Hi, I have a 10-12 month old male Jackson chameleon. He's very healthy, eats well, has normal bowel movements, etc... Today I took him out of his normal enclosure and put him in a critter carrier in order to clean his cage. I'm always extremely gentle, (I let him crawl onto my hand and than back into the cage I don't use force) so, I put him back into his enclosure as usual.... I noticed when I put him back into his enclosure that his left hind leg seemed to be twisted around and he isn't using it properly. It's sort of sticking out of his side. He isn't acting as though he's in pain, he's climbing around with his other 3 legs just fine... and his skin is light green, so I don't think he is stressed out.....but I'm really worried! Should I wait and see if it goes back to normal before taking him to a vet? Has anyone else experienced this?
Jackson Chameleon with twisted leg..Please help!!
- Thread starter ChanB
- Start date
Jackson Chameleon with possibly dislocated leg
I posted this in the "Health" section as well...my apologies, I'm just freaking out a little bit!
My 10-12 months old male Jackson chameleon (Little Elvis) has been perfectly healthy...until today. I took him out of his enclosure to clean it, and than placed him back inside when I was done. I'm always incredibly gentle...I don't pull him, I let him crawl from my hand to the branch and vice versa. I noticed after he is in the cage that his left hind leg is sticking straight out and his foot seems twisted. He's trying to grasp with it, and he's crawling around with the other 3 legs just fine. He doesn't seem distressed or in pain, his coloration is light green and he's definitely mobile. Could he have dislocated a joint in his leg? I'm going out of town at 4am tomorrow morning and a friend's mother is watching him...I can't make it to a vet in time, and I don't even know if a vet could help. Is there a chance he'll correct it himself?
I posted this in the "Health" section as well...my apologies, I'm just freaking out a little bit!
My 10-12 months old male Jackson chameleon (Little Elvis) has been perfectly healthy...until today. I took him out of his enclosure to clean it, and than placed him back inside when I was done. I'm always incredibly gentle...I don't pull him, I let him crawl from my hand to the branch and vice versa. I noticed after he is in the cage that his left hind leg is sticking straight out and his foot seems twisted. He's trying to grasp with it, and he's crawling around with the other 3 legs just fine. He doesn't seem distressed or in pain, his coloration is light green and he's definitely mobile. Could he have dislocated a joint in his leg? I'm going out of town at 4am tomorrow morning and a friend's mother is watching him...I can't make it to a vet in time, and I don't even know if a vet could help. Is there a chance he'll correct it himself?
Crisis averted! My boyfriend popped it back into place...completely without my permission, might I add. I guess his little leg got stuck at a weird angle...it's totally back to normal now. His UVB light is about 2-3 weeks old, he receives sunlight from a window in the room.
I'll post a photo later...my camera is charging.
I'll post a photo later...my camera is charging.
chamelisa
New Member
Wow!!!! That was the most painless crisis thread we've had in a while!
I'm SO glad he's fixed.
Syn
Avid Member
Agreed lol. But as I said in the other thread, might want to watch it, chameleons are notorious for hiding pain and things that could be wrong with them until the last second.Wow!!!! That was the most painless crisis thread we've had in a while!
Yodas Mommy
New Member
How did he pop it back into place?!
My chameleon has the same problem now I think he has a mild case of MBD we took him to the vets and all seems to be fine. We were told to increase his calcium and his feeders with high protein food to increase muscle mass and strengthen his bones. We were told he would be fine...she didnt try to put it back into place and he has a broken arm also.
This happened when I gave him a larger cage and he must have fallen. I have now put him back into his smaller cage. I have to go back to the vet in a week to make sure he is better.
But surely he should have had a splint put on his broken arm and his hip put back in place?!?!
He doesnt seem stressed or in pain but they are supposed to be good at hiding it.
My chameleon has the same problem now
I think he has a mild case of MBD we took him to the vets and all seems to be fine. We were told to increase his calcium and his feeders with high protein food to increase muscle mass and strengthen his bones. We were told he would be fine...she didnt try to put it back into place and he has a broken arm also.This happened when I gave him a larger cage and he must have fallen. I have now put him back into his smaller cage. I have to go back to the vet in a week to make sure he is better.
But surely he should have had a splint put on his broken arm and his hip put back in place?!?!
He doesnt seem stressed or in pain but they are supposed to be good at hiding it.
Lovereps
Avid Member
With a chameleon who has MBD this is quite important:
Do NOT attempt to manipulate any of his/her limbs.
To quote from Dr Wissman of exoticpetvet.net ,"Handling MBD patients should be kept to a minimum to prevent additional damage to the skeletal system." and on Adcham, Dr Kramer states,"Be very careful handling patients with MBD as their bones are very fragile and subject to further injury if mishandled."
Obviously, MBD chams have extremely fragile bones and trying to help his leg will be much more likely to do harm than good.
The reason that animals with MBD don't get their broken bones splinted is that the same bone is very likely to break above and below the splint
His hip may not actually be out of place--it may be a bone deformity resulting from MBD or the beginnings of hind limb paralysis--also of MBD origin.
If crickets have been the only food for your cham, then MBD is not a surprising result. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in crickets (and mealworms) is the opposite of what they need. Gutloading and dusting with Calcium without D3 (most often) do make them suitable food for chams.
There should be a variety of insects in your cham's diet: Silkworms, butterworms, Phoenix worms, Dubia roaches and superworms are good foods for your Veiled.
I don't know the details of your setup, but hope that you do have a Reptisun 5.0 UVB light , calcium powder without D3, another calcium with D3 and vitamin powder.
Here's an excellent site with plenty of details on care of your Veiled cham:
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
Do take note of the recommended cage size, for when your chameleon is better.
This next link is to an article about MBD and shows pictures of chams with MBD:
http://www.adcham.com/html/veterinary/mbd-fractures-kramer.html
Hopefully, this info will help you to get Yoda recovering more quickly than the seemingly vague advice that you mentioned.
Not all vets are familiar enough with chameleons to treat them properly.
Do NOT attempt to manipulate any of his/her limbs.
To quote from Dr Wissman of exoticpetvet.net ,"Handling MBD patients should be kept to a minimum to prevent additional damage to the skeletal system." and on Adcham, Dr Kramer states,"Be very careful handling patients with MBD as their bones are very fragile and subject to further injury if mishandled."
Obviously, MBD chams have extremely fragile bones and trying to help his leg will be much more likely to do harm than good.
The reason that animals with MBD don't get their broken bones splinted is that the same bone is very likely to break above and below the splint
His hip may not actually be out of place--it may be a bone deformity resulting from MBD or the beginnings of hind limb paralysis--also of MBD origin.
If crickets have been the only food for your cham, then MBD is not a surprising result. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in crickets (and mealworms) is the opposite of what they need. Gutloading and dusting with Calcium without D3 (most often) do make them suitable food for chams.
There should be a variety of insects in your cham's diet: Silkworms, butterworms, Phoenix worms, Dubia roaches and superworms are good foods for your Veiled.
I don't know the details of your setup, but hope that you do have a Reptisun 5.0 UVB light , calcium powder without D3, another calcium with D3 and vitamin powder.
Here's an excellent site with plenty of details on care of your Veiled cham:
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
Do take note of the recommended cage size, for when your chameleon is better.
This next link is to an article about MBD and shows pictures of chams with MBD:
http://www.adcham.com/html/veterinary/mbd-fractures-kramer.html
Hopefully, this info will help you to get Yoda recovering more quickly than the seemingly vague advice that you mentioned.
Not all vets are familiar enough with chameleons to treat them properly.
