Broken Nails/Other Concerns

[heatherhernany]

Hello everyone!

I’ve had my Panther Chameleon (Dr. Skittles) for over a year now. I got him when he was one so he is about 2.5 now.

He was about 8-10 inches when I got him and is now about 16-18 inches.

His cage is 3.5 ft tall with a mix of real and fake plants. (Picture attached) He has a basking spot and a UVB 10.0 bulb. (Upgraded from the 5.0 when he upgraded to the taller cage from a 2.5 ft one) Both lights are on a timer, and I have been giving him a little bit extra heat due to the cold weather.

He gets misted 3 times a day and his poop is usually completely normal (he’s had several yellowish-urates recently and I began spraying more frequently to keep him hydrated)

He receives Calcium without D3 at every feeding, with D3 every other week, and a multivitamin once a week. I rotate and supply a variety of dubias roaches, crickets, hornworms, mealworms, and even kale and blueberries.

He is a class pet and I can assure you he is very calm and happy being one. He has always had a gentle temperament and is one of those few chameleons who loves to climb on people. When I feed him, he often sits on my hand or crawls up to my shoulder just to hang out. I visit him on the weekends or take him home with me so he is not alone.

I am worried about his mobility recently since he has been spending a lot more time on the screen of his cage, and several times towards the bottom. It seems like he is struggling a bit when he climbs and even almost fell trying to get to his hammock the other day. He recently spent about three weeks with a pet sitter over the holidays. My biggest concern is obviously MBD but I don’t know how he could’ve gotten it. I would obviously love to take him to the vet but the nearest reptile vet is very booked and very expensive. I took him once before when he broke a nail (see picture) and all they did was give me a liquid calcium which I could’ve just bought on chewy and saved myself about $120.

He is a very special chameleon loved by an entire school so I’m really worried for him.

I am thankful for any and all suggestions!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. Questions, questions questions! I’ve got them! I’d like to see pics of his entire enclosure please. What are the specific supplements that you are using? If you have pics of them, that would be great. I’d also like to know what type of uvb you are using - is it a linear fixture? Is it a T8 or T5? Usually you can find this info on the end of the uvb bulb. Also, when was the bulb replaced last? What is the distance between the uvb light and his basking area?
From the info you’ve given so far, I can tell you that the hammock and his screen climbing are hazards to trapping and ripping out a nail. The multivitamin should be given once every other week, alternating with the calcium with D3. Depending on specifics of your uvb, he might be getting too much or not enough.
When you say kale and blueberries, do you mean your chameleon is eating those? All he needs are live insects and you are giving a great variety. It’s better to give the fresh produce to the insect feeders and keep them healthy so they’ll be nutritious. Here are a couple of graphics on feeders and what to feed them. * I don’t gutload…just keep my bugs well fed. Once you give some more info, hopefully we can help figure out what may be happening to your beautiful guy.

 

[heatherhernany]

Hi and welcome. Questions, questions questions! I’ve got them! I’d like to see pics of his entire enclosure please. What are the specific supplements that you are using? If you have pics of them, that would be great. I’d also like to know what type of uvb you are using - is it a linear fixture? Is it a T8 or T5? Usually you can find this info on the end of the uvb bulb. Also, when was the bulb replaced last? What is the distance between the uvb light and his basking area?
From the info you’ve given so far, I can tell you that the hammock and his screen climbing are hazards to trapping and ripping out a nail. The multivitamin should be given once every other week, alternating with the calcium with D3. Depending on specifics of your uvb, he might be getting too much or not enough.
When you say kale and blueberries, do you mean your chameleon is eating those? All he needs are live insects and you are giving a great variety. It’s better to give the fresh produce to the insect feeders and keep them healthy so they’ll be nutritious. Here are a couple of graphics on feeders and what to feed them. * I don’t gutload…just keep my bugs well fed. Once you give some more info, hopefully we can help figure out what may be happening to your beautiful guy.
View attachment 350196View attachment 350197

Thank you for your response!

I have attached screenshots of all the supplements he takes. I feed the crickets with a mix of leafy greens and the fillers calcium cubes. We had an organic garden, hence the leafy greens and occasional blueberry for Dr. Skittles.

I removed the hammock and some of the artificial plants (mainly because they are old and a lot of the “leaves” are falling off). The hammock was originally about 6-8 inches below the basking light but now it is just the “tree” that sits right below that. I want to replace the artificial plants with a more sturdy live plant.

I changed his bulb about 3 weeks ago and he had the previous one for a little under 6 months. I used to use the same bulb but as a 5.0 instead. When I upgraded to the larger cage I switched to the 10.0 but can definitely switch back if that was a bad call.

What kind of basking spot would you recommend? He used to love sleeping on his hammock (see cute picture from about 8 months ago) but now it’s just where I place the worms for him.

Given his nail situation, should I move him back into the smaller cage to limit falls and mobility? Or would that just have the opposite effect?

Thanks again!

 

[MissSkittles]

Thanks for your quick reply.
So far I see one of the biggest problems and that your uvb. Unfortunately, the screw in bulbs just aren’t able to provide sufficient uvb levels that our chameleons need. The standard is a linear T5 ho with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%. I’m partial to Arcadia as I know that they last for a year, while the ReptiSun usually needs to be changed every six months. Without adequate uvb, he isn’t able to properly utilize calcium and that affects everything in his body, not just bones. This is the uvb that you need. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-pro-t5-fixture-6-bulb-22-5-sale-now-only-69-99/ Once you get that, then you’ll need the basking area to be around 8-9” below the lights. This provides the ideal uvb level. I’ll get back to setting up a basking spot in a bit.
Your supplements are ok, but the multivitamin should be every other week as I already said. If you want a much simpler supplement regimen and one which includes preformed vitamin A, which is good for eye health and is known that chameleons can utilize it (vs the proformed which is in your multivitamin and not sure that chams can fully utilize it)…. continue with your calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding except for one feeding every other week, in which you would use Repashy Calcium Plus LoD ( the one with the Jackson’s chameleon on the label). The Repashy will replace both your calcium with D3 and your multivitamin.
The uvb and supplements are perhaps the most important thing to have correct. Rather than go over all of the rest, let me give you some links to where to find the most accurate and current husbandry standards. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ is just loaded with information! The podcasts are fantastic and take a deeper look into the finer points of why we do things the way we do. Another great source is https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ Neptune has tons of videos on just about everything and is always making more.
I’m going to end this here as I tend to talk a lot and I don’t want this to get lost in my blathering. I’ll post separate about setting up your enclosure and more.

 

[MissSkittles]

It can be a challenge to attach branches and vines to screen enclosures. You can’t use the screen without risking damage. So you want to use the frame to bear the weight. There are https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ which are the next best thing after sliced bread. When I didn’t have any of those, I had to improvise and used scraps of garden trellis. It worked so well that I bought a panel of trellis to use for new set ups.
I cut the size I needed with a jigsaw and sanded any sharp edges. To attach, I used thin wire. In some places I needed to drill some tiny holes in the ends of the trellis for added attachment points. To make sure it won’t just slide down, I added some small screws to the enclosure frame (just a couple to each side) to secure some of the wire to. It’s quite sturdy and holds lots of branches and some plants.
You can also see in the last pic how I have my lights set up. I have my basking light right next to the long uvb. * I had to use a dual dome fixture, but only used one side for basking light that was off in the pic.
I can’t tell from your pic, but it appears that you have a smaller enclosure. Your beautiful guy needs a minimum of a 2x2x4’. The difference in size is amazing when you see that next to what you currently have.
Giving him more space, more little branch or vine roads to travel, lots of safe live plants to hide or take shade in and drink from, correct uvb and supplements along with everything else will make him both healthy and happy.
I didn’t mention temps or humidity, so a quick blurb about those. Ideal basking temp for am adult male is no higher than 85F and ideally a significant temp drop at night to the 60’s. Daytime humidity for a panther is between 50-70%. At night is you can achieve consistently a temp drop below at least 68, you can use a fogger and boost humidity all the way. That replicates the natural hydration from the fog that they get in the wild.
Keep asking questions and share your progress. I’m so very glad that you found your way here.

 

[CalamityCrow]

Just as a quick fix to an oopsie - here's Neptune the Chameleon's youtube channel. MissSkittles accidentally pasted Chameleon Academy twice: (this particular video she JUST posted and is an overall Panther care guide - EXCELLENT timing!)

 

[MissSkittles]

Just as a quick fix to an oopsie - here's Neptune the Chameleon's youtube channel. MissSkittles accidentally pasted Chameleon Academy twice: (this particular video she JUST posted and is an overall Panther care guide - EXCELLENT timing!)

Great catch! Thank you!

 

[Beman]

Note with your supplements... You are actually giving D3 too frequently and this boy is not getting any vitamin A. The exoterra multivitamin really is not the best for chameleons because of the lack of preformed A. I would drop this one and the calcium with D3 and just get repashy Calcium plus LoD. Give this two times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Then Calcium without D3 at all other feedings.

Besides everything that has been covered the other issue I see is your boy is a little heavy. He really should only be fed no more than 3 times a week 3-4 feeders at most. They are insectivores so you want to stop feeding veg and fruit as well. Their bodies can not process it.

This will teach you quite a bit. And would be a good resource for your students to learn from should they be interested in chameleon keeping. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/