Female chameleon weigh eggs and a broken arm

Ash407

New Member
My 9mo old female chameleon was recently at the vet for a broken arm and we found she had eggs. that night she laid about 10-20 eggs in not exactly sure but by her X-ray she has a lot more still inside her but she’s buried them and hasn’t begun digging a new tunnel so I have a follow up appointment in 2 days but the day she went to see the vet, her broken arm (by her shoulder) her arm/hand was still green it was only purple ish by the break but yesterday her hand was purple and now her arm is purple I’m afraid she’s not getting blood flow to it as they didn’t splint it and she’s using it constantly to help her dig and it drags behind/under her, I’ve tried to help her as much as possible she’s on pain meds. I afraid she’ll lose her arm can she survive only 3 legs and a tail?
 
Can you post pictures of her? I would try to get her into the vet asap. If they do not open until tomorrow then get her in. To be blunt the issue here that I see... If they are not able to save the arm the issue is mobility and egg laying. They use the front legs to dig and then the back legs to push the dirt out. I do not see how she would manage with only 3. I mean it may be possible but it seems unlikely to me. Unless you have a vet that is successful in spaying chameleons. This can be done but only by an experienced reptile vet and it has its own risks.
 
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Welcome to the forum!

So sorry that your chameleon has a broken arm and especially when she's needing to lay eggs.

You said...."she laid about 10-20 eggs in not exactly sure but by her X-ray she has a lot more still inside her but she’s buried them and hasn’t begun digging a new tunnel"...IMHO this is not a good thing ...this eggs need to come out and I doubt she will be able to lay them now or that she will even try...so that only leaves spaying. Depending on whether she loses her arm or not, this might be good anyway, because then you won't have to worry about her having to lay eggs in the future....or about being eggbound now.

Good that you have a vet appointment in two days...too bad it wasn't sooner because there would be more possibility of saving her arm.

Can you post some photos off her and the arm please?

Can you answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread please...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
 
Can you post pictures of her? I would try to get her into the vet asap. If they do not open until tomorrow then get her in.
Welcome to the forum!

So sorry that your chameleon has a broken arm and especially when she's needing to lay eggs.

You said...."she laid about 10-20 eggs in not exactly sure but by her X-ray she has a lot more still inside her but she’s buried them and hasn’t begun digging a new tunnel"...IMHO this is not a good thing ...this eggs need to come out and I doubt she will be able to lay them now or that she will even try...so that only leaves spaying. Depending on whether she loses her arm or not, this might be good anyway, because then you won't have to worry about her having to lay eggs in the future....or about being eggbound now.

Good that you have a vet appointment in two days...too bad it wasn't sooner because there would be more possibility of saving her arm.

Can you post some photos off her and the arm please?

Can you answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread please...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
I have a veild female chameleon about 10mo old I’ve had her for about 8mo, I Handel her as much as she wants typically 2-3 times a week maybe more depending on how active she is, I feed her black soldier fly larvae and crickets every other day maybe more maybe less but she hasn’t eaten in a couple days maybe a week or so but after laying her few eggs she ate a few crickets. I must with a squirt bottle a few times a day in the am when the humidity gets low and at night and I use a fogger at night. She doesn’t drink from a dripper so I use a squirt bottle to drip water in her mouth once a day until she doesn’t want anymore. I have a screen enclosure 2x4ft temp is typically 80-85 85-90 for basking humidity is typically between 45-80. I have a pothos and a split leaf live plant and I live in Florida. Her whole arm was purple this morning but after she’s been pretty still today her arm has greened up which is good now it’s mainly her hand and fingers I currently have her in a horizontal cage with a laying bin to prevent movement and climbing
 

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Do you know how he broke her arm?

The you said..."temp is typically 80-85 85-90 for basking"....I would recommend that it be 80F for a veiled female...along with diet, it seems to keep the size of the clutches and frequency under control.

When you must her, you aren't misting her but rather her plants and sides of the cage...right?
When dripping the water into her mouth, it would be better to drip it on the end of her nose and keep it at the rate of one or two drips per second so he can deal with it without aspirating it.

Good that her arm is becoming more green...it's very swollen.
Definitely you need a good chameleon vet to see her.
Good luck.

If you haven't answered the husbandry questions in the how to ask for help thread net the top of the health forum, it might be a good ide so we can make sure everything is ok.
 
Do you know how he broke her arm?

The you said..."temp is typically 80-85 85-90 for basking"....I would recommend that it be 80F for a veiled female...along with diet, it seems to keep the size of the clutches and frequency under control.

When you must her, you aren't misting her but rather her plants and sides of the cage...right?
When dripping the water into her mouth, it would be better to drip it on the end of her nose and keep it at the rate of one or two drips per second so he can deal with it without aspirating it.

Good that her arm is becoming more green...it's very swollen.
Definitely you need a good chameleon vet to see her.
Good luck.

If you haven't answered the husbandry questions in the how to ask for help thread net the top of the health forum, it might be a good ide so we can make sure everything is ok.
Correct I mist the plants and surrounding areas she doesn’t like to be sprayed and when dripping she’ll lift her head up and lick the water droplets coming off the squirt bottle the vet and I think she was low on calcium due to carrying eggs making her weak and she fell and that’s how it broke
 
Can you post pictures of her? I would try to get her into the vet asap. If they do not open until tomorrow then get her in. To be blunt the issue here that I see... If they are not able to save the arm the issue is mobility and egg laying. They use the front legs to dig and then the back legs to push the dirt out. I do not see how she would manage with only 3. I mean it may be possible but it seems unlikely to me. Unless you have a vet that is successful in spaying chameleons. This can be done but only by an experienced reptile vet and it has its own risks.
Yes I have an appointment soon and they will see how many eggs are left after laying about 10-20 and if surgery and spaying would be the best option we’ll do that and to look at her arm again make sure she’s not losing blood flow because this morning her arm was purple but after being pretty still today it’s greened up a bit and is mainly her hand/ fingers now she seems to be doing pretty okay with digging with one arm as the other is behind her but the broken bone is straight and she’s digging with the good arm and pushing it out with her back legs
 

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Yes I have an appointment soon and they will see how many eggs are left after laying about 10-20 and if surgery and spaying would be the best option we’ll do that and to look at her arm again make sure she’s not losing blood flow because this morning her arm was purple but after being pretty still today it’s greened up a bit and is mainly her hand/ fingers now she seems to be doing pretty okay with digging with one arm as the other is behind her but the broken bone is straight and she’s digging with the good arm and pushing it out with her back legs
Well good luck with everything. Not a fun situation to be in. Try not to disturb her if she is digging. The sooner she gets those eggs out the better.
 
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