Possible MBD? and maybe needs a new cage?

Cameron71795

New Member
Hi so I have 9-10 week old male veiled cham and today I noticed that he has fallen twice now so I'm starting to get a little worried if it could be MBD and he's getting weaker or he's just accidentally falling?. And the thing that confuses me though is that most of the time he walks around just fine no issues just a little hesitant sometimes when I open his cage door to fast and he gets scared and stressed. But I think it could be MBD because he's fallen twice now and he's been slipping on the sides of the cage today too (Its mesh btw) and sometimes if i'm not near he's sometimes not super light green like he's supposed to be he's a dark green too almost black if he got scared by me or something else. And it could just be his color pattern but the front of his head is also a little brown, not super dark it's a light brown. And also another thing is idk if he's wanting or actually needing a new cage right now because for the past week he's been roaming up and down side to side almost all day or he will just sit on the door and then i'll open it and he will immediately and start walking away from his cage. But there are times where he is light green all day. And I could just be over thinking about the MBD but I don't want my little guy to suffer I want him to be happy and healthy. And one more quick thing, when I come up to his cage he will flare up and go dark and ik he's just doing that cause he's scared so i'll just hold just my finger by him to let him know i'm not gonna hurt him and then slowly he'll get on me and then goes bright green again. Any info will be helpful thank you.
 
Please fill out this form on how to ask for help. It will allow members to better assess your situation and identify anything with your husbandry that might be leading to any health issues you're experiencing with your chameleon.

Also, pictures of your chameleon and its cage would be very useful as well.

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?
 
Please fill out this form on how to ask for help. It will allow members to better assess your situation and identify anything with your husbandry that might be leading to any health issues you're experiencing with your chameleon.

Also, pictures of your chameleon and its cage would be very useful as well.

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?
Chameleon Info:
Chameleon-9-10 week old male veiled chameleon, been in my care since he was 5 weeks old
Handling-I try to handle him atleast once a day but sometimes I might go 2 days but that usually happens when i'm just really busy
Feeding-I mainly feed him with gut loaded crickets with calcium with no D3(about 8-11 a day), and meal worms every now and then(usually 5-8.) And I sprinkle some reptivite on them when I do. I feed him after I get up and ready so around 9-11AM PST
Supplements- I have been using Repti Calcium with no D3 and Reptivite Vitamins
Watering-I mist right when I get up and then turn on his dripper. I mist for about 2 minutes covering everything(except him) and repeat that for about 3-5 times a day depending if i'm at work or not. Yes every morning I'll see him drink the drops from the mist or go straight for the dripper and drink from there
Fecal Description-I've been seeing the fecal range from pure white(Idk if thats good or not so please lmk) and just a dark brown
History-I got him from petco when he was 5 weeks old so anything before that I don't know about but ever since i've had him there hasn't been any history of anything

Cage Info:
Cage Type-It is a all around mesh screen cage with a solid bottom, It is a 16x30 cage
Lighting-I got the Zoo Med ReptiBreeze Kit (Yes I know these aren't the best but it's just to start) and the lights are specified but if you go on petco you'll find it
Temperature-Right now his basking spot ranges from 75-85 degrees F. From floor to basking the floor is around 65 and the basking spot is 75-85. The lowest temp overnight never goes below 60 but the lowest it has gone is 64. I measure it using a therm I got from Petco
Humidity-I actaully accidentally broke my humidity gage like 2 days ago and I haven't gotten a new one cause the petco or any pet store in my area is constantly sold out
Plants-I am using fake plants with a few real sticks(I made sure they wouldn't be a hazard to him)
Placement-I have a cramped room so his cage sits on the floor in the corner of the room and then the air vent is on the ceiling. the closest thing to his cage is my work desk and I sit about a foot away
Location-I am in Washington State and here it's always cold and raining outside and is hardly ever sunny. Besides spring and summer
(In the picture there's a hanging wire and looks empty cause i'm cleaning his cage currently)
 

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There are some things that need to be changed. My feedback will be in red.

Chameleon Info:
Chameleon-9-10 week old male veiled chameleon, been in my care since he was 5 weeks old He shouldn’t have been sold until he was at least 3 months old. He also looks older than that (to me). I’m horrible at veiled ages, so someone else will have to chime in.
Handling-I try to handle him atleast once a day but sometimes I might go 2 days but that usually happens when i'm just really busy I wouldn’t handle him that much unless you’re sure he wants to
Feeding-I mainly feed him with gut loaded crickets with calcium with no D3(about 8-11 a day), and meal worms every now and then(usually 5-8.) And I sprinkle some reptivite on them when I do. I feed him after I get up and ready so around 9-11AM PST What do you gutload with? If he actually is 9-10 weeks old, you should feed him as much as he wants to eat, as their age determines how much to eat. Mealworms aren’t recommended as a staple, just a rare treat. I'm attaching gutload and feeder images below.
Supplements- I have been using Repti Calcium with no D3 and Reptivite Vitamins How often do you use each supplement? Does your Reptivite have D3 in it? If it does contain D3, then you will use that once every two weeks, with the calcium without D3 on every single feeding besides then. All feeders for each feeding should all be lightly dusted in the correct supplement for that day.
Watering-I mist right when I get up and then turn on his dripper. I mist for about 2 minutes covering everything(except him) and repeat that for about 3-5 times a day depending if i'm at work or not. Yes every morning I'll see him drink the drops from the mist or go straight for the dripper and drink from there If your humidity allows it, try to only mist in the morning and late afternoon/night, when the cage isn’t so hot, for his daytime mistings.
Fecal Description-I've been seeing the fecal range from pure white(Idk if thats good or not so please lmk) and just a dark brown
History-I got him from petco when he was 5 weeks old so anything before that I don't know about but ever since i've had him there hasn't been any history of anything Since he’s from Petco, I’d take him to an experienced chameleon vet for a complete check-up, including fecal, x-rays, bloodwork, etc.

Cage Info:
Cage Type-It is a all around mesh screen cage with a solid bottom, It is a 16x30 cage He’ll need a minimum sized cage of 2’ x 2’ x 4’ tall or bigger (4’ x 2’ x 4’ tall or bigger is always better!).
Lighting-I got the Zoo Med ReptiBreeze Kit (Yes I know these aren't the best but it's just to start) and the lights are specified but if you go on petco you'll find it Neither of the lights in that kit are good for chameleons. You’ll need to get a linear fluorescent fixture (T5 High Output or T8) and linear UVB bulb ASAP! The strength of the linear UVB depends on the strength of the linear fixture, overall height of the cage, and distance to his basking branch. You‘ll need the linear fixture to be at least as long as his adult cage will be, or the next size up, so it can go across the top over the middle of the cage, or diagonal across the top over the middle of the cage. You also need to get a plain white light incandescent bulb for his heat/basking bulb. Get a regular household one, as the reptile ones are more expensive, burn out quicker, and usually create too hot of spots in one area. You’ll have to play around with the wattages to get the correct basking temperature. The basking bulb should be far enough away from the basking branch so there is a gradient and it can’t burn your chameleon. It should be raised off the top of the screen if your chameleon screen climbs or hangs off of the top.
Temperature-Right now his basking spot ranges from 75-85 degrees F. From floor to basking the floor is around 65 and the basking spot is 75-85. The lowest temp overnight never goes below 60 but the lowest it has gone is 64. I measure it using a therm I got from Petco His basking spot temperature depends on his age. Do you use any lights at night or any heat solutions? Is the thermometer a digital thermometer, analog thermometer, or heat gun?
Humidity-I actaully accidentally broke my humidity gage like 2 days ago and I haven't gotten a new one cause the petco or any pet store in my area is constantly sold out You can get cheap thermometer-hygrometer combos in the weather section at your local hardware store. His humidity should be between 30-50% during the day and up to 100% at night. Either misting at night (which is where an automated mister comes in hand if you can afford it) or using a fogger/cool-mist humidifier/ultrasonic humidifier, or both, helps with raising nighttime humidity levels. If you go with a fogger, make sure to clean the hoses and the system itself thoroughly and often. You’ll want to put the fogger’s output tube near/at the top of his cage so the fog rolls down.
Plants-I am using fake plants with a few real sticks(I made sure they wouldn't be a hazard to him) Veileds cannot have fake plants in their enclosures. They will try to them, and it can cause an impaction. No fake vines with leaves on them either (fake vines without leaves are okay). Tons of branches, vines, and live plants need to be used all over. Make sure all branches, real vines, and live plants are properly cleaned before putting them in. Rocks too big for your chameleon to eat have to be placed over the soil in the plant pots.
Placement-I have a cramped room so his cage sits on the floor in the corner of the room and then the air vent is on the ceiling. the closest thing to his cage is my work desk and I sit about a foot away How far away is his cage from the air vent? Is the vent closed or positioned to blow air away from him? Is there any way you can raise his cage off of the floor? Chameleons like to be high up, since they live in the trees in the wild.
Location-I am in Washington State and here it's always cold and raining outside and is hardly ever sunny. Besides spring and summer
(In the picture there's a hanging wire and looks empty cause i'm cleaning his cage currently)

Could you post photos of his cage, please? Here are some helpful links, too

https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/
https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
https://flchams.com/chameleon-safe-plant-list/
 

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