mbd?

[jacksonhauty]

im not sure if my chameleon has mbd or not, he sits with his while body resting on the branch or my hand and doesn't support himself. But he walks fine and doesn't fall. here a picture of him on my hand. I give him calcium 2x a week and have a uvb light on his cage. also there a picture of the back of the feet if your could help me sex him/her.

 

[Solid Snake]

It sorta seems like a guy, but the pics are a little small to be sure.
His eyes look a little sunken.
Here is a form to fill out, so that we can accurately troubleshoot any problems.


Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

 

[jacksonhauty]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - veiled, male maybe, about 1month - 2month not too sure, 3 weeks
Handling - only when i take him to his outdoor cage about once a week
Feeding - crickets, and mealworms 5-6 a day gut loading with fluckers oarge complete and vegatables and fruits
Supplements - reptocal calcium w/d3 2x a week
Watering - i have a dripper that runs all day while light are on and mister 2x a day , i saw him driking when i first got him but never anymore
Fecal Description - brown-to black fecal with white- yellow urate mostly white
History -got him from petsmart :/ he was a present and they didnt know the right place to get him

Cage Info:

Cage Type - all screen 3ft tall 1 foot wide 3ft length
Lighting - 5.0 uvb bulb and zilla heat bulb
Temperature - temp in basking 85 lows 70 at night lowest is 60 mesure by thermometer
Humidity - 50-80% with dripper and mister mesured with same thermometer
Plants - i have a small umbrella plant in his cage
Placement - in my room by two windows but live in socal not cold and his cage is on the floor
Location - socal


Current Problem - mbd/dehydration

i will post pictures of his cage and fecal and urates in about an hour i have to go to dinner

 

[Solid Snake]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - veiled, male maybe, about 1month - 2month not too sure, 3 weeksHe looks 3monthish
Handling - only when i take him to his outdoor cage about once a week
Feeding - crickets, and mealworms 5-6 a day gut loading with fluckers oarge complete and vegatables and fruitsIMO mealworms should not be fed more than once maybe twice a month. They are treats, and not very healthy. Look at the Sandrachameleons gutloading blog, in the blog section here. Its got a ton of great info on gutloading. Its very important to a chameleons health.
Supplements - reptocal calcium w/d3 2x a week
You will need to change this. Here is the most recomended supplement schedule:
Calcium w/ D3 every other week.(on one feeder)
Multivitamin(herptivite) Every other week.(on one feeder)
Calcium w/o D3 all other feedings.
You can also buy "Repashy Calcium Plus" this is an all-in-one supplement that you use an all feeders, making life easier.
"Dusting" should be done very lightly. I use a large mason jar, and only sprinkle the tiniest amount of powder in the jar. Then trow the feeders in, and swirl.
Watering - i have a dripper that runs all day while light are on and mister 2x a day , i saw him driking when i first got him but never anymore
Fecal Description - brown-to black fecal with white- yellow urate mostly whiteMake sure your dripper is set to drip onto plants and things, the more stuff the dripper hits, the better. I recomend 3 mistings a day. I also recomend a shower to get him good and hydrated, since he was in a shop.
History -got him from petsmart :/ he was a present and they didnt know the right place to get him
While animals from MOST petsmarts are not in the best condition, there is nothing wrong with him being from there. You can still love him, and give him a great life
Cage Info:

Cage Type - all screen 3ft tall 1 foot wide 3ft length
Lighting - 5.0 uvb bulb and zilla heat bulb
What watt is the heat bulb? I would recomend switching to a 75watt regular white house bulb for basking.
Temperature - temp in basking 85 lows 70 at night lowest is 60 mesure by thermometerThe 75watt bulb will help bring his basking temps up a bit. IMO he would enjoy a 88-92F basking temp. Just in the direct basking spot though.
Just FYI, nite time temps can go into the low 50Fs with no problems. A 10F temp drop is good for them, and can stimulate appetite.
Humidity - 50-80% with dripper and mister mesured with same thermometer
Plants - i have a small umbrella plant in his cage
Placement - in my room by two windows but live in socal not cold and his cage is on the floor
Location - socal

Current Problem - mbd/dehydration

i will post pictures of his cage and fecal and urates in about an hour i have to go to dinner

I doubt MBD is part of the issue. Its unlikely due to its age.
To give him a shower, put him on his umbrella plant, and put the plant in the shower.
"Bounce" luke warm, not hot at all, just sly warm water off the shower wall, and on to at least half the plant.
I always leave part of the plant out of the water incase they need to get out of the water.

You will likely need to do somthing about drainage for your enclosure.
The easiest way it to set the cage on some cheap shelving, make holes in the bottom and allow the water to fall through into a tub/bucket underneath.
This will also bring the cage up higher. Chameleons want to be as high up as possible, and it can make them feel very vulnerable to be down low.

 

[jacksonhauty]

here are the pictures plus the ones from before bigger

 

[Solid Snake]

here are the pictures plus the ones from before bigger

Isolate the basking area to a back corner. This will give more of a tempature gradient in the cage.

 

[jacksonhauty]

heres some more pics
and if you can see from the larger pics the sex that would be great

 

[Solid Snake]

Too small for me to tell
Is there a "spur" on the back feet?
Males will have a bump or spur on the back foot, sort of a "heel".

 

[jacksonhauty]

oops thats as big as they get , they were off my phone

 

[jacksonhauty]

theres a little tiny bump were his two toes meet in the back but its very small

 

[millerman6401]

hard to tell from the picture but in the first one his front leg looks crooked like he does have mbd... few more pics from diffrent angles would help

 

[Elizadolots]

I'm voting he's a boy...

 

[kinyonga]

Left front leg does look wonky...maybe MBD.

Here's some information I hope will help you with supplementing, etc.....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.