Caught MBD early enough to correct. Need guidance.

[Brad B]

Veiled cham
3 to 5 months old. In my care for 2 months and shes from petsmart
I dont handle her
I feed her mainly crickets with a gutload of carrots potataos cricketcrack and repashy hornworms waxworms and mealworms just as they're bought
Dont really have a schedule because of my work but as early as possible
4 or 5 crickets and 2 or 3 meal or wax worms or 1 hornworm
Supps are all zoo med repicalcium with and without D3
Reptivite with D3
Dont have a schedule probably a massive mistake
I mist 3 or 4 times a day with warm bottled water I see her drink sometimes but I also have a fake leaf dripper that cycles the water with an electric pump which seems dumb now in hindsight
Poop is white with a tiny bit of yellow tint to it but just barely
I have no clue about parasite testing
Her cage is 18 by 18 by 24 screen top the rest is glass but is "vented" in the front
Lighting I have a 26W reptile uvb 100 exo terra and a 25W natural light ion deoderizor bulb also exoterra
My basking ligh is a day white light 75W incandescent spot bulb
Lights on from 6 am to 8 pm sometimes I turn off the basking light if the temp is to high
Cage floor 70 -75 basking 95-100 85-90 around the top
I have 2 thermometers top n bottom
Lowest over night is around 65 to 70
Humidity ranges from a steady 45 and spike at mistings to 65 to 70
I have a hydrometer mid cage
I have no live plants
Kind of high traffic
No vents or fans but next to a window that I open often
The top of the enclosure reaches my chest so not high enough
But it just looks so nice I have a 2x2x4 adult enclosure for her all screen and 2 small pothos and a braided ficus aswell
She is housed with a boy cham around the same age that was bought just recently and is perfectly healthy they dont seem to mind eachother he was housed with a large female at the pet store so my female isnt a big deal she didnt like him at first but is coming along
Fairly positive she is starting MBD as you will see in the photos mainly one elbow the other isnt as bad but is still a bit off looking she has no trouble eating
I am from chicago Illinois and in need of help
The pictures are uploaded in constructive criticism thread I started please go look cant upload twice !!!! Please help!!!!

 

[Andee]

Chameleons should not be housed together, even if they seem ok now, they are young as soon as she comes of age and he does he will mate with her constantly, and they will come of age sooner than you know it.

Do not feed meal worms or wax worms, wax worms are pure fat and mealworms are both fat and exoskeleton so bad in both ways. I like feeding silkworms and phoenix worms for possible mbd babies, Phoenix worms/calciworms/ or reptiworms (way to many names in my opinion XD) are so high in calcium if fed on a regular basis can actually help prevent the progression of mbd if you dust on a schedule correctly and all your other feeders. Silks and phoenix worms don't need to be dusted, I sometimes dust my hornworms, I sometimes don't for her I would.

I also think she should be fed more than she is eating. Even though she is female she is still young and she be allowed to eat more than just 5 crickets and I'm guessing around an inch hornworm? I think she should be eating at least 8 crickets unless she doesn't want anymore.

I would also get rid of ALL the substrate in their enclosure. Chams are very active eaters and tend to need to have no substrate or just paper towels because they ingest it and it causes impaction.

Why do you have the deoderizer light? It's probably putting off extra heat and making it waaay too hot for the little one.

There might be more I missed someone will jump in, thankfully if she does have mbd it doesn't look so bad she can't be helped ^^ good catch and hopefully everything can be mended to help her for the rest of her life.

 

[christineacero]

yes, separate them immediately. I'd also look at moving their enclosures to a quieter location. If it is a higher traffic area it will cause her undue stress.

 

[kinyonga]

I would definitely separate the two of them immediately. If you don't they will likely mate at a very young age.

Regarding gutloading, for crickets, superworms, roaches etc you can use a wide assortment of greens such as collards, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, etc and veggies such as carrots, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, etc.

Regarding supplements, it's important for good bone health and other things in the system that there is a balance between the calcium,phosphorous, D3 and vitamin A. You need to look at he gutloading, what you supplement with and what you feed the chameleon when trying to balance them.

For supplements, it's recommended that you dust the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phosphorous - free calcium powder to help make up for getting usually poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous found in most feeder insects.

It's also recommended that you dust twice a month with a phosphorous - free calcium D3 powder to ensure the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it. Exposure to the UVB light will allow it to produce the rest of what it needs and shouldn't lead to an overdose as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB when it wants to.

It's recommended that you dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene ( prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources of vitamin A cannot build up in the system like prEformed sources can and will leave it up to you to decide whether the chameleon needs prEformed or not.

If your chameleon has MBD you need to first of all correct the imbalance and then use the above information to keep it from returning.

Appropriate temperatures are also important since they play a part in digestion thus nutrient absorption.

Hope this helps.

 

[Brad B]

Very helpful. Ordered silk and calciworms to help with the rehab unfortunately they have to stay together for a few more days . My supplement shedule is set. No substrates diff water dripper sys gonna ditch the deoderizor lights for a second 26W uvb how do I feed my chams lettuce or arugula?

 

[kinyonga]

Lettuce isn't very nutritious. You can try strips of red pepper or zucchini or squash or thin wedges of apple or pear or melon or dandelion greens to start off. You can put them in a dish or try hand feeding them or clip them to the branches.

 

[Mike Fisher]

Dust feeders with calcium EVERY feeding. Even if you did nothing else, that in itself would keep your cham from getting rubber bones. Obviously you'll want to use a vitamin powder occasionally and gut load your feeders for optimum health, but it is most important to get the calcium every feeding.

 

[kinyonga]

Mike Fisher said..."even if you did nothing else, that in itself would keep your cham from getting rubber bones"....not if it doesn't have enough vitamin D3 or the wrong balance of D3 to A or a number of other things.