MBD or broken wrist?

[AlexKouns]

Hello everyone,

I have an adult male panther chameleon who is 10 months old. I raised him since he was 1 month old. Just recently (about a week ago) I noticed an issue with his front left wrist/paw. It looks like it is “limp”. I notice it most if I handle him. It looks as if he cannot control his “paw”. When he moves slow on his vines he does use it and grip with it. But it looks shaky. When he moves fast is when it is the most noticeable. I posted the best pictures I could of the affected wrist/paw and his enclosure. Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.

I am using a T5 HO 24 inch light across the top of the enclosure. His basking spot is 80-85 degrees. I feed him mostly crickets gutloaded with apples, carrots, and some various greens. I also dust the crickets with Repashy Calcium plus LOD at every feeding. I feed him every other day 10-12 large crickets.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Very well could be early onslought MBD, also could be gout in his joint, also could be a fracture. Either way I would highly recommend a vet visit for him. You have the correct lighting to avoid MBD, but you failed to utilize your bulb correctly. Your chameleon needs lots of horizontal branches not just vertical. Providing different branches underneath the bulb 8-12" away. Which also makes me think he could've fallen and hurt his wrist possibly too since his house is bare of branches.

Definitely hook up with a vet. Might need an xray to be 100% sure.

 

[AlexKouns]

Very well could be early onslought MBD, also could be gout in his joint, also could be a fracture. Either way I would highly recommend a vet visit for him. You have the correct lighting to avoid MBD, but you failed to utilize your bulb correctly. Your chameleon needs lots of horizontal branches not just vertical. Providing different branches underneath the bulb 8-12" away. Which also makes me think he could've fallen and hurt his wrist possibly too since his house is bare of branches.

Definitely hook up with a vet. Might need an xray to be 100% sure.

Thank you for your advice I appreciate it a lot. I am going to add much more horizontal branches as soon as I can. I also angled the uvb slightly so it hits him when he is basking. I have 2 branches under the uvb (one is 7 inches away the other is 12 inches away). But I will add some more throughout the cage. I will also be doing a vet visit on my next day off work. Thank you again.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

@kinyonga @jamest0o0 any thoughts?

 

[kinyonga]

I would get him to a vet ASAP to see what can be done about it and see if the vet thinks the chameleon has a bone issue.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Thank you for your advice I appreciate it a lot. I am going to add much more horizontal branches as soon as I can. I also angled the uvb slightly so it hits him when he is basking. I have 2 branches under the uvb (one is 7 inches away the other is 12 inches away). But I will add some more throughout the cage. I will also be doing a vet visit on my next day off work. Thank you again.

He seems like a sweet boy though. And very pretty. I hope he feels and gets better soon. When you add more branches add some more foliage for the big guy too. I'll post some pics of my setups so you can have an idea. Now I'm not saying what I have is the "gold standard" if you have the money go all out by all means. My setups are balling on a budget lol. But they're always evolving and getting upgrades here and there. Just don't tell my wife

 

[AlexKouns]

He seems like a sweet boy though. And very pretty. I hope he feels and gets better soon. When you add more branches add some more foliage for the big guy too. I'll post some pics of my setups so you can have an idea. Now I'm not saying what I have is the "gold standard" if you have the money go all out by all means. My setups are balling on a budget lol. But they're always evolving and getting upgrades here and there. Just don't tell my wife
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I like the idea of the cage always evolving! And your setup is very dense with foliage and has definitely given me something to go off of. I hope my boy can heal and I have answers soon.