Male Chameleon 4.5 years old losing movement in back legs and tail

[Scoobysnak]

Hello,
*Warning this will be a long post.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, 4.5 years old
• Handling - At least every other day, he is extremely docile with zero aggression, he will scratch at his door when he wants out of his cage
• Feeding - Mostly Dubias, 2-3 every other day in Summer and 2-3 every 2-3 days in Winter. Snacks are 1x week, based on what we have-hornworms, superworms, phoenix worms. Treats 2-3x month- 3-5 blueberries, half a dollar bill sized kale or lettuce. Bugs eat organic carrots and occasionally organic kale, lettuce, or celery.
• Supplements-
  • 1 month ago
    • Every feeding: RepCal Calcium without D3
    • maybe 2-4x month: RepCal Calcium with D3 & RepCal Herptivite, I did a poor job keeping track of this but it is a minimum 2x a month
  • Currently
    • Every feeding: Repashy SuperCal NoD
    • every 2 weeks: Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, I'm using calendar reminders now
• Watering - For the first few years I only used an automatic mister and then later I added a clear water cup
• Fecal Description - I've been feeding him 1 hornworm per day for the past week so he actually pooped 3 times. All very watery, urate was white and poop was dark brown/black solid (lentil to kidney bean size). Did a fecal test 6 months ago at his yearly checkup and all negative.
• History - Have been doing annual checkups, most recent checkup was Oct 2024 which was all good.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 2x4, door is acrylic but rest of the sides are mesh.
• Lighting - T5 HO fixture + Reptisun T5 5.0 (just changed 3 months ago)
• Temperature - 70s at bottom to 80-90 in basking area
• Humidity - 35-45, automatic mister. I'll cover the sides with a shower curtain if humidity stays below 35
• Plants - Pothos, dracaena
• Placement - Cage is on top of a 2ft high table for extra height, we have moved several times over the years but always make sure his cage is near a window
• Location - Las Vegas

Current Problem - Husband and I were out of town 3/15-3/22 but had family babysit. I got all the dubias rationed into cups for easy feeding and instructed them to dust with calcium powder. Upon coming back he seemed perfectly healthy but about a week later we found him on the ground curled up because his back legs were grabbing his front legs very tightly. After I put him back on a branch he just walked away as if nothing happened. I put a towel down and brought his cage outside on warm days so he can get more natural sun. Over the next week his mobility gradually got worse so I took him to the vet on 4/4. Unfortunately, they don't know what's wrong with him. We got x-rays done and there was a large dense mass in his lower half (intestine?) area. Vet thought he was a female with eggs or constipation but I told him he is a male and pooped 2x before the visit. He said it's possible it could be a tumor and recommended a radiology consult which was very pricy, but there's no guarantee they will even know what it is. There are no certified exotic specialists where I live. I didn't want to pay for a consult and have them say "we don't know" and pay for another consult. I asked if we could do bloodwork for a more definite answer but the vet said he has to sedate and can't guarantee he will wake up. And if it is a tumor, he wouldn't recommend surgery because he might not make it. Honestly, hearing all this freaked me out. So now I am willing to drive to an exotic specialist in Arizona or Southern California to get a more definite answer/diagnosis and treatment. If you know of anyone, PLEASE send me recommendations. I know we should get bloodwork done but the thought of him not waking up from sedation is not something I'm ready for.

Other things to note:
-His grip is still extremely strong on all 4 feet, to the point he leaves nail marks in my skin, but he is unable to move his back legs the way he wants and his tail does not curl up tightly when he's sleeping. He just seems very frustrated and doesn't want to move anymore. Even when I try to get him to walk on blankets, he loses balance and just falls over on his side and then gets mad/puffy.
-He doesn't show any lethargy and actually wakes up more easily now. He used to be a super heavy sleeper and you could move him without waking, but now even if I turn on the lights in the room he will open his eyes.
-He eats well but is picky, I've been trying to get him to eat more dubias so he can gain weight but he's not very interested. With hornworms or phoenix worms, he perks up and eats them well.
-From his last vet visit 6 months ago he has lost a lot of weight, from 275 grams to just 205 grams today. I noticed he had been getting skinnier over the past month.
-The only two things that recently changed was changing vitamin brands (repcal -> repashy) and us being out of town for a week. I realized when I came back that I forgot to label the vitamin bottles so it is possible my family mixed up the calcium w/o D3 and calcium w/D3. Can too much D3 cause such a severe reaction?

Thank you for reading all of this. I will post more pictures shortly.

 

[Scoobysnak]

His cage, I redid the branches yesterday to make it a little safer but thinking of adding a net at the bottom:
View attachment 363261

I often find him like this just holding on with his front legs so I have to help position him so he's comfortable.
View attachment 363259

This is after I positioned him so he's happier
View attachment 363262

Then he tries to move again and just slowly drags his back legs.
View attachment 363263

 

[MissSkittles]

His cage, I redid the branches yesterday to make it a little safer but thinking of adding a net at the bottom:
View attachment 363261

I often find him like this just holding on with his front legs so I have to help position him so he's comfortable.
View attachment 363259

This is after I positioned him so he's happier
View attachment 363262

Then he tries to move again and just slowly drags his back legs.
View attachment 363263

Can you try again to post some pics of him and his enclosure? All it shows is an ‘oops’ message. You need to hit ‘attach files’ and then choose whichever pic from your photo library and once it’s uploaded, choose size of thumbnail or full size.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m not seeing much in your husbandry. I see a few things that could be improved upon, but would have no role with regards to his current issue. I do need to ask more about his recent poops though.

I've been feeding him 1 hornworm per day for the past week so he actually pooped 3 times. All very watery, urate was white and poop was dark brown/black solid (lentil to kidney bean size).

You say “all very watery” but then say “poop was …solid”. Which is it? Is he passing poos with some form/substance or is it loose/watery? If he has a bowel obstruction, it would be watery and loose in order to force its way past and out. While I haven’t a clue of exactly his x ray is showing, thru comparing to several images, it does appear that his intestine is unnaturally very puffy or inflamed.
I don’t like that he’s been losing weight, as that often is a symptom of a serious problem. Try adding some silkworms or grasshoppers to his diet. For grasshoppers, dragonhoppers.com is the source. No need to give him anything other than live bugs. I advise stopping the plant matter (give to his feeders instead). I would eliminate the kale and substitute something like dandelion greens, turnip green, mustard green. Kale is one which has higher oxalates which bind to calcium.
I also don’t like that he’s grabbing his legs. While often it can be a neurologic sign of mbd or D3 overdose, it can also be a sign of pain.
You most definitely need a much better vet to help you with your guy. Here is our vet list of those who have shown to have experience and knowledge of chams. If you are up for the travel, I would suggest Dr Greek in Yorba Linda, CA. https://www.gavh.net/

 

[Scoobysnak]

Can you try again to post some pics of him and his enclosure? All it shows is an ‘oops’ message. You need to hit ‘attach files’ and then choose whichever pic from your photo library and once it’s uploaded, choose size of thumbnail or full size.

Attached the pictures, hope these work.

 

[Scoobysnak]

I’m not seeing much in your husbandry. I see a few things that could be improved upon, but would have no role with regards to his current issue. I do need to ask more about his recent poops though.

You say “all very watery” but then say “poop was …solid”. Which is it? Is he passing poos with some form/substance or is it loose/watery? If he has a bowel obstruction, it would be watery and loose in order to force its way past and out. While I haven’t a clue of exactly his x ray is showing, thru comparing to several images, it does appear that his intestine is unnaturally very puffy or inflamed.
I don’t like that he’s been losing weight, as that often is a symptom of a serious problem. Try adding some silkworms or grasshoppers to his diet. For grasshoppers, dragonhoppers.com is the source. No need to give him anything other than live bugs. I advise stopping the plant matter (give to his feeders instead). I would eliminate the kale and substitute something like dandelion greens, turnip green, mustard green. Kale is one which has higher oxalates which bind to calcium.
I also don’t like that he’s grabbing his legs. While often it can be a neurologic sign of mbd or D3 overdose, it can also be a sign of pain.
You most definitely need a much better vet to help you with your guy. Here is our vet list of those who have shown to have experience and knowledge of chams. If you are up for the travel, I would suggest Dr Greek in Yorba Linda, CA. https://www.gavh.net/

He actually pooped while I was holding him a few days ago. It started with a clear watery substance, then the watery white urate dropped out, then like a few seconds later the moist but solid poop. The poop part was formed/rounded. Next time he poops I'll take a picture.

I have stopped giving him plant matter since seeing him grab his legs. But I agree, I will stick to live food until he gets better. I've been giving him dubias but he likes the worms more.

Thank you for the recommendation, I will give that Dr a call tomorrow.

 

[Scoobysnak]

He just pooped again, 3 days since his last poop. I managed to catch it on tissue. But it looks like there is a partially digested hornworm. I fed him 3 hornworms and 5 medium dubias since his last poop. He is more active now trying to walk around but still wobbly
and back legs look weak.

Is the light brown tinge to the urate concerning?

 

[Scoobysnak]

So a long update:
4/4: We went to the Greek hospital and saw Dr. Merck (thank you MissSkittles). He was extremely informative and he handled Scooby better than any other doctor I’ve been to. He weighed around 300g so I’m not sure if he gained weight or if the last doctor measured him wrong. He was able to get bloodwork done without sedation, which was a huge relief. Ultimately we decided to try a round of medication before looking into possible exploratory surgery, since there would be too many risks with that. We started with enroflaxin (antibiotic), meloxicam (pain med), and lactulose (laxative) for 2 weeks.
The bloodwork came back a few days later.
Good: white blood cell count, red blood cell count (less likely for it to be cancer)
Bad: liver level high (2,323 AST vs 60), uric acid high (34.3 vs 10)
The doctor recommended milk thistle so I’ve been giving him 1 drop a day since. I also started giving him silkworms every feeding to help him poop.
Also, I noticed that his neck was swollen and there was definitely edema.

4/18: No progress, not better or worse. I called the doctor because I was concerned he hasn’t pooped. His neck was also still swollen. He suggested we continue the meds for another 2 weeks.

4/23: Finally his first poop since the doctor visit (it has been 2 weeks).

4/30: He is able to walk on all 4 legs again. He still stumbles but he is not dragging his back legs. I was so happy to see this.

5/4: He started dragging his backlegs again and his right leg was completely limp. As of this day, he’s been on pain meds, laxatives, and antibiotics for 4 weeks now. I stopped all medication and calcium and D3, all except milk thistle. I started hand feeding him water to keep him extra hydrated because I didn’t realize antibiotics dehydrates. I also started taking him outside every day now, instead of weekly, to get natural sun. The doctor recommended a hospital in vegas but the reptile Dr there was retired but they recommended another hospital, Lone Mountain hospital. Supposedly they have 6 vets that see reptiles and constantly work with chameleons.

5/11: I saw the new doctor and thankfully she was able to do bloodwork without sedation as well. We did a round of IV fluid, for hydration for his kidneys, and vitamin a and b injection. She prescribed Tramadol for pain and echinacea supplement for the kidneys. She was certain this was cancer and kidney disease, which was painful for me to hear. I started echinacea the next day but I’m holding off on Tramadol.

5/12: Bloodwork came back and there are some improvements I think:
-White and red blood cells still normal
-WBC decreased 11.0 -> 6.3 1000/ul
-Liver AST level decreased 2323 ->2219 iu/L
-Uric acid decreased 34.3 -> 29.3 mg/dl
-Protein increased 3.6 -> 4.7 g/dl
-Calcium decreased 10.3 -> 9.7 mg/dl
-Potassium decreased 4.8 -> 4.0 meq/L
-Sodium same (low) 129 -> 130 meq/L
-Creatine/CPK decreased 4525 -> 3317 iu/L

So today 5/14, he is doing ok. He is finally able to move his right leg a little so it’s not completely limp, but he will still drag it. His neck swelling has significantly decreased. But he does not want to move when in his cage. I lay a towel across his branches so he can comfortably lay there. He is still very food motivated and will actually try to move to eat. When I take him outside in the sun I’ll put him on the ground and he will actually walk around (but dragging his right leg). I have a scale and I’ve been watching his weight and it’s been consistently 290-320g, avg 300.

Is anyone familiar with Tramadol? I’ve been holding off on giving it so I can do more research. It is an opiate so I am concerned it is something that could potentially harm him in the long run especially if I keep him on it too long.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m sorry for all that you’re still going thru. The ups and downs can be frustrating. I’m not all that knowledgeable about Tramadol in reptiles or chameleons, but I’m familiar with it in humans. Of all of the opioids, it is the weakest or least of them and doesn’t really have the same degree of side effects. When a patient is needing something just a bit stronger than Tylenol, I’ll ask the doc about ordering Tramadol for them. If you have questions or reservations about it, I would suggest calling your vet and asking more about it. Sending your sweet fella healing vibes.