Help

[chameleonchad]

My female chameleon (yemen) has been on the floor for about 2 weeks. i thought the first day was oh she has belly ache but from then on shes been on the floor at night every night she is not gravis she starting to get bright blue spots on her but they are big and bold yet any advice

 

[camimom]

My female chameleon (yemen) has been on the floor for about 2 weeks. i thought the first day was oh she has belly ache but from then on shes been on the floor at night every night she is not gravis she starting to get bright blue spots on her but they are big and bold yet any advice

how old is she? i think (not sure) the blue spots means she is receptive. however, are you sure its a girl?
fill this out please. and include pics.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[chameleonchad]

She is 3 in april and i do have a male who is 4 and ive been trying to breed them this year but no luck yet

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Laying on the floor is a very bad sign in chameleons! Something is very wrong. Please answer these questions in detail:

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

Pictures are helpful!

 

[kinyonga]

Do you have a place in her cage where she can dig??
We need more information if you want to know what's wrong with your chameleon.

 

[chameleonchad]

I fed her today she ate everything 13 crickets she has a digging site that is deep she only lays at the bottom at night yesterday she was at the top of her tree

 

[carol5208]

fill out the form and post some pictures of her please.

 

[chameleonchad]

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Age 3
* Handling - once every 2 weeks
* Feeding - fed today 13 nxt feed 3 days
* Supplements - im using nutrobal
* Watering - watering dish
* Fecal Description - Normal colour brown yellow
* History -

Cage Info:
3ft
wood with glass front
lighting uvb bulb and 60 watt heat bulb
temprature 80-85 night 60-71

 

[kinyonga]

Have you made any changes to the cage lately?

Does she show any signs of MBD...inability to lift her body off the branches, "extra" elbows, bowed legs, etc.?

How often do you use nutobal?
Nutrobal has D3 and vitamin A in it and might be part of the problem. Its recommended that the insects be gutloaded and dusted with a phos.-free calcium at most feedings, dusted with a phos.-free calcium/D3 product twice a month and dusted twice a month with a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A. (See below for more information.)

What brand and type (compact, spiral, long linear tube, etc.) UVB light do you have?

Here's some information I hope will help you with things like supplements, gutloading, etc....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.