MBD progression?

millerman6401

millerman6401

Member
:( my lil cham seemed to have developed MBD alost over night. he was fine two days ago climbing and hissing at me like he normally does and i didnt see any problems. I took him out later last night and noticed his two front legs were bowed and now he can barely even use them! the fore arms seem like they are straight but right after the elbow is where they are bent... is it possible that it developed this quick? he was getting calcium dusts every other feeding but i missed about 4 dustings because of school and other problems. I want to take him outside but its pretty cold now so ill wait untill it gets warmer in the afternoon.
 
MBD takes time to develop, it's not an overnight thing. How old is your chameleon? Are you only using calcium? You should also be using calcium with D3 and a multi twice a month.

Are you gutloading your feeders properly?
 
he is 4 months old, ambilobe panther. feeders are gutloaded with flukers orange cube, carrots, collards and mixed spring salad. multivitmains andcalcuim with d3 2x a month and calcium w/o d3 about every other feeeding. the only significant change in UVB is that the breeder was in floida and he was kept outside all his life and here in OH its getting pretty cold so hes been inside for most of the time ive had him which has been about 1.5 months.
 
What kind of indoor UVB lighting are you using? Can you get him outside for natural sunlight? You should dust at every feeding with calcium when that young. how old is your light?
 
the light is a 5.o reptisun that is only about one month old. its in the mid 60's here in OH so is it oaky to bring him outside if i bring the heat lamp? i honestly had no reason to suspect anything untill last night when i noticed his legs and the difficulty to crawl. he was fine about 3 days ago. i dont know what happened and i feel terrible. Also if his bones harden up again if taken care of will he be able to use his front legs again because hes having some difficulties moving them?
 
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he was running around his cage 2 days ago like a champ, eating and drinking well too. last night was when i first noticed he was having problems.
 
he definitely has mbd. Get him to a vet to get some calcium injections. I asked in a prior post about your lighting. You did not answer. edit: sorry I see that you did!
 
yes i did check again :) but to repeat myself iits a reptisun 5.0 thats only about a motnth old. as for natural ubv its 65 and c;oudy here so should i take em outside with a heat bulb?
 
yes you can take him out if it is 60 degrees. Just keep him in the sun. You don't need a heat lamp.You cannot completely reverse MBD but you can halt it and I have seen chameleons improve on here with proper vet care that have it. It is puzzling to me as to why he got this as you have UVB, gutload and supplement. The only thing is you were supplementing every other feeding but that should not have caused that in this short of time I would'nt think. JMO
 
the ONLY thing i can think if changing is me missing a few dustings, about 4 times. its been kinda crazy here the past week and i take full resposibility, other than that i know he was outside 100% of the time from the breeder in FL i got him from. I cannot take him out as much because i live in OH, could this change in the amount of UVB have contributed??? thats anout all i can think. ill loook for a herp vet around my area and get a number. probably wont be able to get him in tomorrow because of labor day. Lastly if it does STOP and the bones harden will he gain controll of his front legs again? the back legs and tail are STRONG considering...
 
What are you gutloading with? MBD takes time to develop and it takes time to heal. You can't reverse it but you can stop its progression and once you stop it then he can start to rebuild his bone structure. Over time his legs will straighten out some as he rebuilds with good nutrition and calcium. Definitely should look at your gutloading practices if UVB and supplementation is correct. A vet visit would be a good idea to jumpstart his calcium levels and stop continued leaching from the bones.
 
i will look into the vet and i know it takes time to heal and that damage is done but he has lots of fight in him! if i get him into the vet i belive he should stabilize a bit. Is there anything i cna gutload with in the meantime that has high calcium ratings?? also would liquid calcium be a good investment? i looked everywhere and only saw it avalible at walgreens but from what ive read its the same as a reptile brand without the pricetags... i will def contact a vet tho!
 
Good gutloading ingredients: dandelion leaves, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, escarole lettuce, butternut squash, mango, alfalfa sprouts, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, sweet potato, strawberries, hibiscus leaves and flowers, papaya

The link in my signature has nutritional info on commonly available fruits and veggies. You want to use those with higher calcium than phosphorus. Sandrachameleon's blogs are a wealth of info on gutloading and good nutrition!
 
thankyou so much! will be going to giant eagle today to pick up some produce for em, boy i hope he pulls through this one! :/
 
I have heard that people will have xrays done to confrim mbd, as well as i think a blood test to check levels of stuff. some say they get calcium injections and maybe antibioticss? not sure just what i think ive read on here.
I hope your guy improves!!
PS. if even after his treatments he seems to have a hard time climbing, i have heard that people will do a cage taht is wider and less tall, so they have ore horizontal than vertical space and put a soft towel on the bottom so if he doest fall, they have somthing soft to land on as their bones are now weaker than normal and can break more easily.
Good luck and keep us posted!
PSS if it hasnt been said, natural sunlight is better, so keep him outside as much as possible.
 
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