it breaks. this is painful and they wont put weight on it. However if its already broke, then it will swell at the break because that is where the blood clot is that is slowly turning to bone over the next few months.

Id post pics and your current setup/routine.

As for what to do if it is broke, lizards seem to be fairly resistant, so if it set itself you dont do anything other than baby the lizard so it doesnt use it for the next few weeks. However if it looks like a second elbow you are going to need to get it set and splinted by a vet.
 
Hello everyone,
I need help I came back this morning to find my male panther chameleon basking with one leg hanging off the branch. This is very unusual for him, I have never seen him sit like this before. After observing him for a little I realized he is not putting any weight on it. He is “limping” and won’t grab onto the branch with that leg. I looked at it and it seems swollen. He has been in his cage this whole time though. Could he have broken it? If so what should I do ? Thanks so much for your help.
Here are some pics of the right back leg. He will only use it when he is “hunting” his food. I have a T5 Arcadia, dust bugs with calcium no D3 then alternating once a week with D3 and reptivite. The bugs are guy loaded with sweet potato, yellow squash, collard greens and mustard greens. He also has a 4x4x2 enclosure with lots of branches and plants. He does climb the screen when he wants out because I do let him free roam sometimes (under supervision of course). I can take him to a vet but it would be very expensive as they are only taking emergency appointments rn.
 

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if its MBD, the bone will swell before it breaks. this is painful and they wont put weight on it. However if its already broke, then it will swell at the break because that is where the blood clot is that is slowly turning to bone over the next few months.

Id post pics and your current setup/routine.

As for what to do if it is broke, lizards seem to be fairly resistant, so if it set itself you dont do anything other than baby the lizard so it doesnt use it for the next few weeks. However if it looks like a second elbow you are going to need to get it set and splinted by a vet.
It doesn’t seem like a second elbow, I am willing to take him to a vet but would like to avoid it if I could. All of the ones in my area are very expensive at the moment.
 
Here are some pics of the right back leg. He will only use it when he is “hunting” his food. I have a T5 Arcadia, dust bugs with calcium no D3 then alternating once a week with D3 and reptivite. The bugs are guy loaded with sweet potato, yellow squash, collard greens and mustard greens. He also has a 4x4x2 enclosure with lots of branches and plants. He does climb the screen when he wants out because I do let him free roam sometimes (under supervision of course). I can take him to a vet but it would be very expensive as they are only taking emergency appointments rn.
I am not seeing any visible signs of MBD. slight swelling but not major at all. What strength T5 bulb are you running and what is the distance to basking?
Your reptivite is without D3 version correct? What feeders are you using? only gutloading with what you mentioned above correct?

One thing you mentioned is he screen climbs? Are there any missing nails on that foot? Could be one was broken and is causing pain.
 
I am not seeing any visible signs of MBD. slight swelling but not major at all. What strength T5 bulb are you running and what is the distance to basking?
Your reptivite is without D3 version correct? What feeders are you using? only gutloading with what you mentioned above correct?

One thing you mentioned is he screen climbs? Are there any missing nails on that foot? Could be one was broken and is causing pain.
I believe the T5 is 10% distance is about 6 inches but he has some spots to go closer but usually doesn’t. Yes reptivite without D3. Mainly Dubai roaches and black soldier fly larva. Occasionally hornworms and super worms. Yes and sometimes kale if I don’t have the other greens available. He isn’t missing any of his nails but one does look a little dull.
 
I am not seeing any visible signs of MBD. slight swelling but not major at all. What strength T5 bulb are you running and what is the distance to basking?
Your reptivite is without D3 version correct? What feeders are you using? only gutloading with what you mentioned above correct?

One thing you mentioned is he screen climbs? Are there any missing nails on that foot? Could be one was broken and is causing pain.
I believe the T5 is 10% distance is about 6 inches but he has some spots to go closer but usually doesn’t. Yes reptivite without D3. Mainly Dubai roaches and black soldier fly larva. Occasionally hornworms and super worms. Yes and sometimes kale if I don’t have the other greens available. He isn’t missing any of his nails but one does look a little dull
 
T5 10% should be well over a foot at the nearest spot.

Its still grasping at straws if the T5 is causing edema.

It could be gout...

what is the dubia diet, if its high protein, they store the extra protein as uric acid.
 
I believe the T5 is 10% distance is about 6 inches but he has some spots to go closer but usually doesn’t. Yes reptivite without D3. Mainly Dubai roaches and black soldier fly larva. Occasionally hornworms and super worms. Yes and sometimes kale if I don’t have the other greens available. He isn’t missing any of his nails but one does look a little dull
So if this is a single bulb T5HO fixture with a 10.0 bulb you need a distance of 11-12 inches to the branch. At 6 inches he is being over exposed to UVB levels that are too high for him and if he can get closer then that's even worse. You need to check the bulb strength.
 
What you could do is remove all supplements other than calcium for a week. and remove the dubia from the diet for a week. If its still like this, and not being used, this time next week, its definitely vet time.
 
So if this is a single bulb T5HO fixture with a 10.0 bulb you need a distance of 11-12 inches to the branch. At 6 inches he is being over exposed to UVB levels that are too high for him and if he can get closer then that's even worse. You need to check the bulb strength.
Agreed, and if he needs to move higher, he will do it if given branches higher up to climb.
 
Agreed, and if he needs to move higher, he will do it if given branches higher up to climb.
He shouldn't.... So when we give the distance that is to the closest branch. At the distances recommended for the fixture type through screen and bulb strengths this would put the cham in a 3 UVI range. Depending on how new the bulb is, they burn a little stronger at first so this would put it in the upper 3 to 4 UVI range. With a 4 UVI still safe for this species.
 
He shouldn't.... So when we give the distance that is to the closest branch. At the distances recommended for the fixture type through screen and bulb strengths this would put the cham in a 3 UVI range. Depending on how new the bulb is, they burn a little stronger at first so this would put it in the upper 3 to 4 UVI range. With a 4 UVI still safe for this species.
I meant that if the animal would want to move up higher, he would. To get more UV surely. If owner would want to make their enclousure something like: some space between branches and plants withing the light. It wouldn't really matter as, the animal can move either higher or lower to self regulate UV light intake.
 
I meant that if the animal would want to move up higher, he would. To get more UV surely. If owner would want to make their enclousure something like: some space between branches and plants withing the light. It wouldn't really matter as, the animal can move either higher or lower to self regulate UV light intake.
Correct but with chams we limit the highest point that they can get to. This is the highest basking branch which is what we base our distances on that are used with specific bulb strengths and fixture types. Right now their cham is able to get far too close the to the UVB. Chams seek out the highest spot out of safety so we have to ensure that spot is within acceptable UVI levels. Over exposure to high UVI levels causes many issues.
 
Correct but with chams we limit the highest point that they can get to. This is the highest basking branch which is what we base our distances on that are used with specific bulb strengths and fixture types. Right now their cham is able to get far too close the to the UVB. Chams seek out the highest spot out of safety so we have to ensure that spot is within acceptable UVI levels. Over exposure to high UVI levels causes many issues.
Righto, I'll remember this 👍😃
 
It doesn’t seem like a second elbow, I am willing to take him to a vet but would like to avoid it if I could. All of the ones in my area are very expensive at the moment.
Here are some pics of the right back leg. He will only use it when he is “hunting” his food. I have a T5 Arcadia, dust bugs with calcium no D3 then alternating once a week with D3 and reptivite. The bugs are guy loaded with sweet potato, yellow squash, collard greens and mustard greens. He also has a 4x4x2 enclosure with lots of branches and plants. He does climb the screen when he wants out because I do let him free roam sometimes (under supervision of course). I can take him to a vet but it would be very expensive as they are only taking emergency appointments rn.
Like this my girl has be doing it for a long time I don’t know what they do it though.
 

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Like this my girl has be doing it for a long time I don’t know what they do it though.
They hang a leg/s for many reasons... Most related to health issues or an inadequacy in the enclosure. looks like your using very small vines/branches. These may not be comfortable for her to grip due to their size.
 
They hang a leg/s for many reasons... Most related to health issues or an inadequacy in the enclosure. looks like your using very small vines/branches. These may not be comfortable for her to grip due to their size.
I didn’t know the vines where to small I will get them take of this weekend with I clean her cage
 
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