Mbd

[ICu35]

I'm worried my chameleon might have MBD based on this legs and crooked casque here are some pictures. any advice or opinions would be appreciated
Pictures:







Chameleon Info:
Chameleon - veiled, male, (named Rococo) bought from pet store 6 months ago currently 9 to 10 months old from my best guess
Handling - almost never, he is very territorial.
Feeding- he eats about 6 or 7 crickets dusted with rept-cal w/o d3 the crickets are gut loaded with cricket crack and cricket quencher with calcium for moisture. we also feed butter worms, one or two every other day, we also feed hornworms occasionally maybe one or 2 every 2 weeks. he also eats fruits frequently, strawberries, raspberries he also eats red peppers.
Supplements - we give him a multi-vitamin 2x a month reptoCal with D3 2x a month and a light dusting of calcium w/o D3 with every meal.
Watering - we have a Mistking with 2 nozzles spraying at 2 minute intervals 6 times a day.
Fecal Description - Urine is white and fecal mater looks normal dark brown little logs.
History -we also bought him from a pet store that had him in a tiny glass display which was 5"wide by 12 deep by 8 high and they claimed to only feed him 4 medium crickets a day a they never misted they just had a driper. he occasionally goes on cricket strikes but usually starts eating them again after a week
Cage Info
Cage Type - Repti-breeze 24"x24"x48"
Lighting - he has 5.0 reptisun linear, he also has a 75 watt sun glo lamp for his basking spot and a 40 watt bulb for extra light and to maintain ambient temp, lights go on by timer light on at 6:30am off by 6:45
Temperature - Basking spot is about 89F to 93F Ambient cage tempt 74F to 84F mattering where in cage very bottom of cage is 72F night time tempt doesn't drop below 70F
Humidity - isn't really an issue with the live plant he has in there now, it stay at around 60% to 80%, mistking is awesome!
Plants - A large Schefflera arboricola bought from Lowes and washed well to rid it of any possible toxins and smooth stones placed on soil to prevent ingestion of soil. he Also has lots off vines bought from the local pet store as well as plastic vegetation.
Placement - in bedroom on a 2 foot tall table, eye level, moderate foot traffic in area we try to give him as much peace a quite as possible
Location - Central Michigan

Current Problem - worried he might be developing mbd base on his apearance. behavior is normal from what we can tell.

 

[Thompson]

When you got him, were his legs like that? Your husbandry looks pretty good and even though we provide everything the chameleon needs, some can still develop mbd. How old is the reptisun? Does he ever get outside time? I would offer a few more feeders so he can have som variety. Try silkies, hornworms, dubia roaches, super worms, mantids etc. Also give his feeders a variety of vegetables and fruits to eat such as greens, mustard greens, dandalion leaves, cale, butternut squash, and yams.

 

[ICu35]

The reptisun was just replaced, it was only 5months old. he has had silks and super worms manny times before just not in the last 30days we have also tried dubias and calciworms which he wants nothing to do with.

He has never been outside, somewhat impossible with his current demonic temperament

 

[ataraxia]

yes your boy has mbd.

get him in the sun as much as possible. if he still has a appetite inject his feeder with liquid calcium every meal or force feed the liquid calcium.

make sure your uvb bulb is within correct distance for him to receive proper uvb from it.

 

[carol5208]

Could you carry his cage outside and get him in the sun?

 

[DavidBuchan]

That's definitely mbd. A vet visit is in order, if only to get Calcium injections. Also, get him outside, because it's a mystery why he's got it - perhaps just more vulnerable to it - real Sun will definitely help ( still keep an eye on temps of course)

 

[kinyonga]

Does the light from your UVB light pass through glass or plastic?

 

[ICu35]

Does anyone possibly have some suggestions on how to get a bad tempermented chameleon out of his cage?

What is Ideal placement for his reptisun 18inch bulb, at the moment it is running across the center top of cage about 5 to 6 inchs away from where he would be on a branch.

 

[ICu35]

The light passes through aluminum screen mesh

 

[mbondy]

Does anyone possibly have some suggestions on how to get a bad tempermented chameleon out of his cage? QUOTE]

You know it's definitely a process but if you have to take your guy out I'd recommend getting a very handy work glove so if he bites you'll be protected. Slowly reach your hand to him, reaching from underneath. You want to encourage him to step on your hand, sometimes you can rub their chest a little and that'll make them either step up or become very angry with you. Patience is the key! Good luck

 

[kinyonga]

You can use a branch to have him step on to get him out of the cage. It also works well if you wear a long sleeved sweat shirt and pull the cuff down over your hand. The sweat shirt, if lose enough on the arm) will get bitten and you'll be safe.

 

[millerman6401]

my veiled is very cage defensive but hes fine when out of the cage. if i can just touch his side or belly and rub him for a second he calms down enough for me to pick em up

 

[ICu35]

Our guy really just keeps trying too bite use no matter what we do, heis viscous

Would buying a reptisun 10.0 help I mean at this point isn't it worth the risk?

What are some in house treatments for mbd that we can do before getting him to a herp vet

 

[ICu35]

So here's an undate for anyone who is curious:
This morning we took Rococo to an exotic vet clinic. The vet took one look at him and confirmed our suspicions; he does have mbd after all. The bent limbs, soft jaw and casque were obvious indicators.
Although we still aren't positive regarding how he developed mbd under the conditions we have previously provided, we are thinking that our crickets weren't properly gut loaded before 2 weeks ago when we started using "cricket crack" (which the vet says is a perfect gut load for crickets).
The mbd is also quite possibly responsible for his small size as he is only 68 grams at 9 months old. The vet gave Rococo two injections, calphosan (calcium) and vitamin a/d3. Then he instructed us to squirt .1 cc calcium gluconate two times a day into his gapped mouth. The reasoning behind the vitamin a/d3 injection is that Rococo just started showing skin abnormalities (gray discoloration near his vent and hind legs) suggesting a vitamin a deficiency.
The vet believes Rococo should double in size by his next visit, 4 weeks from now. We are so relieved. Thanks for everyone's advice!

 

[PeriTanz]

gl! Its great that your doing everything you can.