Chameleon has black cheek?

[mattysol]

hi just phoned the shop i bought her from. they said they wont do anything until it has had autopsy which would have to come out of my pocket regarding metabloic bone disease bearing in mind it isnt dead. they said i should only be dusting it once a week with nutrabol and that is it any extra calcium is too much. also told me tank is no good for a chameleon (exo-terra terrarium) as it has to be all mesh, is this right (even theres were kept in a glass fish tank with a mesh roof when i bought her even thou they now say that there not). can any one tell me wether or not my chamie has had this mbd longer than 3 n half weeks.

 

[mc9423]

MBD takes a much longer time than 3 1/2 weeks to become visibly damaging.

However, they did give you good advice for the screen caging - chameleons do need strong air circulation (although if you're current cage is providing enough ventilation, you're fine.)

 

[mattysol]

well there meant to be contacting the breeder about it but what good that will do, as if he will admit his chams have mbd when he sells them to the shop and it is him who told the shop that nutrabol is fine once a week and nothing else is needed. i just give up with them not as if they will do anything or admit it had when it was sold.what more can i do than hope this new supplement does the trick

 

[mc9423]

Just take as good care of her as you can and hope the MBD doesn't get worse. Youn do have her under UVB lighting, right? Unfortunately, MBD can't be reversed - only stopped. As long as you give her the proper lighting and supplementing, though, she shouldn't get any worse.

 

[mattysol]

yeah she is under uv lighting 5.0 fingers crossed

 

[atsutane]

MBD takes a much longer time than 3 1/2 weeks to become visibly damaging.

However, they did give you good advice for the screen caging - chameleons do need strong air circulation (although if you're current cage is providing enough ventilation, you're fine.)

Terrariums are ok if the top portion is screened and a fairly large area near or at the bottom is also covered in screen, the lights will cause convection and have stale air come out the top and fresh air come in from the bottom

 

[kinyonga]

How is the vet treating her to correct the MBD?

The quickest way to get the MBD corrected is for the vet to give her injections of calcium until the blood calcium levels are high enough that she can be given a shot of calcitonin which draws the calcium rapidly back into the bones.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus its important to dust with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings. Its quite difficult to overdo the calcium.

I also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. D3 from supplements can build up in the system so you need to be careful not to overdo it. Exposure to the UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 which in turn allows it to use the calcium. As long as the chameleon can move out of the UVB the D3 from it shouldn't build up in the system.

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene (prOformed) sources can not build up in the system, but there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert it so some people give a little prEformed vitamin A once in a while...but at least it leaves control of it in the owner's hands. Excess prEformed vitamin A can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD...so its important not to overdo it.

Calcium, D3, vitamin A and phos. are important players in bone health and need to be in balance. When trying to balance it you need to look at the supplements, what you feed to the chameleon and what you feed to the insects.

I gutload/feed crickets, roaches, superworms a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.).

Appropriate temperatures also play a part in that it affects their digestion.

Regarding your set up...I have used exo-terra cages, glass cages with screen lids and doors and even aquariums with screen lids for many years because I live in Ontario where it can be cold and dry much of the year.

I would recommend that she have a place to dig in the cage so that you will know when/if she has to lay eggs. Veileds can produce eggs even when not mated.

I use the long linear fluorescent tube Repti-sun 5.0 UVB light...its the most often recommended since some compacts, spirals and even tube lights have been found to cause health issues.

I would recommend live non-toxic well-washed (both sides of the leaves) plants since veileds are omnivores. Your female can be offered any of the above greens and veggies and a small amount of fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.).

Here are some sites that might help...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://adcham.com/