Please Help! Cham with many possible problems!

[angienminerva]

So a lot of stuff has happened in the last four days.
Ok I have a healthy female chameleon or so I thought until last Saturday.

My veiled chameleon Minerva was getting very restless going to the top and bottom of her cage, she has laid 2 clutches of eggs before so I know the signs. I put her in her sand early last week and she didn't do anything, I just made my chameleon a free range tree so I put her on the tree. She climbed down the first time and stupidly I put her back on the tree instead of back in the sand. The next day I made the tree so she couldn't climb down but somehow she climbed down again, she was in the same spot but this time when I tried to pick her up she hissed at me very much, Minerva was so scarred of me she collapsed. I've never seen or read about this until yesterday, its called blanching. It's when a chameleon gets so stressed out it collapses in fear. I thought she was dead she went stiff and her eyes closed and all her color drained. I am so sad this happened, she has never been afraid of me before she use to eat strawberries and worms out of my hand.

When Minerva woke up about 2-3 minutes after she collapsed she was very uncoordinated! Her legs looked floppy and bent (kind of like symptoms of MBD in chams) she was having trouble walking. This was on Sunday. Yesterday she stayed at the top of her tree and didn't move much except she went to the bottom to eat 4 super worms. Her leg looks broken and she clearly had eggs in her! I'm worried shes eating when shes ready to lay eggs. My questions are to anyone who can help are:

Is Minerva pregnant?
Does her leg look broken?
She has never displayed signs of MBD before her blanching episode but she does now, could it be something else?
Does her leg look broken? She could of fallen off her tree when climbing to the floor because there was no path down close enough for her to reach.
Did Minerva blanch because she is sick or because she is pregnant?
Can Minerva go egg bound because of the extreme amount of stress I stupidly put her through?
I'm scarred to take her to a vet because the closest herp vet is a 50 minute drive and I don't want to stress her out so soon after she went through an extremely stressful situation.


I have attached some pictures of Minerva from yesterday. Someone please help!!!
Thank you so much everyone, I am willing to do anything to get Minerva back in good health!

 

[jajeanpierre]

I've never seen or read about this until yesterday, its called blanching. It's when a chameleon gets so stressed out it collapses in fear. I thought she was dead she went stiff and her eyes closed and all her color drained.

Blanching is the removal of color, to whiten, to bleach. It is a description and no root cause is attached to the verb to blanch.

Please re-read my post. Nowhere do I say blanching is a collapse caused by stress. I said a severely stressed chameleon might blanch and collapse. Stress might trigger blanching.

Again, blanching is the draining of color. It is a description.

If you suspect a fracture, it would seem your chameleon is in a more trouble than anyone posting here can help you solve. I suggest you take her to a good reptile vet and be sure the vet really is experienced with reptiles.

I'm sorry I can't be more help, but healthy chameleons do not fracture big strong robust leg bones from small falls. Female egg layers are very problematic to keep healthy when they produce a lot of eggs. Good luck.

 

[angienminerva]

Thanks for the clarification! Just as an update. My Cham is feeling better, she doesn't look as lethargic and has been moving a lot in her cage to catch crickets. This worries me though because she has started to eat again when I know she is pregnant. She is in sand and has been all week but I'm afraid she won't lay eggs because she hasn't climbed down do the sand unless it was for a cricket. I'm wondering if she gave up on laying the eggs and that's why she's eating again. I know I keep asking the same questions but I want to understand what's happening to her before I make another wrong move.

I have a vet appointment for Monday but I'm scarred the drive will stress her out too much.

I think all that was wrong with her in the first place was that she needed to lay eggs and when I tried to pick her up she got so defensive because she has eggs and she was lost. Because of the extreme amount of stress I think she has gone egg bound because of her beginning to eat again.

 

[angienminerva]

By the way her leg doesn't look broken at all she was just laying on it weird because she wasn't feeling good

 

[Andee]

Taking her too vet can be less stressful if you but her in a dark container and give her something steady to hold onto, she will likely fall asleep. I would bring a decent lay bin just in case they do decide to hurry her with laying with a shot of oxytocin. Sometimes they will lay within a few minutes and having a lay bin may make her feel more comfortable even if she doesn't dig much or at all. It will still be more natural for her. Good luck for her.

 

[angienminerva]

Thank you so much! My Cham has started to lay eggs on her own thank goodness! She has been working all at night. I read chams will lay at night because they feel safer. This makes me sad because Minervas first 2 clutches she laied during the day time and now she is laying at night. I think it's because she is still scarred of me. As long as she is healthy I don't mind for now. I'll win her over with food when she is egg free!

 

[Andee]

Yay! hopefully she does well, make sure she has plenty of water for the next few days and make sure drinks and preferably eats as soon as she comes up. If it takes her a couple hours to eat that's fine, but if she doesn't eat within the 24 hours of coming up I would take her to the vet. Keeping my fingers crossed it all goes smoothly.