F.lateralis out and about

[Mcfluffin]

Took some pics of the little girl today...she's been out of a huuuuge 6ft palm....and it took me ages to find her again. When I found her, she was not best pleased...but its good that she can get the excercise

 

[Chamgirl]

Just an observation, but does she usually support her body with her limbs? Her front legs look a little rounded to me. I hope she is o.k

 

[Mcfluffin]

I think that's just the way she is sitting. She has a pretty normal posture normally, but was hugged into my wife's finger to hold on. I don't she has any bone problems if that's what your suggesting?

 

[Chamgirl]

Thanks for explaining, sorry if I was wrong...

 

[Mcfluffin]

No, that's OK. In fact, it's a good thing that people do point out things like that....if it was MBD people should know about it early so they can treat it. Forums like this can only help to improve people's husbandry and the well-being of the chams. So thanks for your concern...

I don't think she has a problem..perhaps this is a better pic to illustrate her posture (although blurred). If you think it is a bone problem I will take her to the vets and supplement some more, as well as change her UV tube. At the moment, she has a fair range of foods, gutloaded with calcium rich veg like cabbage. She is supplemented fairly regularly with vitamin dust too, and her UV had fairly high UVB (10%). I think she is gravid at the moment, so if there is a supplementation problem it could be due to requirements for egg production.

Needless to say I didn't try to get her out of the viv after this pic

 

[Chamgirl]

lol she does look furious in that photo! Her limbs look o.k to me now too in that latest photo

 

[Trace]

There seems to be a quite a number of Furcifer lateralis major owners in the U.K.

That's a nice looking gal you've got there! Do you have a male as well or is she living single?

Cheers,
t

 

[Mcfluffin]

I am hooking her up with a male soon...hard to track one down...most of them are from mainland Europe in some way shape or form, as there's not many with import lisences apperently. She is captive bred bby someone local to me. She looks pretty dull in that photo...but I'll try to get some better shots at some point. She might have a mating opportunity next week Lateralis major are very different from lat.lateralis...which I'd also love to get hold of Do you think she looks OK then? You had me a bit worried, as I don't have an expert eye yet

 

[Trace]

I think she looks fine. Eyes are bright and bulgy. Casque is full. Colour is nice. She might be a little heavy - these gals like to eat so be careful about overfeeding - but she may also be cycling a clutch of eggs too. On that subject, my majors would get bright banana yellow when they were receptive. It was unmistakeable! They also reproduce several times a year. Her arms do look a little bent to me as well, but it could very well be an old injury or healed MBD from a previous owner. It might just be the pics too. It's not something I'm concerned about.

On the subject of eating; I'd stay away from cabbage as part of the gutload. If fed in large quantities it can cause hypothyroidism in some reptiles. Because it's being delivered in smaller quantities (via a cricket stomach) it may not be so much an issue with chameleons, but I wouldn't make cabbage a main gutload staple. Go with leafy greens like Collards or Dandelion and use the cabbage sparingly.

Good luck with the future pairing. The Giant Carpet Chameleons are one of my favourites.
Cheers,
t

 

[Mcfluffin]

Thanks Trace...

The gutloads I use are generally cabbage, broccoli, peppers, spinach, lettuce the odd bit of carrot...will try some dandelion too I may start growing dandelion in some of my vivs too...I here they are a suitable food plant for some chams.


I will post some more pics in future to see if you think it's been broken. I have had her from 3 months old, so it wasn;t a previous owner. I honestly think it's the way she held that pose for the pics though. I have been looking at her today, and I can't see it bending at any point (although I agree it looks bent in the first set of pics)...My photography skills are probably the most at fault

Thanks for the comments

 

[Trace]

It's probably just the angle of shot that's giving her front arm that odd look. My apologies if I've gotten you worried! I think she looks very healthy.

Same dealie as the cabbage goes for the broccoli in your gutload. Small amounts are okay but too much may be harmful. Spinach is high in oxalates that prohibit the absorption of calcium in the body. Again, small amounts are good for variety but as a main food source, it may presents problems down the road.

Have fun with your girl!
Cheers,
t

 

[Mcfluffin]

Brilliant...thanks very much Trace....I'll limit the use of broccoli and cabbage. I would imagine things like kale are quite problematic as well then? I'm a veggie, so eat these kind of things for my own nutritional benefit...but didn't know about hormonal problems they could cause...interesting

 

[pohchunyee]

OooOOoo !!! I love the Blue and Purple on her.....so gorgeous!!

 

[Mcfluffin]

Alberta says thank you ....I love her colours...she changes a lot day to day...those blue scales are so vivd...my photogrpahy does her no justice