I have a 5/6 month old female panther chameleon and she seems to be having some type of leg trouble. It seems as though she cannot grasp and hold onto anything. Her grasp seems to be fine, but her legs seem to give out. She acts as if she can't remain holding onto anything. she continues to try and climb but just can't make it. Her cage is 5ft x 3ft x 3ft. There are vines of different size and a live hybiscus tree in her enclosure. She has a 5.0 vb/uva bulb, as well as a 60watt basking lamp. Daytime temperature is at 85 and night time drops to 75. Humidity is at 70/75 degrees. She eats crickets and superworms coated with calcium powder. she has just started this 2 days ago. I have also noticed hat when she is in her enclosure her color appears to be ver dark. When you take her out however she becomes a very pretty lite shade of pink. She is not held very much at all though. Can anyone help me? I am very concerned about her, as this seems to have come on all of a sudden.
leg problems
- Thread starter cowboy
- Start date
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
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OldSkoolxReasons
New Member
Are her urates white or a shade of orange or yellow? if they are not white she could be dehydrated.I have seen chams get very weak and even lose the strength to climb from being so dehydrated. If they are white this isn't the problem. Are her legs kind of bowed between the knee and foot or are they completely straight? if they are slightly bowed it cold be MBD. Like jannb said if you fill out the ask for help form and upload a full body pic of her it will help us help you dramatically. Either way I would take her to a vet though because if a cham cannot climb there is something usually wrong enough to need a vets assistance. Good luck.
Justin
EDIT Has she pooped lately? I see that you are feeding superworms regularly and they are pretty fatty and have a little much chitin to be feed every feeding. I'd keep them to one feeding a week. The excess chitin in the supers could cause impaction, which is a blockage in the intestinal tract, and make it very painful for her to climb. Impaction can also lead to death.
EDIT # 2 Also 85 ambient temp is high for a 6 month old panther. Keep her between 74-80 ambient temp and 85-88 in the basking area. Make sure there is a gradient in the cage so it it warmer in the basking spot and cools off all the way down. She also may have fallen and hurt herself. 5x3x3 is a tad big for only a 5-6 month old little girl. For a 6 month old male its fine as they grow faster but females don't grow as big so try to section off about a foot or a foot and a half of the heigh making it 4 or 3 1/2 x 3 x 3 just until she gets checked out by a vet and starts doing better. Because if she does make it up 5ft you don't want her losing her balance up there and falling. That would be bad
Justin
EDIT Has she pooped lately? I see that you are feeding superworms regularly and they are pretty fatty and have a little much chitin to be feed every feeding. I'd keep them to one feeding a week. The excess chitin in the supers could cause impaction, which is a blockage in the intestinal tract, and make it very painful for her to climb. Impaction can also lead to death.
EDIT # 2 Also 85 ambient temp is high for a 6 month old panther. Keep her between 74-80 ambient temp and 85-88 in the basking area. Make sure there is a gradient in the cage so it it warmer in the basking spot and cools off all the way down. She also may have fallen and hurt herself. 5x3x3 is a tad big for only a 5-6 month old little girl. For a 6 month old male its fine as they grow faster but females don't grow as big so try to section off about a foot or a foot and a half of the heigh making it 4 or 3 1/2 x 3 x 3 just until she gets checked out by a vet and starts doing better. Because if she does make it up 5ft you don't want her losing her balance up there and falling. That would be bad
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I would be getting her to a vet ASAP.
In the meantime....
What do you gutload/feed the insects?
What supplements (specifically) do you use and how often for each?
What do you feed the chameleon?
Is there any plastic or glass between the UVB light and the chameleon?
How much do you feed her in a week?
Does she have a place to dig to show you that she needs to lay eggs? Has she been sitting low in the cage? Is it just the legs that are weak, etc.?
In the meantime....
What do you gutload/feed the insects?
What supplements (specifically) do you use and how often for each?
What do you feed the chameleon?
Is there any plastic or glass between the UVB light and the chameleon?
How much do you feed her in a week?
Does she have a place to dig to show you that she needs to lay eggs? Has she been sitting low in the cage? Is it just the legs that are weak, etc.?
