Jose is looking to bony :/..

[AndrewWelch]

I've had him for a week, he eats good, is active, drinks water regularly, but still you can see his ribs . I got him from petco (not the best choice) and he was bony there too. I'm feeding him crickets (occasionally large crickets) and superworms. Everytime he eats all the superworms in his bowl I switch it up and give him vegetables. I'm gutloading crickets with potatoes and full cricket diet cube things.

I'm very afraid he has some sort of disease, and I'm scared for his health.

Any advice on how to fatten him up?

 

[AndrewWelch]

I am dusting the crickets with proper vitamins also.

 

[jannb]

You need better gutload for sure. Has he has a fecal? Worms (silks, horns and supers) will put some weight on him if he doesn't have parasites. My blog's below for you to check over to make sure you have everything that he needs to stay healthy.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[AndrewWelch]

You need better gutload for sure. Has he has a fecal? Worms (silks, horns and supers) will put some weight on him if he doesn't have parasites. My blog's below for you to check over to make sure you have everything that he needs to stay healthy.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

I'm dusting with reptitive without d3 every feeding. Should I switch?

 

[jannb]

I'm dusting with reptitive without d3 every feeding. Should I switch?

Yes, you need to change. Please check the section in my blog on supplements. Reptivite should not be used that often.

 

[AndrewWelch]

Yes, you need to change. Please check the section in my blog on supplements. Reptivite should not be used that often.

What do you recommend?

 

[jannb]

What do you recommend?

The feeders have to be "lightly" dusted with 4 kinds of supplements. Plain calcium (no d3) at just about every feeding...... if you skip one or two days a month that's ok. Calcium with d3 twice a month, a multi. vit. once a month and reptivite without d3 once a month. In this link I use the 13th, 15th, 17th and 25th one. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...-and-vitamins/

You need to gut load the feeders with greens they are excellent. You can use collard greens, kale, bell pepper, carrots, butternut squash apple and orange. You can also buy a premixed dry gut load. My vet makes one that I use and one of the Forums members sales it.https://www.chameleonforums.com/dry-gutload-sale-37717/

The links will work in the blog but may not when I copy/paste them here.

 

[AndrewWelch]

The feeders have to be "lightly" dusted with 4 kinds of supplements. Plain calcium (no d3) at just about every feeding...... if you skip one or two days a month that's ok. Calcium with d3 twice a month, a multi. vit. once a month and reptivite without d3 once a month. In this link I use the 13th, 15th, 17th and 25th one. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...-and-vitamins/

You need to gut load the feeders with greens they are excellent. You can use collard greens, kale, bell pepper, carrots, butternut squash apple and orange. You can also buy a premixed dry gut load. My vet makes one that I use and one of the Forums members sales it.https://www.chameleonforums.com/dry-gutload-sale-37717/

The links will work in the blog but may not when I copy/paste them here.

Thanks so much for the help. Jose's diet is going to change big time! .

 

[Carlton]

In response to your initial question about his ribs showing...a more accurate way to tell if your cham is too skinny or too fat is to look at the base of the tail. If you can see clearly defined tendons running down the tail he's probably skinny. The cross section of the tail base should be oval from top to bottom. If it's completely round he's on the fat side.

Most chams will show some rib depending on how they are sitting or moving at the moment.

 

[Txherp]

You need to get it checked for parasites, ESPECIALLY if you got it from Petco.

 

[Carlton]

You need to get it checked for parasites, ESPECIALLY if you got it from Petco.

Any cham can have parasites regardless where it came from. It may not be a crisis as long as the cham is eating, drinking, basking, moving around normally, and its' poops are not smelly or full of mucous. But, a fresh fecal sent to a vet can answer this.

 

[Escalade]

Any cham can have parasites regardless where it came from. It may not be a crisis as long as the cham is eating, drinking, basking, moving around normally, and its' poops are not smelly or full of mucous. But, a fresh fecal sent to a vet can answer this.

can you send them in by mail? I ask because my reptile vet is kind of a hike from where I am

 

[Carlton]

can you send them in by mail? I ask because my reptile vet is kind of a hike from where I am

Probably not because they need to be fresh. For most intestinal parasites any vet who can analyze poop could do a basic "fecal float" and give you some idea what's there.

 

[Escalade]

Do people with dogs or cats get fecal tests done? Theres a dog/cat vet down the street I wonder if they could do one for me.

 

[jannb]

I would ask them to send it to the lab for testing.

 

[Carlton]

Do people with dogs or cats get fecal tests done? Theres a dog/cat vet down the street I wonder if they could do one for me.

Yes, testing for parasites is a routine thing. Many parasites our chams can have are also carried by dogs or cats. Ask the vet what they can test for or whether they send everything to a lab. The lab may be able to identify everything.